MBA Weighs in on Single-file Credit Report Proposal Ahead of Congressional Hearing

The Mortgage Bankers Association submitted a Statement for the Record ahead of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions hearing on credit availability.

MBA’s letter outlined why the current “tri-merge” credit report mandate–requiring lenders to purchase reports from all three major credit bureaus–drives up costs without adding commensurate value, ultimately increasing borrowers’ closing costs. As MBA has proposed in recent months, we recommend eliminating this requirement for most GSE-backed loans and replacing it with a more flexible framework that allows lenders to rely on a single credit report for borrowers with strong credit (specifically, scores of 700 or above).

Given that the vast majority of GSE-backed loans already exceed this threshold, MBA believes this targeted approach would maintain sound risk management while fostering competition among credit reporting agencies, improving accuracy, and lowering costs. The proposal aligns with practices in other consumer lending markets and is supported by data showing comparable risk prediction between single-file and tri-merge reports, positioning it as a practical, high-impact reform to reduce costs and expand access to homeownership.