News release

Experian launches credit scorecard for business credit granting

Experian, the global information services company, has launched Commercial Delphi, a sophisticated credit score for business credit granting that provides greater granularity to risk ratings.

Early indicators of payment risk are an invaluable asset to any business says Michelle Beetar, managing director of Experian South Africa.

“Incisive commercial credit scoring, long a quest among all information services organisations, is critical in assisting businesses to evaluate debtors effectively.  It aims to assist firms to treat SME businesses and non-SME businesses appropriately, with the personal credit worthiness of principals of the business being taken into consideration.”

It is against this background that Experian SA, has developed a statistical scoring model, titled Commercial Delphi designed to predict the likelihood of business failure over a 12-month period.

Commercial Delphi has been developed to operate on multiple data access platforms.

Beetar says a system designed to ensure that its users are able to make quick and confident credit decisions should deliver results regardless of a business’s legal status, size and age.

“It should be structured such that it scores all active businesses, including sole proprietors; it should treat SME and large business appropriately and have the facility of scoring new start-ups and established businesses.”

Beetar says the information used in the scorecards should fall into two broad categories – adverse information and stability indicators. “Credit granting organisations must always look at both areas when analyzing the risk grade.”

Additionally, risk grades need to be updated real time, as and when factors material to the credit worthiness of a business change.

“With certain key elements used in the scoring process feeding into the database as often as daily, business are thereby assured that they have the most up-to-date risk profiles on their debtors.”

ENDS

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Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2012 was US$4.5 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 44 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com .

News release

Avoid credit heartburn…check your credit status

Johannesburg, 22 November 2012 – Analysts are predicting festive season sales to be brisk this December, but consumers should double check their credit rating before spending big this festive season a leading information services company has warned.

Experian South Africa says consumers should be armed with all the necessary information to ensure they have access to the funds they need, but to also prevent them from overspending.

Professional services group Adcorp is expecting “a strong seasonal peak” in employment between November 2012 and February next year mainly as a result of a “resilient” retail sector.

Loane Sharp, Adcorp’s labour economist, this week observed: “The retail sector is doing strikingly well and all of the sectors that are connected to consumer spending, like transport and logistics, and food and clothing manufacturing, should do very well this festive season.”

It is against this background that Michelle Beetar, Managing Director at Experian South Africa, urges consumers to check out their current credit report before they start thinking about spending. “Your credit history needs to be in good shape to allow you to secure credit and you need to be fully aware of your status and your limits,” she cautions.

Beetar encourages consumers to take advantage of the free annual service provided by the credit bureaus as prescribed by the National Credit Act, giving consumers the right to access their credit reports once a year at no cost.

The service is available online and call centre agents are invariably on hand at the bureaus; agents who are trained to assist consumers to better understand their reports and advise them on possible courses of action for remedying any uncertain or negative information.

Beetar also debunks the myth that South African credit bureaus maintain blacklists.

“Because bureaus record both positive as well as negative credit information submitted by credit providers, it is impossible to maintain a one-sided negative report.”

She advises that consumers have the right to dispute the data contained in their reports should they feel the information is incorrect.

“The onus is then on the bureau to investigate that data and to remove it from the consumer’s record should credible evidence exist in support of that information not being accurate.”

Beetar earnestly encourages consumers to take advantage of their right to access their personal credit reports, partly with a view to ensuring they can access the credit they need  and partly as a reminder that untoward spending could well result in credit heartburn further down the line.

ENDS

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Footnote

To access your Experian credit report online and sign-up to receive credit report updates by sms and email, please visit www.creditexpert.co.za . For queries on your Experian credit report please contact Experian Consumer Relations on 0861 10 56 65.

About Experian

Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2012 was US$4.5 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 44 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com .