A creditor shall notify an applicant of action taken within 30 days after receiving a completed application concerning the creditor's approval of, counteroffer to, or adverse action on the application. There are other rules for incomplete applications, existing accounts, and counteroffers.
A notification given to an applicant when adverse action is taken shall be in writing and shall contain: a statement of the action taken; the name and address of the creditor; a statement of the provisions of section 701(a)of the Act; the name and address of the Federal agency that administers compliance with respect to the creditor; and either a statement of specific reasons for the action taken; or a disclosure of the applicant's right to a statement of specific reasons within 30 days, if the statement is requested within 60 days of the creditor's notification.
The disclosure shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the person or office from which the statement of reasons can be obtained. If the creditor chooses to provide the reasons orally, the creditor shall also disclose the applicant's right to have them confirmed in writing within 30 days of receiving a written request for confirmation from the applicant.
12 C.F.R. Section 202.9 Notifications.
(a) Notification of action taken, ECOA notice, and statement of specific reasons--
(1) When notification is required. A creditor shall notify an applicant of action taken within:
(i) 30 days after receiving a completed application concerning the creditor's approval of, counteroffer to, or adverse action on the application;
(ii) 30 days after taking adverse action on an incomplete application, unless notice is provided in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section;
(iii) 30 days after taking adverse action on an existing account; or
(iv) 90 days after notifying the applicant of a counteroffer if the applicant does not expressly accept or use the credit offered.
(2) Content of notification when adverse action is taken. A notification given to an applicant when adverse action is taken shall be in writing and shall contain: a statement of the action taken; the name and address of the creditor; a statement of the provisions of section 701(a)of the Act; the name and address of the Federal agency that administers compliance with respect to the creditor; and either:
(i) A statement of specific reasons for the action taken; or
(ii) A disclosure of the applicant's right to a statement of specific reasons within 30 days, if the statement is requested within 60 days of the creditor's notification. The disclosure shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the person or office from which the statement of reasons can be obtained. If the creditor chooses to provide the reasons orally, the creditor shall also disclose the applicant's right to have them confirmed in writing within 30 days of receiving a written request for confirmation from the applicant.
(3) Notification to business credit applications. For business credit, a creditor shall comply with the requirements of this paragraph in the following manner:
(I) With regard to a business that had gross revenues of $1,000,000 or less in its preceding fiscal year (other than an extension of trade credit, credit incident to a factoring agreement, or other similar types of business credit), a creditor shall comply with paragraphs (a) (1) and (2) of this section, except that:
(A) The statement of the action taken may be given orally or in writing, when adverse action is taken;
(B) Disclosure of an applicant's right to a statement of reasons may be given at the time of application, instead of when adverse action is taken, provided the disclosure is in a form the applicant may retain and contains the information required by paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section and the ECOA notice specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section;
(C) For an application made solely by telephone, a creditor satisfies the requirements of this paragraph by an oral statement of the action taken and of the applicant's right to a statement of reasons for adverse action.
(ii) With regard to a business that had gross revenues in excess of $1,000,000 in its preceding fiscal year or an extension of trade credit, credit incident to a factoring agreement, or other similar types of business credit, a creditor shall:
(A) Notify the applicant, orally or in writing, within a reasonable time of the action taken; and
(B) Provide a written statement of the reasons for adverse action and the ECOA notice specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section if the applicant makes a written request for the reasons within 60 days of being notified of the adverse action.
