HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins brings together an unprecedented trio — Joel Rickman (Equifax), Michele Bodda (Experian), and Satyan Merchant (TransUnion) — for a first-of-its-kind conversation on how data is redefining the mortgage process. The three leaders also unpack key topics dominating the MBA Annual 25 conference floor — from the tri-merge debate and the cost of credit reports to regulatory shifts, innovation in alternative data, and the rise of VantageScore.

More from this episode:

Why is data so important in today’s mortgage ecosystem?

Data drives nearly every step of the mortgage process — from pre-qualification to underwriting. As Joel Rickman explains, “more data is better for the consumer,” because richer data helps more people qualify for home loans while maintaining safety and soundness in the system.

How are the credit bureaus competing and collaborating?

While they compete fiercely for business, the three bureaus share a united goal of financial inclusion. Each is innovating through differentiated data sources like rental payments, utilities, telecom data, and cash-flow insights — all designed to represent consumers more fairly.

What new data types are shaping credit files?

The credit file has never been more diverse.

• Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) accounts
• Rental and utility payments
• Short-term lending data
• Cash-flow management attributes
  These data sets help lenders build more accurate profiles of consumers who were previously underserved or “credit invisible.”

What role does regulation play in driving innovation?

The panelists agree that regulation and innovation can coexist. The FHFA’s adoption of modern scores like VantageScore 4.0 is one example of policy enabling progress — allowing new models that use broader data to enter the market.

What is the bi-merge debate, and why does it matter?

The bi-merge proposal — using two credit reports instead of three — is a hot topic at MBA Annual 2025.
The bureaus argue that reducing data increases risk and could harm consumers by creating gaps in credit history, leading to higher pricing or denied loans.

How are the bureaus improving consumer education?

Each company invests in tools and partnerships that help consumers understand and improve their credit:

• Equifax: education through lender partnerships
• Experian: initiatives like Boost and HomeFree USA to reach underrepresented communities
• TransUnion: free credit monitoring and app-based education to help consumers take control of their credit health

What innovations are leading the way in credit reporting?

• Equifax is leveraging The Work Number and NCTUE data to bring employment and telecom insights into credit decisions.
• Experian is pioneering cash-flow scoring and consumer-permissioned data.
• TransUnion is expanding rental trade lines and short-term lending insights to include more first-time buyers.

How should lenders prepare for VantageScore adoption in 2026?

All three bureaus encourage lenders to start testing VantageScore now. They’re offering early access to evaluate how it performs in underwriting and portfolio management before GSE guidelines take effect.

How are innovation, data, and AI are transforming the mortgage experience? Wendy Hannah-Olson, SVP of Digital Alliances and Strategy Execution at Equifax, sits down with Jonas Moe, SVP of Marketing at ICE Mortgage Technology to discuss this evolution, from streamlining operations and improving borrower engagement to keeping the human connection at the heart of lending.

In this episode:

How are lenders improving the borrower experience?
The focus is shifting toward a complete borrower lifecycle — creating a seamless experience from application through servicing. Lenders are embracing automation in the “middleware” stages, such as underwriting and processing, to remove friction while keeping human engagement where it matters most.

How is ICE Mortgage Technology evolving its platform?
By integrating technologies from MERS, Simplifile, Ellie Mae, and Black Knight under the ICE umbrella, the company is building a truly end-to-end ecosystem that connects origination and servicing to eliminate friction, reduce costs, and enhance borrower visibility.

What role does AI play in operational efficiency?
ICE uses AI to make compliance and servicing smarter — for instance, through “Ask Reggie,” a tool that simplifies complex AllRegs compliance searches, and an AI-powered call agent that routes consumers efficiently to either automated answers or human assistance when needed.

What’s next for credit scores and data innovation?
ICE is collaborating closely with FHFA, Fannie, Freddie, and Equifax to support the rollout of new credit models responsibly. Equifax’s new crisis-period dataset — tracing behavior before, during, and after 2008 — helps the industry model risk more accurately as scoring systems evolve.

Emmaline Aliff of Equifax joins Dr. Amy Crews Cutts, Chief Economist at AC Cutts & Associates, to unpack the real costs and competitive dynamics of mortgage credit reporting. They dig into what the data actually shows about tri-merge pricing, lender negotiation power, fallout loans, and the entry of VantageScore.

In this episode:

What is the true cost of pulling a credit report for a mortgage?

The cost of a mortgage credit report usually falls within a wide range—from around $40 up to about $240 per file, depending on factors like the number of borrowers and the products included (such as trended data or monitoring services). While some lenders cite an average cost around $155, the actual cost is often driven by how many borrowers are on the application, how many times credit is pulled, and which ancillary services are added.

Why do lenders say credit reports are “too expensive”?

Many lenders feel credit reports are expensive not because of the unit price, but because of fallout—loans that never close. When a lender pulls credit and the borrower doesn’t complete the loan, the lender usually eats that cost. Unlike appraisals, credit report fees are often not collected upfront, so unrecovered costs on fallout loans can make credit reporting feel disproportionately expensive.

How much does a credit report actually matter in the total cost of a mortgage?

In the context of a full mortgage transaction, the credit report fee is typically a small fraction of total closing costs and prepaid expenses. Even if a report costs $60–$150, that’s minimal compared to items like taxes, insurance, and appraisal fees. The real financial impact often comes from how credit information influences interest rates and approvals, not just the report fee itself.

What is a tri-merge credit report and why does it exist?

A tri-merge credit report combines data from the three nationwide credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—into one consolidated file. This helps:

• Reduce blind spots by capturing regional and portfolio differences between bureaus
• Give investors and GSEs (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac) a more complete view of borrower risk
• Support underwriting models that rely on rich, multi-bureau data rather than a single view

Tri-merge helps maintain investor confidence in mortgage-backed securities by reducing data gaps and gaming risk.

Recorded live at MBA Annual 2025, HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins talks with Joel Rickman, SVP of Verification Services/Workforce Solutions at Equifax, and Justin Demola, President of Lenders One, about the ripple effects of FICO’s new pricing model, the rise of VantageScore, and how smarter lending data can drive efficiency, affordability, and innovation across the housing market.

In this episode:

Why is the FICO vs. VantageScore discussion so important right now?
The FHFA’s move to accept VantageScore opened the door for more competition and potential savings. While some lenders worry about cost increases, experts explain how competition is already driving innovation and pricing transparency—helping lenders better serve homebuyers.

How are Equifax and other bureaus responding to these market shifts?
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have each added new data benefits within existing pricing structures. At Equifax, that includes embedding income and employment data into credit reports to reduce costs and improve decision accuracy. The goal: help lenders make smarter, faster, and fairer lending decisions.

What role does Lenders One play in shaping this change?
Lenders One represents over 230 independent mortgage bankers, providing cooperative buying power and technology tools. By building its own credit-reporting platform and partnering with bureaus like Equifax, Lenders One helps members gain flexibility, lower costs, and optimize workflows.

How can lenders create efficiency in loan manufacturing?
The guests stress “buy what you need, when you need it.” That means pulling the right data at the right stage of the loan, automating income verification later in the process, and using analytics to predict fallout rates—reducing unnecessary costs while keeping accuracy high.

At MBA Annual 2025, HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins interviewed Rikard Bandebo, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Economist at VantageScore, about one of the biggest industry shifts in decades: the entrance of VantageScore into the mortgage ecosystem. 

In this episode:

Why is credit score competition important?
For decades, the mortgage industry has relied on one scoring model. With the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) expanding options, VantageScore introduces innovation, transparency, and fairness—allowing lenders to assess creditworthiness more accurately and consumers to qualify for mortgages previously out of reach.

How will this change expand homeownership?
VantageScore’s model incorporates up to 24 months of credit history and uses alternative data sources, helping identify five million additional households that could qualify for mortgages. These consumers are often in rural or high-rental communities, meaning the change supports economic growth and financial inclusion in underserved markets.

What are the implications for lenders and the market?

·       Lenders: Gain new tools to expand their customer base without increasing risk.

·       Consumers: See more consistent and transparent scoring.

·       Market: Competitive pricing for credit data, increased innovation, and better access to affordable lending.

What’s next for mortgage credit innovation?
Lenders are encouraged to back-test their portfolios, prepare internal systems, and align with new data channels to ensure readiness as the transition accelerates in 2026.

Recorded live at MBA Annual25 in Las Vegas, host Rebecca Kritzman and guests Ashley Sellers, Elaina McFarland, and Bobby Deery break down what lenders are asking for right now: AI-driven workflow efficiency, expanding use of soft-pull strategies, and dual processing to analyze Vantage Score alongside existing scores. 

Who are the speakers?

• Rebecca Kritzman – SVP, Experience & Partner Marketing, Equifax
• Ashley Sellers – VP, Mortgage Sales, Equifax
• Elaina McFarland – Leader, Solution Sales Experts (Credit & Verification), Equifax
• Bobby Deery – SVP, Product, Credit Division, Equifax

Together, they explore the intersection of innovation, compliance, and customer trust.

What were the major insights from Day Two?

• AI and Automation in Workflows: Lenders are adopting AI to streamline process flows and improve efficiency from application through close.
• Rising Interest in Dual Processing: Many lenders are testing Vantage Score alongside existing models to compare outcomes and assess portfolio risk.
• Soft Pull Momentum: Equifax’s soft-pull tools are helping lenders pre-qualify borrowers and protect consumers’ credit scores, especially under the new trigger law.
• Voice of the Customer: Product teams are incorporating direct lender feedback to guide new innovations such as income qualify and telco/pay-TV/utility data integrations.
• Education and Clarity: With rapid industry change — from FICO model updates to 1B vs. 3B credit reporting — customers are asking for clear, data-driven guidance.

What challenges did attendees highlight?

Widespread uncertainty dominated discussions — from pricing implications and trigger-law timing to confusion around single- vs. tri-bureau models. Customers expressed concern about misinformation and asked for help educating both lenders and consumers on what these changes truly mean.

What recommendations did Equifax leaders share?

• Stand up dual-score processing to compare outcomes between Vantage and FICO models.
• Collaborate with Equifax product teams to provide feedback that shapes future solutions.
• Audit your process flows to align products (credit, verification, income qualify) with milestones that deliver the most value.
• Prioritize education and communication — both internally and with consumers — to navigate market shifts confidently.

Recorded live at MBA Annual25 in Las Vegas, host Rebecca Kritzman, SVP of Experience and Partner Marketing at Equifax, sits down with Emmaline Aliff, Tom Ciulla, and Chris Mock to unpack the biggest themes from Day One — from innovation and data-driven lending to the industry’s ongoing dialogue around tri-merge vs. single-bureau credit models.

Who are the speakers?

• Rebecca Kritzman – SVP, Experience & Partner Marketing, Equifax
• Emmaline Aliff – Leader, Equifax Advisors
• Tom Ciulla – SVP, Enterprise Alliances, Equifax
• Chris Mock – VP Mortgage Verification Services, Equifax

Together, they bring perspectives from marketing, data strategy, sales, and economic analysis.

What are the major takeaways from MBA Annual25 Day One?

• Optimism and Energy: Attendees are feeling energized by collaboration and the potential for industry innovation.
• Tri-Merge vs. Single-Bureau Debate: Executives discussed the implications of recent announcements on credit models and what they mean for lenders and low-to-moderate-income borrowers.
• Data-Driven Decisions: The Equifax team emphasized how expanded data, tri-bureau perspectives, and new credit indicators help lenders make more responsible, inclusive lending decisions.
• Balancing Innovation and Safety: Many sessions focused on adopting new technologies without compromising trust or consumer protection.
• Industry Alignment: Across meetings, Equifax was recognized for leadership in data innovation and responsible lending.

Why is innovation such a key theme this year?
Rapid regulatory shifts, market uncertainty, and announcements about credit scoring models have pushed lenders to explore new data sources, smarter automation, and more personalized credit insights. The conversation centered on how innovation can serve both lenders and consumers — improving efficiency while promoting fair access to credit.

What challenges did the speakers highlight?
The group noted miscommunication and uncertainty around policy changes and data use. They stressed the need for industry education, transparent communication, and data-backed decision-making to reduce fear and misinformation.

What gives them hope about the mortgage market?
Every guest emphasized a shared sense of responsibility and care within the industry — a collective commitment to helping people live their financial best through responsible, data-driven lending.

As the U.S. government shutdown delays key economic data, the Equifax Advisors team steps in with deeper insights. Host Emmaline Aliff is joined by Jesse Hardin, Tom O’Neill, and Maria Urtubey to unpack the indicators that matter most when visibility is limited—and to debut the Market Pulse Index, a new holistic measure capturing the intersection of credit, income, assets, and financial behavior across populations.

Economist Justin Begley of Moody’s Analytics delivers our macroeconomic update.

In this episode:

What is the Market Pulse Index?

The Market Pulse Index is a new measure developed by Equifax Advisors that combines multiple financial dimensions—credit performance, income, debt, assets, and affluence—into one holistic view of consumer and market health. It helps lenders and policymakers understand economic conditions beyond single metrics like CPI or GDP.

Why is the Market Pulse Index important right now?

With the U.S. government shutdown delaying key data releases, traditional indicators such as the jobs report and GDP updates are unavailable. The Market Pulse Index fills this gap by integrating real-time, multi-source data to reveal trends in affordability, financial durability, and consumer well-being.

How does the Market Pulse Index differ from other metrics like CPI or GDP?

Unlike single-dimension indicators, the Market Pulse Index combines hard data (credit, income, assets) and soft data (consumer sentiment) to provide a multi-layered view of economic conditions. It can reveal disparities across populations, regions, and credit tiers—helping decision-makers identify who’s thriving and who’s struggling.

What is the K-shaped economy and how does it relate?

The K-shaped economy describes uneven recovery patterns—where high-income consumers see wealth gains while lower-income groups face rising debt and affordability challenges. The Market Pulse Index captures these differences, offering a clearer picture of financial resilience across demographic groups.

How can lenders and businesses use the Market Pulse Index?

Organizations can use the Market Pulse Index to:

• Track aggregate consumer health across income, geography, and age groups
• Identify emerging credit risks and opportunities
• Adjust lending and pricing strategies based on holistic insights
• Improve risk management and marketing segmentation

If you have questions or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to [email protected].

Host Jesse Hardin sits down with Stephanie Gunselman, head of Federal Government Relations at Equifax, for a wide-ranging look at how Washington is shaping the future of lending and credit reporting. From a cooling labor market and inflation to evolving priorities at the CFPB, they explore the latest legislative and regulatory developments — including open banking, data privacy, AI governance, medical debt rules, and more. Whether you’re a lender, policy watcher, or data-driven strategist, this conversation will help you prepare for the policy shifts that could impact your business in 2025 and beyond.

Economist Justin Begley of Moody’s Analytics delivers our macroeconomic update.

Equifax Advisors Maria Urtubey, Emmaline Aliff, Tom O’Neill, Jesse Hardin, and Dave Sojka share what they’re hearing directly from Equifax lending customers across industries. From student loan repayment impacts to shifting auto lending dynamics and tariff uncertainty, the team highlights the questions lenders are asking, the insights uncovered in one-on-one advisory sessions, and the recommendations that have resonated most in 2025. 

Economist Shandor Whitcher of Moody’s Analytics delivers our macroeconomic update.

What is this episode about?
This episode of the Market Pulse Podcast brings together Equifax Advisors Emmaline Aliff, Tom O’Neill, Jesse Hardin, Maria Urtubey, and Dave Sojka to share what they are hearing in one-on-one customer advisory sessions.

What are lenders most concerned about in 2025?
Advisors discuss the resumption of student loan payments, the ripple effects of tariffs, shifts in auto lending, and how these issues vary across industries such as credit unions, banks, and fintechs.

How are customers using Equifax advisory sessions?
Advisory conversations allow lenders to bring their own portfolio challenges to the table and get tailored insights—turning market data into actionable strategies.