Tag Archives: Equifax

Consumer credit data suggests spending will increase and the housing market will begin to emerge from its slump this year, according to Equifax and Moody's Analytics. Both companies note that as key market data align with pre-recession totals, consumers should anticipate steady economic growth for major credit sectors, including auto, bank card, and consumer finance. While the mortgage lending sector continues to see the highest percentage of delinquencies, it too is showing signs of increased traction in the coming months.

Each month of 2011, outstanding mortgage balances in the U.S. declined by an average of $30 billion, according to a recently released report from Moody's Analytics and Equifax. The report attributes the decline to defaulted loans being written off. Aggregate delinquency rose by 6 basis points in December to 6.12 percent, according to the companies' joint study. The rate remains in line with rates seen since April but has declined since a January high of 8.25 percent.

Mortgage delinquencies rose to 6.62 percent in August, according to a report from CreditForecast.com, supported by Moody's Analytics and Equifax. This is up from 6.54 percent in July. Delinquencies for both first mortgages and home equity loans posted increases for the month, rising to 6.85 percent and 4.14 percent, respectively. However, the CreditForecast.com report predicts the delinquency picture will improve later in the year with a return of economic growth.

Conditions across multiple financial sectors suggest economic stabilization and growth. It's the housing market that's holding back economic recovery, according to the credit bureau Equifax. The company's latest analysis of national credit trends points to shadow inventory and REOs as major mortgage market depressors. Growth in these areas has led to bigger write-offs. Equifax says write-off dollars for home finance in 2010 more than doubled that of 2006 and 2007 combined.

Equifax announced this week that it has named Jeff Flory and Jeff Schwartzel as enterprise business directors, responsible for leading efforts to acquire new customer relationships for the consumer credit reporting agency. Flory brings more than 19 years of experience to the company, most recently as VP of business development for Financial Asset Services. Schwartzel has over 12 years of industry experience. He previously served as business development executive for Deluxe Financial Services.

After 13 years of service, Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist, has left the company to join IXI Corporation, a small subsidiary of Equifax that provides services to financial institutions and consumer marketing firms to help them target consumer households based on measures of wealth, income, spending, and credit.

Three of the top five lenders use Point In Time for retro income verification, according to Equifax. Point In Time, a service that validates and documents a borrower's employment and income at the point of loan funding, is provided by Equifax's the Work Number, the largest source for employer employment and income verifications.

VantageScore 2.0, the latest credit scoring model from VantageScore Solutions, is now fully implemented at all three major credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. VantageScore 2.0 was created in response to significant changes in consumer credit repayment behavior, and the company says it enables lenders to better mitigate risks and make more informed lending decisions.

The Work Number, a service of Equifax, has launched two new automated products, AuditChek and AccountChek, within its outsourced verification solution. AuditChek enables lenders to computerize the direct retrieval and authentication of tax transcripts and Social Security verification or proof of employment and income. AccountChek automates the process of deposit and asset verification, providing an electronic confirmation of a borrower's account balance and analysis of transaction history.

VantageScore Solutions, an independently managed business created by the three major credit reporting agencies, has unveiled its new credit score model, VantageScore 2.0. The update was brought about by the significant change in consumer credit repayment behavior, said company officials, who added that all credit models should be updated regularly to ensure they remain accurate.