Credit bureaus sink as FICO launches a direct program for FICO scores, eliminating reliance on credit bureausNationwide credit bureaus Equifax and TransUnion are down 11% and 5% in pre-market trading on Thursday respectively after Fair Isaac Corp. announced a new program to enable tri-merge resellers to directly distribute FICO scores to customers. Per FICO’s press release: “with the launch of the FICO® Mortgage Direct License Program, tri-merge resellers have the option to calculate and distribute FICO Scores directly to their customers, eliminating reliance on the three nationwide credit bureaus. In effect, FICO hopes to eliminate “unnecessary mark-ups on the FICO Score” and put “pricing model choice in the hands of those who use FICO Scores to drive mortgage decisions,” according to Will Lansing, Chief Executive Officer of FICO. Once a FICO-scored loan is closed under the new Mortgage Direct License Program, a funded loan fee of $33 per borrower per score will be applied additionally. Despite the new program, firms can continue to still work through the credit bureaus if preferred.