Wells Fargo (WFC) and other mortgage lenders have recently begun reducing credit score cutoffs in an effort to provide greater access to credit for their customers and to take advantage of pent-up demand in the mortgage market. Critics have argued that these moves herald a return to the risky subprime lending that led to the mortgage crisis. But in an environment in which default risk is small, assuming all other underwriting criteria are met, lenders can safely shift credit score cutoffs downwards from the high levels reached during the housing crisis and its immediate aftermath.