Fair Isaac Corp. has announced the newest update to its Fico scoring model, Fico 9, which is slated for release to lenders later this year. The new model gives less weight to medical debt and debts that previously went to collections but have since been paid. This will give lenders a better assessment of consumer risk when extending auto loans, said Anthony Sprauve, a Fico senior consumer credit specialist. “Previously, all collections were lumped together, so we didn’t have the ability to analyze medical debt separately than other types of debt,” Sprauve told Auto Finance News. “Now that we can do that, we are able to take a look and see if that is the only negative, and if it is an indication of someone being in trouble.” With the new scoring model, a consumer with a good credit history whose only negative is medical debt collection may see about a 25-point bump in score. “So, certainly, it could push them from one tier of a loan to another,” he said. Fico 9, the company’s first update since 2008, is currently being evaluated by the credit bureaus.
