• etchinghillside@reddthat.com
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    23 hours ago

    The national average FICO score dropped by two points this year, the most since 2009, according to data released Tuesday by the analytics company.

    With just this information in front of me – I can’t really tell if this is a statistical outlier.

    • Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip
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      5 hours ago

      This admin just reintroduced medical debt to be included in credit scores again, while also restarting student loan collections.

      So the data being measured has changed, and also people had a sudden increase in large payments.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      22 hours ago

      Also something of a lagging indicator as you need to actually start missing payments before they fall. And not terribly significant if you were only seeing them shift a few points during the worst foreclosure crisis in US history.

      Then there’s another question of their validity in an industry geared towards marketing and sales. Keep in mind that many of the companies with the worst foreclosure rates had AAA credit scores right up until bankruptcy.

      • scops@reddthat.com
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        18 hours ago

        Wouldn’t scores fall earlier than that as more people utilized their credit lines and their credit: debt ratio changed? I’m sure the impact is much less than missing payments, but I think that would be an important thing to monitor for trends

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          17 hours ago

          Wouldn’t scores fall earlier than that as more people utilized their credit lines and their credit: debt ratio changed?

          Assuming lots of people are sitting on lines of credit they’re not using, I suppose. But unless you’re nearing your max your credit score actually goes up if you’re regularly making payments on outstanding debt.

    • socphoenix@midwest.social
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      22 hours ago

      They can also fall for stupid reasons. I recently finished paying off my car and my credit score dropped by 6 points!

      • greyfox@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        It’s not like they want to punish you for paying off your car.

        The reality is that a high percentage of the population loads up on more debt after paying off current debts, so the algorithm reflects that. Usually those points come back after a couple of months.