The federal rule, 12 CFR part 1002, that carries out the Equal Credit Opportunity Act: it bars credit discrimination on prohibited bases and sets notice rules, for business credit as well as consumer credit.
Regulation B says a creditor shall not discriminate against an applicant on a prohibited basis in any aspect of a credit transaction. The prohibited bases are race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status and age, plus the fact that income comes from public assistance or that the applicant has used rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The rule covers business credit, defined as credit primarily for business or commercial purposes, including agricultural ones. It binds banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders alike.
Two parts reach commercial borrowers most often. The first is the signature rule: if an applicant qualifies alone under the lender’s standards for the amount and terms requested, the lender may not require a spouse or another person, other than a joint applicant, to sign. The rule has exceptions, for example where the applicant relies on jointly owned or community property. It is the rule behind most questions about a spouse’s signature on a business loan. The second is notice: a lender must tell an applicant what it decided, generally within 30 days of a completed request.
A final rule effective July 21, 2026 amended the provisions on disparate impact, discouragement of applicants and special purpose credit programs.
How it shows up in the data here
Regulation B is a conduct rule, not a data source, so there is no field for it on this site. Its subpart B will one day produce small business lending data; see the section 1071 entry. If a lender has turned you down, when a bank says no walks through what to ask for and where to look next, and search shows other lenders by what they hold and make.
Go further
- When a bank says no: What to ask for after a decline, and where to look next.
- Search lenders: Other lenders for the same request.
- What to do after a bank says no to a business loan: One bank's no is one lender's answer, and the reasons are yours to ask for. They usually point to a constraint you can name.
- Guarantor strength and recourse, explained: A guaranty is the lender's second way out. Whether you sign one, how much it covers and what the lender checks before accepting it shape a commercial loan as much as the rate does.
Related terms
- Adverse action notice: The notice a lender must give under Regulation B when it refuses credit in substantially the amount or on the terms requested, with the reasons or the right to ask for them.
- Section 1071 (small business lending data rule): The part of the Dodd-Frank Act, carried out in Regulation B subpart B, that will require larger lenders to collect and report data on credit requests from small businesses.
- Personal guaranty: A signed promise by an individual, usually an owner, to repay a business or real estate loan personally if the borrowing company does not.
- Guarantor: A person or company that promises to repay a loan if the borrower does not. On a loan to an LLC or corporation, the guarantor is usually an owner.
- Regulation C: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule, 12 CFR part 1003, that carries out the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and sets which lenders report and what they report.
- Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA): The federal law that makes mortgage lenders collect and publish loan-level data on loans secured by a dwelling, including apartment buildings and 1-4 unit rentals.
Sources
Plain definitions for orientation, not legal, tax or credit advice. A lender's own policy decides what it will do.