PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025
Fair Lending for All Act
This bill adds classes of individuals protected under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
With respect to credit transactions, the bill adds sexual orientation, gender identity, and an applicant's location based on zip code or census tract as classes protected against discrimination. (Currently, discrimination is prohibited on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because an applicant receives public assistance.)
The bill establishes criminal penalties for violations of prohibited credit discrimination.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is required to review loan applications for compliance with specified consumer laws and to establish an Office of Fair Lending Testing.
People & committees
Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9] · D–TX
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 1, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would prohibit discrimination in credit transactions on listed grounds, including sexual orientation, gender identity, ZIP Code and census tract. It would create a federal office that uses people posing as borrowers to test compliance, require reviews of loan applications and introduce criminal penalties for knowing and willful violations. It would also change the mortgage data collected about applicants and borrowers. These are proposals in the supplied introduced version, not established changes to law.
It shall be unlawful to discriminate against any person, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction— (1) on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), marital status, or age (provided the applicant has the capacity to contract); (2) on the basis of the person’s ZIP Code, or census tract;
There is established within the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection an Office of Fair Lending Testing
shall conduct testing of compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by creditors, through the use of individuals who, without any bona fide intent to receive a loan, pose as prospective borrowers for the purpose of gathering information.
The Bureau shall carry out reviews of loan applications and the process of taking loan applications being used by covered persons
Any person who knowingly and willfully violates this title shall be fined not more than $50,000, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
inserting the applicant or borrower’s ZIP Code, census tract, income level, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and age.
Section 1 would name the legislation the Fair Lending for All Act.
This Act may be cited as the Fair Lending for All Act.
Section 2 would establish an Office of Fair Lending Testing within the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Its director would hold a career civil service position, serve a five-year term appointed by the Bureau director, and report to that director. The office director would hire necessary staff, set their compensation and submit an estimated annual budget.
There is established within the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection an Office of Fair Lending Testing
The head of the Office shall be a Director, who shall— (1) be appointed to a 5-year term by, and report to, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection; (2) appoint and fix the compensation of such employees as are necessary to carry out the duties of the Office under this section; and (3) provide an estimated annual budget to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
The position of the Director shall be a career position within the civil service.
The office would have to test creditors’ compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act using individual people who pose as prospective borrowers without genuinely intending to obtain loans. It would conduct this testing in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
The Office, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shall conduct testing of compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by creditors, through the use of individuals who, without any bona fide intent to receive a loan, pose as prospective borrowers for the purpose of gathering information.
If testing led the office to believe someone had violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, it would have to refer the suspected violation to the Attorney General in writing for appropriate action.
If, in carrying out the testing described under paragraph (1), the Office believes a person has violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Office shall refer such violation in writing to the Attorney General for appropriate action.
The bill would add testing analysis to the Bureau’s reports under section 707 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Both Bureau and Attorney General reports under that section would also have to summarize criminal enforcement actions under the proposed new penalties.
Section 707 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691f) is amended by adding at the end the following: In addition, each report of the Bureau shall include an analysis of the testing carried out pursuant to section 2 of the Fair Lending for All Act, and each report of the Bureau and the Attorney General shall include a summary of criminal enforcement actions taken under section 706A.
Section 3 would replace the Act’s main discrimination prohibition. The replacement would prohibit discrimination against any person in any aspect of a credit transaction based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex—including sexual orientation and gender identity—marital status or age. The age protection would include the stated condition that the applicant must have legal capacity to enter a contract.
Subsection (a) of section 701 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691) is amended to read as follows: (a) It shall be unlawful to discriminate against any person, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction— (1) on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), marital status, or age (provided the applicant has the capacity to contract);
The replacement prohibition would also cover discrimination based on a person’s ZIP Code or census tract, or because some or all of their income comes from public assistance. It would also prohibit discrimination because a person exercised a right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act in good faith.
It shall be unlawful to discriminate against any person, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction—
(2) on the basis of the person’s ZIP Code, or census tract; (3) because all or part of the person's income derives from any public assistance program; or (4) because the person has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.
The bill would define an “aggrieved person” to include someone who claims injury from a discriminatory credit practice or believes they will be injured by one. It would substitute that term for “applicant” in specified provisions of sections 704A and 706.
The term aggrieved person includes any person who— (1) claims to have been injured by a discriminatory credit practice; or (2) believes that such person will be injured by a discriminatory credit practice.
in section 704A— (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking applicant each place such term appears and inserting aggrieved person; and (B) in subsection (c), by striking applicant and inserting aggrieved person;
in subsection (f), by striking applicant and inserting aggrieved person.
Section 3 would also replace specified references to applicants and creditors with references to persons in sections 701(b), 705 and 706. It would change “a creditor to take” to “taking” in section 705(a). The source provides these wording changes without reproducing the surrounding existing provisions.
in section 701(b)— (A) by striking applicant each place such term appears and inserting person; and (B) in paragraph (2), by striking applicant’s each place such term appears and inserting person’s;
in section 705— (A) by striking the applicant each place such term appears and inserting persons; and (B) in subsection (a)— (i) by striking a creditor to take and inserting taking; and (ii) by striking applicant and inserting person;
in section 706— (A) by striking creditor each place such term appears and inserting person; (B) by striking creditor’s each place such term appears and inserting person’s; (C) by striking creditors each place such term appears and inserting persons;
Section 4 would create criminal penalties for knowing and willful violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act: a fine of up to $50,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 706 the following: 706A. Criminal penalties (a) Individual violations Any person who knowingly and willfully violates this title shall be fined not more than $50,000, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
A pattern or practice of knowing and willful violations would carry a fine of up to $100,000 for each violation, imprisonment for up to 20 years, or both.
Any person who engages in a pattern or practice of knowingly and willfully violating this title shall be fined not more than $100,000 for each violation of this title, or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
A separate personal-liability provision would apply to executive officers and board directors who knowingly and willfully cause their entity to engage in a pattern or practice of knowing and willful violations. Its wording also covers directing another agent, senior officer or director to commit such a violation, or to engage in acts resulting in the director or officer being personally unjustly enriched.
Any executive officer or director of the board of an entity who knowingly and willfully causes the entity to engage in a pattern or practice of knowingly and willfully violating this title (or who directs another agent, senior officer, or director of the entity to commit such a violation or engage in such acts that result in the director or officer being personally unjustly enriched)
Officers and directors covered by that personal-liability provision would face both a fine and imprisonment of up to five years. The fine could reach 100% of compensation received from the entity, including stock options awarded as compensation, during either the violation period or a one-to-three-year period before the violations were discovered.
shall be— (A) fined in an amount not to exceed 100 percent of the compensation (including stock options awarded as compensation) received by such officer or director from the entity— (i) during the time period in which the violations occurred; or (ii) in the one to three year time period preceding the date on which the violations were discovered; and (B) imprisoned for not more than 5 years.
Section 5 would add a requirement to the Consumer Financial Protection Act for the Bureau to review loan applications and application-taking processes used by “covered persons.” The reviews would check compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and other federal consumer financial laws. The supplied text does not reproduce the definition of “covered persons.”
Subtitle C of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5531 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 1038. Review of loan applications (a) In general The Bureau shall carry out reviews of loan applications and the process of taking loan applications being used by covered persons to ensure such applications and processes do not violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act or any other Federal consumer financial law.
If the Bureau determined that an application or application-taking process violated one of those laws, it would have to prohibit the covered person from using it and take enforcement or other action that the Bureau considered appropriate.
If the Bureau determines under subsection (a) that any loan application or process of taking a loan application violates the Equal Credit Opportunity Act or any other Federal consumer financial law, the Bureau shall— (1) prohibit the covered person from using such application or process; and (2) take such enforcement or other actions with respect to the covered person as the Bureau determines appropriate.
Section 6 would replace a list of mortgage data categories in the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The replacement would specify the applicant’s or borrower’s ZIP Code, census tract, income level, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and age.
Section 304(b)(4) of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (12 U.S.C. 2803(b)(4)) is amended by striking census tract, income level, racial characteristics, age, and gender and inserting the applicant or borrower’s ZIP Code, census tract, income level, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and age.
Section 6 would also add ZIP Code, census tract and other listed mortgage data categories to a provision labeled as protecting privacy interests. The added language would depend on what the Bureau determines necessary and consistent with a purpose specified elsewhere in existing law; that purpose and the surrounding provision are not reproduced.
(b) Protection of privacy interests Section 304(h)(3)(A) of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (12 U.S.C. 2803(h)(3)(A)) is amended—
by inserting after clause (i) the following: (ii) ZIP Code, census tract, and any other category of data described in subsection (b)(4), as the Bureau determines to be necessary to satisfy the purpose described in paragraph (1)(E), and in a manner consistent with that purpose;
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 1, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Financial Services on January 3, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-01T08:06:00Z. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents or attachment history of other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials; formal earmark disclosures are not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential benefit, special exemption or carve-out was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. Equal-access protections alone do not constitute preferential treatment. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 1, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI