Study Validates FICO Expansion Score

Fair Isaac has announced cross-industry confirmation that its FICO Expansion Score reliably and consistently predicts credit risk levels using nontraditional credit data.Results from a study -- including bankcard and auto lenders as well as mortgage lenders and investors such as Freddie Mac, HSBC, First Franklin, and Option One -- show that U.S. lenders can "confidently assess the credit risk of nearly 50 million Americans who have little or no credit information on file at the major credit reporting agencies," according to a Fair Isaac spokesman. The FICO Expansion score taps nontraditional sources of consumer data in order to assess the credit risk of adults, including recent immigrants and young adults, who have minimal or no credit history on file. Thirty-five percent of credit-underserved consumers in the study had FICO Expansion scores above 640, satisfying typical lenders' approval requirements.