Credit Pull

Blend Labs announced a new soft credit pull for the mortgage prequalification process. Blend says the move is a response to an increase in the cost for lenders requesting hard tri-merge credit reports. FICO and the national credit bureaus have raised prices for credit reports, saying the “vast majority” of mortgage lenders would see price increases anywhere from 10% to 400%. With its soft credit functionality, customers save up to 71% compared to all hard inquiries, according to initial data from Blend users. Soft credit pulls do not negatively affect credit scores. Consumers’ data will be safe from sale to data brokers or other mortgage companies as “trigger leads.” “With our new soft credit feature, we’re excited to provide a…