What does a credit score represent in lending?

• A. Your age
• B. Your capacity to repay a loan
• C. Your favorite color
• D. Your current job

Answer: (B)

A credit score is a number that estimates how likely you are to repay borrowed money on time. It reflects your past credit behavior—whether you’ve paid on time, how much debt you owe relative to your limits, how long you’ve had credit, the mix of different credit accounts, and how recently you’ve applied for new credit. Lenders use this score to gauge risk and decide whether to approve a loan and what interest rate to offer. It does not measure your age, color, or current job, and those factors aren’t what the score is designed to assess. A higher score indicates a track record of dependable repayment, which typically leads to easier approvals and better loan terms.