Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte indicated Thursday that FICO has had a monopoly on credit scores for too long and directed the federal Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to allow lenders to use VantageScore instead.

The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) were each created by Congress, and serve as the backbone of the U.S. Housing market by offering liquid support to banks and savings and loans companies for mortgages. 

Pulte, who temporarily served as the acting director of national intelligence, said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did an initial rollout of VantageScore as an alternative to FICO, which has seen incredible success.

"Since 2020, FICO has increased the price per a person’s credit score by 1,800%," the Trump administration official said. "FICO has enjoyed a monopoly. No more. Fannie and Freddie’s initial rollout of VantageScore has been incredibly successful, with 50 LENDERS DELIVERING LOANS. 

"So, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, I’m instructing Fannie and Freddie to approve ALL lenders to use VantageScore," he added.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.