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GAO-10-876R 1 (2010-07-30)

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A GA 0
        Accountability  I Integrity   Reliability
United States Government Accountability Office
Washington, DC 20548


         July 30, 2010

         The Honorable Christopher J. Dodd
         Chairman
         The Honorable Richard C. Shelby
         Ranking Member
         Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
         United States Senate

         The Honorable Barney Frank
         Chairman
         The Honorable Spencer Bachus
         Ranking Member
         Committee on Financial Services
         House of Representatives

         Subject: Mandate on Department of Housing and Urban Development's Alternative
         Credit Pilot Program

         When potential borrowers apply for a mortgage loan, lenders typically use borrowers'
         credit scores-which are based on their credit payment histories, debt, length of
         credit history, new credit accounts or requests, and types of credit used-to help
         determine their creditworthiness. However, some borrowers have limited or no credit
         histories, and lenders are unable to determine their creditworthiness using this
         traditional method. For these nontraditional borrowers, lenders may assess
         creditworthiness through alternative means, including the compilation of
         performance on rental payments; utility, phone, and cable television bills; and
         insurance or tuition payments. While some lenders have developed statistical scoring
         methods to determine borrowers' creditworthiness based on these data, others rely
         on the judgment of their staff to make determinations on a case-by-case basis,
         according to Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials. HUD
         permits lenders that originate mortgages insured by HUD's Federal Housing
         Administration (FHA) to establish a borrower's credit history through alternative
         means and has provided guidance to FHA lenders for evaluating these nontraditional
         credit histories. According to HUD officials, 7,319 nontraditional borrowers were
         approved for FHA-insured mortgages in fiscal year 2009.





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                                          GAO-10-876R HUD's Alternative Credit Pilot Program

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