How credit scores work & special financing programs - bad credit mortgage loans Credit Scores%u2026 FNMA and FHLMC are now again in their second year of requiring credit scores. Most lenders began seeing the credit scoring becoming a critical part of the loan approval process in July 1996. All loans now sold in the secondary market are credit score driven! The credit scoring is not new - it was used back in the 70%u2019s with no success. But FNMA and FHLMC watched the performance of those loans versus not driven off credit scores. The results are a borrower with a score of 680 or more is less likely to default. It is now industry standard, if your FICA score is below 640, you are no longer qualified for "A" paper loan!