FICO Introduces Expanded Analytic Service to Speed Small Business Lending

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FICO (NYSE: FICO), the leading provider of predictive analytics and decision management technology, today announced the availability of FICO^® Small Business Scoring Service^SM (SBSS^SM) solution version 7.0, which brings expanded data and analytics to small business lending. This new version of the small business scoring solution enables small business credit grantors to assess credit risk, comply with regulatory requirements, and offer faster responses to small business applicants through process automation and instant risk assessment.

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The new service offers a suite of empirically derived, multi-data sourced predictive models. The predictive models include Equifax commercial and consumer data, and through Equifax's relationship with the Small Business Financial Exchange, Inc., SBFE^® Data. Banks will now have access to the largest source of small business financial payment information in the industry, including business loans, cards, leases and lines of credit reported by more than 400 SBFE members. The combined power of Equifax and SBFE Data provides a complete picture of how a small business is paying against its obligations with data from more than 28 million small businesses, enabling users to have greater confidence in their lending decisions. SBSS 7.0 supports decisioning on loans of up to $1 million for term loan/line of credit transactions and $250,000 for leasing transactions. With this release, FICO has also introduced a small business bankruptcy score, which can further refine risk assessment.  

FICO® SBSS^SM 7.0 is being offered to small business credit grantors through FICO^® LiquidCredit^® service, a cloud-based, single or multi-lender, automated origination platform that is used by hundreds of grantors to accurately decision and price credit offers. The combined solution gives credit grantors greater flexibility when lending to small businesses, by drawing on multiple data sources and more than 100 combinations of consumer and business models and alternative model suites.

"Demand for credit from small businesses is intense, and small business lenders must respond in real-time with offers closely tailored to the applicant's needs in order to compete and grow," said David Lightfoot, vice president of product management at FICO. "SBSS 7.0 is the culmination of our most advanced modeling technology and techniques, combined with 20 years of FICO small business analytic experience and insight from everyday use by top small business credit grantors. It gives small business credit grantors the strongest predictor of credit risk relative to other small business scores, enabling them to pursue profitable growth strategies, adapt quickly to changing market conditions and make more competitive offers to small business borrowers."

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™.

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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, 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, Small Business Lending Service, SBSS, LiquidCredit and "Make every decision count" are service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and in other countries. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE FICO