By Joe Light
Two of the U.S. government's main mortgage agencies will soon let borrowers use alternative credit scores to apply for loans -- a move that could open the housing market to more Americans, but challenges the effective control that Fair Isaac Corp. has held on the mortgage market until now.
Fair Isaac shares were down 5.7% to $978 after the announcement.
The leaders of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development made the announcement Wednesday afternoon.
FHFA Director Bill Pulte said mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "effective immediately" would allow mortgage lenders to use FICO competitor VantageScore when making lending decisions. HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the Federal Housing Administration, which is popular among first-time home buyers and falls under his purview, would soon also begin accepting alternative scores.
Fair Isaac did not immediately respond to Barron's request for comment. A VantageScore spokesperson did not immediately have comment.
For years, credit bureaus -- and some lawmakers -- have pushed Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other mortgage agencies to use alternative credit scores when making lending decisions. Fannie and Freddie until now have used only FICO, relying mostly on one of the models that Fair Isaac released years ago, rather than its newer alternatives.
VantageScore, the main FICO competitor, was created as a joint venture between credit bureaus Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.
Unlike the older FICO model, VantageScore and some newer models use some alternative data, such as rent payments, to score borrowers' risk level. That lets the models put a score on borrowers with little traditional credit history that the old models miss. Some consumer advocates have said allowing the new scores could open the mortgage market to borrowers who otherwise wouldn't qualify.
Write to Joe Light at joe.light@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2026 13:30 ET (17:30 GMT)
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