What are Credit Bureaus and What Do they Do? |
By Jonathan Boral on August 18, 2010
.jpg.aspx?width=75&height=75) The main responsibility of credit bureaus, often called Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA), is to collect personal information, financial records, and alternative data on consumers. They then use this information mainly to determine individual’s credit scores, which they can then sell to banks and lenders for their own private use.
To begin, most credit bureaus will obtain records on consumers from creditors, lenders, debt collection agencies, and courts. Upon obtaining these records, they mathematically determine that consumer’s credit score using their individualized process. With this information, they can sell these scores to banks and lenders, allowing them to determine whether or not to give that consumer a loan or mortgage.
Not only do the big three credit bureaus Experian, Equifax, and Transunion exist to determine individual credit scores, but there are also dozens of other smaller credit bureaus as well. They exist to aggregate these credit scores and other personal financial date to present a clearer picture to banks and lenders. Credit bureaus are very influential in all areas of the financial market, and are watched and oftentimes scrutinized by the American government through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which helps monitor the data that credit bureaus receive.
Not only are credit bureaus responsible for working with banks and lenders, but general consumers as well. Government legislation has stated that annually, every consumer is allowed one credit score report from each of the individual big three credit score corporations for free. This gives consumers the ability to evaluate their financial stability, along with their spending and payment habits. They have the chance to correct their financial mistakes before they become true financial burdens.
The credit bureaus' purpose is to present accurate information about financial stability about consumers to both banks and lending companies along with individuals. This makes them an incredibly important financial institution. Without them, banks would find it far more difficult in deciding upon loan rates to consumers, and strong candidates may have a more difficult time in obtaining a loan or a mortgage.
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