Tag Archives: Equifax

Subprime credit scores are declining across the country with strong declines in a few rebounding markets, according to Equifax. Designating credit scores below 620 as ""subprime,"" Equifax found the number of subprime borrowers decreased 2.1 percent from the third quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2012. The 2.1 percent translates to about 1 million Americans who rose from the subprime category. Equifax also found ""early housing-bust markets"" are experiencing improving credit scores as time passes since the worst of the foreclosure crisis.

Equifax and DocuSign joined forces in an effort to help the IRS accelerate the processing of 4506-T forms. The companies will are working to make it easier, faster, and more secure for individuals and businesses to electronically sign and submit 4506-T forms.

Out in Atlanta, Equifax Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Equifax Information Services LLC, has entered into an agreement to purchase certain credit services business assets and operations of CSC Credit Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Computer Sciences Corporation.

Equifax Inc. announced Kent E. Mast will be retiring as corporate VP and chief legal officer after a successful 45-year career. Mast joined Equifax in 2000 and has served ever since as the company's general counsel. Stepping up to fill Mast's role is John J. Kelley III. Kelley is currently senior partner at King & Spalding and a member of that firm's corporate practice group.

Since the IRS will soon allow electronic signatures on Form 4506-T, Equifax announced it has enhanced proprietary verifications services in anticipation of the change.

Equifax and its customers reached separate settlements with the FTC, agreeing to pay a total of $1.6 million for improper sale of consumer credit information. The FTC alleges Equifax sold more than 17,000 lists of people who met specific criteria, such as being late on their mortgage payments. Equifax is said to have sold the lists to Direct Lending Source, Inc., which in turn sold the lists to other third parties. The lists included information such as credit scores and detailed how many days past due consumers' mortgage payments were.

Home equity installment balances rose 0.3 percent in August--the first monthly increase since November 2007, according to Equifax. After plummeting 49 percent over the past four years to just $143 billion, the company contends August's uptick could signal ""a possible turning point in mortgage demand."" Equifax says amid signs the contraction in mortgage debt is slowing and delinquencies are trending down, it looks like positive growth may finally be taking hold in the mortgage market.

The percentage of first-mortgages 30 days or more past due saw a double digit year-over-year decline, according to a report from Equifax. First-mortgage delinquency rates dropped 15 percent in July 2012 from July 2011. In addition, first mortgage severe derogatory rates, which are mainly loans transitioning to REO status, declined 17 percent year-over-year.

While still elevated compared to historic levels, severely delinquent balances among first mortgages are on the decline, according to Equifax's May National Consumer Credit Trends Report. The May 2012 total of delinquent balances represented $450 billion, a 37 percent decline from the peak of more than $700 billion in January 2010. The biggest drop was seen in severely delinquent (90-plus days) non-agency first mortgage loans, which fell 45 percent to $320 billion in May from its peak of $580 billion in January 2010.

Total delinquent first mortgage balances are under $500 billion in March 2012, the lowest since January 2009, according to Equifax's March National Consumer Credit Trends Report and Creditforecast.com, a joint product of Equifax and Moody's Analytics. As of March 2012, the number of outstanding first mortgages was 49.5 million, a nearly 11 percent decrease from the March 2008 peak when it reached more than 55 million. According to the report, the decline was caused by high foreclosures, loan payoffs, and low homebuyer demand.