Trump Housing Chief Bill Pulte Smashes FICO’s Mortgage-Score Monopoly — Orders Fannie and Freddie to Approve ALL Lenders for VantageScore Effective Immediately

Trump-appointed Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte just dropped the hammer on FICO’s longtime stranglehold over American homebuyers.

On Thursday, Pulte announced that he is ordering mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to approve every lender seeking to use VantageScore as an alternative to FICO, effective immediately.

According to Pulte, the price charged for an individual FICO credit score has skyrocketed by an astounding 1,800% since 2020.

Enough is enough.

“Since 2020, FICO has increased the price per a person’s credit score by 1,800%,” Pulte wrote on X.

“FICO has enjoyed a monopoly. No more.”

Pulte continued:

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.

Since 2020, FICO has increased the price per a person’s credit score by 1,800%. FICO has enjoyed a monopoly. No more.

Fannie and Freddie’s initial rollout of VantageScore has been incredibly successful, with 50 LENDERS DELIVERING LOANS. So, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, I’m…

— Pulte (@pulte) September 4, 2026

The announcement significantly expands the Trump administration’s effort to introduce real competition into the mortgage credit-scoring market.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began accepting mortgages assessed with VantageScore 4.0 from approved lenders in April. Pulte said the initial rollout has already resulted in 50 lenders delivering loans using the alternative scoring model.

Now, instead of limiting the program to a select group, Pulte is opening the door to every eligible lender.

This is a massive blow to the cozy credit-scoring establishment that has forced American lenders and homebuyers to operate under a system dominated by one company for decades.

VantageScore 4.0 can reportedly consider additional financial information, including rent-payment history, potentially giving responsible Americans with limited traditional credit histories another opportunity to qualify for a mortgage.

The Community Home Lenders of America documented that FICO’s foundational price for a mortgage credit pull exploded from about 60 cents in 2022 to roughly $10 per pull, a 1,567 percent jump in three and a half years.

The group says a tri-merge credit report that cost about $50 per closed loan in 2022 now routinely exceeds $550 once multiple pulls are factored in.

CHLA called it “mortgage inflation run amok” and warned that another round of FICO hikes could land as early as fall 2027.

The reform traces back to President Trump’s first administration.

The Credit Score Competition Act of 2018, signed by President Trump in his first term, was supposed to break this logjam years ago.

The Deep State and the housing bureaucracy sat on it. Biden-era FHFA leadership dithered. Classic FICO remained the only score that mattered for the two companies that back nearly half of all U.S. residential mortgages.

In April, Pulte and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner announced that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration would begin implementing VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T, the first major modernization of federal mortgage credit-scoring models in decades.

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are driving down costs across the homebuying process,” Pulte said at the time.

“We are modernizing credit scoring with more predictive models, helping millions of Americans who responsibly pay rent qualify for mortgages. That’s fair, it’s commonsense, and it’s finally delivering the benefits of competition to homebuyers nationwide.”

Pulte is not letting VantageScore’s owners off the hook, either.

VantageScore is jointly owned by the three major credit-reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

In a separate statement Thursday, Pulte accused the companies of overcharging Americans and warned that additional reforms could be coming.

“Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have been overcharging Americans for far too long,” Pulte said. “This will end soon.”

Pulte added that federal officials are considering a “bi-merge” reporting system and other “SAFER and SOUNDER” solutions to protect consumers.

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 (@pulte) September 4, 2026