In case you’re unaware, mortgage lenders pull a tri-merge credit report when you apply for a mortgage, whether it’s for a home purchase or a refinance.
The general thought is that a home loan is a very large loan and the more data, the better.
This means gathering credit history from each of the three main credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
From there, the data is pooled together and three credit scores are generated, with mortgage lenders using the middle score for pricing and eligibility.
But with credit report costs skyrocketing, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has proposed a new single credit report system if you have a score of 700 or higher.
Is One Credit Report Enough for a Mortgage Approval?
In a recent letter to FHFA director Bill Pulte, the MBA made the argument for removing the tri-merge credit report mandate.
That is, no longer requiring mortgage lenders to pull three credit reports when qualifying a borrower for a loan backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
They pointed to costs of credit reports, which have apparently risen tremendously and are due to rise another 40% to 50% on average in 2026.
Clearly that’s a burden for lenders and mortgage brokers who might foot that bill, or have difficulty explaining the high cost to their customers upfront.
The MBA adds that because lenders are required to get a credit report from each of the three credit bureaus, there’s “no competition between bureaus for the product.”
Mortgage companies can’t attempt to comparison shop or bargain with these companies if they need to order a report from all of them.
Likewise, the credit bureaus can all set a similar price for their reports with no fear of being undercut.
“Predictably, a market with only three providers, and a mandate to purchase a report from all three, subjects the industry to price increases with no available alternative or countervailing price pressures.”
What’s worse is lenders still have to foot the cost for these reports even if the loans don’t actually close, and they don’t earn any money.
For the loans that do fund, the cost is passed onto the consumer, resulting in higher closing costs or baked into a higher mortgage rate.
And while these costs used to be sub-$50 a few years ago, they’ve increased around threefold to $150 or more.
The MBA’s partial solution, other than bringing in rival VantageScore into the mix, is to end the tri-merge requirement for scores above 700.
Borrowers with 700 Credit Scores Would Be Exempt from Tri-Merge Requirement
Specifically, if your initial credit pull from one of the three bureaus was 700 or higher, your lender wouldn’t need to order the other two.
Aside from it being cheaper to order a single credit report versus a tri-merge report, it would naturally promote competition amongst the bureaus.
For example, if Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion knew a mortgage broker or lender could choose just one report upfront, they’d be encouraged to lower their price.
After all, they wouldn’t want lenders to pick one of the other bureaus, get that 700 credit score, and lose out on the business entirely.
So you’d likely see the prices of single credit reports from all the bureaus drop as they competed to be the bureau of choice.
As for why the MBA chose 700 as the cutoff, “MBA members have reviewed their own data and found narrow variances in tradeline coverage and credit scores on borrowers with credit scores of 700 and above,”
They add that “we believe that a tri-merge requirement for borrowers with scores of 700 and above adds costs but little additional value in risk prediction.”
The MBA closed their letter by noting that single-file credit reports are used in “virtually every other consumer finance market,” such as credit cards, home equity lending, and auto loans.
My guess is opponents of such a measure, likely the bureaus, would argue that tri-merge reports may catch data that might not be present in a single report for one reason or another.
And having all three provides a more complete and thorough picture of a borrower’s credit history, important when we’re talking about six-figure or million-dollar loan amounts.
But proponents would say the rule only applies to those with “good credit,” 700+ scores, so there’s less risk.
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