VantageScore, a leading national credit scoring company, announced today that the U.S. Veterans Administration accepts mortgage loans using the VantageScore 4.0 credit scoring model. VantageScore 4.0 scores approximately 2.5 million more veterans and service members than conventional models, broadening homeownership opportunities for U.S. military personnel and their families.

Military service members often face challenges accessing credit during or after deployments. This happens because many traditional credit models exclude consumers who have been credit dormant for six months. This makes it difficult for both recently discharged and active-duty service members to obtain a credit score. VantageScore 4.0 eliminates the requirement for recent credit activity in the past six months. It also integrates rental payments and other consumer credit data into its scoring model, making it more inclusive than conventional models.

Outdated credit scoring models unfairly exclude many veterans from fair pricing in the financial marketplace,” said Tony Hutchinson, SVP of Industry and Government Relations at VantageScore. “VantageScore enables more veterans and active-duty military to access the financial products they need, including home loans.

VA direct and VA-backed Veterans home loans offer favorable terms for buying, building, improving, or refinancing homes, contingent upon a credit score. Historically, outdated credit models excluded millions of eligible borrowers. VantageScore 4.0 scores approximately 33 million more individuals who may now gain access to credit scores, fostering homeownership potential.

With the economy poised for improvement and interest rates expected to decline in the coming months and into 2025, transitioning to the VantageScore 4.0 credit scoring model now will position lenders to take advantage of opportunities in the mortgage marketplace instead of missing out on them. By implementing VantageScore 4.0, lenders could originate as many as 2.7 million new mortgages or up to $1 trillion in new high-quality mortgage loans. This opportunity, along with VantageScore 4.0’s proven predictive power, has drawn interest and support from many prominent lending institutions.

BMO Bank is a purpose-driven organization that is focused on leveling the playing field in underserved communities and creating the conditions for inclusive economic growth,” said Mark Shulman, Head of Consumer Lending, BMO Bank. “VantageScore has provided us with the opportunity to provide fair and accurate credit scores to a broader population, and we look forward to leveraging VantageScore for mortgage lending in the future to help further close the housing gap.

For more information on VantageScore 4.0 implementation, please visit VantageScore’s Mortgage landing page.