Minneapolis -- Fair Isaac Corporation, creator of the FICO Score used by most lenders to evaluate consumer credit risk, announced an agreement with the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU) to provide its online checking customers with free FICO Scores.

The FICO Score is used to help make billions of credit decisions each year, including more than 75 percent of U.S. mortgage loan originations.

Fair Isaac's agreement with PSECU marks the expansion of the FICO Scores On Statements program, which has been a successful customer loyalty initiative with one of the nation's leading consumer banks for the past six years. PSECU members are eligible to participate in PSECU's FICO Score Service and receive their free FICO Score each month if they have online banking through psecu@home, the credit union's online account access program, and a checking or credit product from PSECU.

"The Fair Isaac Scores on Statements program not only benefits our members by giving them a free view into their financial health, but it also helps PSECU by educating our members on the positive impact of responsible credit behaviors," said Gregory Smith, president and CEO of the PSECU. "This ultimately results in a higher value member base, fully engaged online with us."

Scores On Statements authorizes lenders to give free FICO Scores to their customers through online consumer accounts, along with educational information to help them better manage their credit rating. Customers also gain access to fee-based online products from www.myFICO.com for score monitoring and related activities. The Scores On Statements program gives lenders an opportunity to increase their customers' account activity and usage of the lender's website, while deepening customer loyalty and generating an additional source of revenue. Any cost to lenders can be minimized by licensing the same FICO Scores that the lender already orders and uses each month in its account management activities. Arrangements also are available for lenders who want to provide the scores to their customers who have direct deposit accounts.

"Scores On Statements provides such good benefits to bank customers, we want to extend the opportunity to more lenders," said Shon Dellinger, vice president of myFICO for Fair Isaac. "It's a great win-win opportunity for Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union and its members, especially given the current economic climate. PSECU members feel respected and appreciated by their lender and enjoy having free online access to the same FICO Scores the credit union uses. By knowing and understanding their FICO Scores, consumers can gain important insights for managing their credit and, in the process, become better borrowers and savvier users of credit."

The agreement between Fair Isaac and PSECU makes an estimated 200,000 members eligible to receive free access to their FICO scores. Scores On Statements is currently available to a total of 1.5 million consumers nationwide.

"Financial Institutions have a decided need to engage consumers online with high value personal finance tools," said Bobbie Britting, research director in the consumer lending practice at TowerGroup. "Given consumers' heightened concern to know and understand their credit score and situation, the Fair Isaac Scores on Statements program offers clear benefits by creating customer loyalty to online banking, inspiring good credit behaviors, and providing a platform to promote other automated banking services. This leads to a more profitable customer base for banks by leveraging lower support costs, and greater product and service cross-sell with wider adoption of their online products."

Online banking users can check their free FICO Score through their password-protected online statement. Features available to users include:

* The account holder's FICO Score accompanied by the top credit factors contributing to that score.

* Score tracking for up to twelve months to help the account holder monitor changes.

* Educational information to help account holders understand and manage their FICO Scores over time.

* Link to www.myFICO.com for exploring FICO Score-based credit management products and services.

For more information about Scores On Statements email Fair Isaac at Email scoresonstatements@fairisaac.com.