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27/09/2011 -
Consumer credit scores plummeted and skyrocketed during and after the recession - few gravitated toward the middle. That is the finding of a report released this week by credit rating firm FICO.The Minneapolis-based firm analyzed consumer credit scores from 2005 to 2011 in order to gather an understanding of how the recession affected Americans' credit ratings before, during and after its arrival.
Interestingly, consumers' FICO scores gravitated toward their pre-recession leanings. Those with relatively strong ratings before the recession saw their scores improve as markets tanked. Meanwhile, individuals unlucky enough to have bad scores suffered even further deterioration.
The number of borrowers with bad, fair, good or excellent credit is very stable during growth periods, says FICO senior director of global scoring solutions Rachel Bell.
However, others point to the rapid drying of credit markets that unfolded following the financial collapse.
"Right after the first signs of fallout in 2008, and pre-CARD Act, many creditors reduced lines of credit and hiked the score necessary to qualify for credit," Linda Sherry, director of national priorities for nonprofit advocacy group Consumer Action, told CreditCard.com. "These actions may have had some impact across the board."
