FICO & Operation HOPE Work to Bridge Gaps in Financial Literacy

FICO and global financial dignity and economic empowerment nonprofit, Operation HOPE, partnered a little over a year ago to help empower consumers through financial literacy. The program enables Operation Hope coaches at more than 100 HOPE Inside locations across the U.S. to share FICO® Scores with clients for free and to provide key insights to enable them to better understand their financial health.

We recently had the opportunity to speak at the annual 2018 HOPE Global Forum.  At the event, we conducted a survey of attendees during our panel, ‘Unleashing Credit: Credit for the Poor Reimagined,’ to examine the barriers to credit.  Among the results from the survey, FICO found that the top drivers of credit barriers include debt-to-income ratio (93%), restrictive lending standards (84%), and gaps in financial literacy (80%).

The survey results reinforce the ongoing need to help support personalized financial education and coaching.  We look forward to continuing our partnership with Operation HOPE to support this important initiative. You can read more about the work FICO is doing with Operation HOPE on their recent blog here: Expanding Access to Credit.