Xactus first to bring FICO credit score simulator to market

Xactus is bringing FICO's Score Mortgage Simulator to market a little bit more than four months after it was announced.

The simulator supports online credit bureau reports that have a Classic FICO Score from Experian, Equifax and/or TransUnion. That means it gives simulations using the FICO 2 scorecard for Experian data, FICO 4 for TransUnion and FICO 5 for Equifax.

FICO previously said the 10T scorecard, which has seen some adoption across the mortgage industry, would be available at some point for the simulator.

The initial announcement in October was made at a time when the company was under both a competitive threat for score models as well as when the mortgage industry was outraged by the latest change in report pricing.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, under former Director Sandra Thompson, had mandated the mortgage industry adopt both FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0. But the credit score modernization effort was put on hold in January as part of the shift in Washington.

Xactus released the beta of the simulator on Feb. 10 before it was brought out to all of its clients on Feb. 28, company executives said. It is the first credit reporting agency to be able to offer this product, pointed out Michael Crockett, its chief operating officer.

"The way that FICO has approached it is that they were deliberate and making sure that they did not misrepresent what was going to be available," Crockett said.

Because this simulator is coming directly from FICO, as the provider of the model, "there is no ambiguity in the scoring. It is the same," he continued.

The simulator works with the existing pull, said Rosa Mumm, vice president of credit score optimization for Xactus.

"The loan originator does a credit pull through Xactus 360, they can then launch the simulator, and it utilizes that existing data," Mumm said. "They can simulate unlimited up to 30 days from the date of the credit pull, and that causes no additional credit pulls."

The user can play with certain inputs, such as closing or paying down trade lines to gauge the impact on the credit score, Crockett said.

However, the simulator is neutral as to the type of loan being sought and who will be the secondary market investor.

This version is only for lenders to use, Crockett said. FICO has a consumer facing website, MyFICO, for them to look at scenarios.

"Xactus has been an exceptional partner, and its recognition of the value that a FICO-built and FICO score-based mortgage simulator brings to the industry is a testament to the company's forward-thinking approach," said Geoff Smith, vice president and general manager, consumer scores at FICO, in a press release. "Together, we are thrilled to launch our innovative tool, which will ultimately empower lenders and borrowers to make more informed decisions."