VantageScore Solutions Issues Statement Regarding Recent Wall Street Journal Story

STAMFORD, CT--(Marketwired - February 06, 2017) - VantageScore Solutions, LLC, developer of the VantageScore^® credit scoring model, issued the following statement regarding a recent Wall Street Journal article that contained a number of faulty statements. The following statements represent an accurate description of the credit scoring industry:

Credit scores are used by lenders and other market participants in many different ways. These uses include, but are not limited to, the marketing and origination of loans, portfolio management, tenant screening by landlords, and evaluation by utility companies to help determine customer deposits.

There is not "one true credit score" that is used for all credit decisions or "one true method" to construct a predictive credit score. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of credit scoring models currently in use in the marketplace and they can be designed to predict different things. These include generic risk models such as the three VantageScore models and some 56 different FICO models. There are also credit scoring models designed specifically for certain loan products such as auto or mortgage loans, and custom models used by large lenders.

Given the number of scores currently in use, it is highly unlikely for a consumer to obtain the exact credit score that would be used for purposes of a particular credit decision with any amount of certainty or regularity.

In 2006 the three national credit reporting companies (CRCs) introduced VantageScore because lenders and others wanted choice in the marketplace. As The Wall Street Journal article notes, FICO did file a lawsuit against VantageScore Solutions LLC and the three national CRCs after the introduction of the VantageScore credit score, however, FICO lost on all of its claims. The Wall Street Journal article failed to disclose this fact.

Notwithstanding the litigation, competition among credit scoring model developers has flourished and has fostered a number of important consumer-friendly innovations, such as making credit scoring more inclusive, ignoring paid collection accounts, and leveraging alternative data, to name a few.

Despite messages to the contrary, the usage of the VantageScore model has grown exponentially in recent years.

Our message to consumers is as follows:

• You're more than just a credit score. Concentrate on building and maintaining your credit health. This means making positive credit decisions, such as paying bills on time, managing your credit cards wisely and choosing not to apply for unnecessary loans. You should also regularly check your credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com.

• Credit scores are calculated from the information in your credit report. Models typically look at factors such as the types of open accounts, the number of open accounts, payment history, the length of time you have had credit and your available credit.

• If you do want to acquire your credit score, obtain it from a credible source and trusted provider. You should also learn about a particular credit score model's specific range so that you can understand how your score compares with the rest of the population. In addition, many of these credit scoring models include reason codes-statements that provide guidance regarding the reasons why your score is not higher.

• Shop around for credit and get the best terms and rates. While some credit inquiries might have an impact on your credit score for a period of time, your VantageScore credit score will not be penalized for each additional credit score pulled by numerous lenders in a short amount of time when shopping for the best rates.

For more information about the VantageScore credit score, go to www.yourvantagescore.com.

About VantageScore Solutions

Credit scores can impact many aspects of your life, everything from whether you are able to get a loan and how much interest you will have to pay to whether you are able to rent an apartment.

VantageScore Solutions, LLC (www.VantageScore.com) is the independently managed company that owns the intellectual property rights to the VantageScore credit scoring models, including the VantageScore 3.0 model, which scores 30-35 million consumers typically not scored by conventional models without relaxing standards. VantageScore credit scores are used by lenders, landlords, utility companies, telecom companies and many others to determine your creditworthiness. By using the VantageScore model, these enterprises have access to many more consumers, and in turn, consumers have greater access to mainstream credit.

While there are many credit scoring models in the industry , the "win-win" for VantageScore is its innovative, highly predictive, patent-protected, tri-bureau scoring methodology that provides lenders and consumers with more consistent credit scores across all three national credit reporting companies. VantageScore is also the model tens of millions of consumers use to monitor their credit behaviors through dozens of websites and lenders who provide their users and customers with their credit scores for free. More than eight billion VantageScore credit scores were used in the 12-month period from July 2015-June 2016 by over 2,400 lenders and other industry participants, including 20 of the top 25 financial institutions - an increase of nearly 40% over the previous 12-month period.

The company is celebrating its 11^th anniversary in 2017.