Pulte directs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to approve VantageScore for all lenders
The Federal Housing director said the instruction took effect immediately, widening access to a rival of FICO’s established mortgage-scoring model.
US Federal Housing Director Bill Pulte said he had instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to approve all lenders to use VantageScore for mortgage lending, in a move aimed at increasing competition in the market.
Pulte said the instruction was effective immediately, citing an initial VantageScore rollout involving 50 lenders delivering loans. His comments were reported by Yahoo Finance and Reuters.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, created by Congress to support the US housing market, had previously said they would accept mortgages assessed using VantageScore 4.0. FICO has historically dominated mortgage credit scoring, although the available material does not indicate that VantageScore will replace it.
VantageScore, founded in 2006, is jointly owned by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Pulte separately accused the three credit-reporting agencies of overcharging Americans, allegations that were not supported by evidence in the report.
Pulte also said the administration was considering “bi-merge” and other changes to the credit-reporting system, but gave no details on timing or scope. The report did not independently verify the instruction or explain its legal and operational implementation.
