The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of all of these categories except which one?

• A. Employment status
• B. Race
• C. Color
• D. Sex

Answer: (A)

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act protects consumers from discrimination in extending credit based on protected characteristics, so decisions must be tied to creditworthiness rather than personal attributes. Protected bases include race, color, sex, and other listed categories, and lenders may not treat applicants differently because of these. Employment status, on the other hand, is not one of the protected bases under ECOA. Lenders can consider employment-related factors as they relate to income and repayment ability, but they cannot use protected characteristics to deny or alter credit terms. So the category that is not prohibited is employment status, making it the exception in this question.