Question:
Is it acceptable to use community property income to qualify an applicant if the applicant is applying for separate credit? Our applicant (Mrs. X) works for her husband's business and is requesting a $100M unsecured line of credit for herself and a small business she operates. Her husband, who earns the majority of income of the household, is not a co-borrower or co-signer. Based on Mrs. X salary' alone she would not qualify for this loan under our underwriting requirements. But, if we use the combined income of Mr. and Mrs. X and use their combined annual expenses (included the proposed loan), she would qualify. The argument is community property income can be used to qualify an applicant because she lives in a community property state (California).