According to HousingWire, Bill Pulte and the Federal Housing Finance Agency are taking a serious look at ways to lower the costs borrowers pay for credit reports. The agency is exploring two main approaches: using a bi-merge credit report instead of the current three-bureau system, or going even further and pulling just one credit report. Pulte has been vocal about his frustration with what he sees as excessive pricing from the three major credit bureaus, characterizing their conduct as cartel-like behavior that works against homebuyers.
The discussion around credit report requirements isn't entirely new. A bi-merge option came up during the previous administration, though implementation challenges stalled that effort. Currently, there's debate in the industry about whether a single credit report pull would actually work better for consumers. The Mortgage Bankers Association has been pushing for a single-file approach, arguing it would reduce costs and still allow for accurate credit assessment. Critics worry that moving away from the tri-merge system could allow borrowers or lenders to game the system by hiding errors that might show up across multiple bureaus.
Pulte has also made moves to expand the use of VantageScore as an alternative to FICO scores. He's instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to immediately approve all lenders to use VantageScore 4.0. His frustration with FICO centers on what he describes as massive price increases over the past few years. According to HousingWire's reporting, Pulte claims FICO has raised its per-score pricing by an enormous margin since 2020, which he views as evidence of an unhealthy monopoly.
The expansion of VantageScore hasn't taken off dramatically across the industry yet. An analysis by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods showed that while usage spiked in July, most lenders are still pulling FICO scores for nearly all their loans. The VantageScore volume that has materialized comes heavily from just a couple of large players in the mortgage business. Still, consumer advocates like the Community Home Lenders of America see Pulte's push for broader VantageScore acceptance as a meaningful step toward breaking FICO's market dominance.
What I am seeing locally here in the Bay Area is that lenders are watching these developments carefully. If the FHFA moves forward with either a bi-merge or single credit report requirement, it could genuinely lower costs at closing for our buyers. Right now, credit report fees aren't the biggest line item, but every reduction matters when we're helping East Bay and Fremont families navigate affordability challenges. The expansion of alternative scoring models like VantageScore also opens doors for borrowers who might have had difficulty getting approved under traditional FICO calculations, which could help broaden access to homeownership in our market.
