[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 12, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 12CFR202.13]

[Page 27-28]
 
                       TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING
 
                   CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
 
PART 202_EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT (REGULATION B)--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 202.13  Information for monitoring purposes.

    (a) Information to be requested. (1) A creditor that receives an 
application for credit primarily for the purchase or refinancing of a 
dwelling occupied or to be occupied by the applicant as a principal 
residence, where the extension of credit will be secured by the 
dwelling, shall request as part of the application

[[Page 28]]

the following information regarding the applicant(s):
    (i) Ethnicity, using the categories Hispanic or Latino, and not 
Hispanic or Latino; and race, using the categories American Indian or 
Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or 
Other Pacific Islander, and White;
    (ii) Sex;
    (iii) Marital status, using the categories married, unmarried, and 
separated; and
    (iv) Age.
    (2) Dwelling means a residential structure that contains one to four 
units, whether or not that structure is attached to real property. The 
term includes, but is not limited to, an individual condominium or 
cooperative unit and a mobile or other manufactured home.
    (b) Obtaining information. Questions regarding ethnicity, race, sex, 
marital status, and age may be listed, at the creditor's option, on the 
application form or on a separate form that refers to the application. 
The applicant(s) shall be asked but not required to supply the requested 
information. If the applicant(s) chooses not to provide the information 
or any part of it, that fact shall be noted on the form. The creditor 
shall then also note on the form, to the extent possible, the ethnicity, 
race, and sex of the applicant(s) on the basis of visual observation or 
surname.
    (c) Disclosure to applicant(s). The creditor shall inform the 
applicant(s) that the information regarding ethnicity, race, sex, 
marital status, and age is being requested by the federal government for 
the purpose of monitoring compliance with federal statutes that prohibit 
creditors from discriminating against applicants on those bases. The 
creditor shall also inform the applicant(s) that if the applicant(s) 
chooses not to provide the information, the creditor is required to note 
the ethnicity, race and sex on the basis of visual observation or 
surname.
    (d) Substitute monitoring program. A monitoring program required by 
an agency charged with administrative enforcement under section 704 of 
the Act may be substituted for the requirements contained in paragraphs 
(a), (b), and (c) of this section.