Credit scores

A federal housing official pledged to take near-term action on credit score costs as two legislators have urged him not to allow fewer credit reports.

Fair Isaac Corp.'s shares saw their worst day since March 2020 on Wednesday, falling alongside credit bureau stocks after the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency questioned credit report pricing. 

Equifax Inc.'s first-quarter profit beat estimates, although the credit-reporting agency declined to raise its guidance, citing the tariff-induced uncertainty in the economy and falling consumer confidence.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley sent a letter urging the Justice Department to investigate FICO's price increases, which he said have "been borne by borrowers, especially lower-income borrowers."

The private market is increasingly testing credit metrics aimed at growing originations without adding risk as a larger effort to this end has slowed.

The removal of the fourth-quarter implementation date also impacts the planned addition of a bi-merge report option.

Without admitting wrongdoing, Equifax agreed to pay $725,000 because of a three-week error which lowered credit scores for 77,000 New Yorkers.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said the FICO credit-scoring model has drawbacks in price, predictiveness and market competition, and stakeholders should develop a more open-sourced model that uses artificial intelligence.

While the Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a credit score usage mandate, it has shown to be open to the use of advanced models.

Democrats Ritchie Torres and Gregory Meeks called on the New York Home Loan bank to follow the lead of its peers and use alternative credit scoring models for collateral to improve consumers' access to homeownership.