Is FICO outdated?  ZestFinance: An Alternative to the FICO Credit Score

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In 2010, roughly 8.3% of US consumers, or 19 million people, were considered ‘unscorable’ by FICO, a credit rating service whose models serve as a key underpinning of the US system for assessing credit worthiness.[1] Included in this contingent of unscorable consumers are those lacking a credit history, read: millennials, who represent an untapped market opportunity for lenders. Also excluded from FICO are the underbanked, those who lack bank accounts and primarily transact in cash. Not only are the underbanked denied access to loans based on typical FICO filters, but they must resort to predatory alternatives, such as payday loans, whose prohibitively high interest rates trap them in a vicious cycle of deep indebtedness that is difficult to dig out of. Has the FICO score become an obsolete filter? And can a lender step in to provide loans to these underserved segments where traditional banks have neglected to do so – and profitably?

Palantir- A Secretive Unicorn

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On December 14th, 2016 President-Elect Donald Trump met with the leaders of the largest tech firms in the US. Seated directly across from Mr. Trump was a relatively unknown 49 year Ph.D. named Alex Karp-CEO of Palantir Technologies.