Housing Finance Chief Opens VantageScore System to All Fannie, Freddie Lenders

The federal official who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac told the two mortgage companies on Thursday to allow every approved lender to use VantageScore, ending a limited first phase that he said already had 50 lenders delivering loans.

Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted the directive on X, tying the move to what he described as a sharp rise in what FICO charges for a credit score.

“Since 2020, FICO has increased the price per a person’s credit score by 1,800%. FICO has enjoyed a monopoly. No more,” Pulte wrote. “Fannie and Freddie’s initial rollout of VantageScore has been incredibly successful, with 50 lenders delivering loans. So, effective immediately, I’m instructing Fannie and Freddie to approve all lenders to use VantageScore.”

The two companies that buy and guarantee a large share of U.S. home loans have been under federal conservatorship since 2008. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for years depended upon Classic FICO scores when they purchased mortgages from lenders.

That began to shift this year. In April, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated selling guides and started taking loans scored with VantageScore 4.0 from lenders already approved to use the model. The advanced FICO Score 10T was slated for a later date.

Pulte described the April change as a break from a single scoring system.

“We are modernizing credit scoring with more predictive models, helping millions of Americans who responsibly pay rent qualify for mortgages,” he said in a statement at the time. “That’s fair, it’s common sense, and it’s finally delivering the benefits of competition to homebuyers nationwide.”

VantageScore 4.0 is produced by a company created by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The model can score an additional 33 million adults and, according to the company, cover about 94 percent of American adults. It uses trending data and machine learning and can count on-time rent payments.

FICO Score 10T looks at roughly 24 months of credit behavior instead of a single snapshot. FICO scores remain the product most lenders still use. 

The April change followed the Credit Score Competition Act of 2018, signed during President Donald Trump’s first term. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner has said adding the newer models advances that law. HUD also said FHA-insured mortgages may use VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T.

FICO in October 2025 launched a direct-to-lender licensing program. The company said lenders would pay a $4.95 royalty per score instead of a $10 fee that included a markup from credit bureaus, plus a $33 fee at closing on loans that use FICO scoring.

The Consumer Data Industry Association, a Washington-based group that represents consumer reporting agencies, criticized that pricing. It said the scheme “validates the need for a competitive mortgage scoring market” and pointed to VantageScore 4.0 and trended data.

Thursday’s order lands while mortgage rates have climbed again. Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.71 percent for the week ending Sept. 3, the highest in more than a year. The last higher reading was the week ending July 30, 2025. Demand for homes has stayed “relatively stable,” according to Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater on Sept. 3.

Pulte, who was sworn in March 14, 2025, has pushed other housing ideas this term aligned with Trump administration policy, including portable mortgages and a possible 50-year mortgage. In January, he said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would carry out a presidential order to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds.

Reuters contributed to this report.