FICO Score

The risk of loss of principal or loss of a financial reward stemming from a borrower's failure to repay a loan or otherwise meet a contractual obligation. Credit risk arises whenever a ...

An agency that researches and collects individual credit information and sells it for a fee to creditors so they can make a decision on granting loans. Typical clients include banks, ...

A statistically derived numeric expression of a person's creditworthiness that is used by lenders to access the likelihood that a person will repay his or her debts. A credit score is ...

A for-profit company that collects information about individuals' and businesses' debts, and assigns a numerical value called a credit score that indicates the borrower's ...

The highest credit grade available as assigned to a borrower by a lender. Lenders use a credit grading system to qualify borrowers. The higher the borrower's credit grade, the lower the ...

A method used in order to assess the discriminatory impact of credit policies. The statutory basis is the Equal Credit Opportunity Act which prohibits credit denials on the basis of ...

A record of a consumer's ability to repay debts and demonstrated responsibility in repaying debts. A consumer's credit history consists of information such as: number and types of credit ...

A look at the various components and considerations of the personal and financial data that go into this dossier.

From sales tax deductions to credit reports, check out what items should be on your financial checklist.

These loans can spell disaster for borrowers, but that doesn't mean they should be condemned.

Sometimes it's better to cut your losses, but foreclosures and short selling can have devastating impacts on your credit score.