Credit Data and Scoring

Chapter Two

The credit industry in the United States

Abstract

Although banks tend to be competitive, the three Credit Reporting Agencies Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion have dominated credit data collection and reporting in the U.S. for 30 years, though the three companies all started well before that and consolidated to their present national positions. Furthermore, the laws they live by have been relatively stable since the Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was passed in 1970. The FCRA has had two key regulators, the Federal Trade Commission and, since Dodd Frank passed, the Consumer Finance Protection Board, neither of which do much to reign in the CRAs. The CRAs share a lobbying group, which represents their common interests and ...