CHICAGO, Oct. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) is taking up FHFA Director Bill Pulte’s challenge to increase competition in mortgage credit scoring and lower the cost of borrowing for consumers. This pivotal policy shift empowers mortgage lenders to unlock the full benefit of trended and alternative credit data provided by TransUnion to reward consumers for responsible credit behaviors, while preserving the safety and soundness of the $13 trillion U.S. residential mortgage market.

Today, TransUnion announces breakthrough mortgage credit score pricing and product enhancements. At the center of this new approach is VantageScore^® 4.0, built on trended and alternative data, for unmatched predictive power and greater financial inclusion. Since 2016, when TransUnion pioneered trended data in the mortgage industry, the GSEs have required its use in underwriting mortgage loans to better predict risk. Now, with lender choice, lenders can use VantageScore to include the same trended and alternative data at the initial stages of a mortgage application, enabling 33 million credit-invisible consumers to be scored and millions more Americans to gain access to homeownership. TransUnion will offer this game-changing alternative at a significant discount to the FICO score.

“Our approach reaffirms TransUnion’s commitment to expanding affordable mortgage credit by delivering best-in-class credit information combined with easy-to-use tools for consumers and lenders,” said TransUnion President and CEO Chris Cartwright.

TransUnion’s innovative mortgage offerings

“Trended and alternative credit data provides the most complete picture of consumers, and TransUnion’s new approach unlocks this vital data in the mortgage lending industry, benefitting homebuyers, lenders and investors,” said Satyan Merchant, senior vice president and mortgage business leader at TransUnion.

TransUnion is the only bureau that offers 30 months of trended credit data. Building on this industry-leading position, TransUnion will incorporate alternative data assets, including rental and utility tradelines and short-term lending attributes, to our enhanced mortgage credit report to provide deeper consumer insights and help more credit-worthy borrowers achieve home ownership.

Leveraging these unique data assets, in 2026 TransUnion will offer:

• VantageScore 4.0 for mortgage at $4, representing a competitive option to FICO’s recently announced 100% price hike to $10. To enable lender choice, TransUnion will also provide free VantageScore 4.0 for mortgage to customers that purchase a FICO score from TransUnion through the end of 2026.
• Multi-year pricing for credit report and VantageScore 4.0 to help lenders effectively forecast and manage their businesses. This approach provides certainty to an industry burdened by steep annual FICO price increases.
• A free VantageScore 4.0 credit score simulator for industry participants that helps consumers gain access to mortgage credit – including resellers, lenders and brokers – empowering prospective homebuyers to improve their credit scores and qualify for the best possible mortgage terms.
  

All of this will be available to customers through TransUnion’s new TruIQ^TM analytics platform, accelerating VantageScore adoption and integration of new data assets. TruIQ integrates TransUnion’s data into a single, cloud-native analytics platform with seamless linking of third-party and first-party data. This innovative platform enables lenders to be nimble and competitive in a rapidly evolving environment.

VantageScore’s value

As the first credit score leveraging powerful trended data insights, VantageScore 4.0’s use in mortgages offers more consumers the opportunity to gain access to mortgage credit. With trended and alternative data powering VantageScore, lenders, GSEs and investors can be confident that they have the most robust picture of a consumer, strengthening safety and soundness of the mortgage lending industry. VantageScore is already utilized by the largest banks and 3,700 U.S. institutions, including increasing use in securitization markets. Additionally, 220 million consumers now have direct access to their VantageScore.

To learn more about the mortgage origination process, visit https://www.transunion.com/faq/mortgage-origination-ecosystem

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of TransUnion’s management. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Any statements made in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, events or developments, including statements relating to the pricing strategies, potential benefits and value propositions of product offerings of TransUnion and our competitors.  We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to uncertainty in the U.S. mortgage market related to the FICO^® Mortgage Direct License Program, those risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and any subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Current Report on Form 8-K, which are filed with the SEC and available on TransUnion’s website. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this press release in the context of these risks and uncertainties. As a result of such risks and uncertainties, we urge you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company with over 13,000 associates operating in more than 30 countries. We make trust possible by ensuring each person is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this with a Tru™ picture of each person: an actionable view of consumers, stewarded with care. Through our acquisitions and technology investments we have developed innovative solutions that extend beyond our strong foundation in core credit into areas such as marketing, fraud, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good^® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for millions of people around the world.