p. ECOA Considerations

The applicability of the guaranty to only a portion of the loan in the case of a veteran/nonveteran joint loan may cause a lender to refuse to accept an application for such loan. 

This may appear to conflict with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibition against discrimination based on marital status, however, the lender may refuse the application under these circumstances without violating ECOA. 

This is based on an exemption for VA being a special purpose credit program.