ATLANTA, CHICAGO and COSTA MESA, Calif. – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion announced last week they have jointly developed and introduced a new uniform credit score – VantageScore – they say delivers an "unprecedented" more consistent, objective and highly predictive methodology to the credit scoring process across the three companies. At a press conference held March 14, Experian's Donald Girard said VantageScore was "a direct response to market demand for a more objective and consistent approach to credit scoring methodology." Previously, each of the three agencies used their own formula to determine consumers' credit scores which meant a consumer could wind up with three different credit scores that lenders would have to reconcile. Girard said with the new uniform methodology, which was developed using proprietary software, one system will be used to create consumers' credit scores, and any subsequent differences in a consumer's credit score from any of the three companies will be due to data differences in the files of the three companies and not the structure of each individual company's methodology. The companies are expecting a 30% reduction in the variance between their scores. VantageScore uses score ranges from 501-990, versus the more familiar 330-850 range. VantageScore is being independently marketed and sold separately by the three national credit reporting companies to their respective customers through each of the company's licensing agreements with VantageScore Solutions LLC, which they are in the process of jointly forming and have equal investments in. VantageScore Solutions, they said, does not have a headquarters yet. Its Web site is www.vantagescore.com. Equifax spokesperson David Rubinger said the three agencies were confident VantageScore "will find resonance in the marketplace," adding that, "For any score to have merit, all the parties have to be at the same table. That's why it's so important for us to talk to the credit granting community to make sure they know about the score." TransUnion spokesperson Colleen Tunney stressed the importance of everyone in the credit granting community to adopt VantageScore for consumers to see the greatest benefit. Girard offered that the agencies were confident "the credit granting community will key into this as being a unique development." -

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