UWM’s Mat Ishbia backs VantageScore 4.0, says Underwriting+ results are ‘off the charts’

While he says it’s too early to tell what the full impacts will be from an expanded set of credit scoring models, Mat Ishbia thinks the inclusion of VantageScore 4.0 into the loan underwriting process will help more borrowers qualify for mortgages. Ishbia, the president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), weighed in on the topic of credit scores during last week’s Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) Fuse event in Austin. “I get more emails about VantageScore than almost anything we do at UWM — every day,” Ishbia said. “I get multiple emails about how VantageScore saved a loan, helped them win a loan, helped them beat another lender.” Ishbia’s remarks to mortgage brokers at the AIME Fuse event came not long after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) made VantageScore 4.0 available to all approved single-family lenders doing conventional loan business through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lenders are now allowed to choose between VS4 and Classic FICO, according to FHFA Director Bill Pulte, although FICO Score 10T is not yet eligible for delivery to the government-sponsored enterprises. Pulte said earlier this month that he’s in discussions with FICO about pr...