Equifax 2002 Annual Report Download - page 12

INFORMATION SERVICES
Nearly 500 million times last year, Equifax customers accessed the largest database of its kind in the world to help facilitate
credit-based transactions. Our core credit reporting business continues to be at the heart of global commerce. At the same time,
this area has diversified to encompass a broad range of services that detect fraud, verify identity, identify bankruptcy potential,
manage and grow portfolios, assess risk, enhance decision-making, recover debt, and analyze and model decision-making intelligence.
OUR CORE STRENGTH
Growth business. It is a term usually reserved
for start-ups and emerging markets, but at
Equifax, we have a growth business that even
at 104 years old is still setting records. In fact,
our Information Services business has been
finding ways to grow bigger and serve more
customers for more than a century by aggre-
gating increasing amounts of data, utilizing
even more sophisticated technology and
introducing an array of innovative products.
Today, Information Services remains as
viable as ever. In times of economic expansion,
this business grows in tandem with increased
spending and investment. In times of recession,
Information Services is even more relevant as
it provides businesses and lenders the tools to
better assess risk and enhance credit decision-
making – abilities that are essential to manag-
ing successfully through an economic downturn.
Our core U.S. credit reporting business has
for the past decade posted a compound annual
growth rate of 14 percent. And, even during the
sluggish economy of 2002 when so many busi-
nesses faltered, U.S. credit reporting achieved
four percent volume growth, in part due to strong
demand from mortgage services customers.
A key strategy over the past decade has
been to increase the breadth and depth of data
through affiliate acquisition. This effort advanced
substantially in 2002 with the acquisition of key
assets from CBC (Credit Bureau of Columbus),
our second largest affiliate. As a result, we have
more data under our control and are able to serve
our customers more effectively and efficiently
with direct sales, products and support.
PRODUCTS THAT WORK HARDER
At Equifax, product innovation is synonymous
with continued growth. We were the first to
offer Equifax Decision Power®,a decisioning
platform. Recently, we introduced significant
enhancements to the Decision Power product
portfolio. Decision Power InsightTM is a new
automated process for screening banking’s
demand deposit account applicants. It com-
bines the power of decision-making technology
and credit information from Equifax with impor-
tant closed-for-cause and negative deposit
account information. This new product gives
financial institutions more knowledge that
translates into better risk management and
increased profitability.
In addition to enhanced decisioning products,
Equifax Information Services was among the first
to develop a suite of solutions that addresses
the key issues of fraud, risk, bankruptcy and debt
collection that face our customers. In this tough
economic environment, it is more important than
ever to gain insight into these high-risk areas.
Successfully extending a 104-year-old business into new markets, new
applications and new products demonstrates The Equifax Difference at
work – continually pushing the business to a higher level of service and value
for customers and shareholders and ultimately benefiting the consumer.
Equifax Information Services was
among the first to develop a suite
of solutions that addresses the
key issues of fraud, risk, bank-
ruptcy, and debt collection that
face our customers.
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