Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether financial institutions serving Fort Ord, California, denied credit to military personnel based on their military rank.

GAO found that: (1) only a few military personnel filed complaints concerning lending institutions' adverse credit practices at Fort Ord; (2) four of the five institutions reviewed granted credit to military personnel regardless of rank; (3) institutions denied credit primarily because military applicants had a poor credit history and could not meet standard financial criteria; and (4) lending institutions had similiar qualification requirements for military personnel, such as debt-to-income ratio, length of employment, and gross income.