Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Instructed to Accept VantageScore for All Lenders
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to immediately approve all lenders to use the VantageScore 4.0 credit scoring system.
He made the announcement Thursday evening in a series of social media posts.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) oversees the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Pulte also serves as chairman of both companies.
“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,” Pulte wrote on X.
A little later, Pulte responded to a post that asked, “Do we need 3 credit bureaus? Also, thoughts on replacing the entire system?”
“Stay tuned,” Pulte replied.
In another post later, Pulte wrote: “Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have been overcharging Americans for far too long. This will end soon. We are seriously considering bi-merge, and stronger solutions (SAFER and SOUNDER). We will not allow companies to take advantage of American consumers. No more.”
Pulte then responded to his own post: “We have asked the CEOs of the Credit Bureaus for solutions, but they seem more intent on ‘happy talk’, tapping us along with meetings, and operating as ‘cartel-like’, which is not in the best interest of American homeowners. Time for a change.”
Alternative to Classic Credit Scoring
Pulte gave initial approval to VantageScore as an alternative to the mainstay Classic FICO credit scoring model in July 2025. In April 2026, Pulte announced at a press conference that VantageScore 4.0 credit scores would be eligible for delivery to Fannie and Freddie through “a limited rollout with approved lenders.”
Like Classic FICO, The Scotsman Guide reported that VantageScore 4.0 is a “tri-merge” credit scoring model, meaning it pulls data from the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — and combines them into a single report.
According to its website, VantageScore also uses “machine learning to look closer into the credit histories of consumers often overlooked by lenders due to a lack of credit history.”
The Scotsman Guide said that potentially more significant than the VantageScore announcement is Pulte’s suggestion that the FHFA is considering green-lighting a bi-merge scoring model.
Scotsman said that Pulte’s predecessor as FHFA director, Sandra L. Thompson, had announced plans to shift to a bi-merge model that would use VantageScore 4.0 and a newer FICO model called 10T to pull data from two different credit bureaus. However, those plans were put on indefinite hold in January 2025, just before Pulte took office in March.
Bi-Merger Paused
Scotsman Guide said that in a July 2025 interview, Pulte told the website the FHFA was “pausing [bi-merge] for the interim, keeping tri-merge just to make things as easy as possible for everybody.”
Other industry trade groups, notably the Mortgage Bankers Association, have pushed for a single-file framework that would allow lenders to use data from just one credit bureau for borrowers with an initial credit pull above 700.
Also, in July, Fannie and Freddie released FICO 10T historical data, widely seen as a procedural move for that scoring model’s eventual full adoption.
In an emailed statement to Scotsman Guide, a VantageScore spokesperson applauded Pulte for his “decisive action and consistent support for mortgage credit score competition and the significant cost savings and innovation this delivers for American consumers and mortgage lenders.”
The VantageScore representative added that its model has “already captured more than 9% of mortgage securitizations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since FHFA allowed a limited number of mortgage lenders to use VantageScore 4.0 on May 1, 2026.”
