The Launch of Facing Credit

Oct 22, 2025

Kevin Moss, a seasoned senior advisor at Baselayer and former CRO, shares his insights into the evolving landscape of lending. He discusses the recent shifts in student loans, where repayment data is finally impacting credit scores and borrowers face significant wage garnishments. Kevin also dives into the implications of open banking, highlighting cost recovery and the Chase-Plaid deal. Lastly, he analyzes the competitive landscape of mortgage credit scoring, marking a pivotal moment for lenders as FICO’s monopoly begins to crumble.

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ANECDOTE

Origins Of Facing Credit Program

Alex describes teaching a Facing Credit program to middle and high school students early in his career.
He used that experience to launch the new Facing Credit podcast focused on lending and credit.

INSIGHT

Student Loan Reporting Reveals Hidden Risk

Student loan repayment reporting resuming is revealing suppressed defaults and deflating many consumers' credit scores.
Lenders must recalibrate score-to-default odds for borrower segments with federal student loans.

INSIGHT

Government Actions Shift Payment Hierarchy

Government wage garnishments and tax refund withholdings will reprioritize student debt in borrowers' payment hierarchies.
That reprioritization will ripple across credit behavior and other lenders' loss rates.

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Welcome back to the Fintech Takes podcast. I’m Alex Johnson, joined by Kevin Moss (Senior Advisor at Baselayer, former CRO) to help launch Facing Credit, a new series where we unpack what’s happening in lending right now.

We start with student loans. Repayment data is finally flowing back to credit bureaus after years of paused reporting (which have inflated credit scores; lenders need to recalibrate how they read risk). Meanwhile, the SAVE program’s gone, and borrowers in default could have up to 15% of their wages garnished. Around 2M people are already at risk, with more likely to follow. If federal loans move back to the private market, college access could shrink fast.

Next, open banking. Chase and Plaid agreed to a deal for paid API access, while Chase also partnered with Nova Credit to expand cash-flow underwriting. Kevin’s view is that cost recovery makes sense (as a former banker for 31 years, who’s been in fintech for 10+ years!), and there’s precedent for it, but data pricing shouldn’t stifle innovation (or become a tool to protect card economics).

Finally, big moves in mortgage land. FICO ended its long-time exclusive distribution arrangement with the credit bureaus and began selling scores directly to lenders. Equifax fired back by cutting VantageScore pricing and pledging free scores in 2026 for FICO users. Kevin sees this as the end of FICO’s monopoly and the start of real competition. Lenders have gained leverage to rethink data models, and if the bureaus play it right, they’ll win the long game.

Plus, we'll close each Facing Credit episode with our guest’s take on one trend (or observation) shaping the industry. This time: how will a slowing economy hit lending portfolios?

Tune in for Kevin’s take!

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And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Kevin Moss:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-moss-b032163/

Follow Alex Johnson:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson
X: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson