Credit glossary
Trended data
Your month-by-month history of balances, limits and payment amounts, used by newer scores in place of a single monthly snapshot.
FICO says FICO 10T looks at the previous 24 months or longer, and Experian says VantageScore 4.0 uses 24 months. That lets a model tell someone who pays balances down every month from someone who carries them, and when an issuer reports the amount actually paid, it can separate a minimum payer from a full payer. Older scores like FICO 8 mostly rely on the latest month.
Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter has used trended data in its own risk assessment since Version 10.0 in 2016, whatever score is on the file. The practical effect: under trended models, a one-time paydown right before an application counts for less, and steady low balances over many months count for more. Start paydowns early if a trended score may be used.
Guides that go deeper
- Trended data: when your balance history starts to countFICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 read about two years of balance history, not one month. How far back each looks, who uses them, and what it changes for you.
- FICO 8, 9, 10 and 10T: which version lenders actually useYou have dozens of FICO Scores. What changed in FICO 8, 9, 10 and 10T, which lenders use each, and how to learn which one you'll face.
Sources
- FICO Introduces New FICO Score 10 Suite, FICO
- VantageScore 4.0 for mortgage, Experian
- Desktop Originator/Desktop Underwriter Release Notes, DU Version 10.0, Fannie Mae
- VantageScore 4.0 Fact Sheet, VantageScore
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