During the second half of the 1990s, mortgage underwriting increasingly incorporated credit scores and other automated evaluations of credit histories. As of 1999, approximately 60 to 70 percent of all mortgages were underwritten using an automated evaluation of credit, and the share was rising2 . The automated quantification of the information in credit reports has not simply been used to decide whether or not to extend credit, but has also been used to set prices and terms for mortgages and other consumer credit. In certain cases, even very small differences in scores can result in substantially higher interest.
