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Equifax To Deliver Telco, Pay TV and Utilities Insights That Could Help Millions of First Mortgage Applicants

October 13, 2022

EQUIFAX IS HELPING TO CREATE GREATER HOME OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES for 191 million U.S. consumers by becoming the first to deliver certain telecommunications (telco), pay TV and utilities attributes to the mortgage industry to help streamline the mortgage underwriting process and support  loans within the secondary mortgage market. While the majority of American adults have at least one utility bill in their name the delivery of these attributes to mortgage lenders alongside traditional credit reports can help create greater home ownership opportunities for 191 million U.S. consumers, 80 percent of whom have traditional credit files, but may benefit from additional insights into their financial profile that can make mortgage underwriting faster and easier.

Mark W. Begor, CEO of Equifax, noted of the addition: “While traditional credit reports remain a strong indicator of credit history and past financial reliability, we believe that more data drives better decisions. Reviewing traditional credit reports alongside alternative data insights enables the mortgage industry to develop a more complete picture of a consumer's financial profile to drive greater financial inclusion by potentially streamlining the mortgage underwriting processes for many more consumers.” Equifax has frequently spoken about the benefits of alternative data, and Begor further commented that this new offering is another way that Equifax is leveraging differentiated insights to help more consumers to gain access to mainstream financial services and opportunities.

The purchase of a home for many Americans is an important first step to establishing wealth. These insights provide anonymized information to streamline the mortgage application process as consumers seek approval for a home loan. This expanded data cannot be used by lenders to deny applications for credit or other services. These attributes, which are based on consumer’s aggregated history with telco, pay TV and utilities, will help Equifax provide new insights that assist with saving time, resources and overall automation. 

“The pathway to financial wellness and equity often begins with homeownership,” said Craig Crabtree, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Equifax Mortgage & Housing Services. “The key to greater financial inclusion lies in greater levels of visibility. By delivering these mainstream and highly structured telco, pay TV and utilities attributes in addition to its traditional mortgage credit report, Equifax is providing lenders with the ability to access enhanced data sets that can further provide a more comprehensive view of a borrower’s true creditworthiness. We look forward to working with the mortgage industry so that, together, we can unlock the full potential in helping millions of Americans achieve their goal of home ownership.” 

These differentiated consumer insights, provided alongside Equifax traditional mortgage credit report, will be provided at no additional cost to lenders, helping them to reduce the manual underwriting process, improve the customer experience, and reduce lender costs. These attributes will become available to customers in the first quarter 2023. 

To learn more about the solutions and latest news from Equifax Mortgage and Housing, visit https://www.equifax.com/business/mortgage/