FHFA Director Bill Pulte cited massive price hikes on FICO scores in recent years as the reason for making VS4 widely available through the GSEs.

“Market sentiment was leaning toward a rate hike at the next Fed meeting, but this could give the Fed pause in hiking rates as they look to convene this month,” said Cody Echols, a capital markets technology advisor at Mortgage Capital Trading.

FHFA director Bill Pulte expressed frustration that the credit bureaus haven’t sufficiently engaged in reform talks with FHFA, accusing them of “cartel-like” behavior.