Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte publicly rebuked the nation’s major credit reporting agencies on Monday, warning that industry complaints regarding the opaque, costly pricing models are “falling on deaf ears” and signaling potential regulator intervention.
“I do not understand what the credit bureaus are doing with their pricing — they are inviting a lot of scrutiny that is only intensifying by the day,” Pulte wrote on the social media platform X.
The director’s comments mark an escalation in tensions between federal regulators and the credit reporting behemoths, suggesting the FHFA may move aggressively to curb rising costs for lenders and homebuyers.
The controversy centers on the pricing structures maintained by the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. On Monday, Pulte confirmed the FHFA is in receipt of a formal letter from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) outlining strong concerns regarding the bureaus’ pricing models.
Pulte expressed open frustration with the credit bureaus’ leadership, writing, “I have communicated with the credit bureau CEOs on related issues but it is falling on deaf ears.” He then added, “We will protect the American consumer.”
The MBA’s grievances stem from what lenders describe as monopolistic pricing power. Currently, the government-sponsored enterprises overseen by the FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, require a “tri-merge” credit report — containing data from all three bureaus — for most mortgage originations.
The MBA has argued that the tri-merge mandate should be scrapped, writing in the Dec. 12 letter addressed to Pulte that the FHFA should “instead allow lenders the option to rely on a single credit report if the initial report has a credit score of 700 or above.”
As Scotsman Guide reported in December, the MBA estimates that the three major credit bureaus’ prices will increase 40% to 50% in 2026 unless there is a policy change. The MBA maintains that the current pricing trajectory is unsustainable, particularly in a housing market where affordability is already stretched by high interest rates and inventory shortages.
By publicly acknowledging the MBA’s concerns and calling out the bureaus’ refusal to negotiate, Pulte appears to have drawn a public line in the sand.
In an email to Scotsman Guide, a spokesperson for the FHFA wrote that “after 4 years of Biden’s out of control housing cost increases, we are committed to bringing much-needed competition to the credit-scoring marketplace.”
