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In the early 1970’s a brilliant engineer/inventor/music lover designed a credit card sized electronic music player.  Early prototypes and models of this small music player received the accolades of “the most radical music system ever” from the audio industry.  Many of you may think I am talking about Steve Jobs – well I am not.  This inventor however was distracted, did not pay attention to the business and saw the technology get away from him.  And that is why today, Jobs and Apple’s 1.75 billion iPods are a household name and Kane Kramer is not. So the question for you today is…are you keeping your eye on the technology, trends, and market place that will make your commercial lending efforts successful and sustainable? In a CEB TowerGroup survey, bank executives clearly called out that maximizing credit applications with quality growth is the top priority for 2014. To be successful in achieving that growth commercial bankers will be focused in 2014 and beyond on these five key areas: (1) Rationalizing infrastructure, (2) Optimizing sourcing, (3) Centralizing risk management, (4) Enhancing liquidity management, and (5) Implementing commercial loan management solutions.  To back that claim, in the 2013 Sales Readiness Assessment, CEB TowerGroup found that banks that are taking these steps to lead in technology changes were seeing an increase of 8% in their top performing relationship managers, and a 13% increase overall. And while growth is critical, we cannot take our eye off the existing portfolio.  Best practices suggest that to make the most impact in 2014, institutions should in the next 90 days to take steps to look at their individual loans, but with multiple factors, e.g. duration, convexity, and yield.  But even more important banks should aggregate these views to a portfolio level to make sure that can optimize returns overall. So while we see that in commercial lending the 3-year CAGR is now 10.5% and looking stronger, banks need to focus and not be distracted and capitalize on these opportunities.  Invest and stay focused on the future! Vision 2014: The new world of commercial lending from Experian Business Information Services Tweet this! Not focusing on #innovation & change can cost you. Kramer designed IXI in the 70’s.  But #apple gained with 1.7 B #ipod sold. #vision2014 Click to Tweet This At @ExperianVision and Joanne Pollitt from CEB Tower Group talking about #change in cmcl #banking for 2014.  Are you ready?  @ExperianVision  Click to Tweet This What is your #banks top #commercial #banking #initiative for 2014?? How can @Experian_DA_GCP and @Experian_US help you  #succeedandproceed  Click to Tweet This  

4000! Consumers view over 4000 ads per day. As a result they are overwhelmed with information and opt not to see what could be waiting for them. The best way to grab the consumer’s attention and CLOSE the sale is to target them with content directly related to their interests. This is not an easy task, but Experian can help lenders stay above the noise and drive relevant traffic to their websites. We can turn a site visit into a credit qualified lead and ultimately a high-quality booked account – cutting through the “junk” that drags down your portfolio’s performance.

The amount of data being generated nowadays is staggering. In fact, according to one source, more data has been produced in the past two years than ever before. Certainly Experian has made it our business to understand all of this data and how to harness it. I’ve recently had the opportunity to consider the impact of data in Formula 1 Racing, the most prestigious and high-tech racing series on the planet. Experian is a sponsor of Williams Martini Racing, which is one of the “big four” teams in the sport and has produced 16 Formula One World Championship titles.

Having a diverse workforce is vital to help us innovate and deliver on the needs of our increasingly diverse clients and consumers. Over the years, we’ve made some great progress, but there’s so much more we can do and it’s going to take the collective effort of all of us to continue to move the needle. That’s why we’re gearing up to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD). It’s a day celebrated in many countries around the world to recognize the achievements of women and drive equality among men and women. At Experian, IWD activities are extending throughout the month of March. Have a look at what’s going on around the world as Experian celebrates this important day: Asia Pacific The Asia Pacific region is hosting a range of activities across our offices in March, which will include round-table and speaker events as well as an opportunity to network and pledge their support for IWD. EMEA and UK&I EMEA and UK&I are joining together for IWD to support and celebrate diversity and inclusion. The week started with a video of employees from both regions reflecting on what diverse teams bring to our business. Employees will also be invited to a variety of events to engage and network with inspirational women and hear stories from our leaders on what diversity means to them personally. Latin America Throughout the month of March, Latin America has been running a campaign to share stories of achievements in their region and raise awareness about breast cancer prevention and other diseases more common in women. On IWD, there will be a panel of women leaders who will address issues such as the social inclusion of women in the region, women’s participation in the labor market, Experian’s commitment to female leadership and the importance of a work/life In Brazil, IWD is kicking off with a presentation by members of the United Nations to present their 50-50 Gender Equality program (which aims to eliminate gender inequalities by 2030) and how they are working with companies around the world to achieve this vision. Employees will have an opportunity to hear from leaders in our business about diversity and inclusion plans for the region, and listen to a panel of external speakers discuss diversity challenges and career development. North America Our employees in North America will be kicking off the week with celebrations across their ITS’ 13 offices in the region. Each office will have daily activities throughout the week, and all employees – including virtual and those based in smaller offices – will be invited to attend webinars focused on Diversity and Inclusion topics. On IWD, there will be panel discussions with senior leaders who will speak on various career development topics. To close out the week, there will be a special Book Club discussion on March 9. We will continue to update this blog post all week with pictures and other ways we’re celebrating IWD. Bookmark this page and come back.

I work at SEGA, a global games company. I first met Nakamura-san, my contact at Experian, about eight or nine years ago. I remember telling him at the time that I was a little sceptical of credit report and analytic companies – I thought they were either too expensive or their reports weren’t detailed enough. However, a year later I needed help from a company like Experian, and I thought I’d put them to the test.   My team and I were starting to communicate with overseas markets, to work with companies around the world. So, I phoned Nakamura-san. It was a business negotiation, so I had my poker face on – I played the usual mind games you have to, insinuating that if Experian did this job well then our company might be able to offer them even more business in the future.   Safe to say, they passed the test. We’ve been building a really positive relationship with Experian for the last eight years.   We’re working with companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan and London at the moment. To work with them, we need information – for instance, we need to know if they’re actually located where they say they are. Even if a company gives us an address, it’s always possible that it operates from a different country – we’ve all heard about companies and their tax havens. When we have these questions, Nakamura-san and his team at Experian collect and analyse data on these companies, and give us very thorough information – breaking it all down and explaining everything to us really clearly.   It’s really difficult to get the rich, detailed analysis of data you need, but Experian provides us much better data than any of our previous credit research companies managed to. They consult with us, and help us use this data to get our business to a better place. I’m very grateful for it – they’ve added great value to our business. Mr. Shinji Mutazono, Team Manager, SEGA Group Companies Finance Department, SEGA Holdings CO., Ltd. 

In Malaysia, nearly 280,000 people live without electricity. By volunteering with the Liter of Light program, we’re bringing solar panel lights to remote villages, transforming the quality of life and brightening the darker hours for families. In Malaysia, more than 1 percent of the population lives without electricity – one of life’s basic necessities – which equates to nearly 280,000 people living in darkness after the sun goes down. Some people have never had electricity in their life, making simple tasks like cooking or reading nearly impossible after dark. I wanted to change that. My day job is to support and enable individuals within Experian to pursue various career opportunities, but what I’m most passionate about is the way Experian helps me invest in my local community through the Heart of Experian Corporate Social Responsibility program. This year, my team and I had the chance to collaborate with Liter of Light (LOL) – a global, grassroots movement committed to providing affordable, sustainable solar light to people with limited or no access to electricity. In February, we joined one of their projects to install 60 solar street lights in the village of Orang Asli, an indigenous community in the Cameron Highlands.   Over the span of two days in February, a group of 30 Experian volunteers built and installed the solar panel lights. On the first day, the LOL team taught us how to build the panels, teaching us the skills needed to cut wire, assemble PVC pipes and drill holes. The second day, we rode in Jeeps through muddy roads and a three-foot deep river to reach the village. We spent hours unloading the lights and assembling the panel boxes, plotting the village maps and identifying the right spots to install the solar panel lights. I was happy to see some of the local villagers’ curiosity and participation throughout the day. Some helped us assemble the lights while others prepared the right spots for installation by building bamboo stands. The weather was kind to us, so by 5 p.m., nearly all the lights were installed – just before dark! After completing all the hard work, our team recorded a group video using a drone that all of the Orang Asli children chased after. Thanks to our service project providing light to a village in darkness, 150 villagers in Orang Asli will now have more productive, higher-quality lives during the dark hours of the day. I’m so glad I got to play a role in that.