FICO is the acronym for Fair Isaac Corporation, a publicly-traded corporation (under the symbol "FIC") that created the best-known and most widely used credit score model in the United States. The FICO score is calculated statistically, with information from a consumer's credit files. The FICO score is primarily used in credit decisions made by banks and other providers of secured and unsecured credit. Banks and other institutions using such scores as a factor in their lending decisions may deny credit, charge higher interest rates, demand more collateral, or require extensive income and asset verification if the applicant's FICO credit score is low.
Although Fair Isaac sells creditors and borrowers "the borrower's FICO score," as if it were a single number, the company uses different scoring methods to rate a borrower's suitability for three types of credit—mortgages, automobile loans, and consumer credit— reflecting the loan default risks inherent to these different types of lending. It is not unusual for these scores to differ—by 50 points or more—for the same borrower. The score also depends on what credit reporting agency the data is obtained on, since not all creditors report to all three.
Available Credit
Members Only
Members Only
Members Only
Members Only