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Mortgage lenders continue prepping to use new more inclusive credit scoring models that regulators want them to adopt next year as part of an initiative to make the process of qualifying borrowers more fair and competitive.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this month released historical data aimed at smoothing the adoption of the new VantageScore 4.0 model. The mortgage giants say they’re working with their federal regulator to make similar historical data for the FICO Score 10 T available “as soon as possible.”
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The plan put in motion by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) two years ago calls for lenders to start using the new Vantage 4.0 and FICO Score 10 T scoring models during the fourth quarter of 2025 for any loans they deliver to Fannie and Freddie.
“The release of historical credit scores on tens of millions of loans provides an extensive resource to help market participants prepare for this transition,” FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said in announcing the release of VantageScore 4.0 data. “The use of these modernized credit score models will enhance risk management while furthering sustainable access to credit for consumers.”
In addition to requiring lenders to phase out the Classic FICO scoring model that’s been in use for nearly three decades, the FHFA will also allow lenders to deliver loans with credit reports from any two of the nationwide consumer reporting agencies, instead of obtaining “tri-merge” reports from all three. The move to give lenders the option of ordering “bi-merge” credit reports is aimed at simplifying the process and saving borrowers money.
In launching an inquiry into mortgage “junk fees” in May, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said it was concerned about the rising cost of credit reports and scores.
“To lower costs for credit reports in mortgage lending, limiting chokepoints from specific data monopolists is critical,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra told industry leaders attending the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention this spring.
Credit reports from the big three consumer reporting agencies are used to generate credit scores for individual borrowers. Those scores have traditionally been generated using algorithms developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO).
Lenders typically pay the credit reporting agencies for each individual credit score, and agencies pay a licensing fee to FICO. VantageScore is a joint venture of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — formed to develop credit scoring models to compete with FICO.
“Single credit reports now typically cost between $18 to $30 for an individual report, $24 to $40 for a joint report, and $40 to $60 for a tri-merge report provided by resellers,” Chopra said. “When mortgage credit reports and scores are requested for a mortgage underwriting decision, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion typically set the wholesale price that resellers pay, which is then passed on to users. This is often implemented through an additional fee as compensation for their services in the underwriting process.”
Chopra also noted that when FICO changed its pricing structure in November, moving away from volume-based pricing, smaller lenders saw their costs go up by more than 400 percent.
“For 2024, FICO now charges consumer reporting companies a licensing fee of $3.50 per FICO score used, or approximately $10 for all three scores if a lender obtains a tri-merge report and score bundle,” Chopra said. “That fee doubles if two borrowers apply together.”
On the company’s second-quarter earnings call, FICO CEO Will Lansing said the company is “catching up from 30 years of frozen pricing” and price increases are intended “to close the gap on the value that we provide relative to what we charge.”
FICO has been increasingly willing to share its pricing in the interests of transparency, he said.
“It’s important for everyone to understand that we’re talking about single-digit dollars in a bundle that costs the consumer about $6,000,” Lansing said of total mortgage closing costs.
More inclusive, accurate scoring
In addition to introducing competition, backers tout the new VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10 T credit scoring models as more inclusive and accurate.
VantageScore claims that when lenders are required to begin using VantageScore 4.0 next year when qualifying borrowers for loans that will be sold to Fannie and Freddie, that the eligible pool of mortgage applicants will increase by over 2.5 million borrowers, representing $1 trillion in potential new mortgages.
“This is an important and necessary step to modernize the outdated and exclusionary credit scores that lenders in the conventional-conforming mortgage market have been forced to use,” VantageScore executive Anthony Hutchinson said in a statement.
Fair Isaac claims that lenders using the FICO Score 10T can boost originations by up to 5 percent without taking on additional credit risk, or continue the same volume of lending while reducing default risk and losses by up to 17 percent.
A growing number of lenders already use the FICO Score 10 T to qualify borrowers for non-conforming mortgages that aren’t eligible for purchase by Fannie and Freddie.
In April, Fair Isaac said it had signed clients with $100 billion in annualized mortgage originations to use the FICO Score 10 T. Those lenders include CMG Mortgage, CrossCountry Mortgage, Movement Mortgage, Primis Mortgage and Liberty Home Mortgage. FICO is also signing lenders through a strategic relationship with Lenders One Cooperative, a national alliance of independent mortgage bankers, banks and credit unions.
On Monday, FICO announced a partnership with the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America (NAMMBA) in which it will provide its “Score A Better Future” credit education curriculum to mortgage professionals pursuing NAMMBA’s Certified Community Lender (CCL) certification.
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