Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit holders worldwide. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is a global service provider with US $1.5 billion in annual revenue and 7,000+ employees in 14 countries. Equifax is listed on the NYSE.

Equifax Inc., incorporated in 1913, is a provider of information solutions for businesses and consumers. The Company has a group of clients and customers, including financial institutions, corporations, governments and individuals. Its products and services are based on databases of consumer and business information derived from various types of credit, financial, employment and income, public record, demographic and marketing data. It operates in three regions: North America, Europe (the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal) and Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay). It operates in five segments: the United States Consumer Information Solutions (USCIS), International, TALX, North America Personal Solutions and North America Commercial Solutions. In March 2011, the Company acquired Workload Financial Business Consultants Limited.
United States Consumer Information Solutions
USCIS provides consumer information solutions to businesses in the United States through three product lines: Online Consumer Information Solutions (OCIS), Mortgage Solutions and Consumer Financial Marketing Services (CFMS). OCIS products are derived from databases of credit information that the Company maintains about individual consumers, including credit history, current credit status and consumer address information. It offers data, analytical and predictive services based on the information in the consumer credit information databases to help further mitigate the risk of granting credit by verifying the identity of a consumer seeking credit, predicting the risk of consumer bankruptcy, or indicating the credit applicant’s risk potential for account delinquency. These risk management services, as well as fraud detection and prevention services, enable customers to monitor default rates and manage their existing credit card or other consumer loan accounts, and ensure a consumer’s identity.
Mortgage Solutions products, offered in the United States, consist of specialized credit reports that combine the reports of the three consumer credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian Group and TransUnion LLC) into a single credit report provided in an online format, refferd to as a tri-merge report. Mortgage lenders use these tri-merge reports in making their mortgage underwriting decisions. The Company also offers certain mortgage settlement services, such as appraisal, title and closing services, with traditional mortgage service offerings, with certain of these services provided through agreements with third parties.
CFMS products apply consumer financial information to enable customers to manage their marketing efforts, including targeting and segmentation. These products utilize information derived from actual consumer data, including credit, income, asset, liquidity, net worth and spending activity, which also support the OCIS products. It also provides account review services, which assist customers in managing their existing customers and prescreen services that help clients identify potential new customers. Customers for these products primarily include institutions in the banking, brokerage, insurance, and mortgage industries, as well as companies focused on digital and interactive marketing.
International
The International operating segment includes Canada Consumer, Europe and Latin America business units. These business units offer products that are similar to those available in the USCIS operating segment. These products generate revenue in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. The Company also maintains support operations in the Republic of Ireland and Costa Rica. It offers consumer credit services in Russia and India through joint ventures.
Canada Consumer offers products derived from the credit information that maintain about individual consumers. It offers many products in Canada, including credit reporting and scoring, consumer marketing, risk management, fraud detection and modeling services, together with certain of the Company’s decisioning products that facilitate pre-approved offers of credit and automate a variety of credit decisions.
European operation provides information solutions, marketing and personal solutions products. Information solutions and personal solutions products are generated from credit records that we maintain and include credit reporting and scoring, risk management, fraud detection and modeling services. Both of these products are sold in the United Kingdom and information solutions products are sold in Portugal and Spain. Commercial products, such as business credit reporting and commercial risk management services, are only available in the United Kingdom and Spain.
Latin American operation provides consumer and commercial information solutions products and marketing products. It offers a range of consumer products, generated from credit records that we maintain, including credit reporting and scoring, risk management, identity verification and fraud detection services. It offers commercial products, which include credit reporting, decisioning tools and risk management services, in varying degrees to the countries. It also provides a variety of consumer and commercial marketing products generated from its credit information databases, including business profile analysis, business prospect lists and database management. The other countries, in which it operates include Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
TALX
TALX operates in the United States through two business units: The Work Number (TWN Services) include employment, income and social security number verification services and complementary services, which include W-2 management services, which include initial distribution, reissue and correction of W-2 forms); paperless pay services that enable employees to electronically receive pay statement information, as well as review and change direct deposit account (W-4) information; integrated electronic time capture and reporting services; paperless new-hire services to bring new workers on board using electronic forms; and I-9 management services designed to help clients electronically comply with the immigration laws that require employers to complete an I-9 form for each new hire.
TWN Services enable employers to direct third-party verifiers to Website or to a toll-free telephone number to verify the employee’s employment status and income data. The Company also offers an offline research verification service, which expands employment verification to locate data outside existing TWN database. Tax and Talent Management Services offer a range of services designed to reduce the cost of unemployment claims through claims representation and management and efficient processing and to manage the tax rate that employers are assessed for unemployment taxes. It also offers customers services designed to research the availability of employment-related tax credits process the necessary filings and assist the customer in obtaining the tax credit.
North America Personal Solutions
Personal Solutions products give consumers information to make financial decisions and monitor and protect credit, credit score and identity information through Equifax Complete, ID Patrol, Credit Watch and Score Watch monitoring products. It offers monitoring products for consumers who are concerned about identity theft and data breaches, including the Credit Report Control service that allows consumers subscribing to credit monitoring products to restrict access to their credit report to mitigate unauthorized use of Equifax credit file information by third parties. Its Debt Wise product utilizes credit report information to assist consumers in creating a debt repayment plan.
North America Commercial Solutions
Commercial Solutions products are derived from databases of credit, financial and marketing information regarding businesses in the United States and Canada. Other databases it compiled include loan; credit card; public records and leasing history data; trade accounts receivable performance; and Secretary of State and Securities and Exchange Commission registration information. It also has a marketing database, which hosts approximately 47 million commercial demographic data records.
The Company competes with Experian Group Limited, TransUnion LLC, Acxiom Corporation, Harte-Hanks, Inc., Fair Isaac Corporation, infoGROUP, Inc., The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Ceridian Corporation, Barnett Associates, Thomas & Thorngren, UC Advantage, Previsor, Inc., Development Dimensions International, Brainbench, Inc., AON Corporation, Towers Watson, Right Management Consulting, Devine Group, Inc., Hogan Assessments Systems, Inc. and SHL Group plc.


In an effort to focus on payment services, credit reporting, and risk management services, Equifax sold its healthcare information business in 1996, just four years after entering the field; then in the following year Equifax spun off its insurance information services group, which had been a part of the company for nearly as long as credit reporting had been. In August 1997 Equifax completed the spinoff of the new publicly traded ChoicePoint Inc.
During this same period, Equifax aggressively expanded overseas. In July 1995 Equifax acquired U.K.-based Infocheck Group Limited and TecniCob S.A., a French payment services firm. In June 1996 the company gained full ownership of Transax plc, the largest check guarantee company in the United Kingdom, while in March 1998 it acquired a leading U.K. risk and credit management firm, CCI Group Plc. In Canada, Equifax purchased Collective Credit Bureaus Ltd. and Creditel of Canada Limited, a credit reporting agency. With opportunities for expansion growing more limited in the developed world, Equifax turned to the Latin American and Asian markets, acquiring full or partial ownership of firms in Chile, India, Argentina, Peru, and El Salvador. During the second half of 1998 Equifax purchased an 80 percent stake in Segurança ao Crédito e Informações, the leading financial information company in Brazil; a 59 percent controlling stake in Unnisa-Soluções em Meios de Pagamento Ltda., Brazil's leading credit card processing firm; and a 34 percent interest in Proceda Tecnologia e Informática S.A., the second largest outsourcer of information technology in Brazil. Equifax had quickly built up a significant presence in the emerging Brazilian market through a total investment of more than $350 million.
As a new century dawned and the company entered its second century in business, Equifax was busy gaining a toehold in the burgeoning world of Internet commerce. Revenues had reached a record $1.62 billion by 1998, but the outlook was somewhat clouded by the economic uncertainties that had begun with the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Equifax's push into the Brazilian market was challenged by the economic difficulties there, especially the currency devaluation. As one of the key players in the increasingly electronic world of commerce, however, Equifax was likely to survive the thrive.
Principal Subsidiaries: 1nfo Inc.; Acrofax Inc. (Canada); CBI Ventures, Inc.; Computer Ventures, Inc.; Credence, Inc.; Credit Northwest Corporation; Credit Union Card Services, Inc.; Equifax Asia Pacific Holdings, Inc.; Equifax Card Services (Madison), Inc.; Equifax Check Services, Inc.; Equifax Card Services, Inc.; Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc.; The Equifax Database Company Ltd. (Ireland); Equifax Decision Systems B.V. (Netherlands); Equifax de Mexico Sociedad de Informacion Creditica, S.A.; Equifax Europe Ltd.; Equifax Europe (U.K.) Ltd.; Equifax Healthcare Information Services, Inc.; Equifax Holdings (Mexico) Inc.; Equifax India Private Ltd.; Equifax Information Technology, Inc.; Equifax Investments (Mexico) Inc.; Equifax Investments (U.S.) Inc.; Equifax Luxembourg S.A.; Equifax Luxembourg (No. 2) S.A.; Equifax Mauritius Private Limited; Equifax Payment Services, Inc.; Equifax Properties, Inc.; Equifax-Rochester, Inc.; Equifax South America, Inc.; Equifax U.K. Finance Ltd.; Equifax U.K. Finance (No. 2); Equifax Ventures, Inc.; Financial Institution Benefit Association, Inc.; Financial Insurance Marketing Group, Inc.; First Bankcard Systems, Inc.; Global Scan Ltd. (U.K.); Global Scan (USA), Inc.; Goldleaf Technologies, Inc.; High Integrity Systems, Inc.; The Infocheck Group Ltd. (U.K.); Infolink Ltd. (U.K.); Light Signatures, Inc.; Market Knowledge, Incorporated; Stewardship, Inc.; Tecnicob S.A. (France); Transax Australia plc (U.K.); Transax France plc (U.K.); Transax (Ireland) plc; Transax Ltd. (New Zealand); Transax plc. (U.K.); Transax pty Ltd. (Australia); Transax S.N.C. (France); UAPT-Infolink, plc (U.K.).
Principal Operating Units: North American Information Services; Payment Services; Equifax Europe; Equifax Latin America; Knowledge Engineering.

OVERALL
Beta: 1.06
Market Cap (Mil.): $4,733.31
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 123.07
Annual Dividend: 0.64
Yield (%): 1.66
FINANCIALS
EFX Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 20.26 9.48 16.70
EPS (TTM): 9.80 -- --
ROI: 7.95 2.73 3.22
ROE: 14.04 4.67 5.81

Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1913 as Retail Credit Company, Inc.
Employees: 14,000
Sales: $1.62 billion (1998)
Stock Exchanges: New York
Ticker Symbol: EFX
NAIC: 56145 Credit Bureaus; 514199 All Other Information Services; 52421 Insurance Agents & Brokerages; 56144 Collection Agencies; 54186 Direct Mail Advertising; 54191 Marketing Research & Public Opinion Polling

Name Age Since Current Position
Smith, Richard 51 2005 Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer
Adrean, Lee 59 2006 Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Vice President
Adams, J. Dann 53 2010 President of TALX
Ploder, Rodolfo 50 2010 President - Consumer Information Solutions, U.S.
Loughran, Joseph 43 2010 President - Personal Solutions, North America
Gonzalez, Alejandro 41 2010 President - North America Commercial Solutions
Barros, Paulino do Rego 54 2010 President - International
King, Nuala 57 2006 Senior Vice President, Controller
Springman, Paul 65 2004 Corporate Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer
Mast, Kent 67 2000 Corporate Vice President, Chief Legal Officer
Rushing, Coretha 54 2006 Corporate Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
Webb, David 55 2010 Chief Information Officer
Humann, L. Phillip 65 1992 Presiding Independent Director
Copeland, James 66 2003 Independent Director
Daleo, Robert 61 2006 Independent Director
Marshall, Siri 62 2006 Independent Director
Feidler, Mark 54 2007 Independent Director
Driver, Walter 65 2007 Independent Director
Templeton, Mark 58 2008 Independent Director
McKinley, John 53 2008 Independent Director

Address:
1600 Peachtree Street, NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
U.S.A.
 
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