> http://www.fairisaac.com/fic/en/company/history.htm
> http://www.myfico.com/
"The Truth About FICO® Scores
In the world of credit, the FICO score
is king. Lenders use it to not only evaluate
our creditworthiness but to also set
the interest rate charged for the loans that
are approved.
The FICO score is the
result of a complex mathematical formula
accounting for the following factors: repayment
history (35 percent), amount of
credit owed (30 percent), length of credit
history (15 percent), number of new
accounts (10 percent), type of accounts
(10 percent). Let’s examine the myths and
realities surrounding some of these factors.
Myth 1: The fewer credit accounts,
the better—False: the ideal number is
between 7–8 open accounts. Individuals
with no credit accounts or history can’t
be scored. And the more important factor
is the amount of debt on each credit line.
Myth 2: Put your debt on one
account and have other unused
accounts—No: the ratio of outstanding
debt to the maximum available on each
account is key. So, you’re better off
spreading your debt around.
Myth 3: Close unused accounts—
Maybe false (see first myth above).
Individuals often close older accounts and
take advantage of newer accounts with
low-interest teaser rates. However, the
length of your credit history is very
important and closing older accounts will
lower the credit score.
Myth 4: Take advantage of new,
lower-rate debt—It’s tempting, but your
score will decrease each time an authorized
credit inquiry is made. Some
inquiries, such as looking into your own
account, inquiries made by those attempting
to “pre-approve” you for credit and
other such inquiries do not reduce your
score. But the more applications lenders
make because of your legitimate requests
for credit, the lower your score. Requests
stay on your record for two years.
Myth 5: Income matters. Not true. It may matter
to lenders, but not to the credit score.
Apparently research suggests it is more
action than your income that determines
the likelihood you’ll repay your debt.
Myth 6: Credit scores are free under FCRA.
False. Consumers may get their credit
report once a year for free, but credit
scores are not included.
Consumers can increase their credit
scores over time by making payments on
time, reducing outstanding debt on each
account, not applying for too much credit,
and by closing new, unused accounts.
Ironically, our credit score may be one of
our most important assets!"
> http://www.afcpe.org/doc/Standard0405%20Final.pdf
> http://www.myfico.com/
"The Truth About FICO® Scores
In the world of credit, the FICO score
is king. Lenders use it to not only evaluate
our creditworthiness but to also set
the interest rate charged for the loans that
are approved.
The FICO score is the
result of a complex mathematical formula
accounting for the following factors: repayment
history (35 percent), amount of
credit owed (30 percent), length of credit
history (15 percent), number of new
accounts (10 percent), type of accounts
(10 percent). Let’s examine the myths and
realities surrounding some of these factors.
Myth 1: The fewer credit accounts,
the better—False: the ideal number is
between 7–8 open accounts. Individuals
with no credit accounts or history can’t
be scored. And the more important factor
is the amount of debt on each credit line.
Myth 2: Put your debt on one
account and have other unused
accounts—No: the ratio of outstanding
debt to the maximum available on each
account is key. So, you’re better off
spreading your debt around.
Myth 3: Close unused accounts—
Maybe false (see first myth above).
Individuals often close older accounts and
take advantage of newer accounts with
low-interest teaser rates. However, the
length of your credit history is very
important and closing older accounts will
lower the credit score.
Myth 4: Take advantage of new,
lower-rate debt—It’s tempting, but your
score will decrease each time an authorized
credit inquiry is made. Some
inquiries, such as looking into your own
account, inquiries made by those attempting
to “pre-approve” you for credit and
other such inquiries do not reduce your
score. But the more applications lenders
make because of your legitimate requests
for credit, the lower your score. Requests
stay on your record for two years.
Myth 5: Income matters. Not true. It may matter
to lenders, but not to the credit score.
Apparently research suggests it is more
action than your income that determines
the likelihood you’ll repay your debt.
Myth 6: Credit scores are free under FCRA.
False. Consumers may get their credit
report once a year for free, but credit
scores are not included.
Consumers can increase their credit
scores over time by making payments on
time, reducing outstanding debt on each
account, not applying for too much credit,
and by closing new, unused accounts.
Ironically, our credit score may be one of
our most important assets!"
> http://www.afcpe.org/doc/Standard0405%20Final.pdf