Credit Reporting

Equifax credit freezes could threaten demand for consumer loans

09/19/17

The Equifax breach has millions of Americans now thinking about freezing their credit to guard against identity theft. But those who act could be cutting themselves off from the nation's vast credit economy.

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Equifax breach has banks tightening defenses, counseling customers

09/19/17

Normally tight-lipped about security moves, bankers tell how they are re-examining their systems for Equifax-like flaws and providing new cards, fresh accounts and reassuring advice for anxious customers.

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Visa's Maginot Line: Chip Cards and the Equifax Breach

09/16/17

The media attention on the Equifax breach has been primarily on consumer harm.  There's real consumer harm, but it's generally not direct pecuniary harm.  Instead, the direct pecuniary harm from the breach will be borne by banks and merchants, and it's going to expose the move to Chip (EMV) cards in the United States without an accompanying move to PIN (as in Chip-and-PIN) to be an incredibly costly blunder by US banks.  Basically, Visa, Mastercard, and Amex have built the commercial equivalent of the Maginot Line.

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Equifax: A Call for Public Utility Regulation of Consumer Reporting Agencies

09/12/17

This post diagnoses what went wrong with Equifax and proposes a solution:  a public utility regulation regime for consumer reporting agencies in which the CRAs would be restricted in their ability to pay dividends and executive compensation unless they meet certain performance metrics in terms of reporting accuracy, dispute resolution, and data security.  Here goes: 

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Panic over Equifax breach bleeds to TransUnion

09/12/17

TransUnion Chief Financial Officer Todd Cello said Tuesday the firm kept call centers open through the weekend to deal with the flood of calls from anxious consumers.

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Equifax breach threatens bank reputations, too

09/12/17

Banks should not point blame at the credit bureau but rather should step up and demonstrate their commitment to their customers. If you punt the problem to Equifax, it suggests you don’t really care.

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Equifax breach draws Wells-level congressional scorn

09/11/17

Lawmakers signaled Monday that Congress will likely have a swift and powerful response to revelations that the credit reporting company Equifax was hacked, exposing 143 million people to identity theft.

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CFPB fines JPM $4.6M for checking account denials

08/02/17

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered JPMorgan Chase to pay a $4.6 million fine for failing to provide accurate information when denying checking account applicants.

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Fintech's ultimate value: Making sense of the data explosion

06/05/17

With such massive amounts of data bolstered by ubiquitous modes of distribution, the most meaningful fintech investment opportunities center around enabling a new truth equilibrium.

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CFPB fines Experian $3M, alleges consumer deception

03/23/17

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Experian sold consumers an "educational" credit score and falsely claimed in advertisements that the score was used by lenders to make credit decisions.

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