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New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities

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DaveSignal
Valued Contributor

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities


@marty56 wrote:

Common sense tells us this could never be true.  Even if the formula did have an input for race, where did it come from?  You CR doesn't even know your sex or religion, sexual orientation, etc.

 

Sadly many people will buy this as true, it's never their fault.


Nobody is saying that the formula is biased.  People are asking for a kind of 'Affirmative Action' for FICOs when dealing with certain races..... just so black people have a better chance to succeed. 

 

I think this is stupid. But if they actually decide to do it anyway, however, that if they are going to give black people higher scores, they should curve the whole thing so that white people have slightly higher scores too and all races are at the same level as the Asians.

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Message 11 of 58
drkaje
Senior Contributor

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities

@ DS,

 

Better chance to succeed at going into debt, LOL!

 

Why not take points from Asians?! Smiley Happy


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Message 12 of 58
greeneman21
Contributor

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities

No reason to "give" anyone anything. The reports score whats in the file without regard for race. Its a waste of time and $ to even consider this, I'm black and find this to be total BS. You "earn" good credit by honoring your word and paying your bills on time....period.

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Message 13 of 58
greeneman21
Contributor

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities

Instead they should focus more on some form of credit class that helps educate high school and college kids more on the ways of credit, both positives and ramifications if you abuse it. I mean most of us have learned a great deal on these forums, especially after most of us tanked our credit in youth due to the lack of some formal credit education.

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Message 14 of 58
drkaje
Senior Contributor

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities

Would classes help?

 

People here get told all the time "Too many apps will drag down your score!" but they still keep at it.

 

Over time, people will get what this is really about. Hopefully we haven't re-bailed out a bunch of banks before the truth finally sets in.

 

I'm impressed, though. I thought they'd artificially stimulate more consumer debt by shortening the time CRAs can report negative information. Smiley Happy


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Message 15 of 58
greeneman21
Contributor

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities

Classes would be a step in the right direction. I know while I was in college and the Air Force I had no idea how critical credit was to your financial health, including car insurance and even possible employment.

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Message 16 of 58
Imhotrodcrazy
Valued Contributor

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities

I am going to cover myself  on my next app.  I am going to put my nationality down as a male White, African American, Hispanic, Asian mix.

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Message 17 of 58
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities


@DaveSignal wrote:

Nobody is saying that the formula is biased.  People are asking for a kind of 'Affirmative Action' for FICOs when dealing with certain races..... just so black people have a better chance to succeed. 

 


 

Good point Dave. AA is misunderstood a lot; it's not a quota system, it just basically requires that people be able to prove they didn't discriminate against a specific protected class...

 

However, if we adjust the scale based on ethnicity, shouldn't we also do the same for the other protected classes? That would include age, gender, race, religious belief, family status, veteran status, disability... Ask yourself, do Catholics have better or worse credit than the Jewish? Scientologists?

 


@Imhotrodcrazy wrote:

I am going to cover myself on my next app. I am going to put my nationality down as a male White, African American, Hispanic, Asian mix.


Awesome, for highest FICO boost!

Message 18 of 58
stan_the_man
Established Contributor

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities


@Anonymous wrote:

@DaveSignal wrote:

Nobody is saying that the formula is biased.  People are asking for a kind of 'Affirmative Action' for FICOs when dealing with certain races..... just so black people have a better chance to succeed. 

 


 

Good point Dave. AA is misunderstood a lot; it's not a quota system, it just basically requires that people be able to prove they didn't discriminate against a specific protected class...

 

However, if we adjust the scale based on ethnicity, shouldn't we also do the same for the other protected classes? That would include age, gender, race, religious belief, family status, veteran status, disability... Ask yourself, do Catholics have better or worse credit than the Jewish? Scientologists?

 


@Imhotrodcrazy wrote:

I am going to cover myself on my next app. I am going to put my nationality down as a male White, African American, Hispanic, Asian mix.


Awesome, for highest FICO boost!


Ironically, the financial sector's heavy realiance on Fico and internal scoring models is designed to completely remove race, gender, and inclusion in other protected classes from being factors in the loan process.

 

Before we had credit scoring, loan officers used to eye up credit applicants to determine if they had the right qualifications for getting loans. With the passage of anti-discrimination laws in the 1950s-1970s, banks needed to credit a system that didn't rely on qualitative judgements by loan officers. That's why banks started making heavy use of credit reporting and -- more importantly -- credit modeling to determine whether applicants received credit and the terms they received.

Message 19 of 58
Uborrow-Upay
Valued Contributor

Re: New Bias Charges Against FICO Scores ..... unfair to minorities


@Imhotrodcrazy wrote:

I am going to cover myself  on my next app.  I am going to put my nationality down as a male White, African American, Hispanic, Asian mix.


Awesome!  You should score well in the "FICOBAMA" algorithm...and, you can pronounce "FICOBAMA" in any way you choose.

 

Smiley Happy

Message 20 of 58
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