US credit-reporting firms fall after report FHFA may ease mortgage data rule

** Shares of US credit-reporting firms slip premarket

** The US Federal Housing Finance Agency is planning to ease mortgage credit-data requirements for Fannie Mae FNMA.PK and Freddie Mac FMCC.PK, Bloomberg News reports

** Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are mortgage-finance firms that help fund the US housing market

** FHFA is moving toward a framework that would require lenders to use credit data from two bureaus instead of three for mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, report says

** Credit-scoring co Fair Isaac FICO.N down 6.6%, credit-reporting bureau TransUnion TRU.N down 2.4%, consumer credit reporting agency Equifax EFX.N down 3.4%

** FHFA director Bill Pulte could unveil the change as early as October 12, Bloomberg reports

** Earlier this week, Pulte reiterated his claim that FICO was keeping consumer costs unnecessarily high and later signaled support for reducing mortgage credit-report requirements

** As of last close, FICO, TRU and EFX shares were down 60.9%, 27.5% and 35.6%, respectively, YTD