FICO, an
acronym for Fair Isaac Corporation
(traded publicly under
the symbol FIC) often refers to the best-known credit
score in the United States which is calculated using
mathematical formulae developed by this company. This
score is one of the most important factors in obtaining
credit in the United States. For institutions that use
scores as a factor in their lending decisions, scores
below certain numbers (typically set by each lender's risk
management department) may result in denial of credit, or
credit being offered at a higher interest rate.
The three major credit reporting agencies in the United
States, (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) calculate
their own versions of this score, which goes by different
trademark names at each credit bureau: Beacon at Equifax;
Empirica at Trans Union, and Fair Isaac Risk Score at
Experian. These versions, while all developed for the
agencies by Fair Isaac, are believed to differ slightly.
Fair Isaac also offers multiple variations on their
popular score, for example "Classic" FICO or "Next Gen"
FICO.
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