United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) is extending VantageScore eligibility to select non-agency loans, bringing its dual-credit-score approach to jumbo, bank statement, investor, and home equity products where minimum credit-score requirements remain in place.
The move extends UWM's push into specialty lending while giving brokers another way to qualify borrowers who may fall short of a program's credit-score threshold under Classic FICO.
The newly eligible products include Prime Jumbo interest-only and adjustable-rate mortgages, Jumbo Pink 30- and 40-year loans, Bank Statement Pink, Investor Flex, Doctor Loan, and several HELOC and closed-end home equity programs. UWM also lists Conventional Cash-Out 90 among the eligible offerings.
The move extends a series of credit-scoring changes at UWM beyond the agency market, where much of the industry's recent VantageScore adoption has been concentrated.
Credit-Score Flexibility Reaches Non-Agency Loans
In October, UWM eliminated its minimum credit-score overlays on agency loans and automated the selection between Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0. The lender retained minimum score requirements for its jumbo, bank statement, and Investor Flex products.
For a borrower seeking a non-agency loan, a higher qualifying score could mean the difference between meeting a lender's minimum requirement and falling short. It could also affect available pricing.
UWM's automated system obtains both FICO and VantageScore results and selects the highest qualifying score. The lender previously told NMP that the functionality applies across its products.
The company also removed a 20-point adjustment previously applied to VantageScore for new locks beginning Sept. 30, allowing brokers to evaluate the alternative model without that reduction.
Non-Agency Adoption Takes A Different Path
The expansion also highlights a growing distinction between agency and non-agency credit-score adoption.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have opened eligible loan deliveries to VantageScore 4.0, but non-agency lenders and investors maintain their own underwriting and credit-score requirements.
Those requirements are not uniform.
Pennymac, for example, announced Oct. 9 that it would accept VantageScore 4.0 for conforming bulk loan deliveries while continuing to require Classic FICO for its correspondent non-agency products, including Non-QM, closed-end second mortgages, and AUS jumbo loans.
UWM's expansion gives brokers access to VantageScore on select products in those same broader lending categories.
The shift also brings VantageScore further into loan programs that rely on alternative income documentation, investment-property cash flow, or other underwriting criteria outside standard agency guidelines.
Another Tool For Borrowers Near The Threshold
UWM previously reported that roughly one in four borrowers in its pipeline received a more favorable result when evaluated using VantageScore 4.0 rather than Classic FICO.
For LOs, the opportunity is most relevant when a borrower's credit score is close to a program's eligibility or pricing threshold. A higher qualifying VantageScore could make an otherwise difficult non-agency scenario workable without changing the borrower's income documentation, loan structure, or property.
The broader development is that credit-score competition is moving beyond loans purchased or guaranteed by government-backed entities. With UWM extending eligibility across additional non-agency programs, the choice between FICO and VantageScore is becoming relevant to a wider range of loan scenarios.
