Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced he has begun an investigation into the Fair Isaac Corp. (NYSE: FICO) to determine if the company’s pricing practices in the mortgage credit scoring market has contributed to the affordability challenges in the housing market.
Hawley also wrote to Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), urging the agency to begin its own investigation into FICO.
“As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and as a member of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, I am investigating Fair Isaac Corporation’s pricing practices in the mortgage credit scoring market,” Hawley announced in a letter to FICO CEO William J. Lansing. “FICO dominates the credit scoring market with a product used by 90% of lenders, potentially commanding an even larger market share for first-time home buyers. FICO reinforces that position through its status for decades as the only credit score accepted for conforming mortgage loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, despite the long-delayed promise of another competitor entering the market. Rather than competing on price, FICO has leveraged this market position to impose a pattern of extraordinary price increases.”
Senator Hawley added, “FICO has suggested that its royalty constitutes a negligible share of overall closing costs. But the relevant question is not whether the charge is small relative to other fees. Instead, we investigate whether the charge is justified by competitive market forces or is instead an exercise of monopoly pricing power. An 88% operating margin and a compound annual growth rate of 100% in per-score pricing over five years are not hallmarks of a competitive market.”
In his letter to the FTC, Hawley complained that this year FICO had “doubled its per-score price from $4.95 to $10.00—a more than 100% increase for the identical product offered in 2025. This single increase has the potential to raise mortgage credit score costs across the industry by approximately $500 million. These costs are ultimately borne by borrowers. They are especially damaging to first-time homebuyers, who often pay for multiple credit checks across several loan applications before successfully purchasing a home.”
FICO did not publicly comment on the senator’s statements.
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