U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI) members stand ready to implement VantageScore 4.0 as a credit scoring model for mortgages delivered to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the group declared in a blog post this week.
USMI is a private mortgage insurance association comprised of leading mortgage insurance companies in the U.S. Its chairman, Rohit Gupta, is the president and CEO of Enact Holdings.
The USMI announcement follows the July reveal by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte that lenders would be allowed to use VantageScore 4.0 in addition to the approved Classic FICO model for mortgage credit checks.
“USMI welcomes Director Pulte’s announcement allowing the GSEs to use VantageScore 4.0, and its members will be ready to accept loans with VantageScore 4.0 credit scores in accordance with the GSEs’ timelines and guidance,” the blog post stated. It added that “USMI members will continue to actively work with the GSEs and update technology systems to implement this lender-choice credit score policy.”
In announcing the Fannie and Freddie policy change on social media, Pulte said it was designed to “increase competition to the credit score ecosystem,” claiming it would expand credit access to “millions of forgotten Americans — people who live in rural areas, renters who pay their rent on time every month.”
USMI had previously expressed its support for the FHFA directive, saying in a statement released in July that “as long-term holders and managers of first loss risk in the housing finance system,” the association supported the FHFA’s “goal of modernizing the credit score models used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac … to promote prudent risk management while efficiently serving low down payment borrowers.”
