Senator renews call for DOJ to look into FICO

A Missouri senator is renewing his call for the Department of Justice to investigate the "anticompetitive" behavior of credit score provider Fair Isaac Corp.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said in a letter to Gail Slater, the DOJ's assistant attorney general, that FICO controls a notable 90% market share in the credit scoring space, which warrants "antitrust scrutiny."

FICO has abused its "government-granted market power" by repeatedly raising prices on its scores, impacting not only lenders but also "working Americans," the senator wrote in a letter dated April 3.

Cost per score climbed from $3.50 in 2024 to $4.95 in 2025 for mortgage originations, marking more than a 40% increase.

Hawley said price increases have contributed to the tripling of the firm's net income from 2019 to 2024, while simultaneously rewarding FICO's CEO William Lansing with hefty compensation packages. Last year, Lansing was paid a whopping $35 million, slightly lower than $66 million in total compensation the year prior, Hawley's letter said.

FICO executives have historically downplayed the hike in prices, with Lansing commenting that what is charged "is so much less than the value that [is provided].""The burden of those increases has been borne by borrowers, especially lower-income borrowers, who now find it harder to purchase a home," wrote the Missouri senator. "This is simply unacceptable. FICO has exploited working Americans with its monopoly power for too long."Hawley first called attention to FICO's pricing a little over a year ago. His first letter dated March 12, 2024 asked the federal justice agency for an investigation. 

"In an apparent abuse of this market power, FICO has astronomically hiked its prices," Hawley wrote at the time. "These cost increases will be borne by homebuyers who are already facing the worst housing market in this country's history. […] This is, in short, a company abusing its market power to pad its bottom line and make life worse for Americans. It is time for the Antitrust Division to step in and investigate," he added.

Other politicians and stakeholders in the mortgage industry have also called on the Justice Department to investigate FICO, though no public steps have been taken so far.

In mid-October a group of 34 Senate and House members called on the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate FICO's alleged anti-competitive behavior.

Meanwhile, two trade groups, the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Community Home Lenders of America, have called on federal officials and agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, to take action to rein in FICO.

The CHLA characterized FICO's price hikes as "a runaway train."

"We're astounded, but unfortunately, not surprised that Fair Isaac Corp. is continuing to use its raw monopoly power to extract more money from the pockets of first-time homebuyers. That's an oversimplification, but that's what's going on," said Rob Zimmer, director of external affairs at CHLA last October.