Fico, the world leader in credit scoring, has today announced a new partnership with Lenddo, a specialist in credit and verification technologies.
<p>Together, the companies plan to develop a credit risk score for consumers in India who have a limited or no formal credit history.</p> <p>The collaboration will combine Lenddo's dedicated knowledge in the use of nontraditional data for scoring and online verification with FICO's established strength in credit scores that are predictive, transparent and fair.</p> <p>FICO and Lenddo are developing a score that will give lenders improved certainty around the risk assessment of people with 'thin-files' -- those who don't have enough data in their credit report to score. Both companies are committed to the common goal of enhancing financial inclusion around the world.</p> <p>Richard Eldridge, co-founder and chief executive at Lenddo, said, "We believe that helping qualified low- and middle-income consumers gain access to credit will improve their lives and quite possibly transform Indian society. Defeating the need of a credit history to obtain a loan is essential to bring unserved but qualified consumers into the formal economy and giving them access to mainstream financial institutions. Our partnership with FICO is an excellent match with our expertise and we are keen to work with them to augment the drive for financial inclusion in the world's fastest growing economy."</p> <p>Jim Wehmann, EVP of Scores at FICO, said, "We see our partnership with Lenddo as a great synergy of analytics and scoring innovation, which we hope will give millions of creditworthy individuals access to credit. We already have received a very positive response in India from financial institutions, the regulators and government, and we look forward to announcing more very soon."</p> <p>FICO recently also announced a new score in the US market, the FICO(R) Score XD, which can help lenders extend credit to people who do not have a standard FICO(R) Score based on credit bureau data. </p>