A podcast episode about the history of rope recently caught my ear and got me thinking about the value of and need for a tri-merge credit report in mortgage lending. The podcast also opened my eyes to how something as simple as rope served as the foundations of global trade and modern empires.
A podcast on rope
Bloomberg’s podcast, Odd Lots, featured Tim Queeney, the author of the recent book Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization. In the episode, Queeney discusses the history of rope, the technology behind it, and its ongoing evolution. He also discussed how rope served as the foundation of global trade and modern empires.
What’s the deal with rope?
Rope is easy to take for granted. But the principle of braiding or twisting fibers or metals together will inevitably make something stronger. “The interlocking of these twists and countertwists gives the rope strength so that when yanked, it does not unwind.” /1/ “A well-designed rope spreads the force evenly across all its fibers, minimizing stress on any single point. This uniform load distribution is key to preventing premature failure, especially under dynamic or fluctuating loads.” /2/
How the tri-merge credit report is like rope
Rope is a force multiplier. One string is not enough to support a sail, or a rock climber, or a bridge deck. Two strings are better, but when you are braiding or twisting three or more fibers or cables, you create an exponential increase in strength. This is true not just for rope, but for credit reports.
There is $12.3 trillion in outstanding mortgages in the U.S. National Mortgage Database (NMDB®), Outstanding Residential Mortgage Statistics, FHFA, Q4, 2025. To maintain a safe and sound mortgage lending system, there is the tri-merge credit report. In this system, consumer reporting agencies, like those mortgage resellers that are members of the National Consumer Reporting Association, merge credit reports from all three nationwide credit bureaus for prospective homebuyers into one report. These resellers then provide that tri-merged report to lenders to help make a lending decision. For decades the tri-merge credit report is tried and true.
The tri-merge credit report provides the most comprehensive view – a 360 degree view – of a homebuyer’s credit history. Taking two credit reports out of the equation, as some have proposed, substantially weakens the information available to lenders, blinding them to risks they may not otherwise see, or conversely, closing them off to positive payment histories that are only available on hidden reports.
A rope is only as strong as its weakest thread. Removing two credit reports from a homebuying decision hurts consumers and the American economy. A one-credit-report-fits-all fits no one.
Further reading on the tri-merge credit report:
- In May 2026, Joel Rickman, the General Manager & SVP, of Equifax’s U.S. Mortgage and Verification Services, posted a blog, The Tri-Merge Standard: Decades of Consistency and Risk Mitigation.
- In February 2026, Andrew Davidson & Co., Inc. (AD&Co) released a study showing “how moving from the tri-merge standard to a bi-merge or single-report standard could lead to less accurate mortgage pricing and qualification. This added uncertainty may lead to investors requiring higher compensation for greater risk, ultimately resulting in higher mortgage rates.”
- In January 2026, TransUnion issued a briefing paper, The Case for Tri-Merge: How a Single Credit Report Raises Risk and Cost. The report is covered by a summary post and a blog post.
- In early 2026, Equifax issued an infographic on the benefits of a tri-merge credit report for mortgage decisions.
- In October 2025, Amy Crew Cutts, an economist, published a paper, Fixing What Isn’t Broken: Why Moving to a Single-Bureau Credit Report in Mortgage Underwriting is Misguided and Expensive.
- In March 2026. the WSJ had an editorial, Another Bad Housing Idea.
/1/ Alexandra Witze, Physicists untangle the geometry of rope Twine, string, cord or cable, it all winds up the same way, Science News, April 13, 2010.
/2/ Understanding the Science Behind Rope Strength and Durability: A Deep Dive, Namah blog, April 8, 2024.