The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced that the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are implementing VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10T as new credit score models for mortgage underwriting, described as the first change in decades. For Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages, the Federal Housing Administration will permit the use of VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T as eligible credit scoring models. For loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the enterprises are updating their selling guides to incorporate the new scores and will immediately accept Vantage-scored loans from approved lenders. The announcement positioned the change as advancing implementation of the Credit Score Competition Act of 2018 and as a step intended to lower costs and expand access to mortgages.