Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Pro adopt VantageScore 4.0

Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Pro announced Thursday that they have begun using VantageScore 4.0 alongside Classic FICO scores in the mortgage qualification process, a move the company said is aimed at expanding access to home financing.

Rocket’s crosstown rival, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) began allowing its brokers to access both FICO and VantageScore credit scoring models for conventional loans at the end of April.

VantageScore 4.0 incorporates additional consumer payment data, including rent, utility and telecommunications payment histories, to assess creditworthiness.

According to VantageScore, the model could make it possible to generate credit scores for as many as 33 million additional Americans who may not be scored under traditional models.

“Rocket is giving more people than ever a fair shot at homeownership by leveraging diversified credit scoring,” Heather Lovier, chief operating officer of Rocket Companies, said in a statement. “Our evolving economy requires a more modern approach to evaluating credit, and VantageScore 4.0 uses an updated methodology designed to create a more inclusive view of creditworthiness.”

The company did not disclose how broadly the scoring model would be applied across its mortgage products or whether it would change underwriting standards for specific loan programs. Separately, UWM said its program includes a maximum 80% loan-to-value ratio, with borrowers’ VantageScore credit scores reduced by 20 points for eligibility and pricing purposes.

Rocket’s announcement comes a month after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) launched a pilot program allowing the use of VantageScore 4.0 for loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, alongside plans to introduce FICO 10T and updated pricing tied to the new credit models.

FHFA Director Bill Pulte said lenders have already delivered about $10 million in VantageScore-based loans to Freddie Mac as part of an operational test.

In tandem with the FHFA’s announcement, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said it plans to adopt FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans in the coming months.