Host Kristina Robinson sits down with Ethan Dornhelm, Head of Predictive Analytics at FICO, and Bruce McClary of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling to unpack the Fall '26 FICO® Score Credit Insights report — and explain why a steady national average of 714 tells only part of the story. Beneath that headline, younger consumers are posting stronger score gains, even as affordability pressure builds unevenly across score bands and life stages. Along the way, they clarify where BNPL fits into credit risk assessment today and bust myths about income and credit card balances.
Get the real story behind the headlines, straight from FICO — the credit score 90% of top U.S. lenders rely on.