By: Mike Horrocks It has been over a year that in Zuccotti Park the Occupy Wall Street crowd made their voices heard.  At the anniversary point of that movement, there has been a lot of debate on if the protest has fizzled away or is still alive and planning its next step.  Either way, it cannot be ignored that it did raise a voice in how consumers view their financial institutions and what actions they are willing to take i.e. “Bank Transfer Day”. In today’s market customer risk management must be balanced with retention strategies.  For example, here at Experian we value the voice of our clients and prospects and I personally lead our win/loss analysis efforts.  The feedback we get from our customers is priceless.   In a recent American Banker article, some great examples were given on how tuning into the voice of the consumer can turn into new business and an expanded market footprint. Some consumers however will do their talking by looking at other financial institutions or by slowly (or maybe rapidly) using your institution’s services less and less.   Technology Credit Union saw great results when they utilized retention triggers off of the credit data to get back out in front of their members with meaningful offers.     Maximizing the impact of internal data and spotting the customer-focused trends that can help with retention is even a better approach, since that data is taken at the “account on-us” level and can help stop risks before the customer starts to walk out the door. Phillip Knight, the founder of Nike once said, “My job is to listen to ideas”.  Your customers have some of the best ideas on how they can be retained and not lost to the competitors.  So, think how you can listen to the voice and the actions of your customers better, before they leave and take a walk in the park.

By: Maria Moynihan State and local governments responsible for growth may be missing out on an immediate and sizeable revenue opportunity if their data and processes for collections are not up to par. The Experian Public Sector team recently partnered with Governing Magazine to conduct a nationwide survey with state and local government professionals to better understand how their debt collections efforts are helping to address current revenue gaps. Interestingly enough, 81% stated that the economic climate has negatively impacted their collections efforts, either through reduced staff or reduced budgets, while 30% of respondents are actively looking for new technologies to aid in their debt collections processes. New technologies are always a worthwhile investment. Operational efficiencies will ultimately ensue, but those government organizations who are coupling this investment with improved data and analytics are even better positioned to optimize collections processes and benefit from growth in revenue streams. No longer does the public sector need to lag behind the private sector in debt recovery. With the total outstanding debt among the 50 states reaching an astounding size of approximately $631 billion dollars, why delay? Check out Experian's guide to improving debt collections efforts in the public sector. What is your agency doing to capitalize on revenue from overdue obligations?

In Experian's recent State of Credit study which analyzes credit scores in more than 100 cities, Minneapolis took the number one spot, with an average VantageScore® credit score of 787. The Midwest dominated the top 10 spots in the rankings and Wisconsin consumers continue to demonstrate their credit savvy, with four of the state's metropolitan areas making the top 10 list for the second year in a row. Top 10 highest average credit scores by city VantageScore® credit score rank City State Average VantageScore® credit score 1 Minneapolis MN 787 2 Madison WI 786 3 Wausau WI 785 4 Sioux Falls SD 784 5 Cedar Rapids IA 783 6 San Francisco CA 783 7 Green Bay WI 781 8 La Crosse WI 779 9 Boston MA 778 10 Duluth MN 777   View an interactive map and read the complete results of the State of Credit 2012 study. Source: Experian's State of Credit 2012 study VantageScore® is owned by VantageScore Solutions, LLC.