A major debate underway in our nation’s capitol hinges on how federal regulators choose to define a “Qualified Residential Mortgage” (QRM). Opposing sides agree on one thing: this decision could fundamentally change America’s real estate industry. After researching a key component of the debate, FICO has found a significant flaw... Continue reading

In writing my last post about legislative and consumer pressures to modify credit scores, often to make them “fair,” I began thinking about what does make a score fair. Legislators and regulators look for fair lending. The U.S. Fair Credit Reporting Act governs much of what FICO does when we... Continue reading

Recently I made a case against a new IRS policy to withdraw tax liens from the credit bureau files of delinquent taxpayers who eventually pay their overdue bills. This subjective tinkering with empirically developed credit scoring only ends up hurting consumers, particularly those who legislators are trying to protect. It... Continue reading

A new report by PERC demonstrates the accuracy of U.S. credit reports. In the study, less than 1 percent of all credit reports examined by participants prompted a dispute that resulted in a credit score adjustment and an increase of a credit score of 25 points or greater. The fact... Continue reading

On the heels of the Federal Reserve/FTC’s risk-based pricing rule that went into effect January 1, lenders must immediately turn their attention to the next set of regulations governing credit score disclosures. As part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, Senator Mark Udall added a provision that requires credit scores... Continue reading

You’ve probably heard that the IRS will now make it easier for delinquent taxpayers to have tax lien records completely removed from credit bureau files. The taxpayers need to pay their overdue tax bill in full or simply agree to a direct-deposit arrangement for paying the overdue tax. So instead... Continue reading