Equifax 2007 Annual Report Download - page 19

EQUIFAX | 2007 ANNUAL REPORT 17
improving the cost-effectiveness of talent management. We offer
a broad suite of services designed to reduce the cost of unem-
ployment claims through effective claims representation and
management and effi cient processing and to better manage the
tax rate that employers are assessed for unemployment taxes. We
also offer our customers comprehensive services designed to
research the opportunity for obtaining employer-based tax credits,
for example the federal work opportunity and welfare to work
tax credits as well as employment-based state tax credits, process
the necessary fi lings and assist the customer in obtaining the tax
credit. In talent management, we also offer secure, electronic-based
psychometric testing and assessments, as well as onboarding
services using online forms to complete the new hire process for
employees of corporate and government agencies.
North America Personal Solutions
Our Personal Solutions products give consumers information
to make fi nancial decisions and monitor and protect credit and
credit score information through our Credit Watch and Score
Watch monitoring products. Consumers can obtain a copy of
credit fi le information about them and their credit score. We offer
monitoring products for consumers who are concerned about
identity theft and data breaches. In November 2007, we launched
the Credit Report Control service that allows consumers subscribing
to our credit monitoring products to restrict access to their credit
report to mitigate unauthorized use of Equifax credit fi le informa-
tion by third parties. Our products are available to consumers
directly and through relationships with business partners who
distribute our products or provide these services to their employees
or customers.
North America Commercial Solutions
Our Commercial Solutions products are derived from databases
of credit, fi nancial and marketing information regarding businesses
in the U.S. and Canada. The business records included in the U.S.
credit database have been developed primarily as a part of the
Small Business Financial Exchange, Inc., or SBFE. We exclusively
manage the SBFE database under contract with the owners of
the data which include a number of commercial lending fi nancial
institutions. This contract was renewed in 2007 and expires in 2012.
Our company’s database includes loan, credit card, public records
and leasing history data, as well as trade accounts receivable
performance. In 2007, we further enhanced the depth of the
database by adding Secretary of State and SEC registration
information. We also offer scoring and analytical services,
provided in an online format to customers obtaining a commercial
credit report, that provide additional information to help mitigate
the credit risk assumed by our customers. We also have a database
which links approximately 35 million commercial demographic
data records from around the world to build corporate family
structures for enterprise visibility of customers and suppliers.
International
The International operating segment includes our Canada Consumer,
Europe and Latin America business units. These business units
offer products that are similar to those available in the USCIS
operating segment, although data sources tend to rely more heavily
on government agencies than in the U.S. These products generate
revenue in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras,
Peru, Portugal, Spain, the U.K. and Uruguay, with support operations
located in the Republic of Ireland and Costa Rica.
Canada Consumer. Similar to our OCIS, Mortgage Services and
CMS business units, Canada Consumer offers products derived
from the credit information that we maintain about individual
consumers. We offer many products in Canada, including credit
reporting and scoring, consumer marketing, risk management,
fraud detection and modeling services, together with certain
of our decisioning products that facilitate pre-approved offers of
credit and automate a variety of credit decisions.
Europe. Our European operation provides information solutions,
marketing and personal solutions products. Information
solutions and personal solutions products are generated from
credit records that we maintain and include credit reporting and
scoring, risk management, fraud detection and modeling services.
They are sold in the U.K., Portugal and Spain. Our commercial
products, such as business credit reporting and commercial risk
management services, are only available in the U.K. Marketing
products, which are similar to those offered in our CMS and
DMS business units, are primarily available in the U.K, though
we offer some products in Spain as well. We maintain support
operations in the Republic of Ireland.
Latin America. Our Latin American operation provides consumer
and commercial information solutions products and marketing
products. We offer a full range of consumer products, generated
from credit records that we maintain, including credit reporting
and scoring, risk management, identity verifi cation and fraud
detection services. Our consumer products are the primary source
of revenue in each of the countries in which we operate, with the
exception of Brazil where we are a market leader in commercial
products. We offer our commercial products, which include credit
reporting, decisioning tools and risk management services, in
varying degrees to the countries we serve. We also provide a
variety of consumer and commercial marketing products generated
from our credit information databases, including account profi t-
ability and business profi le analysis, business prospect lists and
database management, in varying degrees to the countries we
serve. The other countries in which we operate include Argentina,
Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru and Uruguay.
OUR BUSINESS STRATEGY
Our strategic objective is to be the trusted provider of information
solutions that empower our customers to make critical decisions
with greater confi dence. Data is at the core of our value proposition
to our customers. Through our people and technology, we create
differentiated value for our customers by focusing on unique
data for credit risk evaluation and high value, information-based
decisions. Our long-term corporate growth strategy is driven by
the following initiatives: