Analysis of Differences 

between Consumer- and 

Creditor-Purchased 

Credit Scores

SEPTEMBER 2012

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 1

Table of Contents

Executive Summary.......................................................................................2

1. Introduction .............................................................................................3

1.1 Overview of score variations and why they matter.............................3

2. Analysis and Results..............................................................................7

2.1 Data ...............................................................................................7

2.2 Analysis and Results .........................................................................8

3. Impact and Policy Implications............................................................20

Appendix ......................................................................................................22
2 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

Executive Summary

When consumers purchase their credit scores from one of the major nationwide consumer reporting 

agencies (CRAs), they often receive scores that are not generated by the scoring models use to generate 

scores sold to lenders. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act directed the 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to compare credit scores sold to creditors and those sold to 

consumers by nationwide CRAs and determine whether differences between those scores disadvantage 

consumers. CFPB analyzed credit scores from 200,000 credit files from each of the three major nationwide 

CRAs: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. The study yielded the following results:

 The CFPB found that for a majority of consumers the scores produced by different scoring models 

provided similar information about the relative creditworthiness of the consumers. That is, if a 

consumer had a good score from one scoring model the consumer likely had a good score on 

another model. For a substantial minority, however, different scoring models gave meaningfully 

different results.

 Correlations across the results of scoring models were high, generally over .90 (out of a possible 

one). Correlations were stronger among the models for consumers with scores below the median 

than for consumers with scores above the median.

 To determine if score variations would lead to meaningful differences between the consumers’ and 

lenders’ assessment of credit quality, the study divided scores into four credit-quality categories. 

The study found that different scoring models would place consumers in the same credit-quality 

category 73-80% of the time. Different scoring models would place consumers in credit-quality 

categories that are off by one category 19-24% of the time. And from 1% to 3% of consumers 

would be placed in categories that were two or more categories apart.

 The study looked at results within several demographic subgroups. Different scores did not appear 

to treat different groups of consumers systematically differently than other scoring models. The 

study found less variation among scores for younger consumers and consumers who live in lowerincome or high-minority population ZIP codes than for older consumers or consumers in higherincome or lower-minority population ZIP codes. This is likely driven by differences in the median 

scores of these different categories of consumers.

 Consumers cannot know ahead of time whether the scores they purchase will closely track or vary 

moderately or significantly from a score sold to creditors. Thus, consumers should not rely on 

credit scores they purchase exclusively as a guide to how creditors will view their credit quality.

 Firms that sell scores to consumers should make consumers aware that the scores consumers 

purchase could vary, sometimes substantially, from the scores used by creditors.
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 3

1. Introduction

Section 1078 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act directs the Consumer

Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to conduct a study on the “nature, range, and size of variations between the 

credit scores sold to creditors and those sold to consumers by consumer reporting agencies that compile and maintain files on

consumers on a nationwide basis ... and whether such variations disadvantage consumers.”

1

On July 19, 2011, the CFPB published a report on “The impact of differences between consumer- and creditorpurchased credit scores.” That report provided a description of the credit scoring industry; of the types of credit 

scores that are sold to consumers and businesses; and of the potential problems for consumers of having 

discrepancies between the scores they purchase and the scores used for decision-making by lenders in the 

marketplace.

That report also outlined a data analysis to be undertaken by the CFPB to describe credit score variations on 

approximately 200,000 credit files from three nationwide consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) – 

TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian – using credit scores typically sold to consumers and to creditors. This 

second report presents the findings of this analysis.

1.1 Overview of score variations and 

why they might matter

As described in the July 2011 CFPB study, when a consumer purchases a score from a nationwide CRA, it is 

likely that the credit score will not be the same as the score used by a particular lender or other commercial 

credit report user in making a lending or other score-based decision with respect to that consumer. The 

variation in scores reflects not only differences between scores sold to consumer and scores sold to 

creditors, but also differences among scores sold to creditors. 

1.1.1 Types of Scores

Lenders use a wide variety of credit scores which vary by score provider, by model, and by target industry.

1.1.1.a FICO Scores

One consulting firm estimates that scores developed by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) accounted for over 

90% of the market of scores sold to firms in 2010 for use in credit-related decisions.2 There are numerous 

FICO scoring models that vary by version (e.g., newer and older models), by the nationwide CRA that sells 

the score to lenders, and by industry.
4 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

FICO’s most current model is FICO 08, but commercial users still use earlier versions of FICO products. 

Additionally, FICO’s generic scoring models – the most common FICO scores that are developed to predict 

performance on all types of credit - vary across the nationwide CRAs because the FICO scoring models are 

designed specifically for each CRA and reflect differences in how they organize and present credit report 

data.

FICO offers industry-specific models for credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, and telecommunication 

services. FICO models typically generate credit scores in the range between 300 and 850. FICO also builds 

custom models that are designed for specific companies’ credit underwriting needs. 

1.1.1.b Vantage Scores

VantageScore LLC, a score development company established as a joint venture of Equifax, TransUnion, 

and Experian, licenses its scoring models for sale by the three nationwide CRAs to both creditors and 

consumers. There are currently two Vantage scoring models in use: VantageScore and VantageScore 2.0. 

The original VantageScore® launched in 2006. VantageScore 2.0, developed using data from 2006 to 2009, 

launched in October 2010. The VantageScore models produce scores in the range of 501-990.

1.1.1.c Consumer Reporting Agency Scores

CRAs are companies that gather, organize, standardize, and disseminate consumer information, especially 

credit information. Each of the nationwide CRAs – Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian - have their own 

proprietary generic scoring models to predict credit performance. These models were originally developed 

for use by lenders to predict performance on credit obligations, but are now primarily sold as educational 

scores to consumers.3 These scores typically resemble FICO scores in range. Some of the proprietary 

generic scores sold by the CRAs are:

 Equifax: “Equifax Credit Score.” Produces scores in the range 280-850.

4

 Experian: “Experian Plus Score.” Produces scores in the range 330-830.

5

 TransUnion: “TransRisk New Account Score.” Produces scores in the range 300-850.

6

In addition to being sold to consumers on a stand-alone basis, educational scores are often the scores 

provided by the CRAs to consumers who have purchased or otherwise subscribed to credit monitoring 

services, which typically provide reports and scores on a regular basis. 
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 5

1.1.2 Consumer Purchases of Credit Scores

While consumers can obtain free annual credit reports from the nationwide CRAs, they typically have to pay 

for credit scores.

7 Consumers purchase scores through several channels. In most cases, the scores 

consumers purchase are educational credit scores made available to them by the nationwide CRAs and 

through other channels. Consumers may purchase scores by contacting a nationwide CRA directly or by 

purchasing a score to accompany the free credit reports consumers are able to obtain annually at 

annualcreditreport.com. The nationwide CRAs generally sell consumers educational scores or VantageScore 

scores. Consumers can also obtain credit scores by subscribing to credit monitoring services. Again, these 

scores are typically educational. Some educational credit scoring providers make scores available to 

consumers for free. 

In some circumstances consumers can purchase FICO scores. For example, Equifax offers a FICO score 

for sale with an Equifax credit report, and consumers’ FICO scores derived from credit reports from both 

Equifax and TransUnion can be purchased from FICO’s consumer website, myfico.com. Consumers 

cannot purchase a FICO score generated from an Experian credit report. Even where a consumer 

purchases a FICO score and goes to a creditor that uses FICO scores, the score may not be the one any 

particular creditor uses, given the diversity of scores in the marketplace and the possibility that the creditor 

may obtain scores from a different CRA. 

1.1.3 Potential Harms for Consumers

Variations between the credit scores sold to consumers and to lenders carry significance only if such 

variations lead to consumer harms. The July 19, 2011 CFPB Report highlighted potential harms for 

consumers. These harms include those resulting from consumers’ inaccurate perceptions of their own 

credit worthiness.

1.1.3.a Harms from Inaccurate Perception of Creditworthiness

A consumer can face harms if, after purchasing a credit score, the consumer has a different impression of

his or her creditworthiness than a lender would. If the score leads the consumer to overestimate lenders’ 

likely assessment of his or her creditworthiness, the consumer might be likely to apply for credit lines that 

would not be approved, with a cost of wasted time and effort on both the consumer’s and lender’s part. 

Alternatively, the consumer may reject offers of credit that would be beneficial because the consumer’s 

misperception of his or her creditworthiness leads the consumer to believe that the offers are over-priced.

If a consumer underestimates lenders’ likely assessment of his or her creditworthiness, the consumer might 

fail to apply for credit at all or delay applying for credit, forgoing the opportunity to buy a house or car, for 

example, or delaying a valuable mortgage refinancing. A consumer might also apply to lenders who offer 

less favorable terms than he or she might qualify for, or accept less favorable offers received through the 

mail or online direct marketing. In this case, the cost to the affected consumer would be higher interest 

costs and possibly higher likelihoods of default due to the greater costs and difficulty of making monthly 

payments. Lenders might benefit by being able to charge higher interest to consumers who “incorrectly” 

understand their options when applying; at the same time lenders would lose out on business from 

consumers who decide not to apply for credit due to a misperception of its likely cost. Finally, consumers 

who believe their credit score to be low may take costly steps that they believe may improve their credit 

score.
6 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

1.1.3.b Small differences, Big impacts

Notably, the potential for a consumer to be confused may be greater where the consumer is sophisticated 

about the use of credit scores by creditors. Many lenders use specific score levels as thresholds to determine 

whether consumers will qualify for a particular loan or interest rate. For example, FICO score levels 620, 

680, and 740 might be used by a lender as the boundary lines between consumers considered to be “subprime, “near-prime,” or “prime” credit risks, respectively. A striking example of this is the fact that Fannie 

Mae generally won’t buy mortgages with FICO scores under 620.8 So, for consumers whose scores are in 

the relevant range, a small variation in a consumer’s score might result in his or her score falling above or 

below such a cut-off, with dramatic implications for his or her access to home loans. Given the use of score 

thresholds to determine eligibility for certain products or pricing tiers, even small variations can have large 

impacts for certain consumers. If a consumer believes incorrectly that he falls above or below a crucial 

threshold then the impact of a given difference between scores may be magnified, since it may be more 

likely to have an impact on the consumer’s perceptions and consequent credit-seeking behavior.

1.1.4 Study Objectives

To explore these issues, the CFPB undertook this follow-up study to the July 19, 2011 CFPB Report on 

credit scores to examine scores sold to consumers and see how well they correlate with the scores used by 

lenders.
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 7

2. Analysis and Results

This chapter of the report describes the data analyzed and presents results of several approaches to 

analyzing differences and similarities across scoring models.

The CFPB found that for a majority of consumers the scores produced by different scoring models provide 

similar information about the relative creditworthiness of the consumers. That is, if a consumer had a good 

score from one scoring model the consumer likely had a good score on another model. For a substantial 

minority, however, different scoring models gave meaningfully different results.

2.1 Data

Each of the three larger nationwide CRAs, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, provided the CFPB with a 

random sample of 200,000 consumer reports and credit scores calculated on such reports. The samples 

were chosen independently at the three CRAs; the samples were not designed to contain the same 

individuals. The samples selected included only reports with at least one trade line – and not, for example, 

simply an inquiry – that therefore would be potentially “scoreable” by at least one scoring model. 

For each consumer report in the sample, the CRAs provided five credit scores; the file’s trade line history, 

scrubbed of any potentially personally identifiable information; and ZIP code and age information to allow 

the CFPB to compare scores by consumer demographics.9

The five credit scores provided by each nationwide CRA for the study were:

1. The generic FICO10 score sold by the CRA. Equifax provided BEACON 5, a FICO score; 

Experian provided FICO V2 (Quest); and TransUnion provided FICO Classic 2004. 

2. The CRA’s educational score sold to consumers. Equifax provided EquifaxRisk 3.0 scores, 

Experian provided Experian PLUS scores, and TransUnion provided TransRisk New Account 

Scores.

3. VantageScore 1.0.

4. FICO Auto Loan industry-specific score.

5. FICO BankCard industry-specific score.
8 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

The FICO scores and VantageScore are all sold to creditors. The generic FICO score (in some 

circumstances), the VantageScore, and the educational scores are sold to consumers. There are therefore a 

number of potential situations where the consumer could purchase a score and a creditor could purchase a 

different score to evaluate the creditworthiness of that consumer. The situations that can be evaluated with 

the data are: the consumer buys an educational score and the creditor uses a FICO score; the consumer buys 

an educational score and the creditor uses a VantageScore; the consumer buys a VantageScore and the 

creditor uses a FICO score; and, the consumer buys a FICO score and the creditor uses a VantageScore. 

Note that the last two situations are symmetric, and therefore there are three relevant pair-wise comparisons 

for each of the analyses: educational versus FICO, educational versus VantageScore, and VantageScore 

versus FICO. Analysis showed that the industry-specific scores are very highly correlated to the generic 

FICO scores, and therefore comparisons with those models are not presented – results were very similar to 

analysis of the generic FICO score.11

The results of the analysis were extremely similar qualitatively across the three CRAs. The study therefore 

presents results from a single CRA in the body of the report and provides results for the other two CRAs in 

the Appendix. There is one exception to this broader pattern. The sample provided by one of the CRAs 

contained very few young consumers because of the way the sample was drawn. Adjusting for this 

difference (e.g., focusing on older consumers) the results for this CRA are very similar to the other two 

CRAs.12 

2.2 Analysis and Results

2.2.1 Score Distributions

In order to better understand differences in scores across models, and in anticipation of some of the results 

shown later in the report, it is useful to have some background on the distribution of scores across 

consumers.

In addition to the score range that score developers select, developers determine the shape of the 

distribution of scores. This is because scores rank consumers according to their relative risk and therefore 

the relationship between score and absolute risk does not have to be constant across the score range. Figure 

1 shows the score distributions for the three models for one of the CRAs. It shows that the FICO score 

and the educational score are scaled such that there is a large proportion of scores in the higher end and a 

long “tail” at the lower end of the score distribution, while the VantageScore is scaled such that the 

distribution of scores is relatively flat across the score distribution. This means that small changes in a 

FICO score or educational score at the high end of the score distribution translate into relatively large 

percentile changes, while changes in score at the low end of the FICO or educational score range translate 

into relatively small percentile changes. For VantageScore, on the other hand, a given score change leads to 

a similar percentage change across the score distribution.
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 9

FIGURE 1: SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS

All credit scoring models rank individual consumers by their relative credit risk. That is, a score represents a 

consumer’s likelihood of becoming delinquent on a loan relative to the risk of other consumers who represent lower 

risks (i.e., have higher scores) or higher risk (i.e., have lower scores). For a given population and time period, however, 

absolute default probabilities can be calculated. Figure 2 shows an example of default risk by FICO score. 

It shows that at the low end of the score range the risk of default is very high and the relationship between 

score and risk is fairly steep, while at the high of the score distribution, where risk is very low, the 

relationship is fairly flat. This means that score differences at the low end of the score distribution are 

associated with relatively large differences in default probability, while score differences at the high end are 

associated with relatively small differences in default probability.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

300340380420460500540580620660700740780820

Percent

FICO Score

Distribution of FICO Score

Median = 714

0%

5%

10%

15%

300340380420460500540580620660700740780820

Percent

Educational Score

Distribution of Educational Score

Median = 712 

0%

2%

4%

6%

500540580620660700740780820860900940980

Percent

VantageScore

Distribution of VantageScore

Median = 750
10 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

-10%

300-499500-509510-519520-529530-539540-549550-559560-569570-579580-589590-599600-609610-619620-629630-639640-649650-659660-669670-679680-689690-699700-709710-719720-729730-739740-749750-759760-769770-779780-789790-799800-850

FICO Score

FIGURE 2: DEFAULT RISK BY FICO SCORE13

 

2.2.2 Adjusting for Score Range Differences

As discussed in the introduction, different scoring models use different ranges. FICO scores have a 300-850 

range, educational scores resemble the FICO range with minor variations, and VantageScore ranges from 

500-990. In order to make useful comparisons across scoring models the scores were first converted into a 

relative score. This was done separately for each scoring model. Consumers were first ranked by 

score. Their percentile in the distribution of scores was then determined, and this was the “relative score” 

used throughout the analysis. For example, consider a consumer with a FICO score of 680. The score 

places the consumer at the 38th percentile of the FICO score distribution, meaning he or she has a better 

FICO score than 38% of consumers. His or her relative score for the FICO model was therefore 38. This 

was also done for the VantageScore and the educational score. This allowed us to compare where 

consumers fell in the score distribution using each of the models, and disentangle these differences from the 

differences that arose because different scoring models use different score ranges. We use the phrase 

“relative score” to mean the percentile equivalent of the score generated by a particular model.

2.2.3 Correlation across Scoring Models

The simplest measure of similarity or difference of the scores produced by the different scoring models is 

“correlation.” Correlation is a measure of how closely related two variables are, and ranges from -1 to 1. A 

value of -1 indicates that two variables have a perfectly inverse relationship, while a value of 1 means they 

are perfectly related. A value of zero means that there is no relationship between the two variables. So, the 

closer the correlation between the scores produced by two models is to 1, the tighter the relationship 

between those scoring models, and the more similar the two scores will be for a given consumer (on 

average). Default Risk

Median
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 11

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Educational Score

VantageScore

VantageScore and Educational Score Percentiles

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Educational Score

FICO Score

FICO and Educational Score Percentiles

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

FICO Score

VantageScore

VantageScore and FICO Score Percentiles

Figure 3 provides visual representations of these relationships. It shows “scatter-plot” graphs that show 

consumers’ relative scores from pairs of scoring models. A dot represents consumers with the given 

combination of scores (as shown on the axes); dot size shows the relative number of consumers that have a 

given combinations of scores. (The “lumpiness” in the figures arises from using percentiles; there were 

some score “ties” that lead to more than 1% of consumers being assigned the same score percentile.) These 

figures each showed clearly that there is a relationship between the scores produced by these models for 

each consumer, but scores were not perfectly correlated. Figure 3 also shows that there appeared to be 

greater dispersion between the pairs of scores above the median, so that scores were more similar for 

consumers with worse scores and less similar for consumers with better scores.

FIGURE 3: SCATTERPLOTS
12 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

Figure 4 shows the correlations for each of the pairs of scoring models. It shows that the correlations were 

high, in each case equal to or greater than 0.9. Figure 4 also shows the correlations when the sample was

split into low-score and high-score groups, using the average percentile across the two groups and splitting 

at the median (the 50th percentile). It confirms what is apparent from the figure, that scores, as measured by 

score percentile, were less closely correlated for high-score consumers than low-score consumers.

FIGURE 4: SCORE CORRELATIONS

Overall

Customers Below 

Median

Customers Above 

Median

FICO vs. Educational 0.93 0.86 > 0.64

Vantage vs. Educational 0.93 0.82 > 0.68

Vantage vs. FICO 0.90 0.77 > 0.52

Figure 2 provides some insight into why scores were more highly correlated for low-score consumers than 

for high-score consumers. As shown in Figure 2, there was much less variation in default risk above the 

median (ranging from roughly 0% to 5%) than below (where it ranges from roughly 5% to over 60%). This 

is true for VantageScore as well, as shown in Appendix Figure 2. Consequently, it is not surprising that 

different scoring models tended to “agree” more on the scores for consumers below the median. It is easier 

to statistically distinguish a consumer that poses, e.g., a 20% default risk from a consumer that poses a 10% 

default risk than it is to distinguish a consumer that poses a 2% default risk from a consumer that poses a 

1% default risk.

2.2.4 Magnitude of Differences across Scoring Models

The correlation and the scatter-plots show that scores were generally similar across scoring models. What 

they do not make clear is how many consumers had very similar scores across the different models and how 

many had large differences in their scores. To evaluate this, consumers were divided up into score 

categories, and then the categories that consumers fall into using the different scoring models were 

compared. The categories used are “deciles,” groups of 10% of the sample.14 For example, consumers with 

VantageScores in the bottom 10% of scores, consumers with scores between the 10th percentile of scores 

and the 20th percentile of scores, etc.

Figure 5 shows the results of comparing score deciles across scoring models. Note that cells with entries of 

“0%” have some consumers in them but so few that they round to zero, while blank cells have no 

consumers.
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 13

FIGURE 5: DECILE COMPARISONS

Educational vs. 

FICO Rank for FICO Score

All

Rank for 

Educational Score <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 10%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 11%

<80% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 2% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 1% 0% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 5% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<20% 2% 5% 2% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<10% 7% 2% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 9% 9% 10% 11% 10% 100%

VantageScore 

vs. 

Educational Rank for Educational Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 3% 5% 10%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 3% 10%

<80% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 1% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% 0% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 4% 3% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 2% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<20% 3% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<10% 6% 3% 1% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 100%

VantageScore vs. 

FICO Rank for FICO Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 10%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 2% 3% 4% 10%

<80% 0% 0% 1% 1% 1% 3% 3% 2% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 1% 0% 0% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 3% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 3% 3% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<20% 3% 3% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<10% 6% 3% 1% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 9% 9% 10% 11% 10% 100%
14 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

Figure 6 summarizes the results presented in Figure 5. It shows that most consumers, 78 - 86% depending 

on the comparison, had scores that were in the same decile or in adjacent deciles for each of the two scoring 

models. A sizeable minority, however, 11 - 16%, had scores that were two deciles away from each other 

across the scoring models, and a small number, 3 - 6%, have scores that were three or more deciles away 

from each other.

FIGURE 6: DECILE ANALYSIS

FICO vs. Vantage Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

34%

(60,596)

34%

(60,596)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

44%

(78,388)

78%

(138,984)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

16%

(28,007)

94%

(166,991)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

6%

(10,718)

100%

(177,709)

Total 100%

(177,709)

100%

(177,709)

Educational vs. FICO Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

42%

(75,592)

42%

(75,592)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

43%

(76,813)

85%

(152,405)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

11%

(20,436)

97%

(172,841)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

3%

(5,736)

100%

(178,577)

Total 100%

(178,577)

100%

(178,577)

Educational vs. Vantage Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

42%

(76,435)

42%

(76,435)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

44%

(81,275)

86%

(157,710)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

11%

(20,472)

97%

(178,182)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

3%

(5,669)

100%

(183,851)

Total 100%

(183,851)

100%

(183,851)
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 15

2.2.5 Economically Meaningful Differences across Scoring 

Models

The decile comparisons show how many consumers had scores from different models that were in 

substantially different portions of the score distribution. These differences, however, did not necessarily 

translate into meaningful differences between outcomes consumers might expect, based on the scores they 

obtain, and actual outcomes, based on the scores that creditors actually use to evaluate them. In order to 

evaluate this it was necessary to identify differences between scores that would be meaningful in the 

marketplace. Creditors often use scores by establishing score ranges and treating consumers within a range 

the same for purposes of underwriting or pricing. The use of scores and score categories varies across 

product markets, and within product markets different creditors use scores differently. In order to evaluate 

how often meaningful differences would occur we divided score distributions into a set of ranges. These 

ranges reflect an approximation of how scores are used; this does not reflect the use of scores in any one 

market or by any one creditor. Consumers were categorized into different score bins for FICO scores and 

educational scores:

 Below 620;

 Between 620 and 680;

 Between 680 and 740; and

 Above 740.

For VantageScores, consumers were categorized by taking the percentiles associated with each of the FICO 

score thresholds and applying that percentile cut-point to the distributions of VantageScores. For example, 

a 620 FICO score is the 25th percentile of the FICO score distribution, so the lowest score category of 

VantageScores was made up of scores below the 25th percentile of the VantageScore distribution. Similarly, 

a FICO score of 680 represents the 38th percentile of scores, so the next lowest range of VantageScores was 

the 25th to 38th percentiles.

Figure 7 shows these comparisons for each of the pairs of scores rounded to the nearest whole percent: 
16 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

FIGURE 7: SCORE RANGE COMPARISONS

Educational vs. FICO FICO Score

Educational Score < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740 All

>740 0% 0% 4% 39% 44%

680 – 740 0% 3% 9% 3% 15%

620 – 680 3% 9% 3% 0% 15%

< 620 23% 3% 0% 0% 26%

All 27% 15% 16% 42% 100%

Educational vs. 

VantageScore Educational Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740

Over 55% 0% 0% 5% 40% 45%

< 55% 1% 5% 8% 3% 17%

< 38% 4% 7% 2% 0% 13%

< 25% 22% 3% 0% 0% 25%

All 27% 15% 16% 43% 100%

FICO vs. 

VantageScore FICO Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740

Over 55% 0% 1% 7% 39% 47%

< 55% 1% 5% 7% 4% 17%

< 38% 4% 6% 2% 0% 13%

< 25% 21% 2% 0% 0% 24%

All 27% 15% 16% 43% 100%
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 17

Figure 8 summarizes the results from the above figures. It shows that most consumers, 73 – 80%, were in 

the same score categories across the different scoring models. This means that the scores consumers receive 

will usually give them an accurate understanding of how creditors, using another scoring model, would 

perceive them. Most of the remaining consumers, 19 – 24%, would likely have a moderate but meaningfully 

different impression of their credit score than would a creditor using the other score. A very small portion, 

1 – 3%, would receive a very different impression than would a creditor using the other score. These 

findings rely on consumers being sophisticated enough to know how a score they receive might translate 

into broad pricing or underwriting categories used in the marketplace and in the particular score ranges used 

here. If some creditors use narrower score ranges, then a smaller share of consumers going to those 

creditors would have an accurate view. 

FIGURE 8: SCORE RANGE ANALYSIS

2.2.6 Results for Population Subgroups

The data provided by the CRAs allows some limited analysis of sub-populations of consumers. In 

particular, the CRAs provided information on age and ZIP code. While ZIP codes are relatively large areas 

there is still a fair amount of variation across ZIP codes in income and racial and ethnic makeup. ZIP codes 

were matched to 2000 Census data on income and race and ethnicity. 

FICO vs. Educational Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

80%

(142,493)

80%

(142,493)

Score category off 

by 1 (yellow)

19%

(34,631)

99%

(177,124)

Score category off 

by 2 or more (red) 

1%

(1,454)

100%

(178,578)

Total 100%

(178,578)

100%

(178,578)

Educational vs. Vantage Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

77%

(141,916)

77%

(141,916)

Score category off 

by 1 (yellow)

22%

(39,763)

99%

(181,679)

Score category off 

by 2 or more (red) 

1%

(2,172)

100%

(183,851)

Total 100%

(183,851)

100%

(183,851)

FICO vs. Vantage Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

73%

(129,858)

73%

(129,858)

Score category off 

by 1 (yellow)

24%

(42,941)

97%

(172,799)

Score category off 

by 2 or more (red) 

3%

(4,910)

100%

(177,709)

Total 100%

(177,709)

100%

(177,709)
18 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

Figures 9 and 10 show comparisons of median score percentiles and correlations between different scoring 

models for consumers in different age categories, in ZIP codes with different median income, and ZIP 

codes with different racial and ethnic make-ups.15 They show that different groups had very similar median 

scores across scoring models. For example, younger consumers16 had lower median scores than older 

consumers17, and this finding was consistent across scoring models. The median score for young consumers 

was very similar across models, between the 31st and 35th percentiles of the overall score distribution. 

Similarly, consumers who live in lower-income ZIP codes18 and consumers who live in ZIP codes with high 

minority populations19 had relatively low scores, with median scores in the mid-30s of the overall score 

distribution across scoring models.

 

These findings with respect to differences in median scores by age, race and ethnicity, and income are 

consistent with previous analysis by other researchers, including in a detailed study by the Federal Reserve 

Board in a 2007 report to Congress.

20

 We do not address here the underlying causes of these differences 

nor the implications for different groups of consumer.

FIGURE 9: MEDIAN SCORE COMPARISONS

Educational 

Median

FICO 

Median

Vantage 

Median Difference Educational Median

FICO 

Median

Vantage 

Median Difference

Younger Older

Educational 

vs. FICO 35 35 - 0 74 74 - 0

Educational 

vs. 

Vantage

35 - 31 4 74 - 72 2

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 35 32 -3 - 74 73 -1

Customers in LMI Areas Customers in Non-LMI Areas

Educational 

vs. FICO 36 34 - 2 54 52 - 2

Educational 

vs. 

Vantage

35 - 35 0 53 - 53 0

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 34 36 2 - 52 54 2

Majority Minority Areas Low Minority Areas

Educational 

vs. FICO 36 34 - 2 54 52 - 2

Educational 

vs. 

Vantage

35 - 35 0 53 - 53 0

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 34 37 3 - 53 55 2
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 19

Turning to correlations, Figure 10 shows that scores were slightly more correlated for younger consumers 

and consumers who live in lower-income or high-minority population ZIP codes. This result is consistent 

with the finding described above that scores were more highly correlated for consumers with lower scores 

than for consumers with higher scores. 

FIGURE 10: MEDIAN SCORE CORRELATIONS

Younger Older

Educational vs. FICO 0.92 > 0.90

Educational vs. Vantage 0.91 > 0.90

FICO vs. Vantage 0.89 > 0.85

Customers in LMI Areas Customers in Non-LMI Areas

Educational vs. FICO 0.94 > 0.93

Educational vs. Vantage 0.93 ~ 0.93

FICO vs. Vantage 0.91 > 0.90

Majority Minority Areas Low Minority Areas

Educational vs. FICO 0.94 > 0.93

Educational vs. Vantage 0.93 ~ 0.93

FICO vs. Vantage 0.90 ~ 0.90
20 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

3. Impact and Policy 

Implications

This study has found that for a majority of consumers the scores produced by different scoring models 

provide similar information about the relative creditworthiness of the consumers. That is, if a consumer 

had a good score from one scoring model the consumer likely had a good score on another model. For a 

substantial minority, however, different scoring models gave meaningfully different results.

The study found that for 73-80% of consumers different scoring models place consumers in the same 

category of credit quality. Different scoring models place consumers in credit-quality categories that are off 

by one category 19-24% of the time. And from 1% to 3% of consumers are placed in categories that are

two or more categories apart.

These findings suggest that consumers should avoid relying on scores they purchase as the sole basis for 

assessing their creditworthiness when making important decisions about obtaining credit. No consumer will 

know in advance whether the score he or she sees will vary significantly from the score a creditor sees. 

Thus, each consumer should be prepared for the possibility that the score he or she sees is meaningfully 

different from the score used by a lender.

In evaluating educational credit scores, consumers should also consider the following:

(1) Many scores exist in the marketplace: It is unclear the extent to which consumers understand 

that multiple scores exist in the marketplace. It is likely that many consumers incorrectly believe 

that the scores they purchase are the same scores used by lenders in evaluating their applications for 

credit. As described throughout this paper, literally dozens of different credit models are used by 

lenders. FICO alone has over 49 credit scoring models.21 Consumers additionally can purchase a 

range of educational scores or VantageScores.

(2) Consumers should check their credit reports for accuracy and dispute any errors: Credit 

scores are calculated based on information in a consumer’s credit file. Regardless of the credit 

scoring model used, inaccurate adverse information in a consumer’s file (e.g. unpaid accounts that 

are not the consumer’s, accounts described as paid late that were paid on time), can hurt that 

consumer’s credit score. Before shopping for major credit items, consumers should review their 

credit files for inaccuracies. Each of the nationwide CRAs is required by law to provide credit 

reports for free to consumers once every 12 months upon request. A consumer can obtain these 

reports at annualcreditreport.com. Consumers can get information on this and the dispute process 

at ask cfpb.
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 21

(3) Consumers should shop for credit: Regardless of variations in educational and commercial 

scores, or even among scoring models used by lenders (which was analyzed in this study in only a 

very limited and somewhat indirect manner) consumers benefit by shopping for credit. Even if 

provided the same score, lenders may offer different loan terms because they operate different risk 

models or face different competitive pressures. Consumers should not rule themselves out of 

seeking lower priced credit due to assumptions about their credit score. 

Some consumers are reluctant to shop for credit out of fear that they will harm their credit score. 

Many consumers are generally aware that inquiries by creditors can negatively impact their credit 

score. However, the potentially negative impact of inquiries on credit scores may be overblown. 

For example, FICO reports that its scoring models treat multiple inquiries made for either a 

mortgage, auto, or student loan within the same 30 day-window as a single inquiry. Even when 

credit inquiries are counted separately, as in the case of credit card applications, each additional 

credit inquiry will take fewer than 5 points off a FICO score.22 Other scoring models such as 

Vantage also do not heavily weight inquiries. An inquiry will take 1 to 5 points off a Vantage 

score.23

(4) Providers of educational scores should ensure that the potential for score differences is 

clear to consumers: This study finds that for a substantial minority of consumers, the scores that 

consumers purchase from the nationwide CRAs depict consumers’ creditworthiness differently 

from the scores sold to creditors. It is likely that, unaided, many consumers will not understand this 

fact or even understand that the score they have obtained is an educational score and not the score 

that a lender is likely to rely upon. Consumers obtaining educational scores may be confused about 

the usefulness of the score being sold if sellers of scores do not make it clear to consumers before 

the consumer purchases the educational score that it is not the score the lender is likely to use.
22 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES 300-499 500-509 510-519 520-529 530-539 540-549 550-559 560-569 570-579 580-589 590-599 600-609 610-619 620-629 630-639 640-649 650-659 660-669 670-679 680-689 690-699 700-709 710-719 720-729 730-739 740-749 750-759 760-769 770-779 780-789

790-799800-850

FICO Score

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

-10%

Appendix

APPENDIX FIGURE 1: DEFAULT RISK BY FICO SCORE

 

APPENDIX FIGURE 2: 90 DAY DELINQUENCY RATE BY VANTAGESCORE

 

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

501-530531-550551-570571-590591-610611-630631-650651-670671-690691-710711-730731-750751-770771-790791-810811-830831-850851-870871-890891-910911-930931-950951-970971-990

Probability of 90 Day Delinquency

VantageScore

Median

Default Risk

Median
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 23

APPENDIX FIGURE 3: SCATTERPLOTS
24 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 25

APPENDIX FIGURE 4: SCORE CORRELATIONS

Bureau 1 Overall

Customers Below 

Median

Customers Above 

Median

FICO vs. Educational 0.93 0.86 > 0.64

Vantage vs. Educational 0.93 0.82 > 0.68

Vantage vs. FICO 0.90 0.77 > 0.52

Bureau 2 Overall

Customers Below 

Median

Customers Above 

Median

FICO vs. Educational 0.90 0.85 > 0.48

Vantage vs. Educational 0.85 0.77 > 0.23

Vantage vs. FICO 0.83 0.78 > 0.13

Bureau 3 Overall

Customers Below 

Median

Customers Above 

Median

FICO vs. Educational 0.92 0.84 > 0.55

Vantage vs. Educational 0.91 0.75 > 0.57

Vantage vs. FICO 0.90 0.77 > 0.49
26 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

APPENDIX FIGURE 5: DECILE COMPARISONS

Educational 

vs. FICO 

Bureau 1 Rank for FICO Score

All

Rank for 

Educational 

Score <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 10%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 11%

<80% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 2% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 1% 0% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 5% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<20% 2% 5% 2% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<10% 7% 2% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 9% 9% 10% 11% 10% 100%

Educational 

vs. FICO 

Bureau 2 Rank for FICO Score

All

Rank for 

Educational 

Score <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 11%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 9%

<80% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 2% 1% 11%

<60% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% 0% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 0% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 2% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<20% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<10% 6% 3% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 100%

Educational 

vs. FICO 

Bureau 3 Rank for FICO Score

All

Rank for 

Educational 

Score <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 11%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 3% 12%

<80% 0% 0% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 11%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 3% 2% 2% 1% 0% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 0% 1% 3% 3% 1% 1% 0% 0% 9%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 3% 3% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<30% 1% 2% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<20% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<10% 7% 3% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 100%
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 27

VantageScore 

vs. 

Educational 

Bureau 1 Rank for Educational Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 3% 5% 10%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 3% 10%

<80% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 1% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% 0% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 4% 3% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 2% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<20% 3% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<10% 6% 3% 1% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 100%

VantageScore 

vs. 

Educational 

Bureau 2 Rank for Educational Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 1% 2% 2% 3% 10%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 2% 2% 3% 10%

<80% 0% 0% 1% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 2% 2% 1% 2% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<20% 3% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<10% 7% 3% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 11% 10% 9% 11% 100%

VantageScore 

vs. 

Educational 

Bureau 3 Rank for Educational Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 10%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 10%

<80% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 1% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 3% 3% 2% 1% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 1% 1% 0% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 3% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<20% 3% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<10% 7% 3% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 9% 9% 9% 10% 11% 11% 10% 100%
28 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

VantageScore 

vs. FICO 

Bureau 1 Rank for FICO Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 10%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 2% 3% 4% 10%

<80% 0% 0% 1% 1% 1% 3% 3% 2% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 1% 0% 0% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 3% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 3% 3% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<20% 3% 3% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<10% 6% 3% 1% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 9% 9% 10% 11% 10% 100%

VantageScore 

vs. FICO 

Bureau 2 Rank for FICO Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 10%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 10%

<80% 0% 0% 1% 1% 2% 2% 2% 3% 10%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 10%

<60% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<30% 1% 2% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0 0% 10%

<20% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<10% 7% 3% 0% 0% 0% 0 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 100%

VantageScore 

vs. FICO 

Bureau 3 Rank for FICO Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore <10% <20% <30% <40% <50% <60% <70% <80% <90% <100%

<100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 11%

<90% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 2% 3% 3% 11%

<80% 0% 0% 1% 1% 2% 2% 3% 2% 11%

<70% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% 11%

<60% 0% 0% 0% 1% 3% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 10%

<50% 0% 0% 1% 3% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 10%

<40% 0% 1% 3% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<30% 1% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 9%

<20% 3% 4% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0 9%

<10% 6% 3% 1% 0% 0% 10%

All 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 100%
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 29

APPENDIX FIGURE 6: DECILE ANALYSIS

Educational vs. FICO 

 Bureau 1 Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

42%

(75,592)

42%

(75,592)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

43%

(76,813)

85%

(152,405)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

11%

(20,436)

97%

(172,841)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

3%

(5,736)

100%

(178,577)

Total 100%

(178,577)

100%

(178,577)

Educational vs. Vantage 

 Bureau 1 Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

42%

(76,435)

42%

(76,435)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

44%

(81,275)

86%

(157,710)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

11%

(20,472)

97%

(178,182)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

3%

(5,669)

100%

(183,851)

Total 100%

(183,851)

100%

(183,851)

FICO vs. Vantage 

 Bureau 1 Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

34%

(60,596)

34%

(60,596)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

44%

(78,388)

78%

(138,984)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

16%

(28,007)

94%

(166,991)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

6%

(10,718)

100%

(177,709)

Total 100%

(177,709)

100%

(177,709)

Educational vs. FICO 

Bureau 2 Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

36%

(71,108)

36%

(71,108)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

42%

(83,061)

78%

(154,169)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

15%

(29,397)

94%

(183,566)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

6%

(11,932)

100%

(195,498)

Total 100%

(195,498)

100%

(195,498)
30 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

 

 

Educational vs. Vantage

 Bureau 2 Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

31%

(62,289)

31%

(62,3289)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

39%

(77,659)

70%

(139,948)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

18%

(34,678)

88%

(174,626)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

12%

(23,181)

100%

(197,807)

Total 100%

(197,807)

100%

(197,807)

FICO vs. Vantage 

 Bureau 2 Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

30%

(58,889)

30%

(58,889)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

38%

(73,181)

68%

(132,070)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

19%

(37,182)

87%

(169,252)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

13%

(25,706)

100%

(194,958)

Total 100%

(194,958)

100%

(194,598)

Educational vs. FICO 

 Bureau 3 Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

38%

(63,327)

38%

(63,327)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

42%

(70,340)

80%

(133,667)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

15%

(24,413)

95%

(158,080)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

5%

(8,364)

100%

(166,444)

Total 100%

(166,444)

100%

(166,444)

Educational vs. Vantage 

 Bureau 3 Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

36%

(62,314)

36%

(62,314)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

43%

(74,612)

78%

(136,926)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

16%

(28,314)

94%

(163,240)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

6%

(10,180)

100%

(175,420)

Total 100%

(175,420)

100%

(175,420)

FICO vs. Vantage 

Bureau 3 Cumulative

Decile match 

(green)

35%

(57,252)

35%

(57,252)

Adjacent deciles 

(light green)

42%

(69,584)

77%

(126,836)

Two deciles off 

(yellow) 

17%

(27,863)

93%

(154,699)

Three or more 

deciles off (red)

7%

(10,778)

100%

(165,477)

Total 100%

(165,477)

100%

(165,477)
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 31

APPENDIX FIGURE 7: SCORE RANGE COMPARISONS

Educational vs. FICO 

Bureau 1

FICO Score

Educational Score < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740 All

>740 0% 0% 4% 39% 44%

680 - 740 0% 3% 9% 3% 15%

620 - 680 3% 9% 3% 0% 15%

< 620 23% 3% 0% 0% 26%

All 27% 15% 16% 42% 100%

Educational vs. 

VantageScore 

Bureau 1

Educational Score

Rank for 

VantageScore < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740 All

Over 55% 0% 0% 5% 40% 45%

< 55% 1% 5% 8% 3% 17%

< 38% 4% 7% 2% 0% 13%

< 25% 22% 3% 0% 0% 25%

All 27% 15% 16% 43% 100%

FICO vs. 

VantageScore 

Bureau 1

FICO Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740

Over 55% 0% 1% 7% 39% 47%

< 55% 1% 5% 7% 4% 17%

< 38% 4% 6% 2% 0% 13%

< 25% 21% 2% 0% 0% 24%

All 27% 15% 16% 43% 100%
32 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

Educational vs. FICO 

Bureau 2

FICO Score

Educational Score < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740 All

>740 0% 0% 5% 51% 56%

680 - 740 0% 3% 9% 3% 16%

620 - 680 3% 5% 2% 0% 10%

< 620 15% 3% 0% 0% 18%

All 18% 12% 16% 54% 100%

Educational vs. 

VantageScore 

Bureau 2

Educational Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740

Over 55% 0% 0% 3% 42% 45%

< 55% 0% 1% 5% 11% 17%

< 38% 1% 4% 6% 2% 13%

< 25% 17% 5% 2% 0% 25%

All 19% 11% 16% 56% 100%

FICO vs. 

VantageScore 

Bureau 2

FICO Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740

Over 55% 0% 0% 3% 42% 46%

< 55% 0% 1% 5% 10% 17%

< 38% 1% 4% 6% 2% 13%

< 25% 16% 6% 2% 0% 24%

All 18% 12% 16% 54% 100%
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 33

Educational vs. FICO 

Bureau 3

FICO Score

Educational Score < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740 All

>740 0% 0% 3% 35% 38%

680 - 740 0% 3% 10% 8% 22%

620 - 680 3% 8% 3% 0% 15%

< 620 23% 3% 0% 0% 26%

All 26% 14% 17% 46% 100%

Educational vs. 

VantageScore 

Bureau 3

Educational Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740

Over 55% 0% 1% 10% 34% 45%

< 55% 1% 5% 9% 2% 17%

< 38% 4% 6% 3% 0% 13%

< 25% 22% 3% 0% 0% 25%

All 27% 15% 22% 36% 100%

FICO vs. 

VantageScore 

Bureau 3

FICO Score

All

Rank for 

VantageScore < 620 620 - 680 680 - 740 > 740

Over 55% 0% 1% 7% 40% 48%

< 55% 1% 5% 7% 4% 17%

< 38% 4% 6% 2% 0% 12%

< 25% 21% 2% 0% 0% 23%

All 27% 14% 17% 47% 100%
34 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

APPENDIX FIGURE 8: SCORE RANGE ANALYSIS

FICO vs. Educational 

Bureau 1 Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

80%

(142,493)

80%

(142,493)

One category off 

(yellow)

19%

(34,631)

99%

(177,124)

More than one 

category off (red) 

1%

(1,454)

100%

(178,578)

Total 100%

(178,578)

100%

(178,578)

Educational vs. Vantage

Bureau 1 Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

77%

(141,916)

77%

(141,916)

One category off 

(yellow)

22%

(39,763)

99%

(181,679)

More than one 

category off (red) 

1%

(2,172)

100%

(183,851)

Total 100%

(183,851)

100%

(183,851)

FICO vs. Vantage 

Bureau 1 Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

73%

(129,858)

73%

(129,858)

One category off 

(yellow)

24%

(42,941)

97%

(172,799)

More than one 

category off (red) 

3%

(4,910)

100%

(177,709)

Total 100%

(177,709)

100%

(177,709)

FICO vs. Educational 

Bureau 2 Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

80%

(155,618)

80%

(155,618)

One category off 

(yellow)

20%

(38,388)

99%

(194,006)

More than one 

category off (red) 

1%

(1,492)

100%

(195,498)

Total 100%

(195,498)

100%

(195,498)

Educational vs. Vantage 

 Bureau 2 Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

68%

(135,421)

68%

(135,421)

One category off 

(yellow)

27%

(52,707)

95%

(188,128)

More than one 

category off (red) 

5%

(9,679)

100%

(197,807)

Total 100%

(197,807)

100%

(197,807)

FICO vs. Vantage 

 Bureau 2 Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

68%

(86,706)

68%

(86,706)

One category off 

(yellow)

28%

(54,126)

96%

(140,832)

More than one 

category off (red) 

4%

(7,949)

100%

(194,958)

Total 100%

(194,958)

100%

(194,958)
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 35

FICO vs. Educational 

Bureau 3 Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

75%

(125,636)

75%

(125,636)

One category off 

(yellow)

23%

(38,961)

98%

(164,597)

More than one 

category off (red) 

1%

(1,847)

100%

(166,444)

Total 100%

(166,444)

100%

(166,444)

Educational vs. Vantage 

Bureau 3 Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

71%

(124,430)

71%

(124,430)

One category off 

(yellow)

26%

(46,433)

97%

(170,863)

More than one 

category off 

(red) 

3%

(4,557)

100%

(175,420)

Total 100%

(175,420)

100%

(175,420)

FICO vs. Vantage 

 Bureau 3 Cumulative

Same score 

category (green)

74%

(121,776)

74%

(121,776)

One category off 

(yellow)

24%

(39,308)

97%

(161,084)

More than one 

category off (red) 

3%

(4,393)

100%

(165,477)

Total 100%

(165,477)

100%

(165,477)
36 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

APPENDIX FIGURE 9: MEDIAN SCORE COMPARISONS

Bureau 1

Educational 

Median

FICO 

Median

Vantage 

Median Difference Educational Median

FICO 

Median

Vantage 

Median Difference

Younger Older

Educational 

vs. FICO 35 35 - 0 74 74 - 0

Educational 

vs. Vantage 35 - 31 4 74 - 72 2

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 35 32 -3 - 74 73 -1

Customers in LMI Areas Customers in Non-LMI Areas

Educational 

vs. FICO 36 34 - 2 54 52 - 2

Educational 

vs. Vantage 35 - 35 0 53 - 53 0

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 34 36 2 - 52 54 2

Majority Minority Areas Low Minority Areas

Educational 

vs. FICO 36 34 - 2 54 52 - 2

Educational 

vs. Vantage 35 - 35 0 53 - 53 0

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 34 37 3 - 53 55 2

Bureau 2

Educational 

Median

FICO 

Median

Vantage 

Median Difference Educational Median

FICO

Median

Vantage 

Median Difference

Younger Older

Educational 

vs. FICO 64 66 - -2

Educational 

vs. Vantage 63 - 61 2

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 66 61 -5

Customers in LMI Areas Customers in Non-LMI Areas

Educational 

vs. FICO 37 36 - 1 52 51 - 1

Educational 

vs. Vantage 36 - 36 0 52 - 52 0

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 37 37 0 - 52 52 0

Majority Minority Areas Low Minority Areas

Educational 

vs. FICO 35 34 - 1 53 52 - 1

Educational 

vs. Vantage 34 - 34 0 53 - 52 1

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 34 35 1 - 52 52 0
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 37

Bureau 3

Educational 

Median

FICO 

Median

Vantage 

Median Difference Educational Median

FICO 

Median

Vantage 

Median Difference

Younger Older

Educational 

vs. FICO 35 34 - 1 74 74 - 0

Educational 

vs. 

Vantage

35 - 31 4 73 - 70 3

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 34 32 -2 - 74 71 -3

Customers in LMI Areas Customers in Non-LMI Areas

Educational 

vs. FICO 36 34 - 2 56 52 - 4

Educational 

vs. 

Vantage

34 - 34 0 55 - 53 2

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 34 37 3 - 52 55 3

Majority Minority Areas Low Minority Areas

Educational 

vs. FICO 36 34 - 2 57 52 - 5

Educational 

vs. 

Vantage

34 - 34 0 55 - 53 2

FICO vs. 

Vantage - 34 37 3 - 52 56 4
38 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

APPENDIX FIGURE 10: MEDIAN SCORE CORRELATIONS

Bureau 1 Younger Older

Educational vs. FICO 0.92 > 0.90

Educational vs. Vantage 0.91 > 0.90

FICO vs. Vantage 0.89 > 0.85

Customers in LMI 

Areas 

Customers in Non-LMI 

Areas

Educational vs. FICO 0.94 > 0.93

Educational vs. Vantage 0.93 ~ 0.93

FICO vs. Vantage 0.91 > 0.90

Majority Minority 

Areas Low Minority Areas

Educational vs. FICO 0.94 > 0.93

Educational vs. Vantage 0.93 ~ 0.93

FICO vs. Vantage 0.90 ~ 0.90

Bureau 2 Younger Older

Educational vs. FICO 0.88

Educational vs. Vantage 0.80

FICO vs. Vantage 0.78

Customers in LMI 

Areas

Customers in Non-LMI 

Areas

Educational vs. FICO 0.92 > 0.90

Educational vs. Vantage 0.93 ~ 0.93

FICO vs. Vantage 0.87 > 0.83

Majority Minority 

Areas Low Minority Areas

Educational vs. FICO 0.92 < 0.93

Educational vs. Vantage 0.93 > 0.90

FICO vs. Vantage 0.86 > 0.83

Bureau 3 Younger Older

Educational vs. FICO 0.90 > 0.87

Educational vs. Vantage 0.87 ~ 0.87

FICO vs. Vantage 0.89 > 0.84

Customers in LMI 

Areas

Customers in Non-LMI 

Areas

Educational vs. FICO 0.93 > 0.91

Educational vs. Vantage 0.91 > 0.90

FICO vs. Vantage 0.91 > 0.89

Majority Minority 

Areas Low Minority Areas

Educational vs. FICO 0.92 > 0.91

Educational vs. Vantage 0.91 > 0.90

FICO vs. Vantage 0.90 > 0.89
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, SEPTEMBER 2012 39

1 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. 111-203, sec. 1078, 124 Stat. 1376, 2076 

(enacted July 21, 2010).

2 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “The Impact of Differences between Consumer and Creditor-Purchased 

Credit Scores,” (July 19, 2012).

3 See, e.g., Equifax, Things You Should Know... (online at https://help.equifax.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/386/~/things-youshould-know...) (“The Equifax Credit Score ... is intended for your own educational use. There are numerous credit scores and 

models available in the marketplace and lenders may use a different score when evaluating your creditworthiness.”); Experian, 

online at www.experian.com (“Experian Credit Score indicates your relative credit risk level for educational purposes and is not the 

score used by lenders.”)

4 See Equifax product information online, at: https://help.equifax.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/386/~/things-youshould-know...

5 Experian, FAQ: What is a PLUS Score (online at http://www.nationalscore.com/FAQ.aspx).

6 CreditKarma, online at http://www.creditkarma.com/preview/score/. This score, unlike the others, is specifically designed to 

predict risk on new accounts, rather than new and existing accounts.

7 A lender must provide consumers a credit score if (1) the lender provided credit on material terms that are materially less favorable

than the most favorable material terms available to a substantial proportion of consumers from or through that lender based in 

whole or in part on a consumer report, (2) the consumer applies for a mortgage loan and the mortgage lender uses credit scores, or 

(3) when the lender takes adverse action against the consumer based in whole or in part on information in a consumer report. See 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “The Impact of Differences between Consumer and Creditor- Purchased Credit Scores,” at 

12 (July 19, 2011).

8 Fannie Mae Selling Guide Announcement 09-29, September 22, 2009, page 2.

9 The Bureau received only the information described in the body of the report. The Bureau did not receive name, Social Security 

Number, address information beyond ZIP code, or other identifying information.

10 Credit scores sold to predict payment behavior for a wide range of products are typically called “generic” scores. When scores are 

designed more specifically to predict behavior for one type of credit, such as automobile loans or credit cards, they are referred to as 

“industry” scores. The most specific scores, typically used by individual lenders and calculated from a combination of bureau and 

other information, are called “custom” scores.

11 FICO Auto scores had a correlation of 0.99, 0.95, and 0.98 for bureaus 1, 2 and 3 respectively with a generic FICO score. FICO 

Bank Card scores had a correlation of 0.99, 0.99, and 0.99 for bureaus 1, 2, and 3 respectively with generic FICO scores.

12 Because older consumers tend to have higher credit scores, the median credit score for this CRA is higher than that of the other 

two CRAs. Because the correlations across scoring models are lower for consumers with higher credit scores the correlations across 

scores are lower at this CRA. The results are fully consistent with the different age distribution in this CRA’s sample, and therefore 

we do not believe there are substantial differences in the correlations across models at this CRA but rather that these differences are 

the result of the sampling differences.

13 Default risk derived from report of odds ratio of any 90 day delinquency or any derogatory note in trade lines from FICO Score 

Trend Validation Chart. Default risk was taken as 1/(1+ odds ratio).
40 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMER- AND CREDITOR-PURCHASED CREDIT SCORES

14 Deciles were defined for each score for all consumers that had that score. Rows and columns of the tables do not 

always add up to exactly 10% because of missing scores. Some consumers in the sample were missing one or more 

scores, and in each pairwise comparison of the scores the distribution of missing values was not even across all deciles; 

some deciles had slightly more or slightly less than 10% when missing scores were removed from the table. For 

example at one bureau, VantageScore was missing on 0.81% of the sample when an educational score was reported. 

Conversely, the educational score was missing on 0.19% of the sample when VantageScore was reported. FICO 

scores were missing on 3.44% of the sample when the educational score was provided. Conversely, the educational

score was missing on 4.46% of the sample when FICO scores were provided. FICO scores were missing on 3.26% of 

the sample when VantageScore was provided, and VantageScores were missing on 4.90% of the sample when FICO 

was provided.

15 Each comparison across scoring models is for consumers with scores from both models, so the sample used varies across 

comparisons. This approach was used to ensure that differences across scoring models are driven entirely by differences in the 

models, and not differences in the sample that has each score. This is why the median score for a given group – such as median 

VantageScore for young consumers – varies across comparisons.

16 Younger consumers were defined as those with ages from 18 to 25. The three CRAs did not have consumers below age 18.

17 Older consumers were defined as those age 62 or more.

18 Zip codes were matched to 2000 Census ZCTA data and classified into low, moderate, middle and upper income areas. Low and 

moderate income areas have less than 80 percent of median household income.

19 High minority population was defined as an area with 50% or more minorities.

20 Report to Congress on Credit Scoring and its Effects on the Availability and Affordability of Credit, Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System (August 2007).

21 New York Times, “Why you have 49 different FICO Scores (online at http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/why-youhave-49-different-fico-scores/).

22 See http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/creditinquiries.aspx.

23 CFPB conversation with Barrett Burns, CEO, VantageScore®, August 28, 2012.