Bank News

Banks and Health Care Debt Collectors Poised to Benefit from Rise in HSA Growth

2009-11-12T08:29:25-07:00

The dramatic downturn in the U.S. economy is accelerating the growth of high deductible healthcare plans (HDHPs), presenting short term opportunities for retail bankers and medical debt collection agencies, says an expert on the matter.

“Growth (in HDHPs) is very strong because of the cost of health care,” said Red Gillen, senior analyst for Celent, a research and advisory firm that publishes reports identifying trends and best practices in financial services technology. He estimates that in 2010, 8.2 percent of all U.S. workers will be enrolled in HDHPs, a 33 percent increase over 2009.

The growth is largely due to more employers offering the plan to their employees, and workers enrolling in them to save money on premiums, or because they have little choice.

According to Mercer LLC, a global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services, 18 percent of the early respondents to its 2009 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans said they are eliminating high-cost or more generous health plan options in 2010 as a way to move employees into lower-cost consumer directed health plans tied to health savings accounts or health reimbursement accounts.

With more than half of employers experiencing layoffs over the past 12 months and nearly one-third anticipating future layoffs, Mercer said the move is as much out of necessity as a desire to cut costs. Consumer directed health plans are significantly cheaper, averaging about 20 percent less in 2008 than traditional PPO and HMO plans, Mercer said.

“The economy clearly had an impact on rising health care costs...So employers have had to work harder than usual to keep the health benefit cost increase for 2010 down,” said Linda Havlin, worldwide partner at Mercer. “Those organizations hardest hit by the recession are making the biggest cuts.”

Although employees enrolled in HDHPs will benefit from lower annual premiums, Celent estimates that their out-of-pocket expenses will more than double, leaving health care providers to collect not just partial payment, but in many cases, full payment for the services they provide.

Some providers have prepared for shifting environment, Gillen said. But others have moved beyond collecting from a handful of insurers to an environment where they have to collect from hundreds, if not thousands, of patients in which they have no contractual relation, he said.

“In the short term, health care providers will need to collect more and that will result in more billing agency business,” Gillen said. But he cautioned that collection agencies’ business models will be threatened longer term by providers who use technology to better determine the portion of the bill that is the patient’s responsibility and collect it upfront.

Banks, meanwhile, will benefit from an estimated 8 million new HSA accounts established by 2012, Gillen said.

“For the next two to three years, there will be more HSA deposits for banks,” Gillen said. But he warned that the outcome of health care reform will determine what, if any, future HSAs have.

“Some members of Congress feel that HDHPs is not sufficient. The question is minimal coverage and do HDHPs meet that definition. If they do meet that definition, there’s a rosy future for HSAs. If they do not meet the definition of minimal coverage, HSAs will slowly fade away.”

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Auto Finance Veteran Launches Windsor Remarketing

2009-11-11T08:02:33-07:00

FORT WORTH, Texas – Windsor Remarketing today announced its entry into the third-party servicing business. The company is currently signing up clients who need fast, cost-effective liquidation of their repossessed vehicles.

Windsor Remarketing customizes streamlined remarketing solutions for auto lenders, banks, credit unions, dealer groups and investors. No matter their size or type of collateral, all clients enjoy convenient service and top-tier results.

Services include:

Auction communication
Transportation of collateral to the most profitable market
Reconditioning and repair recommendations to boost value
Floor pricing using the latest market research
Live, in-person representation at auction to bring the best return on collateral
Online sales to foster buyer interest
Quick transfer of auction proceeds

The company is owned and operated by President Scott France, a 25-year veteran of the auto finance industry and former executive at Triad Financial, AmeriCredit and Omni Financial Services. France’s management team has worked together for nearly a decade. They each bring more than two decades of experience in the industry.

“The auto finance world has endured a constant roller coaster of change during the past 20 or 30 years. But my team and I have always adapted successfully,” France says. “At Windsor Remarketing, we’re advancing that same mindset of ease and flexibility. We tailor our sales strategies to fit clients’ needs. No bureaucracy, no cutting corners … just expert remarketing to minimize losses and maximize recovery.”

More specifically, clients leverage Windsor Remarketing’s:

Large scale
Nationwide network of top-performing auctions
Understanding of today’s used car market and vehicle values
Certification program that increases auction yield
Volume-based pricing at auction
Advanced technology and software
Efficient processes and procedures
Daily, interactive reporting

About Windsor Remarketing
Windsor Remarketing helps auto lenders, banks, credit unions, dealer groups and investors to quickly and effectively remarket repossessed vehicles. Services include auction communication, transportation, reconditioning and repair, floor pricing, live in-person representation, online sales and transfer of auction proceeds.

The company’s management team has worked together for nearly a decade. They each bring more than 20 years experience in the industry. Windsor Remarketing is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, call (877) 294-6376 or e-mail Remarketing@WindsorRecovery.com.

Windsor Remarketing frequently partners with Windsor Group (www.WindsorRecovery.com), a Dallas-based servicing company focused on skip tracing and national repossession.

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Cavalry Portfolio Services Unveils New Online Payment Center

2009-11-10T08:55:33-07:00

PHOENIX, AZ - Customers are now able to go online to the Cavalry Portfolio Services website to manage their accounts. With a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, customers can easily manage any of the following account services directly:

View account information
Update their profile
Make an offer to resolve their account
Set up a customized payment plan to resolve their account
Make a payment online

Cavalry Portfolio Services buys consumer debt portfolios from banks, credit card companies, consumer finance companies, auto finance companies and other financial institutions.

"At Cavalry, our focus is helping customers to create affordable resolutions," said Andrew Zaro, Chairman of Cavalry Portfolio Services. "We recognize that financial issues affect each person differently, so we built this website to provide our customers with more flexibility in managing their accounts."

Cavalry works with each customer individually to resolve debt issues, Zaro added.

"Most people get into debt because of a major change in their lives, such as a job loss, divorce or illness," he went on to say. "At Cavalry, we understand that. People's situations also change and improve over time. Our goal is to work with you, one-on-one, to find a financial solution."

For more information, visit www.cavalryportfolioservices.com or stay connected with us online at Flickr, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Customers with questions about their accounts can also call Cavalry at 866-434-2996.

About Cavalry Portfolio Services LLC:
Cavalry Portfolio Services collects distressed consumer debt portfolios from banks, credit card finance companies and consumer finance companies, as well as other industries including automotive, utilities and telecom. The firm has offices in Hawthorne, New York; Phoenix, Arizona; Tulsa, Okla.; St. Paul, Minn,; and Buffalo, New York. Its affiliate companies include Cavalry Investments, Cavalry SPV I and Cavalry SPV II.

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Debt Collection Agencies More Optimistic About Future

2009-11-10T08:55:33-07:00

U.S. collection agencies reported an improved outlook for performance in the next six to 12 months and the majority are planning to hire, according to the latest results from insideARM’s quarterly Credit & Debt Collection Industry Confidence Survey.

The Fall 2009 survey, conducted October 13 – 23, showed the highest reading ever for anticipated performance 12 months out. When asked to rate their company’s expected performance in 12 months on a scale of 1 to 5 – with 5 being the best score – more than 34 percent of collection agency respondents answered with a rating of 5, the highest level ever recorded in the survey. The average of responses on the question, 4.05, was also an all-time high.

View all data from collection agency respondents

Other accounts receivable management companies shared the collection agencies’ enthusiasm. The average expected performance rating for collection law firms was higher than agencies at 4.06, while debt buyers were not far behind at 3.94.

ARM companies also indicated that they were ready to expand payrolls en masse. More than 55 percent of collection agency respondents expect their staffs to be larger six months from now, an all-time high. Only 11 percent of agencies anticipate laying off workers in the near term, an all-time low.

The positive outlook drove the new ARM Confidence Index reading to 63.1, the second-highest level recorded.

The ARM Confidence Index, launched for the Fall 2009 survey, uses responses from the quarterly Confidence Survey to create a snapshot of how ARM firms see financial performance in the next six months, based on current conditions. The Index provides a measure of industry confidence on a scale of 0 to 100 and is calculated using data from select questions in the survry, including prior quarter performance rating, current performance rating, future performance expectations, and anticipated staffing moves.

The Fall 2009 Index reading of 63.1 was second only to the Fall 2008 reading of 65.5.

Although the readings in the Fall of 2008 and 2009 were similar, they were reached in very different ways. The 2008 survey was conducted as the financial crisis was sending Wall Street into a tailspin and Congress was passing the bank bailout. Confidence was very low. But unemployment had not yet snowballed, so ARM collection performance was average to above average, keeping the reading inflated.

In contrast, ARM company confidence was at an all-time high in the Fall 2009 survey. Performance, however, was a drag on the Index reading, as unemployment reached decades-long highs. To underscore the challenges facing ARM firms in the current environment, more than 72 percent of collection agency respondents reported using more payment arrangements to increase collection performance in the third quarter of 2009.

To view the full results of the Fall 2009 Credit & Debt Collection Industry Confidence Survey, including responses from creditors and vendors to the ARM industry, please visit http://www.insidearm.com/go/confidence-survey/fall09.

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Another Big Loss for Consumer Credit Card Debt in September

2009-11-09T08:27:54-07:00

Americans continue to hold back on credit card spending as banks slash lines of credit and charge off card accounts at a record pace. The Federal Reserve reported another large dip in consumer credit for September.

The Fed said late Friday that overall consumer credit in the U.S. contracted at an annual rate of 7.2 percent in September, or by a total of $14.8 billion. Analysts had a contraction closer to $10 billion.

September marked the eighth straight month of consumer credit declines.

Credit card debt, called revolving debt in the Fed’s report, led the way once again. Revolving debt fell at a 13.3 percent annual rate or by $9.9 billion to $889 billion. The Fed slightly revised upward the reading from August to reflect an identical 13.3 percent annual contraction rate.

Since September 2008, Americans have shed $86.2 billion in credit card debt. Although many credit consumers restrained card spending, much of the mathematical credit for the plunge can be given to soaring charge off rates at banks (“Banks Charging Off Debt at a Higher Rate than in Great Depression,” Oct. 28).

The Fed said that the annual rate of decline for revolving credit was 10.0 percent in the third quarter of 2009. In the first and second quarters of the year, the annualized rate of decline was 9.6 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively.

Nonrevolving consumer credit – like that found in auto, student or personal loans -- dropped at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in September, or nearly $15 billion.

Total consumer credit outstanding in the U.S. stood at $2.455 trillion at the end of September, down from its all-time high of $2.581 trillion in July 2008. The Fed’s report does not include debt backed by real estate.

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Equifax Helps Financial Institutions Improve Account Management Productivity Across Portfolios

2009-11-06T08:13:41-07:00

BOSTON -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced at the BAI Retail Delivery Conference the launch of a new solutionto help banks and financial institutions drive increased return-on-investment from their portfolio review processes. InterConnect for Account Management(TM) enables banks to automate account segmentation and risk decisioning for credit line adjustments and cross-sell offers. Now, banks can better identify customers most likely to accept product and service offers, resulting in increased cross-sell acceptance rates and improved customer retention.

"Providing this automation as a hosted solution will make it possible for more institutions to see the advantages of customer-centric decisioning," said James Taylor, CEO of Decision Management Solutions, a consulting firm focused on helping companies adopt decisioning technologies. "With complete control over credit policies, portfolio segmentation and customer treatment and no software to install, lenders can maximize their agility and keep their operating costs down."

While financial institutions historically have leveraged these types of tools with their credit card portfolios, many have considered them too complex and costly to use when managing deposit accounts. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the percent of increase year-over-year in total deposits for both commercial banks and savings institutions was approximately 27.4 percent from June 2005 to June 2009. Recent Equifax research has shown that while consumer debt has declined year-over-year more than $440B since 2000, the average personal savings rate reached its highest levels in the past decade during Q2 and Q3 2009.

InterConnect for Account Management enables banks to cost-effectively evaluate portfolio changes in both credit and deposit accounts - resulting in a comprehensive view of customers and their relationships with the financial institution. The solution provides a consolidated look at each customer within the portfolio and segments these customers based on behavioral and transactional data from Equifax, third-party sources and internal databases.

With this insight, banks can better measure individual risk and assess the overall ROI associated with an account.

"Current economic pressures make consistent account management especially important for today's financial institutions, which must address increasing regulatory requirements and respond quickly to changing market needs," said Dann Adams, president, US Information Solutions. "Our new solution provides the flexibility lenders need to accurately segment their portfolios and optimize credit risk decisions to reflect evolving market conditions and business priorities. Those that do stand a greater chance of winning the battle for reduced risk and profitable growth over time."

Financial institutions that adopt InterConnect for Account Management gain access to actionable customer intelligence delivered in real-time from internal and external databases. Leveraging business rules technology, the solution automates account-level decisions for:

Credit line assignments
Exception handling and compliance reporting
Implementation of new risk policies
Cross-sell and product optimization

Other benefits of the solution include its flexible suite of modules for data integration, decision management, rules editing and reporting which can be easily deployed, allowing businesses to respond quickly to market changes. The solution's comprehensive reporting tools enable financial institutions to view credit risk as well as transaction and operational activity to identify emerging trends.

InterConnect for Account Management is the latest addition to Equifax's Technology and Analytical solutions, which include loan origination, credit risk decisioning, fraud prevention and account opening products. For more information about InterConnect and other Equifax technology solutions, visit www.equifax.com/consumer/risk/account_opening/appro/en_us .

About Equifax Inc. (www.equifax.com)
Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

With a strong heritage of innovation and leadership, Equifax continuously delivers innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses - large and small - rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. operates in the U.S. and 14 other countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

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Bharatbook.com Included New Report On "Collections and Debt Management In UK Personal Lending" In Its Market Report

2009-11-05T08:35:07-07:00

The current economic downturn is forcing many banks to rethink their debt management and collections strategies as more individuals become unemployed and unable to repay their loans.

Scope of this research

Analyzes the current personal loan market performance and provides forward looking estimates for the non-standard population up to 2013.

Assesses the process of debt management and recovery and provides analysis on how it can be enhanced throughout the current climate.

Research and analysis highlights

Generally, financial institutions do not invest in debt collection activity until there is an economic downturn. Devoting resources towards improving debt recovery generates an income stream that would otherwise be lost.

The single biggest obstacle for any bank offering a personal loan is assessing the likelihood of a potential default. To help eliminate this problem there needs to be a more rigorous lending criteria and a greater degree of customer data sharing.

Banks are offering advice on budgeting and financial maintenance to help reduce the threat of delinquency, especially for individuals in difficult situations.

Key reasons to purchase this research

Sizes and forecasts the non-standard population as well as providing historical data for the personal lending market in the UK.

Describes in detail the process of debt recovery for borrowers who have fallen into repayment difficulties.

Offers insight and recommendations for enhancing debt management and recovery strategies.

To know more and to buy a copy of your report feel free to visit : http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Collections-and-debt-management-in-UK-personal-lending.html

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Online Resources Launches New Consumer-Friendly Online Banking & Billpay

2009-11-04T08:32:58-07:00

CHANTILLY, Va. – Online Resources Corporation (Nasdaq:ORCC), a leading provider of online financial services, today announced it has launched the next generation of its online banking and bill payment services, with approximately 200 clients deployed to date.

Developed with extensive usability testing, the services are expressly designed to enable financial institutions to provide the utmost in consumer-friendly online service.

The result of a two year, multi-million dollar investment, Online Resources’ hosted Internet Banking and Bill Pay applications now feature:

Highly adaptive, intuitive navigation – created in conjunction with usability, visual design and information architecture specialists, the new interface was consumer tested to meet the needs of any level of online banker, from the novice statement viewer to the small business user to the experienced power payer. The new, clean interface uses the latest in Rich Internet Applications (RIA) technology and “smart windows” for easy access to important information, which reduces information overload for the consumer.

Intelligent marketing and CRM tools – leveraging consumer-specific data, these new tools maximize awareness and education, boost online customer service power and drive adoption and up-sell opportunities. Driven by consumer usage pattern intelligence, the service incorporates contextual messaging throughout the interface, such as help links and advertisements that are timely and relevant to the user.

Seamless premium payments services – extensively integrated expedited payments, bill presentment and personal financial management services to promote deeper online interaction and individualization, backed by the consumer-friendly, real-time guaranteed funds model that puts the consumer in greater control of their finances.

For example, expedited payments are available within the standard online payments flow to enable consumers to make last minute payments with same day, guaranteed posting. Bill presentment is also available to all bill payers in the integrated payments service for easy access to actionable bill payment information. In addition, enhanced personal financial management tools, based on the company’s award-winning Money HQ service, offer useful budgeting, reporting and alert features.

“We are pleased to provide our customers an enhanced online banking and bill payment service. The Online Resources product incorporates usability best practices with enhanced bill payment features in a fresh, easy-to-use interface," said Susan Peterson, Chief Retail Banking Officer for MB Financial Bank. “The integrated online banking and bill payment services provides a superior online experience for our customers through what we call ibankmb.com.”

“Online Resources’ new release achieves a unique balance in providing comprehensive online services while delivering an intuitive, consumer-friendly interface,” said Sandra Shiba, Service and Information Manager at the University of Utah’s University Credit Union. “We are very pleased to make this latest release available to our members as an extension of our high quality service.”

“We believe we have addressed three complex areas – usability, marketing and payments – that are crucial to a successful online channel through an enhanced set of services that are sophisticated yet simple to use,” said David P. Munger, Vice President of Online Resources’ Banking Payment Services. “In addition, by providing consumers with ‘perfect knowledge’ of their finances, such as providing exact information about when a payment goes out and exactly how it is being sent, we are helping our clients deliver a highly consumer-friendly online service.”

Financial institutions can choose from multiple deployment options of Online Resources’ online banking and bill payment services. Based on their in-house IT capabilities, configuration needs, customization levels, operational priorities and numerous other factors, clients choose from highly flexible options for software, support and payments. For example, clients have combined Online Resources’ on-premise software to support extensive customization needs for online banking, but fully integrated hosted bill payment to support user interface requirements, augment customer service and meet payment warehousing needs.

About Online Resources
Online Resources (NASDAQ: ORCC) powers financial interactions between millions of consumers and the company’s financial institution and biller clients. Backed by its proprietary payments gateway that links banks directly with billers, the company provides web and phone-based financial services, electronic payments and marketing services to drive consumer adoption. Founded in 1989, Online Resources is the largest financial technology provider dedicated to the online channel. For more information, visit www.orcc.com.

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Fitch: U.S. Credit Card Performance Measures Mixed as Chargeoffs Drop

2009-10-30T06:33:44-07:00

NEW YORK--U.S. credit card performance measures exhibited mixed results last month with chargeoffs declining for the second time in three months while delinquencies resumed their upward trends according to the latest Credit Card Index results from Fitch Ratings. The results come as consumers continue suffer from high unemployment rates and a lack of credit availability.

"U.S. consumer credit quality measures remain pressured and chargeoffs will stay high until we see some improvement in employment conditions and in delinquency trends," said Managing Director Michael Dean.

Despite the ongoing unfavorable trends, Fitch continues to expect current ratings of senior credit card ABS tranches to remain stable given available credit enhancement and structural protections afforded investors. The outlook for subordinate tranches remains negative. Fitch expects the U.S. unemployment to peak at 10.3% in second-quarter 2010 and remain above 10% throughout 2010.

During the month, Fitch's Credit Card Chargeoff Index declined 77 basis points (bps) to 10.75%, marking just the third month-over-month improvement. Despite pulling back from last month's record high, the chargeoff index remains 71% above year-earlier levels.

Measured by Fitch's 60+ day delinquency index, late payments rose 16 bps to 4.22% after a 20 bp dip last month. Late stage delinquencies are running 33% higher on a year-over-year comparison. Early stage late payments increased for the month as well, with 30+ day delinquencies rising 13 bps.

"While somewhat seasonal, the rise in delinquencies provides further evidence that chargeoffs will remain elevated in the coming months," said Senior Director Cynthia Ullrich.

Monthly payment rate (MPR) remains stronger than earlier this year at 17.98%. MPR is well above the historical average of 15.98% and remains above the 2009 average of 17.37%. MPR has remained consistent year-over-year as current MPR is 9 bps higher than it was during October 2008.

During October, gross yield decreased 27 bps to 19.39%. However, gross yield continues to be strong relative to historical data as a result of discount options and repricing initiatives in various trusts. Compared to last year, gross yield is up 254 bps or 12%.

Three-month average excess spread increases 50 bps this month to 5.75%., its highest level since the February 2009 period. This increase is driven by the one month excess spread increasing to 5.99% this month. The increase in three-month average excess spread has enabled trusts that were trapping excess spread to release all or part of the trapped amount.

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

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Banks Charging Off Debt at a Higher Rate than in Great Depression

2009-10-28T06:07:39-07:00

Bank charge-offs are continuing to grow and are likely to do so for at least the next few months, even though the government and most economists say that the recession is over.

“Charge-offs are a lagging indicator,” said Dan North, said Dan North chief economist at Euler Hermes ACI a trade credit insurance firm. “I think we’re getting near the peak. The charge-offs are on loans that were made in the past.”

Moody’s Investors Service reported earlier this week that bank charge-offs had reached $116 billion year to date, or 2.9 percent of outstanding loans on an annualized basis. According the report, the rate is higher than the charge off rate during the Great Depression.

“While the latest reports of net charge-offs to banks are alarming and unprecedented, the credit economy during the Great Depression and the one we have now are very different from each other,” cautioned Dana Wiklund, research director for Financial Insights' Risk Management Advisory Service. “There is no comparison between the diversity and terms of products or the levels of borrowing. Taken as a percentage comparison, the numbers are alarming, but one needs to look beyond charge-off numbers to make economic comparisons.”

“They were still awarding too much credit when they should have been cutting back. Banks are now able to make good loans going forward,” North said.

“The economy we have today is much more diversified and has many stabilization features not available during the Great Depression.” Wiklund added. “Monetary policy makers also have tools, mechanisms and authorities that were not available to their counterparts 77 years ago.”

So while charge-offs will continue to grow, at least for a while, neither North nor Wiklund expects the fall out to be as bad as it was during the Depression.

“Economic growth over the past several years has in part been based on a consumer and commercial credit bubble that has burst, we are now charging off the fall out,” Wiklund added. “Moving forward financial institutions will have to balance drivers of economic growth with the necessary increased accountability of a consumer or a business's willingness and more importantly, ability to pay."

While the economy is improving, banks are still very hesitant to lend until they see more evidence of improvement, according to North.

“Many U.S. banks justified a smaller loan loss reserve build in the third quarter compared to previous quarters in 2009 because of both the slower rate of increase in charge-offs and the early signs of moderating delinquency trends,” Moody’s said.

The rating agency estimates loan loss provisions for rated U.S. banks in the quarter at $55 billion, or approximately 120 percent of charge-offs or just less than five quarters coverage.

The excess of provisions over charge-offs represents a $10 billion allowance for loan loss build in the quarter down from $21 billion in the first quarter of 2009 and $16 billion in the second quarter of 2009, according to the ratings agency.

“We continue to believe it’s premature for banks to lower their reserve build since problem loans and net charge-offs continue to show an upward trend even though some, but not all, consumer delinquencies showed improvement,” Moody’s said.

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Equifax to Acquire IXI Corporation

2009-10-22T07:12:59-07:00

ATLANTA -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX - News) announced today it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire IXI Corporation, a leader in collecting, analyzing and delivering consumer wealth and asset data. Equifax will pay $124 million in cash for the company.

With its proprietary measures of wealth, assets, income, spending and other data, IXI helps its clients better segment households, resulting in improved marketing and customer management. IXI's client base includes leading companies in the financial services industry (such as banks and brokerage firms) and emerging opportunities in the insurance and healthcare industries.

IXI's data, sourced through more than 95 leading banks, brokerage firms and other financial entities, is the most comprehensive database of invested and deposited consumer wealth in the country. IXI directly measures data on more than $10 trillion in U.S. consumer assets and investments, representing more than 42 percent of all U.S. consumer invested assets.

"Bringing together the differentiated data and analytic capabilities of each of the companies will allow us to deliver a deeper view of the consumer that includes wealth, credit, income, spending and other demographic data ," said Dann Adams, president, Equifax Consumer Information Solutions. "The caliber and breadth of intelligence and data we'll offer will significantly improve the opportunities for our clients to acquire, expand and retain customer relationships."

"We have worked closely with Equifax over the last 18 months and know their people, the solutions they offer, and their culture. I am convinced this will be a strong combination that will benefit customers and employees of both companies," said Tom Dailey, president and CEO of IXI.

IXI's unique capabilities combined with Equifax's expertise will allow the companies to offer more differentiated and in-depth income, wealth and other data, helping companies improve their marketing, collections, portfolio monitoring and customer management efforts across all product segments.

"This is a good match and our companies know each other well from a history of collaboration. Each of the companies excels in its particular area of the business; the skills and knowledge are complementary; and we serve similar customer bases," said Adams. "But the biggest beneficiaries will be our clients, who will have broader, deeper and more accurate customer information backed by a company with a strong tradition of protecting the security and integrity of the data entrusted to us."

The closing of the transaction is subject to the usual conditions and is expected to occur in the near future.

IXI was advised in the transaction by Wells Fargo Securities.

About Equifax (www.equifax.com)
Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

With a strong heritage of innovation and leadership, Equifax continuously delivers innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses - large and small - rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax Inc. operates in the U.S. and 14 other countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

About IXI Corporation (www.IXIcorp.com)
For over 15 years, IXI has helped the nation's leading financial services and consumer marketing firms optimize marketing efforts, manage risk, identify growth markets, and enhance practice and performance management. IXI solutions enable marketing, sales, and risk management executives to differentiate and target consumer households based on measures of wealth, income, spending, credit, investment style, share-of-wallet, and share-of-market.

Through its exclusive network of more than 95 leading U.S. financial institutions, IXI directly measures approximately $10 trillion in U.S. consumer assets and investments, comprising over 42% of all U.S. invested assets. IXI combines its patented process for collecting and classifying consumer asset data with proprietary measures of income, spending, and credit, to create the most reliable and granular financial database available today. Using this unrivalled database, IXI builds solutions that provide firms financial and economic insight for every U.S. household.

IXI is a privately held company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. It was recently named to the Deloitte Touche 500 Fastest Growing Technology companies list.