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Generative A.I. is rapidly transforming every industry as we know it and introduces a whole new world of opportunity and risk. At Experian, we already have many years of experience in machine learning, neural network embedding and artificial intelligence. Because of this, we’re established as a trusted leader in the space and are uniquely positioned to champion the ethical, responsible and compliant use of generative A.I.  We manage the risk while advancing the opportunity.  This was one of the key themes emerging from a recent panel discussion for Bloomberg’s Intelligent Automation Event in London that I participated in with Thomas Duecke, COO, Digital at BT Group, Marc Palmer, CTO at T-Systems and Amy Thomson, Bloomberg’s EMEA Technology Team Leader. At Experian, we support the responsible use of generative A.I. to accelerate new product offerings, drive operational productivity, increase financial inclusion, and foster an adaptive approach to using the technology. I’m personally very passionate about this as my team is dedicated to creating innovative solutions that enable clients to better automate processes across a variety of use cases including fraud prevention, lending and process optimization. We’re always looking for new data-driven solutions that can create meaningful change for consumers around the world. That’s why our teams are focused on advancements through generative A.I. and identifying use cases across many aspects of our internal operations as well as within our customer-facing portfolio of products and services. We’re encouraged by the opportunities generative A.I. can facilitate when it comes to productivity. It can allow us to automate processes that are mundane or labor-intensive and enable employees to focus more of their time and energy on creative decision making, problem solving, and more effective collaboration. We’ll continue to leverage our expertise and knowledge in broader intelligence fields to uncover the opportunities this next chapter will provide for our business, clients and consumers. Bloomberg Intelligent Automation

Many times during the course of our last fiscal year, Experian was asked to describe its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) “program.” We found this difficult to do. Because DEI isn’t just a “program” at Experian. It drives our mission, our partnerships, and our company culture. We’re happy to share our progress in the Power of YOU: 2023 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report. In this edition of our global report, you’ll see how our mission of financial inclusion is at the center of our products and services; how we support our consumers, clients and communities; and how we seek and attract the best talent across the world. Our teammates are key to progress and impact. Together, we drive innovations to meet consumers’ needs, such as Experian Go and our new auto insurance comparison shopping service in North America. The Support Hub pilot in the United Kingdom helps disabled people get easier access to essential services like banking and utilities. We’re proud of programs like Transforme-se in Brazil for people in vulnerable circumstances, which provide scholarships and training in STEM. In the first month, more than half of the participants improved their social and financial standing. Across the globe, partnerships with nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have impacted more than 18 million people so far. I hope you’ll enjoy reading the report to understand why our efforts around inclusion and belonging make Experian such a great place to work. You’ll also gain an appreciation for our ongoing focus on supporting the communities in which we live, work, and serve, and helping consumers achieve their life goals.

In a country with more than 68 million people in default, equivalent to a third of the total population, Serasa is holding the biggest debt negotiation event in the history of Brazil. Considered an important part of the credit calendar in the country, especially for defaulters who in Brazil form a universe equivalent to the total population of the United Kingdom or France, the Feirão Serasa Limpa Nome (Clean Name Fair in English) is consolidated as one of the main events in Brazil. What is Feirão Limpa Nome? Feirão Limpa Nome is an event held annually by Serasa and is part of the actions of the largest online debt marketplace in Brazil, Serasa Limpa Nome. The marketplace is a free service that connects more than 200 companies in Brazil with more than 70 million consumers who seek to negotiate their debts in a simple and fast way, without having to leave home and with special conditions (up to 90%), such as discounts and installments. Last year, Serasa Limpa Nome brokered more than 32 million deals, an average of 88,000 per day, 61 per minute. In November, Serasa Limpa Nome promoted the Debt Fair, an online event with discounts of up to 99%. It’s like a “Black Friday” for debts. It also had, for 5 days, a physical event with tents in the main Brazilian cities to help non digitalized people pay their debts. As Experian's Chief Financial Officer Lloyd Pitchford put it: "Limpa Nome is there to help people resolve historic debts, and it’s so humbling to see when we hold our credit fairs, the hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people come out to meet with Experian to try and resolve those debts in a way that’s supportable for them but also meets the needs of their creditors." The records and innovations of the 2022 edition With negotiations through Serasa's digital channels taking place in November December , the 28th edition of the event has provided approximately 5.5 million so far. The goal is to achieve 7 million deals by the end of the event, thus closing the largest of all editions ever held. The goal is to surpass the 2021 Fair, which granted more than BRL 10 billion in discounts, enabled 5.8 million deals and benefited 4 million people. The numbers of the Feirão 2022 will be record-setting.  We had a record number of participating companies – 267 – including banks, securitization companies (companies that buy debts), finance companies, retail, telecommunications companies, universities, and others. The number of partner companies are growing even more throughout the event. For the first time, Serasa made it possible to renegotiate basic debts, such as energy and solid waste tax. This year it was still a small offer, but already symbolic for what this debt segment represents in Brazil (27% of the total). The volume of offers available is estimated at more than 250 million, with average discounts of 70%. For the first time, Feirão Limpa Nome allowed payment with Pix, currently the main means of instant electronic payment in the country. Payments with Pix allowed, also for the first time, Serasa to offer the possibility of instantly writing off the negative debt - that is, the indebted person could have their name immediately removed from the credit bureaus, not having to wait longer for up to five business days, as provided by Brazilian legislation. For the first time, we made available the “Extrato Serasa” (Serasa Statement), a document in which consumers can prove that they no longer have debts in the company's register. Volunteers and emotion Feirão Limpa Nome is only possible because Experian had an impressive mobilization of its employees and contractors. In addition to these, there was an army of more than 400 volunteers from all over Experian Brazil, who enlisted for the purpose of contributing to a better country. The numbers were impressive and the final economic results were significant, but the most important are the stories of simple people that mark the days of physical fair. There were thousands of cases where users cried after the negotiation was done. They cried with relief at the end of a sacrifice and the resumption of a healthier economic life. Consumers who benefit from this This was the case, in the last fair, of Vagner da Silva, who managed to resolve a pending issue that had plagued him for 21 years, when his two children were born and he had to resort to overdraft and a bank loan. He left the Feirão Serasa Limpa Nome, in São Paulo, with a sense of relief. “For half my life my family and I suffered from this drama, a real knife to the head,” said Vagner, now 42. “Finally, we are free of this burden, we have a clean name”. On the same occasion, the seamstress Terezinha de Jesus cried after getting a 90% discount and paying off a debt made by her ex-husband, in her document, when buying wheels for her car in the early 2000s. “My family likes the right things and I want, when God calls me, to be free, with my suitcase packed”, she told the main Brazilian News Portal, Grupo Globo's G1, in a report that touched thousands of readers. What’s next We continue our journey to help consuemrs all over the world, and here in Brazil.  Feirão Limpa Nome is just one of many programs Experian manages in the countries where it operates.  For more information on ways we are working to help consumers, please visit our United for Financial Health page here.

We often share at Experian that we want to be an organisation where people are free to be their true selves and have an equal chance to succeed, a place where everyone is celebrated for bringing their whole selves to work. When our colleagues thrive, they innovate, and contribute to the future of the business. It is in this spirit we welcome you to The Power of You: 2022 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report. Our second edition is really an evolution. For the first time, we are introducing our global DEI framework and our focus on people, clients and consumers, and the communities in which we live and work. We’re proud to be recognised as a Great Place to Work, as 90% of our colleagues agree Experian people are treated fairly regardless of their social and economic status, sexual orientation, race or gender. In this report, you’ll see examples of the efforts we’ve made over this last year including the work towards gender equity. Our target is for 40% of our senior leaders to be women by 2024. We have engagement programs to encourage women into STEM roles within the business, while the appointment of Malin Holmberg as CEO of our EMEA and Asia Pacific business alongside the promotion of Jennifer Schulz to CEO of our North America business has increased our percentage of senior female leaders. Beyond strengthening our own processes in promoting DEI, we’re partnering with organisations such as Disability:IN, Code First Girls and the National Urban League to help underserved communities gain fair and equitable access to credit and financial resources. More broadly, we are continuing with our United for Financial Health programme. So far, we’ve connected with 87 million people since 2020 and remaining on track to connect with 100 million people by 2024. We were named in Fortune’s 2021 ‘Change the World’ list for our work to improve financial health. Our aim is to be force for good. This is at the heart of our purpose exemplified by all of our 20,600 employees across 43 nations: to create a better tomorrow for consumers, our clients, our people and communities. Please find our latest DEI report in full here.

Experian is a company built on purpose. Every day we help people make the most of their data to improve their financial lives. This is what drives us and you can read more about our progress in our inaugural Improving Financial Health report. It is our social mission to improve financial inclusion, because fair and affordable access to credit enhances opportunities in life. While we are proud of our achievements this year, we know there is more to do. Over a third of the global adult population still lack access to basic financial services, while one billion people don’t have official proof of identity. 1.7 billion people are also completely ‘unbanked’ and risk being overlooked by the entire global financial services system. And this problem exists everywhere. More than 63 million people in Brazil have unmanageable debts that are affecting their credit rating. Whereas in the US, 28 million consumers are ‘credit invisible’ and an additional 21 million consumers have “unscorable” credit files, meaning they have what’s considered a thin credit file or limited credit history. Much of this comes down to provision of appropriate education and knowledge around good financial management, alongside the tools and products that can empower people in gaining access to fair, affordable credit. Through our community investment programme, we have provided vital support to communities, which was reflected by our colleagues volunteering nearly 25,000 hours of their time over the last year. This is in addition to an investment of US$15.9m in programmes that support our communities, including enhancing financial literacy with partners in Brazil, the USA and the UK & Ireland. Examples here include financial literacy support for microentrepreneurs through Sebrae in Brazil, Words That Count with the National Literacy Trust and Number Confidence Week with National Numeracy in the UK, alongside partnerships in the USA with the National Urban League, Operation Hope and Saver Life which aim to empower Black Americans through financial education. In addition, our social innovation products reached over 21 million people this year, offering innovative ways to verify identity and to strengthen credit profiles. It is our aim to help everyone have fair access to finance, no one should miss out on the opportunities which can transform lives. As the current inflationary environment adds extra pressure on households around the world, we recognise the significance of the role we can play to help ensure people can get through this period of financial pressure. Our new report outlines the progress we have made and restates our commitment to helping everyone improve their financial health in the future. Please read more in the Improving Financial Health Report.    

We are delighted to celebrate Pride Month this June, and to mark the progress we are making to support our LGBTQ+ colleagues and communities around the world. A few of our milestones this year include: The addition of trans-inclusive healthcare to our UK and U.S. employee benefit packages. Receiving a Silver Award from Stonewall for our commitment to inclusion of LGBTQ people in the workplace. The continued use of our partnerships with Mermaids, Switchboard and Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) to provide resources, offer workshops and support campaigns that raise awareness of the discrimination faced by the community worldwide. Becoming a signatory of the Brazil Corporate Forum for LGBTQA+ companies. Participating in the first diverse talent recruitment fair organised by the Colombian LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Achieving a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation in the U.S., and being designated a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality for the fourth consecutive year. Providing a process to assist trans and non-binary consumers with name changes to their Experian credit reports. Throughout the month, employee groups across our regions are hosting events that support our LGBTQ+ employees in their careers, that educate and inform allyship inside our business, and which help accelerate our ambition of delivering tools and services that create better financial health in the community. And yet, while we celebrate, we recognise that the LGBTQ+ community still faces many forms of discrimination around the world. We will continue to look for opportunities to support our Experian colleagues and customers who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, and to listen to those with lived experiences, so that we can better understand the role we can play in creating a better tomorrow and a stronger organisation – for everyone.

At Experian we pride ourselves on having a great People First culture, it’s something we are all proud of and want to protect. We do this through a dynamic, positive and inclusive working environment for all employees, with the tools and support they need to grow and develop. With that in mind, we are hosting our first ever Careers week for our employees around the world. During Careers week, 70 sessions are taking place across different time zones, with a mix of inspiring speakers, bitesize learning events and insights into new career resources and tools coming in 2022 supporting the ongoing development and learning of our people The theme for this year’s Careers week is ‘Be World Ready’. Put simply this means: Being Aware – having a good understanding about what is happening to jobs and careers in the marketplace  Being Relevant – keeping your skills and experiences fresh and meaningful Being Marketable - making sure you stand out from the crowd Our employees will get the chance to hear from internal and external speakers, including experts in their fields sharing the latest thinking on career development and learning. Leaders from Experian, Google, AWS, Microsoft and many others are part of this exciting event. The whole week has been designed to give people the space to learn and reach their highest potential. To find out more about careers at Experian, visit our global careers page.

I’m delighted to announce that Experian has been named as a Top Employer across five countries. Our teams in the UK, Germany, Brazil, Singapore and Australia were all recognised in the 2022 awards which is a fantastic achievement. At Experian we pride ourselves on having a great People First culture, it’s something we are all proud of and want to protect. We do this by supporting a dynamic, positive and inclusive working environment for our employees wherever they are in the world. Our people are passionate about the work that we do, using data, analytics and technology to help transform lives and create a better tomorrow for people and organisations. We see our people live that purpose everyday in their work and it is wonderful to see that pride, about the role we play - supporting clients, consumers economies and society – getting recognised once again.

The past few years have sparked a swift digital transformation that subsequently drove a rapid increase in fraud. In fact, fraudsters have gotten more creative, putting businesses and consumers at risk now more than ever. At Experian, we predict that more intricate challenges lie ahead and are dedicated to helping businesses combat fraud threats. Here’s what we expect in 2022: 1. Buy Now, Pay Never – The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) space has grown massively recently. In fact, the number of BNPL users in the US has grown by more than 300 percent per year since 2018, reaching 45 million active users in 2021 who are spending more than $20.8 billion . Without the right identity verification and fraud mitigation tools in place, fraudsters will take advantage of some BNPL companies and consumers in 2022. Experian predicts BNPL lenders will see an uptick in two types of fraud: identity theft and synthetic identity fraud, when a fraudster uses a combination of real and fake information to create an entirely new identity. This could result in significant losses for BNPL lenders. 2. Beware of Cryptocurrency Scams – Digital currencies, such as cryptocurrency, have become more conventional and scammers have caught on quickly. According to the FTC, investment cryptocurrency scam reports have skyrocketed, with nearly 7,000 people reporting losses totaling more than $80 million from October 2020 to March 2021 . In 2022, Experian predicts that fraudsters will set up cryptocurrency accounts to extract, store and funnel stolen funds, such as the billions of stimulus dollars that were swindled by fraudsters. 3. Double the Trouble for Ransomware Attacks – In the first six months of 2021, there was $590 million in ransomware-related activity, which exceeds the value of $416 million reported for the entirety of 2020 according to the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network . Experian predicts that ransomware will be a significant fraud threat for companies in 2022 as fraudsters will look to not only ask for a hefty ransom to gain back control, but criminals will also steal data from the hacked company. This will not only result in companies losing sales because of the halt caused by the ransom attack, but it will also enable fraudsters to gain access and monetize stolen data such as employees’ personal information, HR records and more – leaving the company’s employees vulnerable to personal fraudulent attacks. 4. Love, Actually? – Because more consumers went on dating apps and social media to look for love during the pandemic, fraudsters saw an opportunity to create intimate, trusted relationships without the immediate need to meet in-person. The FBI found that from January 1, 2021 — July 31, 2021, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 1,800 complaints, related to online romance scams, resulting in losses of approximately $133 million. Experian predicts that romance scams will continue to see an uptick as fraudsters take advantage of these relationships to ask for money or a “loan” to cover anything from travel costs to medical expenses. 5. Digital Elder Abuse Will Rise – According to Experian’s latest Global Insights Report, there has been a 25 percent increase in online activity since the start of Covid-19 as many, including the elderly, went online for everything from groceries to scheduling health care visits. This onslaught of digital newbies presents a new audience for fraudsters to attack. Experian predicts that consumers will get hit hard by fraudsters through social engineering (when a fraudster manipulates a person to divulge confidential or private information) and account takeover fraud (when a fraudster steals a username and password from one site to takeover other accounts). This could result in billions of dollars of losses in 2022. As a leader in fraud prevention and identity verification, Experian offers a full suite of automated tools that harness data and analytics to prevent fraud and mitigate losses. Learn more about Experian's fraud management tools.