Underwriters that rely on popular credit-scoring models like
FICO and VantageScore to assess risk may have noticed that some
consumer credit scores jumped recently. The nationwide credit
reporting agencies, Equifax Inc., Experian PLC, and TransUnion
began excluding incomplete records of bankruptcies, tax liens, and
civil judgments beginning on July 1, 2017. The changes to public
record reporting requirements should eventually improve modeling
predictability after the market adjusts.
Public records information that poses a risk of attributing the
information to the wrong consumer is now left off credit reports.
Incomplete records are those that don't include the
consumer's name, address, and either a Social Security number
or date of birth. The decision covers new and existing
bankruptcies, tax liens, and civil judgments. Bankruptcies
generally meet the enhanced data standards already. So, this data
point is unlikely to waver much.
