The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) is urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to accelerate the adoption of VantageScore in mortgage underwriting, citing what it describes as a dramatic rise in FICO-related costs.
In a letter sent Monday to FHFA Director Bill Pulte, the trade group called for faster implementation of VantageScore within the conventional loan framework, arguing that increased competition in the credit scoring market is urgently needed.
“CHLA is writing to commend and encourage your continued fast-tracking of adding the VantageScore product into conventional mortgage underwriting,” the letter states.
Pricing Pressure Drives Urgency
CHLA pointed to findings from its recent Credit Score Market Update, which it said shows a 1,567% increase in FICO credit score-related costs over the past three and a half years.
The group has been tracking credit score pricing trends since publishing a white paper on the issue in January 2024, and said the latest data underscores the need for structural change in how credit scores are used in mortgage lending.
The push comes as the industry is already grappling with rising credit report expenses and increased scrutiny over pricing practices.
Competition Already Heating Up
Recent developments suggest the shift toward competition is already underway.
Earlier this year, Equifax and TransUnion reduced pricing for VantageScore 4.0 credit scores to roughly $1 per pull, a move widely viewed as an attempt to challenge FICO’s long-standing dominance in the mortgage space.
At the same time, industry analysis has suggested that expanding credit score competition could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual savings for lenders and borrowers.
Those developments have added momentum to FHFA’s broader effort to modernize credit scoring requirements, which includes allowing both VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T for loans sold to the GSEs.
CHLA Pushes For Deeper Structural Changes
Beyond accelerating VantageScore adoption, CHLA is calling for more sweeping changes to the mortgage credit scoring ecosystem.
Among its recommendations:
- Direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to establish their own subsidiaries to evaluate borrower creditworthiness using their internal data and analytics
- Remove references to “Fair Isaac” from GSE guidelines and replace them with generic credit score requirements
- Expand competition to reduce reliance on a single provider
The proposal to have the GSEs develop their own credit assessment capabilities would represent a significant shift in how borrower risk is evaluated in the conventional market.
A Broader Shift In Mortgage Credit
The letter reflects growing pressure across the mortgage industry to rethink how credit scores are priced, delivered, and used in underwriting.
While FHFA has already taken steps toward a multi-score model environment, CHLA’s latest push signals that some lenders believe the transition is not happening quickly enough — particularly as cost pressures continue to mount.
If adopted, the changes could reshape the competitive landscape for credit scoring and potentially alter how lenders evaluate borrowers, price loans, and manage underwriting risk.
