Credit

The largest bank in Puerto Rico said hundreds of millions of dollars of its mortgages and consumer loans are tied to the parts of the island hit by the recent quake or still recovering from two hurricanes.

FICO plans to release a new suite of scores that could reduce defaults on newly originated mortgages by 17%, but home lenders may not use it unless the government-sponsored enterprises do.

Under terms of the settlement approved by a Georgia court Monday, Equifax may also have to pay an additional $125 million if the initial amount doesn't cover all the claims.

Susan Riel succeeded Ronald Paul as CEO of the Maryland bank shortly before questions surfaced about credit quality and lending practices.

The percentage of recent mortgage borrowers with subprime credit scores still resides in the single digits, but nearly doubled what is was in 2013, according to TransUnion.

Such credits, which reflect borrowers with financial challenges, increased significantly during the third quarter.

Shares in the lender fell after it reported lower third-quarter profits, said nonperforming assets rose and cautioned that it had lost multifamily loan deals to competitors offering easier terms.

VantageScore totaled 12.3 billion scores across consumer credit loan categories over a 12-month period between 2018 and 2019 with minimal mortgage volume, leaving potential for a major ramp up.

Regulators have long warned the credit bureaus about deceptive marketing that causes consumers to sign up unwittingly for paid monitoring services. But the practice has persisted, according to complaint data.

Freddie Mac's test of artificial intelligence to make lending decisions could be a significant turning point in broadening the use of the technology.