Equifax Teams with First American CoreLogic to Deliver Innovative Solution to Mortgage-Backed Securities Market

ATLANTA, May 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) introduced today a new, innovative data solution that statistically matches more than 90 percent of an investor's mortgage loan data to anonymous borrower credit information. Equifax ABS Credit Risk Insight Direct was developed with First American CoreLogic, a member of The First American Corporation family of companies (NYSE: FAF). With this latest Equifax solution, investors can gain access to the most up-to-date borrower credit scores and credit data for non-agency mortgage-backed securities as well as First American CoreLogic's industry-leading LoanPerformance loan-level securities data.

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By providing a high confidence match rate, ABS Credit Risk Insight Direct allows investors to improve model accuracy, differentiate between healthy and unhealthy deals and enhance deal surveillance. The solution provides leading indicators of loan performance such as updated credit scores, performance on past mortgages, second lien balances, delinquencies, monthly payments and credit inquiries across all borrower accounts.  With access to up-to-date credit scores and extensive borrower credit data for nearly every mortgage-backed security, investors can better predict loan delinquency, default and prepayment.

"The prevalence of hidden risks, such as unreported second lien balances and loans mis-reported as owner-occupied at origination, underscore the need for solutions to help investors accurately value non-agency mortgage-backed securities," said Steve Albert, vice president of Equifax Capital Markets. "Through our relationship with First American CoreLogic, we have developed a transformative solution that gives mortgage investors greater visibility into borrower credit health."

Investors using this solution can take advantage of a number of key features and have the option of receiving credit scores and data directly from Equifax, resulting in cost and time savings. In addition, the solution links up-to-date borrower credit information to the First American CoreLogic LoanPerformance securities database, which houses loan-level data on more than 96 percent of all non-agency securities.

"This valuable partnership with Equifax provides the kind of critical transparency that is vitally needed in today's risk management environment," said George Livermore, president of First American CoreLogic's data and analytics segment.  "Investors now have the option to enrich their due diligence process at a much deeper level by incorporating loan-level insights into borrower credit behaviors."

This relationship represents the next step in the evolution of Equifax's ABS Credit Risk product line.  ABS Credit Risk Insight was the industry's first solution to enable investors to link mortgage loan-level data on the entire universe of non-agency mortgage securities to up-to-date borrower credit data. Recently, Equifax added several data variables such as owner-occupancy and bankruptcy indicators as well as the FICO^® credit score and the FICO Mortgage Industry Option known as the BEACON^® Mortgage Score. Investors can select the FICO score or VantageScore, a consumer credit scoring model developed by Equifax and the other major credit reporting companies. With these enhancements and data updates occurring twice a month, the new solution provides greater transparency into borrower credit information on mortgage loans.

ABS Credit Risk Insight Direct is part of Equifax's suite of Capital Markets solutions that empowers lenders and investors to make buy/sell decisions with the most up-to-date borrower and property-value information available. For more information about Equifax Capital Markets, visit www.equifax.com/capitalmarkets.          

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 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.

About First American CoreLogic

First American CoreLogic, a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies, is the largest U.S. provider of real estate, property, ownership, fraud, mortgage and mortgage securities data — and advanced analytics using this data — for the assessment of real estate sales, collateral valuation, home price trends, mortgage originations, mortgage- and asset-based securities pricing, foreclosures, delinquencies and asset dispositions. The company's market-specific data covers 98 percent of all U.S. ZIP codes and 3,059 counties in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, representing 99 percent of the U.S. population, 97 percent of all properties (140 million), more than 50 million active mortgages and 96 percent of loan-level, non-agency mortgage securities. First American CoreLogic's products and services enable customers to manage credit and mortgage risk, protect against fraud, acquire and retain customers, mitigate loss, decrease mortgage-transaction cycle times, value properties accurately, determine real estate trends and project future market performance. For more information about First American CoreLogic, please visit www.facorelogic.com.

About First American

The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) is a FORTUNE 500® company that traces its history to 1889. With total revenues of approximately $6.0 billion in 2009, it is America's largest provider of business information. First American combines advanced analytics with its vast data resources to supply businesses and consumers with valuable information products to support the major economic events of people's lives, such as getting a job, renting an apartment, buying a car or house, securing a mortgage and opening or buying a business. The First American Family of Companies, many of which command leading market share positions in their respective industries, operate within five primary business segments, including: Title Insurance and Services, Specialty Insurance, Information and Outsourcing Solutions, Data and Analytic Solutions, and Risk Mitigation and Business Solutions. More information about the company and an archive of its press releases can be found at www.firstam.com.

SOURCE Equifax Inc.