• VantageScore 4Plus Credit Model Enables Seamless Access to Open Banking Data
• Initial Pilot Data Shows Improved Predictive Lift for Thin, Inactive Credit Files
• Previously Declined Applicants May Benefit from "Second Look" Use Case

 -- VantageScore announced the expansion of their groundbreaking VantageScore 4plus pilot program for lenders launched in partnership with Credit Builders Alliance.  The pilot leverages the industry leading VantageScore 4.0 credit score with open banking data to deliver the new VantageScore4Plus credit score model.

"Our collaboration gives nonprofit lenders access to modern, high-quality credit scores, equipping them to better serve their communities while maintaining sound lending practices," said Dara Duguay, CEO of Credit Builders Alliance. "When you add real-time, permissioned data to the credit decisioning process, you not only improve predictive performance-you also create more opportunities for expanding responsible access to credit."

"Nonprofit lenders need tools that are both inclusive and predictive," said Andrada Pacheco, EVP and Chief Data Scientist at VantageScore. "This initiative validates the idea that when enhancing credit file with cash flow data, lenders can expand credit access responsibly without incurring additional losses."

Initial data from the pilot show meaningful improvements in the ways nonprofit lenders can assess and serve potential borrowers. Key insights include:

Improved Predictive Lift: Applicants with new to credit, thin or inactive credit files, who make up 15% of participants in the pilot program, benefitted significantly from the addition of open banking data.

Clearer Risk Segmentation: Credit scores moved in both directions both up and down. There were nearly equal numbers of consumers seeing increases and decreases. The result signals better separation between higher- and lower-risk applicants.

Expanded Decisioning Opportunities: 44% of previously declined applicants could be reconsidered under a "second look" strategy using VantageScore 4plus, potentially unlocking credit while preserving underwriting rigor reducing risk.