Credit Information

New Credit Scoring Model Could Help Millions


Mark and Beth, a young married couple in their twenties, established a goal to buy a home within the first three years of their marriage before starting a family. They budgeted and used their money wisely in order to save for the down payment. Whenever they purchased something they always paid cash - no credit cards for them. Why waste money by paying interest to a credit card company?

Within two years they'd reached their savings goal and began house hunting. They found their "American Dream" home in a new community with lots of amenities that seemed perfect for their soon-to-be family. They were elated that their years of saving were about to finally payoff.

But, they ran into a big problem when they went shopping for a mortgage. Even though they had enough income to make mortgage payments and enough money saved to afford the down payment, they had no credit history. Lenders had no FICO score to evaluate their creditworthiness in order to offer them a loan. Fair Isaacs Co. established a credit scoring system in the 1980's and since then FICO scores have been used to determine if someone will qualify for a mortgage and the interest rate they would pay.

Over 50 million U.S. adults fall into the same category - they have either too little credit history or no credit history at all. But now thanks to a new FICO formula, called FICO Expansion Score, lenders will now have opportunities to extend credit to consumers based on non-traditional credit data that are excluded from credit bureau reports.

FICO Expansion will consider a wide range of financial transactions including payment activities such as rental payments, deposit accounts, payday loans, book or CD club payment plans, and retail lay-away plans.

Who stands to benefit from this new scoring model? Anyone who makes little use of banks, credit cards, or checking accounts. The "credit underserved" claims Fair Isaac Co, which includes young adults, low-income consumers, widows or divorcees, and immigrants.

And while those in the credit card and mortgage industry see this new scoring model as a potential benefit, those in the credit counseling sector foresee potential problems.

Fair Isaac CEO Tom Grudnowski is excited about his company's new credit-scoring resource. "This extension of the FICO score gives lenders and other businesses another powerful tool ..., while expanding service options for consumers who have missed out on opportunities simply because they lack a traditional credit history."

The opposition, namely debt and credit counselors, see both the good and the bad. Some consumers will benefit by qualifying for less costly credit arrangements. However, others could fall prey to becoming overextended unless they also receive some basic credit and debt education.

Tom Hicks, a credit counselor in Chicago, worries that "with the average American household owing $8,000.00 in credit debt, this could open the door to others finding themselves unable to handle credit properly. Ultimately the burden lies with the consumer," he says.

Fair Isaac Co. estimates that at least half of those without traditional credit profiles will benefit from this new scoring method.

About The Author

© 2004, http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com

Author: James H. Dimmitt

Discover more money-saving tips and articles in our free weekly ezine, "To Your Credit" by visiting http://tinyurl.com/bgo9.

Subscribe today and receive FREE bonuses!


MORE RESOURCES:

BBC News

Tax credit set to lift UBS into black
guardian.co.uk, UK - 5 hours ago
A big tax credit is set to save embattled Swiss bank UBS from posting another hefty loss in the second quarter. The news surprised analysts and lifted the ...
Helped by tax credit, UBS expects to beat analyst forecasts for ... International Herald Tribune
Tax credit to save UBS from another hefty loss Reuters UK
UBS avoid losses through £1.5bn tax credit Times Online
BBC News - Reuters India
all 353 news articles


Hürriyet

CGFS calls for credit ratings change
Financial News, UK - 8 hours ago
According to the report: "credit rating information should support, not replace, investor due diligence; CRAs should enhance the information underlying ...
Builder Toll Bros. has its credit rating slashed The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
Louisiana's credit rating upgraded WDAM-TV
SEC’s effort to ease reliance on credit raters is limited by host ... FinancialWeek (subscription)
NTV - Wall Street Journal Blogs
all 224 news articles


A Chance For Free Credit Scores
Hartford Courant, United States - 10 hours ago
Cindy Lupica recently signed up every member of her family to participate in a class-action settlement with TransUnion Corp., one of the three major credit ...
Family Finances: 'Authorized user' one way to build credit history Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Credit scores hit hard when banks lower card borrowing limits Daily Record (subscription)
all 3 news articles


RTE.ie

Credit crisis: mortgage conditions set to get worse, says Bank of ...
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Jul 3, 2008
The findings emerge from the Bank's Credit Conditions report, which is a comprehensive survey of banks and building societies' outlook for the next few ...
Bank survey finds credit squeeze set to intensify Reuters UK
UK credit conditions set to tighten further-BoE survey guardian.co.uk
British credit conditions to get tighter, BOE survey finds MarketWatch
Mirror.co.uk - The Herald
all 174 news articles


BBC News

Credit crunch and sub-prime join the Oxford English Dictionary
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - 9 hours ago
Credit crunch, non-doms, and sub-prime are all new entries in the revised eleventh edition of the Concise OED which contains 240000 words, ...
Credit crunch enters the national lexicon guardian.co.uk
Credit crunch enters the lexicon BBC News
CRUMBS! CUSTARD CREAMS MAKE IT INTO THE DICTIONARY UK Express
Sify - Telegraph.co.uk
all 25 news articles


Credit Analyst - Ballard
Seattle Times, United States - 16 hours ago
We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Credit Analyst to handle credit, collections, and Accounts Receivable for an assigned B2B customer group ...


New York Daily News

Pack the plastic; Alaska Airlines goes cashless
Seattle Times, United States - 10 hours ago
5, the Seattle-based airline will no longer accept cash — only credit and debit cards — for in-flight purchases. Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards ...
Charge it: Airlines no longer taking cash onboard BusinessWeek
Alaska Airlines cabin to go cashless Cheapflights.com
Alaska Airlines goes cashless, charges ahead Los Angeles Times
Trading Markets (press release) - KTUU
all 42 news articles


COAG credit deal 'a coup for consumers'
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 14 hours ago
The agreement to make the federal government solely responsible for the regulation of all credit providers is a coup for consumers and business, ...
Deal on consumer credit The Age
Loans industry welcomes takeover plan NEWS.com.au
Consumer credit goes Federal Money Management
Broker News Australia - The Sheet
all 34 news articles


PersonalFinance: Keeping watch on your credit file
Reuters - 33 minutes ago
By Linda Stern WASHINGTON(Reuters) - Credit scores and reports are important, and not just for home buyers. Folks standing in line July 11 to buy a new ...


Stocks dismal as worries escalate about oil, credit
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 12 hours ago
... with the major indexes again posting losses as worries about rising oil prices and the fallout from the credit crisis dogged the market. ...

Credit - Google News

Good Credit Loans | home | site map | School Bus Clothing | Florida Pool Heating
© 2006