Consumers continue to fight the recession by saving more and paying off debt, banks are responding with more careful lending, and stressed homeowners increasingly are falling behind on mortgages on their primary residence, according to the latest Equifax Credit Trends Report for September 2009. READ MORE

Equifax and FICO have introduced the Credit Capacity Index to give lenders and credit grantors easy access to a unique analytic tool to better assess consumer credit risk. The Index is "the first forward-looking risk management tool that rank-orders consumers based on their ability to take on future debt. Available through Equifax, Credit Capacity Index enables lenders to strengthen their account acquisition and account management strategies while minimizing exposure to potential losses while not burdening consumers with too much debt." READ MORE

Equifax has launched Debt Wise, a new product that uses information from the Equifax Credit Report to consumers to free themselves from debt--faster. According to Equifax, "Debt Wise effectively eliminates one of the biggest hurdles for many debt laden consumers -- getting started. Subscribers can create their personal debt payment plan online in as little as 10 minutes, in the privacy and comfort of their own home." READ MORE

Equifax has announced "a suite of products and industry initiatives to protect consumers' identity online and enhance security for personally identifiable information. Led by Ron Carpinella, vice president of identity management and identity marketing, Equifax's "Identity 2.0" program builds a pipeline of products that make online transactions easier and more secure for consumers and businesses. The Equifax I-Card(TM) and its enhanced authentication offering, eIDverifier(R), are two of the company's initiatives." READ MORE

Equifax has announced the Equifax online identity card or I-Card, with a beta test of what it is calling "a first-of-its-kind digital identity management solution that is designed to make online transactions easier and more secure for both consumers and businesses." READ MORE

Equifax and Fair Isaac have announced a partnership "to develop and sell advanced analytics and scoring solutions for businesses and consumers. Under the agreement, the two companies will leverage Equifax's consumer credit data and Fair Isaac's scoring technology, and will jointly market and sell new FICO analytic products." READ MORE

Equifax has announced that it has agreed to acquire a 28 percent equity stake in Global Payments Credit Services LLC (GPCS), a credit information company in Russia, from Global Payments Europe, s.r.o., a subsidiary of Global Payments Inc., and Home Credit and Finance Bank of Russia (Home Credit). READ MORE

Equifax has announced that several banking, retail and technology customers are incorporating VantageScore into their decisioning processes - including I4 Commerce which has begun utilizing VantageScore within its underwriting process.

Fair Isaac Corporation has announced that it filed a lawsuit yesterday in Federal Court in Minneapolis "alleging that the three national credit reporting agencies and a jointly owned entity have violated antitrust laws and engaged in unfair competitive practices." Fair Isaac alleges that "Equifax Inc., Experian Information Solutions Inc., TransUnion LLC and VantageScore Solutions, LLC, through their launch and marketing of the VantageScore credit scoring model, are jointly engaging in unfair and anti-competitive practices that harm the FICO credit score brand and goodwill that Fair Isaac has spent 50 years creating."

Equifax held an Investor Conference on Friday to "review Equifax's current operations, highlight Equifax's key growth initiatives, and outline objectives for growth through 2010." The webcast archive along with the Investor Day presentation slides are available online. The slides are well worth reviewing as they include some interesting market size and share data on Equifax's various business lines - along with their strategies.

Damon Darlin reports for the New York Times on VantageScore, the recently introduced alternative to the long-standing FICO scores produced by Fair Isaac. According to the three credit bureaus that created VantageScore - Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, it improves risk prediction of future credit performance by weighing more factors. VantageScore also reportedly is more accurate at assessing consumers with "thin files" - having a short credit history.

Douglas Blew writes to the Charlotte Observer with advice on how to stop credit card marketing solicitations - by removing your name and address from the marketing lists provided by the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. By calling (888) 5 OPT OUT (888-567-8688) you can request removal. More information on opting-out is also available on the Experian web site.

SunTrust Bank has announced a free identity theft protection and credit-monitoring program from Equifax, "becoming the first major bank in the nation to provide Equifax Credit Watch Silver protection for free to select personal checking clients."

Equifax and PayPal have announced a new credit alert program that provides PayPal account holders in the United States with free monitoring of their credit records. Through this relationship, PayPal users receive free early warnings alerting them to activity on their Equifax credit report.

Advantage Credit has announced some results from a recent teleconference it hosted to explore the new VantageScore, a new consumer credit score jointly developed and introduced recently by Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.

Eileen Alt Powell reports for the AP with more details about VantageScore, the new credit scoring system announced yesterday by the three major credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

The nation's three consumer credit reporting companies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- have jointly announced the introduction of a new credit score called VantageScore they say will simplify and enhance the credit process for both consumers and credit grantors.