Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. VantageScore says it’s building the future of credit scoring. But based on our analysis, the foundation it’s building on is shaky at best. Earlier this month, we published a study showing that VantageScore 4.0’s claimed performance gains over Classic FICO are overstated […]
VantageScore’s ‘future of credit’ rests on shaky math Read More »
Fair Isaac Corp. is rolling out a new program that lets mortgage resellers bypass the three major credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and Transunion and deliver its FICO credit scores directly to lenders, a shift the company says will bring down costs. The announcement drew cautious optimism from industry trade groups. The move avoids any additional
FICO’s new pricing program met with cautious optimism Read More »
The American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) recent opinion piece (“FICO isn’t the problem. A premature two-score system is“) challenges a nearly unanimous market conclusion: VantageScore 4.0 is a more predictive credit score for mortgages than Classic FICO. Tobias Peter and Sissi Li’s critique tells yesterday’s story. VantageScore 4.0 is about tomorrow, and the market agrees. While
VantageScore 4.0’s predictive power stands up to scrutiny Read More »
Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. In July 2025, a pivotal change came to the mortgage industry, when the Federal Housing Finance Agency officially approved the use of VantageScore 4.0 as an alternative to Classic FICO for mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. VantageScore claims that Classic FICO is
FICO isn’t the problem. A premature two-score system Is Read More »
The Mortgage Bankers Association announced Wednesday that its Residential Board of Governors has passed a resolution calling for two influential government-sponsored enterprises to end their requirements for tri-merged credit reports. The move follows FHFA’s decision to allow score competition without changing tri-merge rules, and MBA’s earlier plan to explore the viability of using a single
MBA urges GSEs to end costly tri-merge credit reports Read More »
The opinions published in National Mortgage News (“Credit Scores Are Not the Issue” by Christopher Whalen; “Pulte’s hands credit bureaus an unfair edge” by Chi Chi Wu), are incorrect and misleading. Contrary to the views expressed in those pieces, competition and modernization in the mortgage credit scoring system are significantly enhanced by VantageScore being allowed to compete by the FHFA.
Credit score competition reduces mortgage market risk Read More »
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are set to accept newer credit scores that incorporate nontraditional data, a long-anticipated move that could expand access to home loans — but not without raising new questions and costs. That was the conclusion some experts like James Bennison, former executive vice president and head of alternative markets at Arch
Score modernization taking shape but ROI tough to quantify Read More »
Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently roiled the mortgage market with a post on X, writing “Fannie [Mae] and Freddie [Mac] will ALLOW lenders to use Vantage 4.0 Score with no current requirement to build new infrastructure (stays Tri Merge).” Not only is it highly unorthodox to be making huge policy decisions
Pulte’s tweet hands credit bureau an unfair edge Read More »
Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Bill Pulte, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced on July 8, 2025, that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would accept Vantagescore 4.0 credit scores for mortgage underwriting. This decision was communicated via Pulte’s social media account on X
Credit scores are not the issue Read More »
Even if conforming mortgage lenders were ready to adopt VantageScore 4.0 tomorrow, several industry players warn that infrastructure and policy alignment are still lacking — and that the road to implementation could be longer and bumpier than it seems. For example, they need to be certain the private mortgage insurers are capable of providing coverage
FHFA’s Vantagescore move changes math on mortgage insurance Read More »