Western Sierra Acceptance Corp. and Experian Automotive Help Dealers Reach Creditworthy Consumers

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Western Sierra Acceptance Corp., a consumer lender based in Northern California that specializes in automotive financing, has entered a new business relationship with Experian Automotive to provide credit prescreen services to auto dealers, helping them more easily and effectively market to and finance consumers. Using Experian’s credit prescreening service, iScreen(SM), enhances Western Sierra’s wide range of automotive services available to help bring more qualified customers into the showroom.

Western Sierra works with marketing agencies and dealers to provide mailing lists of consumers most suitable for their automotive finance offers. Experian® will now provide its iScreen credit prescreening service to Western Sierra to help Western Sierra’s customers rapidly conduct direct-mail campaigns that reach consumers most likely to qualify for credit incentives a dealer is offering. This collaboration comes at a time when direct marketing is expected to become an even more important way to drive dealer business in today’s challenging marketplace.

"The basis for success of any dealer’s direct-marketing campaign is reaching consumers who will be qualified to take advantage of the incentives being offered," said Daniel Ridley, CEO of Western Sierra. "We are excited to work with Experian Automotive to bring the strength of Experian’s data to the marketing services we provide nationally to dealers and their agencies."

Experian’s prescreening services bring together the information that matters most when it comes to identifying the most creditworthy consumers based on up-to-date credit data supplied through a fast and easy online ordering process. The stratified mailing lists pinpoint prospects most likely to be profitable for an automotive finance campaign.

"As the auto finance market begins to show signs of stabilization, dealers who are able to connect with those consumers most qualified for their offers will hold the advantage," said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. "Pairing Experian’s prescreen capabilities with Western Sierra’s established presence in the auto lending space makes sense for any dealer or agency striving to maintain and increase response to their campaigns."

For more information on Western Sierra’s services for agencies and dealers, visit http://www.wsacc.com. To learn more about Experian Automotive’s information services for dealers and agencies, go to http://www.experianautomotive.com.

About Western Sierra Acceptance
Western Sierra Acceptance is a consumer finance company that specializes in auto finance. The company is owned and managed by individuals with more than 20 years in the industry. In addition to auto finance, Western Sierra also offers a number of credit data services to many national automotive marketing agencies. For more information, visit their Web site at http://www.wsacc.com/aboutus.html.

About Experian Automotive
Experian Automotive, a part of Experian, delivers information services to manufacturers, dealers, finance and insurance companies, and consumers. Experian® helps automotive clients increase customer loyalty, target and win new business, and make better lending and vehicle purchase decisions. Its National Vehicle Database, housing more than 625 million vehicles, along with Experian’s credit, consumer and business information assets, meet the industry’s growing demand for an integrated information source. Experian’s advanced decision support services help clients turn this information into improved business results. Experian technology supports top automotive businesses, including eBay Motors, CarsDirect.com, CarMax and NADAguides.com. For more information on Experian Automotive and its suite of services, visit our Website at http://www.experianautomotive.com.   

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company 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 March 31, 2009, was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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