FICO Stock Craters Up to 21% After FHFA Orders Fannie and Freddie to Fully Open Door to Rival VantageScore

Since the Federal Housing Finance Agency first let a capped group of roughly 50 lenders use VantageScore 4.0 starting May 1, 2026, that pilot has now been blown wide open. FHFA Director Bill Pulte announced Thursday night on X that he's instructing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to approve VantageScore for every lender, effective immediately, according to National Mortgage News.

Fair Isaac Corp., the company behind the FICO score, took the hit. Shares fell as much as 20.9% intraday Friday to around $885, according to Crypto Briefing. Morningstar reported the stock down 18% to $922.67 in Friday morning trading, while TradingView put the drop at 15.63%. FICO shares are now down more than 44% year to date, according to TradingView.

The credit bureaus that jointly own VantageScore also dropped. Equifax fell 7.9% to $174.26, TransUnion was off 8% to $78.09, and Experian slid 4.8% to $37.91 in over-the-counter trading, according to Morningstar's report citing Dow Jones Newswires. TradingView had Equifax down 6.65% and TransUnion down 6.83%.

Pulte calls bureaus 'cartel-like'

Pulte didn't stop at VantageScore. In the same string of posts, he accused Equifax, Experian and TransUnion of "overcharging Americans for far too long," writing "this will end soon" and that FHFA is "seriously considering bi-merge, and stronger solutions (SAFER and SOUNDER)." On Friday he added that FHFA is "also studying the usage of just one credit report," according to HousingWire and National Mortgage News.

"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," Pulte wrote, according to National Mortgage News. "Time for a change."

None of the three bureaus responded to requests for comment from Morningstar, HousingWire or National Mortgage News. The Consumer Data Industry Association pointed reporters back to past statements defending the bureaus' pricing and legal compliance, according to National Mortgage News.

FICO's response and the price fight

FICO didn't attack Pulte back. "FICO supports Director Pulte's commitment to foster a competitive environment that is based on performance, trusted analytics, and outcomes for borrowers, lenders, and investors," the company said in statements to multiple outlets including HousingWire and Scotsman Guide, adding that its newer FICO Score 10T model "is the most predictive credit score available" and expects it will be "implemented across the market."

The Community Home Lenders of America welcomed the move, with director of external affairs Rob Zimmer saying it was "a decisive action to increase competition and save mortgage borrowers money," according to National Mortgage News. CHLA has forecast FICO could raise prices by 50% for 2027 if left unchecked.

Crypto Briefing cited Pulte's own past figures claiming per-score costs have surged as much as 1,800% since 2020, with average credit report costs rising 40-50% in 2026 alone. Those numbers come from Pulte's public statements, not an independent audit, and no source in this reporting verifies them against an outside data set.

The tri-merge fight nobody's settled

Consumer Data Industry Association president Dan Smith defended the traditional three-bureau pull, known as tri-merge, saying it "ensures that a borrower's full credit history is considered" and "protects the person with the most at stake in getting the price right, which is the homebuyer," according to Scotsman Guide.

The Mortgage Bankers Association takes the opposite view. MBA president and CEO Bob Broeksmit said the group supports ending the tri-merge requirement for borrowers with strong credit profiles and moving to a single-file approach, arguing it would "give lenders greater flexibility, enable more consumers to be scored accurately, and expand sustainable access to homeownership," according to HousingWire.

Both sides have a real point. Dropping to a single report could genuinely cut costs, but critics say it risks missing errors or gaps that only show up when three bureaus' files get cross-checked, and could open the door to lenders shopping for whichever single report scores a borrower highest. That tradeoff hasn't been resolved by FHFA or anyone else in these reports.

VantageScore, for its part, says the expanded pilot already worked. A spokesperson told Scotsman Guide the model has "captured more than 9% of mortgage securitizations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac" since the May 1 rollout began.

What isn't decided yet: bi-merge and the single-report idea are both still under FHFA study, not policy. Pulte's own language, "seriously considering" and "studying," makes clear neither has been ordered. The open question is whether FICO's 10T model, VantageScore 4.0, or some combined system ends up as the mortgage industry standard, and whether any of it actually lowers the price homebuyers pay at closing.