Equifax

Freddie Mac is increasing the number of companies offering merged reports from the credit bureaus through integrations with its Loan Product Advisor automated underwriting system.

A year after the major credit bureaus agreed to strip tax liens and civil judgments from consumers' credit files, a new study says it is hampering lenders' credit decisions. But proponents of the move insist it was the right call.

The Massachusetts Democrat is questioning a claim by the agency about the amount of redress available to those affected by the credit bureau's 2017 data breach.

The timing of the settlement serves as a warning to other companies of the risks they face in an increasingly data-focused economy.

Equifax Inc. agreed to pay up to $700 million to resolve U.S. federal and state investigations into the 2017 hack that compromised some of the most sensitive information of more than 140 million people.

The agreement with authorities including the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general — and possibly the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — may be announced as soon as Monday.

A bill by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., would give the CFPB authority to oversee cybersecurity efforts at the credit bureaus.

First-quarter operating revenue in Equifax's Mortgage Solutions unit was the lowest it's been for the fiscal period since 2016, and the company anticipates declines in this division will remain a concern.

The root of the credit reporting sector’s problems may be its dominance by a handful of big firms, lawmakers from both parties said at a hearing.

Ahead of testimony by the CEOs of the major bureaus, House Financial Services Committee leaders proposed sweeping changes for the credit reporting industry and credit-score protections for furloughed government workers.

While student, auto and credit card balances are at or near record levels, housing debt is shrinking, credit quality is weakening a bit and lending standards, at least in some sectors, are tightening.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed barring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from using credit scores developed by VantageScore over concern about conflicts of interest with the joint venture of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee concluded that last year’s massive data breach at Equifax was fully preventable, but stopped short of recommending new laws aimed at averting future hacks. Democrats called the final report a “missed opportunity.”

Equifax is supporting mortgage lender customer retention efforts with a new tool that predicts the likelihood that a lead will apply for a loan within the coming months.

Senators at a hearing Thursday discussed a bill establishing an online portal for consumers to monitor their credit reports free of cost.

Credit reporting firms with significant operations in New York will face new cybersecurity and registration requirements to stave off concerns related to a breach of Equifax's systems last year.

Mortgage industry vendors' earnings varied based on the effectiveness of the strategies they used to contend with origination declines and other factors.

Some speculate that the banks who do business with credit reporting agencies may be looking for alternatives after mounting concerns about their ability to keep information private. But breaking up is hard to do.

Some fear that the removal of such data from individual credit reports could lead lenders to believe a consumer is a better bet than they really are.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is among several agencies that "continue to investigate events related to" last year's Equifax brief, the credit reporting firm said in a securities filing.