The Facts on FACS
FACS Explained
FACS or
Fynanz Academic Credit Score is
assigned by Fynanz to each borrower. The score is
determined using a proprietary credit scoring model that
uses academic characteristics to differentiate borrowers
and ranks risk by expected default rates. This score is
used to designate each borrower to a FACS Grade, which is
then used in the bidding process to guide lenders to the
appropriate range of loan margins as they start bidding on
loan listings.
Borrowers are assigned to one of three FACS Grade
categories, Platinum, Gold and Silver. Within each category
there are two levels, Plus and Honors, for a total of six
FACS Grades. The FACS Grades listed in order of increasing
expected default rates are as follows: Platinum Honors,
Platinum Plus, Gold Honors, Gold Plus, Silver Honors, and
Silver Plus.
The proprietary model used to determine the FACS Grade
considers the academic characteristics of the student,
taking into account factors that have a high correlation with reducing default rates.
Based on our analysis of 15 years of historical data and studies focusing
on student loan default behavior, we believe academic characteristics
are a better long-term gauge to determine risk than traditional credit scores.
Some of the attributes we take into account are: GPA, year in school,
course of study and profile of educational institution.
Credit history of the borrower or cosigner play a small but important
role in our model. While traditional credit metrics do not affect the FACS Grade,
they can make a borrower ineligible for an OpenLoan.
We expect borrowers and their cosigners to have an established
credit history with minimal negative information to qualify for an OpenLoan.
FACS Grade & Risk-Based Pricing
The interest rate on a loan depends on the
borrower’s FACS Grade, in addition to the bidding
process. A borrower with a lower FACS Grade indicates a
higher probability of default, and, therefore, this
borrower will pay a higher rate of interest compared to a
borrower with a higher FACS Grade. Fynanz provides borrowers and
lenders with a recommended "Margin Range" to help them with the process
of specifying the margin, however, the ultimate loan margin is
dependent on the bidding process.
The table below outlines for the different FACS Grades,
the ranges for both 1) the FACS, and 2) the borrower
interest rate margins.
| Platinum Honors |
790 –
820 |
3.50% –
4.70% |
| Platinum Plus |
760 –
789 |
4.70% –
5.90% |
| Gold Honors |
730 –
759 |
5.50% –
6.70% |
| Gold Plus |
700 –
729 |
6.50% –
7.70% |
| Silver Honors |
660 –
699 |
7.20% –
8.40% |
| Silver Plus |
640 –
659 |
7.90% –
9.10% |