Expanding credit access responsibly
Independence
FICO is the independent standard in credit scoring, trusted by lenders and securitization investors for decades.
Sound Practices
Weakening scoring standards harms consumers and the lending system. FICO grows credit access while upholding the highest standards in the industry.
Product Innovation
FICO continues to invest in new products, partnerships and advanced scoring analytics that empower lenders to safely and responsibly approve more loans.
Alternative Data
Drawing on reliable new sources of data, FICO scores more creditworthy people unable to obtain traditional credit using credit bureau data alone.
FICO SCORE Advocates
See what industry experts have to say
“Daily, investors make billion-dollar decisions based on the FICO Score, a model that has been validated as predictive of risk over decades. In the mortgage market, having sufficient liquidity to function is not a given: a reliable universal metric for credit risk offers the homogeneity and consistency that investors crave. A careless change could lead to financial calamity, not just for the cogs in the mortgage finance wheel, but for the very same people that those arguing for rapid change purport to help.” - Rick Lazio, R-N.Y., U.S. House of Representatives 1993 - 2001
“As a veteran of the mortgage industry (33 years on the retail origination side) I believe a change from the existing FICO Scoring model to the Bureaus Vantage Scoring model would not be good for the industry. I believe that keeping the independence that comes from separating the big three bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) from the mortgage industry is important. A better fix would be to allow the updated versions of the FICO Scoring models to be used by FNMA, FHLMC and GNMA.” - Robert Schwab
"Since the two scores are based on the same underlying data, use of the VantageScore is unlikely to lead to a significant—or sustainable—expansion of the mortgage market. Indeed, the major difference between the two scores is that the VantageScore drops its minimum scoring requirements regarding the length and recency of the consumer’s credit history, which appears to result in a significant reduction in the score’s predictive power." - Ann Schnare
FICO Responds to the Federal Housing Finance Agency Credit Score RFI
FICO has always supported a competitive review of credit scoring models by the FHFA. We applaud the FHFA for finalizing a rule that puts in place comprehensive, transparent requirements for the validation and approval of credit score models by the GSEs, and we look forward to continuing to work with them throughout this process. In implementing the rule, we are confident that the FHFA and GSEs will endeavor to create a level playing field to ensure that no owner of consumer data necessary to underwrite a mortgage will impair market access of any independent credit score provider.
The FICO® Score has been the industry standard for credit scores for decades because it is trusted by lenders to be independent, predictive and reliable, and we are confident that it will remain the superior choice by any measure established by the GSEs.
The Trusted Standard for Decades
“FICO® Scores Are Used In Over 90% of U.S. Lending Decisions”
Mercator, Analyst Report 2018
Articles & Resources
FICO® Score: Credit Scoring Innovation Timeline 1989 to Today
Walk through time with FICO as we transform the credit risk industry. The FICO® Score is the independent standard in credit risk scoring, trusted by lenders and investors for decades. FICO’s enduring focus on innovation has facilitated access to credit for consumers across 25 countries and counting.
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