Experian Launches Comprehensive Portfolio Solution to Track, Analyze and Benchmark Credit Marketplace Activity

Experian®, a global information solutions company, today announced the launch of Portfolio Benchmarking and Trend Analysis(SM), the first total portfolio management and acquisition solution on the market today. This sophisticated new tool, built on Experian’s File One(SM) consumer credit database, tracks changes in credit activity so financial services companies can quickly assess current conditions, analyze trends and benchmark against competitors to make strategic portfolio decisions.

“Successfully growing market share with new products or making changes to existing strategies requires companies to research the marketplace,” said Kerry Williams, group president, Experian’s Credit Services. “The consumer credit market changes constantly and competitors make new moves every day. Portfolio Benchmarking and Trend Analysis offers a continually updated view of market trends and competitor analysis that financial institutions need to stay ahead of competitors.”

The solution is an easy-to-use online desktop application, which will help financial services companies that are exploring new markets make the right decisions by assessing market potential and viability before resources are committed. A marketer, for example, could use Portfolio Benchmarking and Trend Analysis to profile consumers in a specific metropolitan statistical area (MSA), state or region based on delinquency, loan amount, utilization and inquiry behaviors.

Risk managers also will benefit greatly from this new tool by helping them understand where to target account management activities and where differences exist from industry peers in specific footprint markets. By looking at changes in 30-, 60- and 90-day delinquency trends, portfolio managers can quickly make changes to risk-management protocols.

Each month’s Portfolio Benchmarking and Trend Analysis snapshot of activity is generated from a statistically valid 20 percent random sample of Experian’s File One consumer credit database. Each month’s snapshot is added to data from previous months, allowing for a detailed analysis of changes in credit activity. The database currently includes records dating back to 2003. Experian will continue building data that will eventually provide a 10-year trending analysis.

The key, according to Linda Haran, senior product marketing manager for Portfolio Benchmarking and Trend Analysis, is that it offers a more complete view of a given market than a single point in time ever could.

“Because of its unique design, our clients can create a very comprehensive and customized view of the credit marketplace to gain the type of intelligence critical to successful strategies,” added Haran. “Access to this information from desktops makes this new solution an integral part of the planning process.”

The new database tool uses patent-pending technology to aggregate data at the time of query based on a client’s unique criteria and generates reports for targeted populations. A company could, for example, analyze trends across multiple time periods for a comprehensive view of marketplace activities. Or the company might look at various account types to determine correlations between product lines to see where cross-sell opportunities exist. It’s even possible to view industry peer portfolio metrics in key geographic footprints.

Experian will market Portfolio Benchmarking and Trend Analysis with three different service levels to accommodate the individual needs of its clients.