In a pivotal decision last week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director, Bill Pulte, announced that all lenders are approved to use VantageScore 4.0 credit scores effective immediately, marking the end of the monopoly existing in the mortgage credit scoring industry.
A recent piece in Forbes highlighted how, for three decades, a mortgage could not be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac without a single legacy credit score. That changed last week with Director Pulte’s announcement, with the mortgage market following accordingly.
VantageScore is different than legacy models, factoring in alternative data like rent, telecom and utility payments that assess trended credit and balance data over time. Because VantageScore 4.0 considers additional data that legacy models don’t, it can score up to 33 million more adults, allowing greater access to a chance at homeownership.
With the new expanded access of VantageScore 4.0, lenders are now free to choose what score to pull to get borrowers the best rate. For borrowers who are credit-invisible or credit-thin under competitor models, a door that has been closed for decades is now open.
VantageScore 4.0 gives lenders a more modern and predictive view of consumer credit risk, helping them responsibly identify qualified borrowers who may be overlooked by traditional credit scoring models. Don’t get left behind — explore piloting VantageScore 4.0 at https://vantagescore.com/insights/vantagescore-4.
Read the full article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zennonkapron/2026/09/11/fico-lost-17-in-a-day-because-mortgages-finally-have-a-second-credit-score/
