Illinois Administrative Code › Title 38 - FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS › Part 800 - DISCRIMINATION INVOLVING CREDIT › Section 800.40 - Permissible Inquiries of Credit Applicants

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) Generally. Except as expressly authorized
			 in this Section, or in Section
			 800.50 or
			 800.60 of this
			 Part, or under any law of the United States or the State of Illinois, a
			 financial institution or credit card offeror may not inquire of any applicant
			 for a loan or credit card regarding any characteristic the consideration of
			 which would constitute unlawful discrimination under the Act. This shall not
			 mean, however, that a mortgage lender is prohibited from inquiring of
			 applicants regarding their race, national origin, age, sex and marital status,
			 to the extent required for federal monitoring purposes under Section 202.13 of
			 Regulation B of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, (
			 12 CFR
			 202.13 ), as long as the inquiry is made in
			 conformity with the requirements of that regulation.
b) Pertinent Elements of Credit-Worthiness.
Section 4-104(B)(1) of the Act provides that financial
				institutions and credit card offerors are not precluded from: making an inquiry
				of the applicant's age, permanent residence,immigration status, or any
				additional information if such inquiry is for the purpose of determining the
				amount and probable continuance of income levels, credit history, or other
				pertinent element of credit-worthiness as provided in regulations of the
				Department. Under this exemption, the following inquiries are permissible for
				the purposes and under the circumstances indicated:
1) Age. A creditor may inquire into an
			 applicant's age to ensure that the applicant has the legal capacity to enter
			 into a binding contract; to assess, from the applicant's occupation and
			 probable length of time to retirement, whether the applicant's income
			 (including retirement income) will support the extension of credit to its
			 maturity; to weigh the adequacy of any collateral offered to secure the
			 transaction against the life expectancy of the applicant; or to evaluate the
			 significance of the applicant's length of employment or residence. A creditor
			 may also inquire of an applicant's age in connection with an application for
			 credit insurance, to determine the conditions on which insurance may be
			 available to the applicant.
2)
			 Permanent Residence and Immigration Status. A creditor may inquire into an
			 applicant's permanent residence and immigration status to determine its rights
			 and remedies regarding repayment, provided the inquiry is made uniformly of all
			 applicants without regard to race, national origin or other prohibited
			 characteristic.
3) Sex and Marital
			 Status. A creditor may not request the sex of an applicant, but may request the
			 designation of a title from among "Ms.", "Miss", "Mr." or "Mrs.", if the
			 designation is clearly denominated as optional with the applicant. If the
			 application is for individual unsecured credit and the applicant does not
			 reside in a community property state, the creditor may not request the
			 applicant's marital status; otherwise, the applicant may be required to
			 disclose marital status from among "Married", "Unmarried" and "Separated", and
			 the creditor may explain that "Unmarried" applies to single, divorced and
			 widowed persons. A creditor may not request information regarding an
			 applicant's childbearing capacity or intentions, or birth control practices. A
			 creditor may, however, inquire about the number and ages of an applicant's
			 dependents, about dependent-related financial obligations (e.g., medical and
			 educational expenses attributable to the applicant's responsibility for a
			 dependent) and about the applicant's liability to pay alimony or child support,
			 if the information is requested uniformly of all applicants without regard to
			 sex or marital status or any other prohibited characteristic. A creditor may
			 request the sex and marital status of an applicant in connection with an
			 application for credit insurance, for purposes of determining the conditions on
			 which insurance may be available to the applicant. A creditor may also request
			 the marital status of an applicant for the limited purpose of ascertaining its
			 rights and remedies regarding repayment.
4) Spousal Information.
A) A creditor may not request information
			 concerning an applicant's spouse or former spouse unless:
i) the spouse will be permitted to use the
			 account or will be contractually liable upon it;
ii) the applicant relies on the spouse's
			 income or on alimony or kindred payments (e.g., separate maintenance, child
			 support) from the spouse to repay the indebtedness; or
iii) the applicant resides in, or property
			 securing the indebtedness is located in, a community property state.
B) When any of the criteria
			 contained in subsection (b)(4)(A) of this Section is satisfied, the creditor
			 may request information regarding the applicant's spouse only to the extent
			 that the information may be requested about an applicant under this
			 Section.
5) Source of
			 Income. A creditor shall advise applicants, before inquiring generally into
			 their available income, that they need not disclose income derived from
			 alimony, child support or separate maintenance payments if they do not desire
			 that income considered in evaluating their creditworthiness. This advice is not
			 required, however, if the terms of the inquiry are sufficiently specific (e.g.,
			 focused exclusively on employment income) as to reasonably preclude disclosure
			 of alimony, child support or separate maintenance. A creditor may inquire
			 whether any of an applicant's listed income is derived from a public assistance
			 program to evaluate the likely continuation and future reliability of those
			 payments, and to ascertain its rights and remedies regarding repayment, if the
			 inquiry is made uniformly of all applicants without regard to a prohibited
			 characteristic.
6) Disability. A
			 creditor may not inquire whether an applicant has a disability. If any income
			 listed by the applicant is derived from disability or public assistance
			 benefits occasioned by a disability, however, the creditor may request
			 information regarding the nature and duration of the condition for purposes of
			 evaluating the probable continuation and future reliability of that income. A
			 creditor may also inquire into an applicant's physical condition in connection
			 with an application for credit insurance to determine the conditions on which
			 insurance may be available to the applicant.