The agreement will provide Brazilian businesses and credit grantors with a range of credit granting (also known as decisioning) tools that allow lenders to assess credit risk and cross-sell multiple lines of credit. The first of these offerings, which will be available in the fourth quarter of 2001, will access credit information from Equifax, deliver scores developed by Fair, Isaac and enable lenders to establish proprietary risk management strategies.
Equifax information and Experto decisioning technologies will be integrated with Fair, Isaac’s LiquidCredit its Web-enabled credit decisioning solution so that lenders may offer instant credit to consumers. This service also will empower lenders to convert one-time transactions into financial relationships with customers a strategic advantage for businesses seeking to establish a long-term consumer and commercial franchise.
The power of this partnership combining superior Equifax information with Fair, Isaac analytics and our shared technologies will provide our customers with the most advanced credit decisioning tools available in the world, said Tom Chapman, chairman and chief executive officer of Equifax. Our ability to provide these services to lenders will further our mutual reputation for leadership in the Brazilian credit market, ease the process of determining credit worthiness and help top lenders rapidly build market share.
This exclusive partnership is a major commitment of dedicated resources by both companies, leveraging their combined strengths to offer credit granting products and services for Brazil’s rapidly growing consumer and commercial credit markets.
Tom Grudnowski, chief executive officer of Fair, Isaac, believes this partnership has far reaching implications: We view this as an opportunity to create a sea change in availability of credit for consumers and businesses. This will lead to growth in e-commerce, finance, retail, telecommunications, insurance and a host of other industries, he said. This is just the first step we’re taking with Equifax to expand the potential of this market.
Brazil’s vibrant economy and young population make the country an outstanding market for Equifax and Fair, Isaac. According to the Banco Nacional de Desenbolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES), the chief federal agency for long-term funding aimed at promoting Brazil’s development, Brazil is the sixth most highly populated country in the world with a population of 165 million. Almost 60 percent of the population is under the age of 30. With a dynamic and fast growing Gross Domestic Product, currently at US$786 billion, Brazil is spawning increasing growth in income proceeds, resulting from the sharp drop in the inflation rate from 20 percent in 1999 to nine percent in 2000.
