*1195Richard and Kristin Zabriskie sued the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The district court, on cross-motions for summary judgment, held that Fannie Mae was a "consumer reporting agency" within the meaning of the FCRA. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we reverse.
I.
Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored entity created by Congress in 1938. Its mission is to provide liquidity and "stability in the secondary market for residential mortgages." 12 U.S.C. § 1716. To fulfill its mission, Fannie Mae purchases mortgage loans from certain lenders. Specific guidelines and requirements, detailed in a publicly available manual known as the "Selling Guide," dictate which loans Fannie Mae will purchase. Lenders can use the Selling Guide to determine whether Fannie Mae will purchase the loans that they originate. Using the Selling Guide to evaluate a loan's eligibility for purchase is called "manual underwriting."
Lenders also have the option to automate the underwriting process through Fannie Mae's proprietary software, called Desktop Underwriter (DU). DU automatically applies the guidelines and requirements dictated in the Selling Guide. Fannie Mae licenses DU to many different lenders. DU allows a lender to enter information about the borrower and the property that is the subject of the loan. The lender can also contract with credit bureaus-like Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian-to pay for and import the borrower's credit report into DU. The lender then uses DU to underwrite the loan. DU analyzes all the inputted or imported information, and it provides a report, called DU Findings, on a loan's eligibility for purchase by Fannie Mae. Besides initially creating and then updating the computer code comprising DU, no individual or entity at Fannie Mae is involved in the process of generating DU Findings.
Relevant to the Zabriskies, the Selling Guide states that Fannie Mae will not purchase a loan for a certain period after a borrower experiences a "significant derogatory event," such as a foreclosure. For example, Fannie Mae will not purchase a loan if the borrower experienced a foreclosure within the past seven years. It will not purchase a loan if the borrower experienced a preforeclosure or short sale within the past two years.
*1196The Zabriskies had a "significant derogatory event"-a short sale after defaulting on their prior mortgage. After waiting two years, they attempted to refinance their current mortgage, and a number of lenders used DU to ascertain whether a loan to them would be eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae. Three of the eight DU Findings created in evaluating the Zabriskies' prospective loan stated that the loan was ineligible due to a foreclosure reported within the last seven years. It is undisputed that the Zabriskies did not have a prior foreclosure within the last seven years before the DU Findings were generated.
The Zabriskies sued Fannie Mae, arguing that it "falsely communicated to multiple of the Zabriskies' potential mortgage lenders through its electronic platform that they had a prior foreclosure on a mortgage account." They sued under the FCRA, which requires a consumer reporting agency to follow "reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy" of consumer information. 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b). On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court held that Fannie Mae acts as a consumer reporting agency when it licenses DU to lenders and that it is therefore subject to the FCRA. The case went to trial, and the jury was instructed that "[i]n connection with its actions in this case Fannie Mae is a 'consumer reporting agency,' [and] the DU findings are 'consumer reports.' " The jury returned a verdict for the Zabriskies, awarding $30,000 in damages. The district court also awarded the Zabriskies $652,711.72 in attorney's fees and $68,312.18 in costs. See id. § 1681o(a)(2) (shifting fees and costs to the plaintiff "in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under" the FCRA). On appeal, Fannie Mae argues that it is not liable under the FCRA because it is not a consumer reporting agency.
II.
We review a district court's summary judgment de novo. Curley v. City of North Las Vegas , 772 F.3d 629, 631 (9th Cir. 2014). We must "determine, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, whether there are any genuine issues of material fact and whether the district court correctly applied the substantive law." Id. When cross-motions for summary judgment are at issue, we evaluate "each motion separately, giving the nonmoving party in each instance the benefit of all reasonable inferences." ACLU of Nev. v. City of Las Vegas , 466 F.3d 784, 790-91 (9th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted).
III.
The FCRA defines a consumer reporting agency as "any person which ... [1] regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers [2] for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties." 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f). The parties dispute both elements of the statutory definition, and we analyze each in turn.
1.
To be a consumer reporting agency, Fannie Mae must "regularly engage[ ] in ... the practice of assembling or evaluating" consumer information. Fannie Mae argues that it does not so engage because it merely provides software that allows lenders to assemble or evaluate such information. We agree with Fannie Mae.
In interpreting a statute, we presume that "Congress says what it means and means what it says." Simmons v. Himmelreich , --- U.S. ----, 136 S.Ct. 1843, 1848, 195 L.Ed.2d 106 (2016). When *1197the plain meaning of the statute is unambiguous, that meaning controls. United States v. Thompson , 728 F.3d 1011, 1023 (9th Cir. 2013).
To engage in something is "to do" something. See MERRIAM-WEBSTER ONLINE DICTIONARY , https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engage% 20in (last visited Nov. 19, 2018). Here, Fannie Mae does not assemble or evaluate information when a lender uses DU. Lenders assemble the consumer information by inputting it into DU or electronically importing reports from credit bureaus. Lenders contract with and pay the credit bureaus for the reports. Lenders decide if and when to evaluate the information to create DU Findings. In the process of creating, licensing, and updating DU, Fannie Mae does not assemble or evaluate consumer information. DU is merely a tool for lenders to do so. Indeed, counsel for the Zabriskies agreed at oral argument that had another entity-like Google or Microsoft-created DU, that entity would not be considered a consumer reporting agency. The fact that Fannie Mae, not another entity, created DU is a distinction without a difference. The same commonsense principle applies in either case: when a person uses a tool to perform an act, the person is engaging in the act; the tool's maker is not.
This interpretation of the FCRA aligns with guidelines issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which opined that "[a] seller of software to a company that uses the software product to process credit report information is not a [consumer reporting agency] because it is not 'assembling or evaluating' any information." FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION , 40 Years of Experience with the Fair Credit Reporting Act: An FTC Staff Report with Summary of Interpretations , at 29 (2011). Although the FTC is no longer charged with the FCRA's interpretation, we find the FTC's reasoning persuasive for its reliance on the plain meaning of the statute. See United States v. Mead Corp. , 533 U.S. 218, 234, 121 S.Ct. 2164, 150 L.Ed.2d 292 (2001) (holding that an agency's interpretation of a statute "may merit some deference whatever its form," given the specialized experience of the agency and given the "value of uniformity in ... administrative and judicial understandings of what a national law requires"). Like the FTC's hypothetical seller, Fannie Mae does not assemble or evaluate any information. It sells DU via licensing agreements, and lenders use DU to process credit reports and other information.
The Zabriskies argue that Safeco Insurance Co. of America v. Burr , 551 U.S. 47, 127 S.Ct. 2201, 167 L.Ed.2d 1045 (2007), requires us to place very limited weight on the FTC's guidelines. They misinterpret Safeco . That case addressed whether Safeco had willfully violated the FCRA. Holding that it had not, the Court pointed to the absence of "guidance from the courts of appeals or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that might have warned [Safeco] away from the view it took" of the "less than-pellucid statutory text." Id. at 70, 127 S.Ct. 2201. The Court rejected the plaintiffs' suggestion that willfulness could be premised on a letter, "written by an FTC staff member to an insurance company lawyer," that "did not canvass the issue" and "explicitly indicated that it was merely 'an informal staff opinion ... not binding on the Commission.' " Id. at 70 n.19, 127 S.Ct. 2201 (omission in original). Nothing in Safeco suggests that the Court overruled longstanding precedent on providing some deference to agency interpretation, "whatever its form." Mead Corp. , 533 U.S. at 234, 121 S.Ct. 2164. Indeed, the Court ultimately adopted a statutory interpretation consistent with the informal staff opinion. Safeco , 551 U.S. at 61-62, 127 S.Ct. 2201. Besides, the FTC guidelines here *1198merely corroborate our independent interpretation based on the text of the statute.
The Zabriskies make other arguments that we determine unconvincing. First, they argue that Fannie Mae is a consumer reporting agency by citing evidence of what DU does when lenders use it. This argument implicitly assumes that functions performed by DU are actions performed by Fannie Mae. For example, the Zabriskies highlight the proprietary algorithm created for DU that processes consumer information and that determines whether a loan is eligible for purchase. But what lenders do through DU's algorithm is not probative of what Fannie Mae does. The only proffered evidence of Fannie Mae's actions is that Fannie Mae (1) stores backups of software-generated case files and (2) updates DU's database requirements for information imported from credit bureaus. None of this activity shows that Fannie Mae assembles or evaluates information for the purpose of furnishing a consumer report.
The Zabriskies next highlight evidence that Fannie Mae considers itself, not the lenders, to be processing consumer information. The licensing agreement between Fannie Mae and the lenders states: "[a]s Licensee's agent, Fannie Mae shall, and is hereby expressly authorized by Licensee to, obtain Consumer Credit Data for the sole purpose of performing a Prequalification Analysis and/or making an underwriting recommendation." However, the agreement also states that it is the licensee-lender who uses DU "to request and receive Consumer Reports and/or analyze or evaluate Consumer Credit Data in underwriting Mortgage Loan Applications." The licensing agreement is thus, at best, inconsistent about who Fannie Mae considers to be processing information when using DU. Furthermore, evidence of what Fannie Mae describes itself in a licensing agreement as doing is, at least in this context, not probative of what Fannie Mae actually does.
The Zabriskies next argue that Fannie Mae made a series of judicial admissions that it assembles and evaluates consumer information. The Zabriskies waived or forfeited this argument by not raising it in the district court. See Parker v. Cmty. First Bank (In re Bakersfield Westar Ambulance, Inc.) , 123 F.3d 1243, 1248 (9th Cir. 1997) (refusing to consider alleged judicial admissions because they were raised for the first time on appeal and otherwise considering them would be prejudicial). Considering the argument now would be prejudicial because Fannie Mae was deprived the opportunity to amend or explain the purported admission when the record was still open. Id. Moreover, even if we were to consider this argument, the identified statements were taken out of context.
In conclusion, Fannie Mae does not engage in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer information.
2.
To be a consumer reporting agency, Fannie Mae also must assemble or evaluate consumer information with "the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties." 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f). "Consumer report" means any communication by a consumer reporting agency "bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected to be used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility" for credit, insurance, employment, or other statutorily enumerated purposes. Id. § 1681a(d)(1). Fannie Mae argues that, even if it were assembling or evaluating consumer information as a result of DU, it *1199did not do so for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties. It argues that its purpose is only to "facilitate[e] a transaction between the lender and Fannie Mae." Again, we agree with Fannie Mae.
"Purpose" means "something set up as an object or end to be attained" or "intention." MERRIAM-WEBSTER ONLINE DICTIONARY , https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purpose (last visited Nov. 20, 2018). By its plain meaning, therefore, the FCRA applies only to an entity that assembles or evaluates with the intent of providing a consumer report to third parties. See Mangum v. Action Collection Serv., Inc. , 2007 WL 1959076, at *4 (D. Idaho July 3, 2007) (concluding that defendant collection agencies did not meet the "purpose" requirement because nothing in the record suggested that defendants "assemble[d] or evaluate[d] consumer information for any other purpose than to collect debt on behalf of their clients"), aff'd in relevant part , 575 F.3d 935, 942 (9th Cir. 2009).
Fannie Mae provides DU for the same reason it provides the Selling Guide: to help lenders determine whether Fannie Mae will purchase the loans that they originate. DU makes that determination based only on information provided to it by lenders and credit bureaus. DU makes no determination on whether the lender should originate the loan. Cf. 12 U.S.C. § 1716 (limiting Fannie Mae's purpose to the secondary market for residential mortgages). DU contains no evaluation or new information regarding the borrower's creditworthiness that wasn't already provided by the lender or credit bureau.1 There is nothing in the record to suggest that Fannie Mae assembles or evaluates consumer information-assuming that it does so-for any purpose other than to determine a loan's eligibility for subsequent purchase by Fannie Mae. Its purpose is not to furnish a consumer report to lenders.
The Zabriskies highlight how lenders use DU before a loan is originated and how Fannie Mae has a separate process and internal software to determine whether an actual loan will be purchased. They argue that these facts belie the true purpose of DU, which is to furnish a consumer report to lenders. This argument is not persuasive. That Fannie Mae makes both a predictive and actual determination of a loan's eligibility for purchase does not change our analysis. The goal of either determination is the same: to convey to lenders whether the loan will be purchased.
3.
The structure of the FCRA as a whole confirms our analysis. The Zabriskies urge us to construe the FCRA liberally, so that the statutory definition of consumer reporting agency encompasses Fannie Mae. It is true that the FCRA's "consumer oriented objectives support a liberal construction" of the statute. Guimond v. Trans Union Credit Info. Co. , 45 F.3d 1329, 1333 (9th Cir. 1995). The FCRA "was crafted to protect consumers from the transmission of inaccurate information about them and to establish credit reporting practices that utilize accurate, relevant, and current information in a confidential and responsible manner." Id. (citations omitted). However, "it is quite mistaken to assume ... that whatever might appear to further [a] statute's primary objective must be the law."
*1200Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. , --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 1718, 1725, 198 L.Ed.2d 177 (2017) (internal quotation marks omitted). Rather than "presume" that "any result consistent with [a party's] account of the statute's overarching goal must be the law," we must "presume more modestly instead that the legislature says what it means and means what it says." Id. (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted); see also United States v. Albertini , 472 U.S. 675, 680, 105 S.Ct. 2897, 86 L.Ed.2d 536 (1985) (interpreting a statute "must begin with the language employed by Congress and the assumption that the ordinary meaning of that language accurately expresses the legislative purpose" (quoting Park 'N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park & Fly, Inc. , 469 U.S. 189, 194, 105 S.Ct. 658, 83 L.Ed.2d 582 (1985) ). Under the plain wording of the statute, Fannie Mae did not engage in assembling or evaluating consumer information and, even if it did, it did not do so for the purpose of furnishing a consumer report to lenders.
Furthermore, aspects of the FCRA's statutory scheme suggest that Congress intended to exclude Fannie Mae from the definition of consumer reporting agency. See King v. Burwell , --- U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 2480, 2496, 192 L.Ed.2d 483 (2015) ("A fair reading of legislation demands a fair understanding of the legislative plan"). The FCRA imposes several duties on consumer reporting agencies, one of which is to follow "reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy" of consumer information. 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b). The Zabriskies have asserted that Fannie Mae violated this duty. But the FCRA also requires consumer reporting agencies to provide a variety of disclosures to consumers. See, e.g. , id. § 1681g(a) (duty to disclose information in the consumer's file and the source of that information upon request); id. § 1681g(c)(2) (duty to provide a summary of rights with respect to any written disclosure made as required by the FCRA); id. § 1681h(c) (duty to provide trained personnel to explain to the consumer any information to him).
If we were to hold that Fannie Mae is a consumer reporting agency, it would be required to comply with the other FCRA duties to borrowers. That interpretation would contradict Congress's design for Fannie Mae to operate only in the secondary mortgage market, to deal directly with lenders, and not to deal with borrowers themselves. See 12 U.S.C. §§ 1716, 1719. Indeed, the FCRA itself appears to make a distinction between Fannie Mae and consumer reporting agencies. 15 U.S.C. § 1681g(g)(1)(B)(ii) (stating that a mortgage lender should disclose a credit score generated by Fannie Mae using the procedures applicable to credit scores not obtained from consumer reporting agencies).
IV.
We hold that Fannie Mae is not a consumer reporting agency. Accordingly, the district court erred by granting the Zabriskies' motion for summary judgment and by denying Fannie's Mae's cross-motion on this issue. We reverse and remand with instructions to enter judgment in favor of Fannie Mae. Because Fannie Mae is not liable under the FCRA, we also vacate the award of attorney's fees and costs to the Zabriskies.
REVERSED and REMANDED .