Equifax

Equifax will hold costs for scores from FICO rival Vantagescore through 2027 and offer other incentives meant to drive adoption of the alternative metric.

Democrats are pushing for a public-sector alternative to the three main credit bureaus, but Republicans argue that the government is ill-equipped to safely handle consumer data and produce accurate reports.

Credit card balances declined most sharply as consumers cut back their spending due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdown orders, the New York Fed said Thursday. But delinquencies also fell across all debt categories, thanks to government and lender relief efforts.

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 is increasing the number of companies offering merged reports from the credit bureaus through integrations with its Loan Product Advisor automated underwriting system.

A year after the major credit bureaus agreed to strip tax liens and civil judgments from consumers' credit files, a new study says it is hampering lenders' credit decisions. But proponents of the move insist it was the right call.

A bill by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., would give the CFPB authority to oversee cybersecurity efforts at the credit bureaus.

It’s no coincidence that with more than half of consumers ages 20 to 29 now holding credit cards — up from 41% in 2012 — 90-day delinquency rates are at a seven-year high, according to the New York Fed.

The watchdog’s report — requested by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. — called for civil money penalty authority and better supervision to guard consumer data.

Ahead of testimony by the CEOs of the major bureaus, House Financial Services Committee leaders proposed sweeping changes for the credit reporting industry and credit-score protections for furloughed government workers.

While student, auto and credit card balances are at or near record levels, housing debt is shrinking, credit quality is weakening a bit and lending standards, at least in some sectors, are tightening.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed barring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from using credit scores developed by VantageScore over concern about conflicts of interest with the joint venture of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Allowing alternative data such as rent and utility payments has bipartisan support, but some say it could create more problems than it solves.

Credit reporting firms with significant operations in New York will face new cybersecurity and registration requirements to stave off concerns related to a breach of Equifax's systems last year.

It’s not just weaker underwriting and higher household debt levels that are driving past-due rates to their highest levels in seven years.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a scathing report Wednesday on Equifax's handling of the data breach last year, part of an effort to gain backing for legislation to rein in the credit bureaus.

The two senators are set to introduce a bill that would force such firms to pay $100 per customer whose personal information was compromised.

Calls for less reliance on credit bureaus and Social Security numbers for verification are leading many to envision a future of identity on a distributed ledger.

The CFPB's practice of "regulation by enforcement" forces mortgage companies to develop compliance standards based on the mistakes of their peers, rather than clear guidance from the enforcement agency, said David Motley, the new chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Cybersecurity and breach notification procedures have caught the most public attention following the massive hack at Equifax, but lawmakers are also interested in the accuracy of credit reports.