Hi, I’m Adam De Sanctis. This is the Mortgage Minute, the latest news in the Mortgage Bankers Association. Last week, FICO announced a new program and pricing framework that allows triage resellers to calculate and distribute FICO scores directly to lenders. Their FICO mortgage direct license program eliminates reliance on the three nationwide credit bureaus to add credit scores to their reports, and is aimed to drive price transparency and immediate cost savings to mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, and other industry participants. It’s important to note that this program is optional and resellers that prefer working through the credit bureaus can continue to do so. In a press statement shortly after the announcement, MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmith highlighted the fact that MBA has led the industry in calling for fixes to the anti-competitive market and increasing costs that lenders and consumers pay for required trier credit reports and other credit reporting products. He added that FICO’s new program is a step in the right direction, and while it remains to be seen if this will result in materially lower costs. MBA will monitor its implementation while continuing to call for reforms that support a better credit reporting system that promotes more competition efficiency and lower costs for those consumers. MBA encourages members to provide any feedback on these options. As the resellers implement the new program, MBA will also continue its calls for reforms and price transparency in the credit reporting system. And finally, if you haven’t already, MBA annuals later this month, October 19th through the 22nd in Las Vegas, we have a jam packed agenda and you won’t want to miss it.
Go to mba.org/annual to register.
Adam DeSanctis, VP, Communications at Mortgage Bankers Association
As a strategic public affairs and communications executive with nearly two decades of experience, Adam has deep expertise in strategy, management, and media relations. He is widely regarded as an expert in a variety of communications, including advocacy, brand, executive, crisis, grassroots, and social media. In his career, he has been the MBA spokesperson on a wide variety of real estate research and advocacy-related issues, promoted MBA research and advocacy efforts to financial, political, and trade industry media and on MBA’s social media channels, and secured media opportunities for MBA leadership on key real estate trends and issues, generated media coverage for MBA’s research and data on mortgage applications, credit availability, homebuilder applications, mortgage forbearance/delinquencies, commercial real estate originations, and forecasts, and other industry analysis, developed key strategic initiatives for MBA’s organizational public affairs plan, media relations and member communications support for mPower, MBA’s Opens Doors Foundation and MBA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.