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In many countries around the world June 1st marks the beginning of Pride Month. This annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community is a time to reflect on the progress that has been made and the work there is still to do for LGBTQ+ equality around the world. As well as being a time of celebration, Pride Month offers a chance for us to get to know each other better. It is a time to think about how we create a truly inclusive workplace for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Everyone should feel safe, included and respected at work. It is up to all of us to create the right environment for LGBTQ+ colleagues to prosper and thrive, and we’re proud to work closely with partners like Stonewall and Out & Equal to help us achieve that goal. Around the world, Experian stands for diversity, for equity and inclusion. We support and welcome our LGBTQ+ colleagues, and we are proud to celebrate with you today and every day.
This morning, we announced our year-end earnings. Once again, we have demonstrated our resilience in the most difficult of circumstances. With this set of results, I am pleased to report that Experian has now grown through two major global economic downturns. None of this would have been possible without the incredible hard work and commitment of everyone in the company. The coronavirus pandemic is the gravest crisis faced by the world for a generation. From the beginning, Experian moved quickly to make our data insights available to governments, health services, communities, businesses and charities around the world. We also worked rapidly with lenders and governments to support financial accommodation programmes. This has proven to be crucial in making sure financial assistance reached those who needed it, helping people to manage their financial health and ensuring that our economies kept moving through these turbulent times. Looking ahead to the next financial year, our vision for Experian is to continue to bring the benefits of our world class data and analytics capabilities directly to consumers and wider society. Data-led decision making, and technology have been critical in helping humanity to take on the biggest challenge in a generation. It will be a crucial driver of the global economic recovery, helping us all to bounce back stronger and providing the foundations to flourish in the years ahead. I am tremendously proud of our employees around the world. Our people’s professional and personal responses to the pandemic, and the results we have delivered, have been remarkable. We have worked from our kitchen tables, while home-schooling our children, and caring for our family members. We have pulled together and gone above and beyond during one of the most turbulent times in a generation. There can be no greater testament to the character and the strength of our team. I think it’s no overstatement to say that we have delivered one of our most remarkable performances ever. We have made important strategic progress. We have pressed ahead with new product innovation, with our technology transformation, and we have extended our presence across many new markets and segments. As we enter our next year, we do so with strong foundations for further growth and the uplifting confidence that even through the most challenging of times, we can and will continue to create a better tomorrow for everyone.
In March 2020 we left our office desks without knowing we would not return for over a year. It’s been an incredible year and as our focus shifts to navigating our way out of lockdown and our hopes for a post pandemic life, it’s hard not to be reflective. At Experian we have taken the opportunity to rethink how we work going forward. We have had a lot of feedback from our people and we know they want to continue to have a degree of flexibility, but they’re equally keen to maintain the collaborative and innovative culture we have cultivated over the years. The pandemic has accelerated innovation in ways of working and gives us an opportunity to reimagine where, when and how work gets done. Whether it is our data scientists working on brilliant new concepts, our product designers taking part in hackathons across several countries at the same time, or our creative teams working on advertising concepts for a purple cow; we have learned over the past year that flexible working is no barrier to creativity and innovation. When our offices re-open we will give people the opportunity to work in a way that works for everyone – this may be working remotely, in the office, or a mix of both, and flexibility over start and finish times. In some cases, we may ask people to be office based. Our aim is to strike the right balance between what works for an individual and what works for the business. This balance can mean that we provide more flexibility to people during their workday. It is not just about remote working. It's our commitment to make a difference in our people's working lives. We're obsessed with finding new ways to use data to help transform lives and create a better tomorrow. Our powerful combination of smart minds, deep data, and sophisticated technology enable us to do things that others can't. And we also want our working culture to make a world of difference to our colleagues. Our culture is what connects us across the world. The role of the office will serve an enhanced purpose and we plan to maximise collaborative spaces and ensure people have the space and create time to connect with their teams – even if it’s on a more ad hoc basis. This is important to us and we make no apology for occasionally insisting on team meetings in the office to make sure we preserve our special culture. Looking back and learning from lockdown has been essential to form our new flexible working plan. It has been clear that colleagues have been experiencing the situation differently. Many of our colleagues have really enjoyed the freedom of working from home, spending more time with their families in some cases, and working at a rhythm that suits them – allowing them to time manage their days to fit in things like more regular exercise, for example. And many have really valued the time they’ve got back from cutting down on all the travel in and out of the office. For others, remote working has at times tested their mental wellbeing. Many of us live alone or have stressful home lives to manage which means that going into a dedicated place of work can be a blessing, maybe even a necessity, or simply a preference. It’s also been a time when businesses have had to embrace the technology of connectivity more than ever before. This has actually brought more of our people together – albeit virtually. Video calls are now a well-established part of our lives. It has been great to get more facetime with colleagues around the world – technology can deliver that for us, but it’s taken a pandemic for us to really embrace it. It’s not been a one-size fits all experience. What this crisis has reminded us, beyond everything else, is that we are all individuals living different lives. As an employer, if we can take one thing from this experience and build on it, it’s that our people will benefit from being offered different working arrangements to suit individual circumstances. We want to give colleagues the option of creating a working environment which suits their situation. So that they can do the best job possible and deliver great results, yes, but also so that they can live fulfilled and balanced lives. It has been a very challenging time, but we can deliver positive outcomes. We need to embrace this moment and build a future of work that is fit for purpose in the 21st century.
Today, we stand at the forefront of a digital revolution that is reshaping the financial services industry. And, against this backdrop, financial institutions are at vastly different levels of maturity; the world’s biggest banks are managing large-scale infrastructure migrations and making significant investments in AI while regional banks and credit unions are putting plans in place for modernization strategies, and fintechs are purpose-built and cloud native. To explore this more, I recently had the privilege of attending the annual Reuters NEXT live event in New York City. The event gathers globally recognized leaders across business, finance, technology, and government to tackle some of today’s most pressing issues. On the World Stage, I joined Del Irani, a talented anchor and broadcast journalist, to discuss the future of lending and the pivotal role of data and AI in building a more inclusive financial system. Improving financial access Our discussion highlighted the lack of access to traditional financial systems, and the impact it has on nearly 100 million people in North America alone. Globally, the problem affects over one billion people. These people, who are credit invisible, unscoreable, or have subprime credit scores, are unable to secure everyday financial products that many of us take for granted. What many don’t realize is, this is not a fringe subset of the population. Most of us, myself included, know someone who has faced the challenges of financial exclusion. Everyday Americans, including young people who are just starting out, new immigrants and people from diverse communities, often lack access to mainstream financial products. We discussed how traditional lending has a limited view of a consumer. Like looking through a keyhole, the lender’s understanding of the person in view is often incomplete and obstructed. However, with expanded data, technology, and advanced analytics, there is an opportunity to better understand the whole person, and as a result have a more inclusive financial system. At Experian, we have a unique ability to connect the power of traditional credit with alternative data, bringing a more holistic understanding of consumers and their behaviors. We are dedicated to leveraging our rich history in data and our expertise in technology to create the future of credit and ultimately bring financial power to everyone. The future of lending After spending two days with over 700 industry leaders from around the world, one thing is abundantly clear: much like the early days of the internet, today, we are at the cutting-edge of a technical revolution. Reflecting on my time at Reuters NEXT, I am particularly excited by the collective commitment to drive innovative, and smarter ways of working. We are only beginning to scratch the surface of how data and technology can transform financial services, and Experian is positioned to play a significant role. As we look to the future, I am excited about the ways we will create new opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.
We believe that financial literacy leads to empowerment. That is why Experian supports initiatives and partners with community organizations to deliver financial education. We also develop products and services that give more control to consumers over their credit profile and financial health. As part of advancing our mission of Financial Power to All®, we are proud to announce we are helping more than 5,000 Hispanic individuals nationwide by relieving $10 million dollars of consumer debt. To provide families with this boost, we joined forces with ForgiveCo, a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), to administer the acquisition and cancellation of qualifying consumer debt for the selected recipients. Beneficiaries will also receive a one-year premium Experian membership for free that offers access to their Experian credit report in English and Spanish[i], FICO® Score[ii], bilingual educational content, and other financial resources. We hope this effort helps raise awareness of the importance of financial literacy for everyone, and that Experian has resources to help individuals reach their financial dreams. To amplify the message, we collaborated with multi-platinum, award-winning singer and songwriter Prince Royce and you can see his video here. In fact, we have been making a concerted effort the last several years to evolve our educational resources and products to better support all underserved communities. Some of our other activities include the creation of the B.A.L.L. for Life initiative that connects African American and Hispanic youth with financial education, supporting scholarships for Asian Americans through the Ascend organization, providing custom resources for Out & Equal and Born This Way Foundation for the LGBTQ+ community, supporting the NextGen Innovation Lab for Disability:IN, and sponsoring credit counseling for the military community with Operation HOPE. For resources in Spanish, Experian offers a credit e-book and consumers can access a full suite of articles at the Ask Experian blog here. [i] Only Experian credit reports are available in Spanish. All other services associated with an Experian membership are available in English only. English fluency is required for full access to Experian’s products. [ii] Credit score calculated based on FICO® Score 8 model. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than FICO® Score 8, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more.
Amid some of the financial challenges that underserved communities experience, members across the financial services community remain committed to championing initiatives and programs that drive greater financial inclusion. In fact, collaboration has led to the inclusion of non-debt related payment information on consumers’ credit profiles, as well as digital services that make it easier to manage money. These efforts have helped to broaden access to fair and affordable financial resources for more individuals. While significant progress has been made, there is still more work to do. However, some of the misconceptions and myths about the financial services community are hindering further advancement. Debunking these myths will accelerate progress by building trust between the financial services community and consumers. Person withdrawing money from ATM contactless Myth #1: “Financial institutions have no interest in underserved consumers or credit invisibles.” The truth is, banks and credit unions want to say “yes” to more prospective borrowers, including individuals and families from underserved communities. Beyond being the right thing to do, it’s an opportunity to potentially build lifelong relationships with a relatively untapped market. A show of good faith to communities who have largely been ignored by the financial system could lead to customer loyalty that may extend to their family and friends. That’s why participants across the financial ecosystem have been proponents of including expanded data sources—such as on-time telecom, utility and video streaming service payments—on to consumer credit reports, as well as exploring other Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)-regulated data sources, including payment data on short-term small dollar loans and expanded public records data. Making this data more accessible to lenders provides a more comprehensive view of a consumer’s ability and willingness to repay outstanding debt—an actionable solution to extending credit to consumers without lenders taking on additional risk. Myth #2: “There is a lack of trustworthy financial education resources.” The financial services community and affiliated organizations recognize that empowering people with financial knowledge and skillset are critical to consumers’ financial success. In fact, banks and credit unions are partnering with nonprofits and non-governmental organizations to better understand the unique challenges and opportunities within specific communities and provide relevant tools and resources. For example, Experian’s B.A.L.L. for Life (Be A Legacy Leader) program, launched in partnership with the National Urban League, serves as a catalyst for engaging with Black communities and low-income youth through live events and digital financial education. Subject matter experts, professional athletes, celebrities, and other influencers share their experiences and expertise, covering topics such as banking, credit, financial management and investing. In addition, to help people improve their financial management, Experian partners with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). The NFCC connects consumers with certified financial counselors to help them address various pain points, including debt management, homeownership, student loans or small business cash flow issues. Myth #3: “Underserved communities have few opportunities to build credit and enter the mainstream financial system.” People from underserved communities, as well as younger consumers and recent immigrants are often excluded from the mainstream financial system because they lack an extensive credit history. Historically, it’s created a vicious cycle; in order to get credit, you have to have credit. Fortunately, there has been a sea change in innovative solutions to address the specific needs of these populations. These include new credit scoring models and microfinancing which provide financial services to individuals who may have been excluded from traditional banking systems. In addition, by incorporating expanded data sources, such as telecom, utility and residential rental payments onto credit reports, lenders have more visibility into consumers who may have been excluded by traditional credit scoring methods.These programs help individuals and families from underserved communities establish and build a credit history that could enable loans, or the ability to rent an apartment or open their dream business. An example is Experian Boost®, a free feature that allows Experian members to contribute their history of making utility, cellphone, insurance, residential rent and video streaming service payments directly into their Experian credit profile. By incorporating nontraditional credit data like paying utility bills on time, online banking transactions, rental payments and verified income data, more people can establish a credit profile that can potentially qualify them for a loan. More Inclusion, Fewer Myths It’s encouraging that community organizations and banks are beginning to see the economic and social benefits of aligning on financial literacy and inclusion. As more initiatives come online, underserved populations will be able to establish a better financial foundation. Then, we can declare the myths to be history.