The Score
Join Jeff Richardson he hosts VantageScore’s newly recast podcast, THE SCORE podcast, for the lending community. Each week he and his guests—journalists, academics, researchers, and others in the know—explore concepts important to lenders like you. Tune in and learn what you need to know to tap new credit-worthy borrowers to grow your portfolio—while supporting financial equality and inclusion.
Episodes
77 episodes
The Impact of AI in FinTech
According to the World Economic Forum, 85% of financial services organizations are using AI in some capacity. It’s no secret the artificial intelligence ‘arms race’ is impacting virtually every industry, especially financial services. It’s also...
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10:25
Bank of America: VantageScore 4.0 is “Better” for Mortgage
To date, nearly all mortgage loans continue to use outdated credit scoring models, though in other loan categories, much newer, more predictive, and inclusive models are most commonly used. But the mortgage industry is advancing. By...
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12:59
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A $1 Trillion Opportunity?
It's been called the “$1 trillion opportunity.” Currently, the housing market is paralyzed. Homeowners are left out of the market due to a lack of inventory or—even worse—can’t access it due to outdated credit scoring models that ex...
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17:53
The Importance of Competition in Financial Services
For markets to operate efficiently and for consumers to receive the best services, it is critical that competition exists in the financial services industry. Credit unions, or not-for-profit financial cooperatives, have unique struc...
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16:48
Is Consumer Credit Health Proving Resilient?
CreditGauge, VantageScore’s monthly analysis of consumer credit health, found that in April 2024, delinquencies declined for a second straight month. To date, consumers are weathe...
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6:15
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What Are the Root Causes of Financial Exclusion?
Through exploitative interest rates of up to 600%, predatory lenders extract an estimated $9 billion from consumers each year – often from low-income communities of color and other populations unable to access the credit they need. ...
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14:08
What's Next for the Housing Market?
Whether you’re a renter or a homeowner, you likely have already had to contend with some of the challenges of the current housing market. While buyers and current homeowners faced persistently high mortgage rates and low housing supply in recen...
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14:59
Reasons for Optimism: A 2024 Consumer Credit Outlook
Originations across many product types – mortgage, credit cards, and the like -- were all lower in 2023 than the year prior. Historically high interest rates pinched consumers and made it less appealing to open new lines of credit. ...
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17:32
Consumer Credit Health in 2024
Spending is up! Delinquencies are up? And oh, it's an election year! With the resumption of student loan payments, persistent inflation, and other potential challenges, what can consumers expect in 2024? To be sure, all eyes...
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9:45
Are Consumers Confident in 2024?
Recent news headlines indicate that consumers shopped big this past holiday season, and retail numbers, on the surface, appeared to be up. But given notable economic pressures like record-high inflation, how much of that was just paying ‘more’ ...
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14:57
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Who Makes the Credit Invisible ‘Visible’?
In 2023, consumers balanced various financial challenges: the lingering effects of record inflation, rising credit card balances, and student loan payment resumption, among others, leaving many to explore financial products that help make chang...
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12:34
Are Fintechs Driving the Reporting of Rent Payments?
As many outlets are currently reporting, in many parts of the United States, renting is now far cheaper than buying property. Various economic factors like interest rate hikes and rising costs have created a housing system in which many America...
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13:12
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What can $340 billion buy?
$340 billion.That figure was the commitment offered by corporations looking to help address historical injustices in American society and help close the racial wealth gap in the wake of the death of George Floyd. This week, ...
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14:55
How Can Financial Inclusion Be Measured?
The U.S. economy is, in many ways, the envy of the world, and millions migrate annually to this country to participate and live out the ‘American Dream.’ However, inequitable access to the financial tools that preclude milestone moments, like p...
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16:22
The Surprising Correlation between Financial Planning and Well-being
Do health and wealth go hand in hand? Financial issues are commonly considered one of the primary sources of stress for many people and money is a well-documented reason for divorce, for instance. But is there a real link betw...
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12:49
Navigating Your Federal Student Loan Repayment Plan
This fall, an estimated 44 million borrowers will stretch their personal budgets once again, adding yet another item to their bottom line – a federal student loan payment. If you don’t know where to start your repayment journey, you’re not alon...
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18:10
Checking in on the Credit Builders Alliance/VantageScore Financial Inclusion Pilot Program
A year ago, VantageScore funded a pilot program in partnership with the Credit Builders Alliance aimed at using data and analytics to extend credit counseling and credit scoring information to areas of the United States with large concentration...
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16:16
BROADENING ACCESS TO HOMEOWNERSHIP: VantageScore 4.0 implementation for GSE-funded mortgages and the balance between expanding financial inclusion and risk management
Is there a tradeoff between expanding the pool of potential mortgage eligible consumers and sacrificing risk management? The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has mandated use of Van...
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13:53
Are Consumers Helped or Hurt by 'Credit Repair' Agencies?
We’ve all seen ads beckoning consumers to ‘FIX YOUR CREDIT’! But – is this possible, and perhaps more importantly – are consumers helped or hurt by ‘credit repair’ agencies?On this week’s episode of The SCORE, hear from Dan Smith, Presid...
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13:28
Credit Score Migration: What Lenders Need to Know
It's maybe the least understood aspect of credit scoring: a 700 score today will represent a totally different risk during the next credit cycle. And as macro-economic issues change, so does the risk that any score represents. Dur...
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13:54
How is VantageScore providing lenders with transparency in a digital world?
Atif Mirza, Vice President of Digital at VantageScore joins The SCORE to discuss the post-pandemic shift to digital in the financial services sector and the tools VantageScore offers lenders – namely
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9:33
How do fintech companies balance innovation with the need to preserve competition and to expand financial inclusion?
What does the future of fintech actually look like? How do companies balance innovation with the need to preserve competition and to expand financial inclusion?Phil Goldfeder is the Chief Executive Officer at the
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20:56
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How Will the End of the Federal Student Loan Forbearance Period Affect Consumers?
Over the course of the next few months, the resumption of student loan payments is likely to change household budgets for over 40 million Americans – one of the most significant changes to their personal finances and since the start of the pand...
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10:15
