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Fynanz Explained
 
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.

FACS Grade FACS Range Margin Range
(set by marketplace auction)
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 670  –   699 7.20%  –   8.40%
Silver Plus 640  –   669 7.90%  –   9.10%
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Fynanz Explained