Housing Finance Friday: FHA Keeps Tri-Merge; Opens Door To Vantage, FICO 10T

Research evidence excerpt

Housing Finance Friday: FHA Keeps Tri-Merge; Opens Door To Vantage, FICO 10T

TD Securities (USA) LLC POLICY NOTE

May 22, 2026

■WRG Financial Services Housing Finance Friday: FHA Keeps Tri-

■WRG Housing

Merge; Opens Door To Vantage, FICO 10T

Jaret Seiberg THE TD COWEN INSIGHT

202 868 5313

Welcome to Friday and our weekly look at the latest for housing finance. Today we focus on

jaret.seiberg@tdsecurities.com

FHA, which announced Thursday that it intends to preserve the tri-merge while also approving

Vantage Score and FICO 10T, though use of those scores will require implementation guidance

that is due later this year. We see this as positive for credit bureaus while also ensuring lenders

still pull a FICO score.

What Is Happening

FHA on Thursday issued a statement on credit score and credit reports.

These are the key paragraphs:

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is confirming its intention to enable VantageScore

4.0 (V4) and FICO Score 10T (10T) as eligible credit scoring models for FHA-insured mortgage

underwriting in addition to Classic FICO, as was previously announced by Secretary Scott

Turner on April 22, 2026.

By permitting the use of credit scoring models V4 and 10T alongside Classic FICO, FHA can

catalyze long-delayed competition, reduce systemic dependency on a single legacy model,

encourage pricing discipline in the credit reporting market, and better reflect contemporary

consumer credit behavior. In doing so, FHA will not only modernize its credit framework, but

also demonstrate decisive leadership in advancing access, innovation, and long-term safety

and soundness in mortgage finance, in line with the administration’s goals and Executive

Orders.

FHA will continue to require the use of a tri-merge credit report, ensuring a comprehensive and