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MBA finds single credit score change would likely shift mortgage pricing little
In an analysis of nearly 105,000 mortgage applications from the first half of 2025, about 67% of randomly selected bureau scores landed in the same LLPA bucket as the current decisioning method.
The Mortgage Bankers Association found that switching to a single randomly selected credit bureau score for mortgage underwriting would likely have limited impact on loan pricing and government-sponsored enterprise fee revenue. In a Friday analysis using ICE McDash loan application data, the MBA simulated replacing the current multiscore “decisioning” approach with one credit score used for Fannie Mae loan-level price adjustments.
Across nearly 105,000 mortgage applications from the first half of 2025, about 67% of randomly selected scores matched the decisioning LLPA bucket, and roughly 90% of scores fell within one LLPA bucket above or below the decisioning score. The MBA said movements to higher and lower adjacent pricing buckets occurred at about equal rates, suggesting little net change in LLPA revenue.
The association examined LLPA pricing using the methodology in Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide, including how the decisioning score is selected when multiple bureau scores are available. It also excluded loans with co-borrowers and applications containing credit scores below 500.
The findings come as the mortgage industry debates proposals to move away from requiring multiple credit bureau scores for mortgage underwriting. The MBA said the results were consistent across the LLPA matrix, indicating that a single-file approach would likely have little impact on mortg