FICO Awarded 17 New Patents For Innovations In Predictive Analytics, Credit Scoring And Fraud Detection

MINNEAPOLIS, May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FICO (NYSE: FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today announced that it has been awarded 17 new patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. These patents were awarded to members of the FICO Labs team for inventions underlying FICO offerings in predictive analytics, credit scoring and fraud detection.

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"Advances in predicting customer behavior quickly become competitive assets for businesses in the era of big data," said Dr. Andrew Jennings, chief analytics officer at FICO and head of FICO Labs. "Our latest patent awards underscore FICO's culture of innovation and discovery, and the importance we place on helping our clients face the high-pressure competitive and regulatory environments they find themselves in."

Seven of the new patents are for inventions in predictive analytics, such as: better assessing risk using predictive models that characterize cross-interactions among both categorical and non-categorical input variables; adding new data transaction profile variables to pre-existing models; characterizing risk associated with consolidated debt on a secured instrument; more comprehensive data mining; analyzing insurance claims to detect revenue leakage and over-billing; and creating a new real-time system for event probability prediction.

Two of the 17 new patents are for inventions related to the FICO® Score, the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the United States. One invention models the impact of future actions on subsequent creditworthiness. This invention was used to develop the FICO® Credit Capacity Index™, which helps lenders determine a consumer's ability to take on additional debt. The second invention in this area identifies how making various hypothetical changes to a consumer's credit behavior will affect their FICO® Scores. This feature has been integrated into the www.myFICO.com site to help consumers better understand their credit health.

Eight of the patents cover enhancements used by FICO's industry-leading fraud solutions, including: detecting new forms of fraud, and doing so with less dependency on historical data; updating existing fraud models; identifying fraudulent online transactions over public networks; ensuring security of payment cards; and using transaction data to identify deviations from frequent spending behaviors that could signal fraudulent activity. In an environment of increasingly sophisticated fraud methods, many of these patented methodologies are already embedded in FICO® Falcon® Fraud Manager, which protects more than two billion payment cards worldwide.

FICO now holds 122 U.S. and foreign patents, and has 98 patent applications pending in the United States and other countries.

About FICO

FICO (NYSE:FICO) delivers superior predictive analytics solutions that drive smarter decisions. The company's groundbreaking use of mathematics to predict consumer behavior has transformed entire industries and revolutionized the way risk is managed and products are marketed. FICO's innovative solutions include the FICO® Score — the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the United States — along with industry-leading solutions for managing credit accounts, identifying and minimizing the impact of fraud, and customizing consumer offers with pinpoint accuracy. Most of the world's top banks, as well as leading insurers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies, rely on FICO solutions to accelerate growth, control risk, boost profits and meet regulatory and competitive demands. FICO also helps millions of individuals manage their personal credit health through www.myFICO.com. Learn more at www.fico.com. FICO: Make every decision count™.

For FICO news and media resources, visit www.fico.com/news.

Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this news release that relate to FICO or its business are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the success of the Company's Decision Management strategy and reengineering plan, the maintenance of its existing relationships and ability to create new relationships with customers and key alliance partners, its ability to continue to develop new and enhanced products and services, its ability to recruit and retain key technical and managerial personnel, competition, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions, continuing material adverse developments in global economic conditions, and other risks described from time to time in FICO's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2011 and its last quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2012. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, FICO's results could differ materially from its expectations. FICO disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

FICO, Falcon, Credit Capacity Index and "Make every decision count" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and in other countries.

SOURCE FICO