Credit scores

Fewer mortgage borrowers are falling behind on their payments, and consumers' broader borrowing habits indicate an increased willingness to turn to nontraditional sources like fintechs for their lending needs, according to TransUnion.

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.

Subprime originations are climbing in multiple consumer loan categories, including mortgages, but the increase is much smaller in the home loan sector than it is in other markets, according to TransUnion.

In a move designed to improve access to financial products for consumers with low credit scores and short credit histories, Experian, FICO and Finicity are developing an "UltraFICO" score that lets individuals share checking and savings account data and help lenders better assess risk.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is suspending its ongoing review of new credit scoring models and will instead move forward with creating a regulatory framework for providers of alternative credit scores to apply and be evaluated for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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

The annual progress report on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorships reiterated that a new credit score model will likely not be operational until after the implementation of a new Single Security Initiative.

A late addition to regulatory relief legislation would direct the Federal Housing Finance Agency to review credit-scoring alternatives, but some say the provision is redundant.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Friday it will give commenters more time to weigh in on a potential update to the credit scoring requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The weighted average FICO credit scores of securitized reperforming loans are deteriorating a little, according to a DBRS study of the bonds.