Fair lending laws are designed to ensure the consistent, fair and equitable treatment of all consumers engaged in lending transactions. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibits discrimination in credit transactions on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity and other characteristics, and the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination with respect to residential real estate-related transactions, are the primary fair lending laws.

The federal agencies that enforce fair lending laws typically have assessed a lender’s compliance under both the disparate treatment and disparate impact legal theories of discrimination. Financial institutions can reduce the risk of administrative enforcement or legal claims by implementing policies and procedures to ensure that their lending activities comply with the anti-discrimination provisions of applicable federal laws. This Fair Lending Toolkit provides several resources to help financial institutions comply with fair lending laws.