Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
FICO announced November 4 that DHI Mortgage, loanDepot, Paramount Residential Mortgage Group and CMG Financial enrolled in its Preferred Program. The lenders join six previously announced participants. The program provides access to Classic FICO and FICO 10T scores, but the announcement does not quantify consumer savings or establish changes in individual loan eligibility.
Four more mortgage lenders have joined FICO’s Preferred Program, extending a recent series of sign-ups as the industry prepares to work with more than one credit-scoring model. The additions are DHI Mortgage, loanDepot, Paramount Residential Mortgage Group and CMG Financial, according to a November 4 announcement from FICO.
FICO says the lenders will continue pulling its scores across their mortgage operations. Enrollment gives participants access to the longstanding Classic FICO Score and the newer FICO Score 10T, which incorporates trended credit information and rental payment data. The announcement does not disclose the lenders’ expected volumes, contract prices or whether any individual borrower’s loan terms will change.
Another round of lender sign-ups
The four companies join Guild Mortgage, New American Funding and PennyMac Financial Services, whose participation was announced earlier in the week, as well as Fairway Home Mortgage, Movement Mortgage and Rate. The additions show that FICO is recruiting major originators while competing score models become available to the mortgage market.
That competitive context matters. Federal housing officials announced in April that the Federal Housing Administration would permit VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T for FHA underwriting, alongside changes involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Model eligibility, actual implementation and an individual lender’s choice of scores are distinct questions. Joining a vendor program does not by itself establish that every mortgage product can be underwritten with the same model.
FICO describes its Preferred Program as a way to lower score-related execution costs. The company also argues that FICO 10T can improve risk assessment, but those are vendor claims; the announcement provides no lender-level evidence of realized borrower savings. Whether any cost reductions reach consumers will depend on how lenders, credit reporting intermediaries and investors price and use the scores.
What borrowers and brokers should watch
For mortgage brokers and loan officers, the practical questions are which scores a lender will pull, which model governs eligibility for the specific loan program and whether the cost of obtaining a credit report changes. The answer may differ between an initial credit pull and later underwriting or investor requirements. Consumers should not assume a new program enrollment changes their credit score or guarantees approval.
The latest announcement follows WRE News coverage of the earlier Fairway, Movement and Rate sign-ups. It also comes as FICO reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $657 million, up from $516 million a year earlier, with mortgage score pricing under scrutiny. The financial results are a separate development from Wednesday’s lender enrollment announcement.
The immediate significance is a broader roster of lenders committed to accessing FICO scores amid credit-scoring competition. The unresolved question is how quickly new model options translate into operational changes and verifiable savings on actual mortgage files.
