JR TOC Review

The Fourth Annual State of Credit report is Experian’s comprehensive look at nationwide data to determine how four different generations are managing their debts by analyzing their credit scores, the number of credit cards they have, how much they are spending on those cards and the occurrence of late payments. Additionally, credit scores were examined in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) to provide the 10 highest and 10 lowest credit scores in each generation across the nation. The study creates an opportunity for consumers to better understand how credit works so they can make informed financial decisions and live credit smart even in the face of national economic challenges. Check out the full infographic.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling® (NFCC) and Experian® jointly announced today that Experian committed 80,000 free, 12-month memberships to its freecreditscore.comTM product, in support of the NFCC’s Sharpen Your Financial Focus™ program. The NFCC program, launched in September of this year, includes a broad cross-section of supporters – Experian and others – who are committed to increasing the financial well-being of Americans. The donation, the largest of its kind ever awarded by Experian and part of the company’s continued commitment to financial education, will be used by the NFCC to complement financial education provided by NFCC member agencies to individuals who take part in the program. “Experian’s generous gift in support of the Sharpen Your Financial Focus program underscores its commitment to financial education and to the American consumer,” said Susan C. Keating, president and CEO of the NFCC. “The NFCC network is proud to join forces with Experian, as together we help Americans emerge from one of the most difficult financial crises of their lifetimes and rebuild their financial futures.” Experian and NFCC have worked together on several occasions, equipping consumers with information and resources to better understand and, consequently, approach credit use and management more intelligently. According to Victor Nichols, Experian’s North American CEO, the donation is a logical next step toward making a difference through the partnership with NFCC. “Contributing these memberships is a very tangible way to simultaneously educate consumers and demonstrate the impact that credit education products can have on a person’s long-term financial wellness,” said Nichols. “Doing that through a trusted credit counseling organization like the NFCC is a natural extension of our commitment to helping consumers and our commitment to giving back to the communities where we work.” There are many ways Experian contributes to consumers’ personal finance knowledge, but the partnership with NFCC, enabling free, hands-on access to credit scores and reports – as well as the resources to improve understanding of each – is another example of how the company is committing itself and its resources to improve financial literacy for consumers.

Owning your own business is what many perceive to be as the American dream. And if you’ve been fortunate enough to make that dream a reality, then you’ve certainly heard how indispensable your business is to the country’s economy. But as invaluable as your small business is, many small business owners face daily challenges when it comes to sustainability, profitability and growth. For the last year, Experian and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have lent a helping hand to small businesses that are facing those types of challenges. As a part of their efforts, all Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) firms and small businesses that are considered to be socially and economically disadvantaged under the SBA’s 8(a) business development program have full access to BusinessIQ Express. BusinessIQ Express is an online tool that improves cash flow by providing small businesses with the resources they need to better manage their business relationships quickly and easily. It does this in three key ways: • Evaluate — BusinessIQ Express users can evaluate prospects, customers, suppliers and partners on their likelihood to pay or deliver on time. • Monitor — Users can easily monitor their business relationships with alerts and notifications of key changes, allowing them to take appropriate account actions and maintain beneficial relationships. • Collect — The tool offers small-business users unique options that may have been never before easily accessible to them to help collect on outstanding debts and avoid future losses. With access to BusinessIQ Express, small businesses will have a powerful resource at their fingertips to help meet business obligations and improve profitability, ultimately enabling them to address some of those challenges head on.

Millions of Americans face economic hardships today due to the financial crisis. The Great Recession made a big impact on the financial lives of consumers. Unemployment was high and many struggled to make ends meet, forcing them to tap into their savings and live off credit to survive. Now that our economy is recovering, we believe that education is the key for consumers to unlock the door that leads to financial success and opportunity. As part of our commitment to educate consumers, we work with organizations that educate and raise awareness about financial literacy. One of our valued partners is Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. Through a financial literacy grant Experian supported production of a series of webcasts on financial capability and issues impacting low-income Americans. Starting this month, the following webcasts will be available at www.SpotlightonPoverty.org. • Governor of Delaware, Jack Markell—Governor Markell explains why he established The Financial Literacy Education Fund and what steps Delaware is taking to promote financial capability among child care providers as well as other groups. • National Foundation for Credit Counseling, Susan Keating—Keating highlights how we can arm people with the information and tools to help them get back on their feet. • AARP Foundation, Emily Allen—Allen discusses how the elderly can recover from the recession, manage their limited finances and protect themselves financially. • Corporation for Enterprise Development, Andrea Levere—Levere focuses on how to help the underbanked navigate the financial world and strategies to change education in our schools. • Center for Financial Services Innovation, Sarah Gordon—Gordon examines how to transform the financial services marketplace to help change the behaviors of underserved consumers to help them achieve financial prosperity. • Shepherd Consortium, Dr. Harlan Beckley— Dr. Beckley and his students explain a new financial literacy project being developed by universities to help fight poverty. Experian’s vice president of public education, Maxine Sweet also participated in a webcast. Experian Maxine from Spotlight on Vimeo. Experian Maxine pt2 from Spotlight on Vimeo. To learn more about Experian’s financial education resources visit www.LiveCreditSmart.com.

Grab a pen and paper. Jot down some differences between the Northeast and Midwest. What came to mind? Maybe it was the bright city lights of the Northeast versus the Midwest’s starlit farms? Or maybe it’s the city’s busy streets compared to quiet open fields? What you may or may not have written down is that Northeasterners prefer to drive more import vehicles than the folks in the Midwest. According to Experian Automotive’s mid-year review of automotive market trends, in the first half of 2013, the top five new vehicle models in the Northeast region were all import brands. Conversely, as one might have guessed, American-made vehicles dominated the Midwestern roads. In the Northeast, the list was made up of the Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic and Nissan Altima. Out in the Midwest, Ford vehicles made up four of the top five and the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 filled out the list. The top five in order included the F-150, Fusion, Escape, Silverado 1500 and the Focus. In the West, the list was more closely aligned with Northeast, as import vehicles made up four of the five, with the Ford F-150 being the only domestic brand. The list included the Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, F-150 and Toyota Corolla. The South was a mixture of both import and domestic with the Ford F150, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the Toyota Corolla making up the top five. Other highlights from the analysis included: • Full-sized pickup trucks were the most popular vehicle segment in the first half of 2013, making up almost 15 percent of the vehicles on the road • In Q2 2013, Buick and Volvo were the top brands with the longest average length of ownership at 98 and 92 months, respectively • General Motors (26.6 percent), Ford (18.9 percent) and Toyota (12.6 percent) were top three in vehicle market share for first half of 2013 For more information on this analysis, or to view a recorded webinar of the findings, please visit https://www.experian.com/automotive.

In the personal finance world, credit is one of the hottest topics to talk about and there are many resources available to consumers. To further empower consumers to take a more active role in managing their credit, Experian provides a number of solid consumer education programs. As a positive extension to those, in 2011 we developed Experian Credit Educator, a consumer-education service that offers personalized, live, one-on-one, telephone-based credit education sessions to consumers and customers of Experian’s clients. Experian recently announced that we’ve added new features to this service in order to give consumers insights into specific actions which may produce an improvement to their credit score. Participants will now receive a longer session with an Experian Credit Educator agent, score simulations providing specific examples of actions that may improve their credit score and more resources to assist in understanding their credit profile. With this enhancement, the Experian Credit Educator agents are able to answer consumers’ questions as they relate to their personal VantageScore® credit score and provide insight into how specific actions can affect the score, such as: “Is there anything I can do today that may improve my score?” “I have $500 to put towards my debt – what’s the best way to distribute that to improve my score?” “I want to prioritize paying down my debt, what actions could produce an increase in my score by five points?” An Experian Credit Educator session costs $39.95 and includes: An approximately 35-minute, one-on-one, dynamic phone session with a trained Experian Credit Educator Agent A detailed walk-through and a copy of a personalized Experian credit report A VantageScore with an explanation of score factors and benchmark scores for each participant’s city, state, and region within the United States Score simulations providing specific examples of actions that may improve the consumer’s score Links to online resources for credit management and life events information Consumers who want to take the next step in improving their finances can visit Experian.com/CreditEducator or call 1 877 903 1009 to initiate a personalized education session.