Extending Credit: Helping Americans Build Solid Financial Futures

It is estimated that 30 to 50 million Americans face a key roadblock on the path to buying a home or starting a business. Mainstream lenders do not have enough information on these individuals to calculate a credit score, and thereby extend credit. In a new study on methods to determine credit-worthiness, experts from the Brookings Institution Urban Markets Initiative discussed the impact of using new and readily available information such as utility payment history to calculate credit scores, a development that would bring millions of underserved individuals into the economic mainstream.

On January 9, Brookings hosted a panel discussion on these credit scoring alternatives and the potential impact on millions of consumers currently denied access to the buying power of a decent credit score.