SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 6, 2026--
Mortgage originators can enhance decision quality during pre-screen and pre-qualification, lower costs and broaden borrower access by implementing VantageScore 4.0 for mortgages, according to a new study published today. The analysis by OGMA Risk and Analytics, titled “How VantageScore 4.0 Unlocks Cost Reduction, Pipeline Performance, and a New Generation of Borrowers,” evaluates the impact of VantageScore 4.0 adoption on lenders who start using it in the pre-screen and pre-qualification stages of the mortgage origination process.
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To take advantage of this opportunity and learn more, reach out to your bureau representative and ask for a custom MarketGain report to show how many more borrowers your firm can responsibly lend to.
“VantageScore 4.0 enables mortgage lenders to act now to improve pre-screening and pre-qualification decisions with greater precision, efficiency and cost savings,” said Dr. Rikard Bandebo, EVP, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Economist at VantageScore. “The model helps reduce delinquencies, opens the door to increased responsible lending for first-time home buyers and delivers these advantages while significantly reducing production and borrower acquisition costs.”
OGMA Risk & Analytics found that VantageScore 4.0 delivers three compounding value drivers for mortgage lenders and investors: significant cost savings, expanded borrower reach and earlier, better decisioning.
Additional key insights from the study include:
DELIVERS BILLIONS IN COST SAVINGS ACROSS THE MORTGAGE LIFECYCLE: OGMA Risk and Analytics reiterates recent findings from Deep Future Analytics that show VantageScore 4.0 delivers $92 to $135 in savings per mortgage loan under all modeled scenarios.
LENDERS GAIN IMMEDIATE VALUE BY SWITCHING TO VANTAGESCORE 4.0 FOR PRE-SCREENING: The OGMA Risk and Analytics study found that usage of VantageScore 4.0 for pre-screening improves early decisions in the mortgage lending process by using trended credit data instead of a static snapshot, giving lenders a clearer view into whether a borrower’s credit behavior is strengthening or weakening. The added behavioral insight can help lenders move fewer weak files forward while preserving more qualified borrowers who might otherwise be screened out.
MORTGAGE ORIGINATORS RESOLVE MISMATCHES AT PRE-SCREEN, ENGAGING MORE CREDITWORTHY BORROWERS: Because the cost of a weak credit decision compounds as a loan moves deeper into the process, improving early-stage precision helps lenders avoid unnecessary processing, underwriting and compliance costs before they accrue. VantageScore 4.0 does a better job of distinguishing lower-risk from higher-risk borrowers than Classic FICO, earlier. As a result, fewer costly false positives enter lender pre-qualification and underwriting and fewer false negatives are excluded before they ever have a chance to convert.
To download a full copy of this report, visit the VantageScore website.
To download a full copy of the Deep Future Analytics Cost Savings report, visit the VantageScore website.
To learn more about VantageScore’s growth in the GSE-conforming mortgage market, visit the VantageScore Mortgage Resource Center.
About VantageScore®
VantageScore is the fastest-growing credit scoring company in the U.S., and is known for the industry’s most innovative, predictive and inclusive credit score models. In 2024, usage of VantageScore increased by 55% to hit 42 billion credit scores. More than 3,700 institutions, including nine of the top 10 U.S. banks, use VantageScore credit scores and digital tools to provide consumer credit products or generate greater insights into consumer behavior. The VantageScore 4.0 credit scoring model scores 33 million more people than traditional models. With the FHFA allowing the immediate use of VantageScore 4.0 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranteed mortgages, the company is also ushering in a new era for mortgage lending.
VantageScore is an independent joint venture company owned by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Unique Opportunity for Lenders to Expand Home Ownership and Reduce Costs - VantageScore
North Carolina is working toward finalizing a deal with NBA championship-winning coach Michael Malone to lead the Tar Heels' basketball program, a person with knowledge of the situation said Monday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school hasn't publicly discussed its search. Malone would replace Hubert Davis, who was fired March 24 after five seasons as the successor to retired Hall of Famer Roy Williams.
ESPN was the first to report UNC moving toward hiring Malone.
The 54-year-old Malone spent 12 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, including a 10-year run in Denver. He led the Nuggets to the 2023 championship behind three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets fired Malone last spring with less than a week left in that regular season. Almost a year to the day, in another surprise move, Malone is on the verge of taking over a blue-blood program with six national titles, a record 21 appearances in the Final Four and alums including Michael Jordan, James Worthy Vince Carter and Atlantic Coast Conference career scoring leader Tyler Hansbrough.
UNC now has big-name former pro coaches leading its two highest-profile programs. The Tar Heels hired six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick as their football coach in December 2024. Belichick struggled to a 4-8 record in his debut season.
Davis’ firing opened one of the top jobs in college basketball for only the fourth time since the late Hall of Famer Dean Smith’s retirement after 36 seasons in October 1997.
The job had stayed in the “Carolina Family” ever since. Longtime assistant Bill Guthridge replaced Smith, followed by former UNC player Matt Doherty, former Smith assistant Williams and then Davis, who played under Smith and worked on Williams' staff.
Names like Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Michigan’s Dusty May and Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan — who led Florida to the 2006 and 2007 NCAA titles — had been linked to the job since Davis’ firing. Lloyd announced Friday at the Final Four that he would return to the Wildcats while praising UNC for “the way they’ve handled this.”
Three days later, the search had turned in an unexpected direction with Malone, who has never been a college head coach and has spent most of his career in the NBA. His primary connection to UNC athletics is the presence of daughter Bridget on the Tar Heels’ volleyball team.
During an October appearance on the UNC athletic department’s “Carolina Insider” podcast, Malone recalled hearing his late father, NBA coach Brendan Malone, talk often about Smith and UNC basketball. He also mentioned attending multiple recent practices and Davis asking him to speak to the team at least once.
“I’ve always been a Carolina fan,” Malone said. “And when (Bridget) decided to come here that made it even that much more special, because now I’m ‘Go Heels’ for everything. I root for all the teams, have fallen in love with Chapel Hill.”
Malone's time in the NBA included a brief stint in Sacramento, where he was fired in December 2014, just 24 games into his second season. He also worked as an assistant with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets and Golden State Warriors.
Malone had stints in college as an assistant at Oakland, Providence and Manhattan. He spent only one season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, working as director of men's basketball administration at Virginia under Pete Gillen in 1998-99.
David Adelman, Malone's successor in Denver, said he was happy for his friend, adding that Malone would be comfortable with players earning big money through name, image and likeness deals.
“It’s more of a professional environment now, especially at schools like that, where you have to look at it like these guys are under contract now,” Adelman said. “And I think a lot of NBA coaches understand what it means to coach somebody that’s making money.”
AP freelancer Michael Kelly in Denver contributed to this report.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
FILE - Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone stands on the sideline during the second half of an NBA basketball game April 1, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
