Consumer credit looks resilient on the surface. But beneath the surface, a divided economy is taking shape, and where you sit in it largely depends on whether you own a home.

In this episode, Dr. Selma Hepp, Chief Economist at Cotality, shares her outlook on consumer credit conditions and what the data says about where resilience is real and where it's running thin.

In the full episode, Selma covers:

➡️ Why higher and lower income households are experiencing fundamentally different economies right now

➡️ How $35 trillion in homeowner equity is cushioning consumers against affordability pressures across gas, insurance, and property taxes

➡️ The three indicators she's watching most closely in the second half of 2026: labor market conditions, FHA delinquencies, and market liquidity

Plus, VantageScore's Atif Mirza breaks down the latest CreditGauge™ data for June 2026, including the average VantageScore rising to 702, credit card delinquencies improving across all stages, and overall utilization declining to 49.61%.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health.

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Consumer sentiment is down, but the credit data tells a different story. Delinquencies improved across all VantageScore credit tiers in May, and originations rebounded, led by personal loans, which hit a nine-month high.

In this episode, David Battany, EVP of Capital Markets at Guild Mortgage, shares how one of the nation's largest independent mortgage lenders is navigating affordability pressures and identifies the biggest opportunity to expand homeownership access.

In the full episode, David covers:

➡️ Why the mortgage affordability problem comes down to a math equation and how zero-down programs are helping lenders solve it

➡️ How the industry is absorbing trended credit data, including VantageScore 4.0, and what responsible adoption looks like in practice

➡️ Why thin-file borrowers represent the single biggest opportunity for homeownership expansion, and how residual income data could be the bridge

Plus, VantageScore's Atif Mirza breaks down the latest CreditGauge™ data for May 2026, including delinquencies improving across all credit tiers, personal loan originations reaching a nine-month high, and auto loans as the only product to decline year-over-year.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health.

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Fair lending isn't just a compliance obligation; in the age of AI, it's a model quality issue.

In this episode, Kareem Saleh, Founder and CEO of FairPlay AI, explores why the best-performing lenders are optimizing for fairness, predictive accuracy, and explainability together, not as separate work streams.

In the full episode, Kareem covers:
➡️ Why fairness blind spots are model performance problems
➡️ What the VantageScore 4.0 mortgage shift means for lenders
➡️ His outlook for consumer credit over the next 6–12 months

Plus, VantageScore's Susan Fay and Atif Mirza break down the latest CreditGauge™ data for April 2026, including improving delinquency trends and strengthening mortgage originations.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health.

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.