When Capital One Financial Corp. uses a credit score to determine an interest rate or decline an applicant, it will disclose the score in a notice to the consumer, said Pam Girardo, a spokeswoman for the McLean, Virginia-based bank.

Wells Fargo & Co. said it had plenty of advance notice about the rule and was able to implement the necessary changes to provide scores, said Erin Downs, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based bank.

Bank Compliance

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest U.S. bank by assets behind Bank of America Corp., is "prepared to support new regulatory disclosure requirements," said Steve O'Halloran, a spokesman for the New York-based bank.

American Express Co., the biggest credit-card issuer by purchases, will be disclosing credit scores and related information in notices when a score is used to decline an application for a credit or charge card, reduce the account limit or cancel the account, said Leah Gerstner, a spokeswoman for the New York-based company.

Since 2004 mortgage lenders have had to provide credit scores to borrowers who are turned down, said SmartCredit.com's Ulzheimer.

It's unclear whether the rule also will apply to so-called custom credit scores used for non-lending, such as renting an apartment or purchasing insurance, according to Chi Chi Wu, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center in Boston. Landlords and insurance providers may use custom scores derived from credit reports, which may not be covered by Udall's provision.

Elite Scores

Any lenders that use traditional FICO scores, such as student-loan companies or credit-card issuers, will have to supply scores to consumers, said Ulzheimer. The score is used by 90 of the 100 largest U.S. financial institutions, according to FICO's website.

A FICO score of 760 is considered an "elite credit score," according to Ulzheimer, who said that any number at or above that figure would likely mean a borrower gets the best interest rate offer.

The average rate for borrowers with credit scores of 700 for a 5-year new car loan is 5.48 percent, yet those with scores of 700 or better can shop around and qualify for rates as low as 2.5 percent, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com, the North Palm Beach, Florida-based website that tracks bank products.