What is a Credit Score?

Use of a statistical model to objectively evaluate your creditworthiness based on all the credit information available. The score is a snapshot of your credit profile at particular point in time.

A Credit Score:

• Quickly and precisely assesses risk for loan repayment
• Can have varied ranges of scores depending upon the type of score used, ranging from 400 – 850
• Is sometimes referred to as a FICO® score, the most common score used by the bureaus

The Five Factors that make up Credit Scores

Improving your Credit Score

• Only apply for credit when needed
• Always pay bills on time
• Keep balances low on credit cards
• Pay off debt rather than moving it around
• Re-establish credit if there have been problems in the past; opening new accounts responsibly will improve credit scores over time

How Inquiries Impact the Score

• Inquiries made by you or your employer through a repository
• Multiple inquiries by mortgage companies and auto dealers made within a 30 day period are counted as ONE inquiry
• Credit inquiries remain on the credit report for two years, but impact the credit score for only one year

Staying Proactive

• Focus on methods of preventing problems
• Check your Credit Report annually using tools such as AnnualCreditReport.com
• Setup payment reminders/enroll in automatic payments
• Apply for new credit accounts only as needed