Credit

Bills in Congress, capital rules, GSE reform and credit modernization hold a mix of benefits and risks for Independent Community Banker of America members, Senior Vice President Ron Haynie says.

Which parties are responsible for the surge persisted as a source of debate as community lenders released updated survey data reflecting their average expense.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley repeated his long-standing criticism of Fair Isaac Corp. in a letter noting the detrimental impact of its prices on home buyers.

TransUnion cuts VantageScore 4.0 to $0.99, aiming to boost lender choice and affordability as FHFA pushes mortgage score modernization and competition.

Total consumer debt in the United States hit $18.2 trillion by the end of last year, with $12.8 trillion attributed to first mortgages, according to Equifax.

Competitive credit could offer nine-figure cost benefits, according to a study VantageScore cited. FICO, which just added a new borrower tool, disagrees.

TransUnion projected moderate growth in 2026 for mortgages, projecting purchases and refinances to increase 4% and 4.2% year over year.

Mortgage tech's speed is undermined by flawed credit data, causing costly fallout. Lenders must treat data accuracy as a pipeline risk, not a peripheral issue, according to the founder of Consumer Attorneys

Bowing to industry pressure, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is warning consumers with notices on its complaint portal not to file disputes about inaccurate information on credit reports, among other changes.

The documents that the Housing Policy Council obtained from FHFA show past debate over one newer score and concerns about a single report with redacted context.

The National Consumer Law Center is claiming the Credit Data Industry Association wants to suppress Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint filings.

IMBs outperform banks, face outsized scrutiny, and confront rising affordability challenges, according to the President of the Community Home Lenders of America.

Tri-merge mandates prop up a credit bureau/FICO oligopoly, raising mortgage costs with little benefit despite risk concerns, the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors argues.

A Community Home Lenders of America adds arguments against use of single bureau while another paper takes the position that the idea merits further study.

A housing official renewed his call for credit bureaus to address lenders' concerns. Low pull-through magnifies a cost that's small relative to others.

Last year highlighted the risks for banks in lending to nondepository financial institutions. A new approach by Trump-era regulators could change the playing field.

The trade group's letter to FHFA Director Bill Pulte pointed out that lenders were facing credit report price hikes for four straight years.

The rent reporting platform says it's helped tenants raise their credit scores by double digits and unlocked $30 billion more in mortgage lending.

Overall performance is stable but inflation and unemployment have hurt newer borrowers in some cases, according to Transunion's 2026 consumer credit forecast.

What developments around rent reporting and new credit standards portend for mortgage companies. Part 2 of a series on government-sponsored enterprise changes.