EQUIFAX HELPS BANKS TACKLE PPI CLAIMS BACKLOG

Equifax Single Customer Insight for Regulatory Compliance helps banks identify and resolve their exposure to PPI claims

London, December 2011 - The latest report from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) reveals that banks paid out £557m in the first half of this year for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI). Banks dealt with much of the 200,000 claims backlog by the end of August, the deadline set by the FSA. However, FOS has also reported an on-going flow of consumer complaints where claims have been rejected. It is clear, therefore, that the financial services sector faces continuing challenges to manage costs and reputations on this issue.

In response, leading consumer credit data and analytics expert, Equifax, is able to help financial services firms identify and resolve their PPI exposure with its innovative Equifax Single Customer Insight for regulatory compliance solution.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) requires that firms selling PPI over the last six years must establish whether any mis-selling took place and offer customers compensation accordingly. This task is proving to be a complex and costly exercise, given the time period and scale of policies sold. It is also having quite a negative impact on reputations with delays in compensation pay-outs regularly reported in the media.

Equifax Single Customer Insight for regulatory compliance provides a solution that is quick to implement and streamlines the PPI claims process which, in turn, should enhance the experience for consumers.

By using Equifax’s comprehensive consumer datasets to match PPI and credit account databases, firms can accurately calculate their claims exposure, even across different brands and products. The Equifax matching process is also able to qualify the eligibility of a PPI claim, for example, where there is a discrepancy between policy and loan terms or where a policy was put in place outside of specific age limits.

“Establishing total exposure to PPI claims is a major challenge for firms, especially where they have offered multiple products with PPI policies over the last 6 years,” explains Karl-Magnus Wadsack, Strategic Consultant, Equifax.

“Equifax Single Customer Insight for regulatory compliance is playing a crucial role in helping our clients through the whole process, from quantifying their total exposure, to verifying claimants and handling claims accurately and efficiently. Harnessing the power of the Equifax databases and our matching expertise we are helping to reduce the administration costs and reputational risk of PPI claims. We are also helping banks ensure fraudulent claims do not get through.”

The Equifax solution offers financial service firms several distinct benefits:

• Correctly identify eligible claims - The Equifax ‘evidence-based’ matching process utilises data on more than 45 million adults across 28 million households representing 98% of the population to qualify the eligibility of a PPI claim. Crucially, with credit histories and address links maintained for six years, Equifax is ideally placed to provide banks with the history to meet the new FSA requirements for PPI products
• Identify customers with multiple products that may have PPI policies - The Equifax Single Customer Insight process shows whether customers have more than one product relationship with a firm, which is vital in providing a consolidated view of PPI claims exposure
• Trace and target claimants - Data enrichment is used to update claimants’ contact details on a bank’s database, appending information from Equifax’s own data sources in order to ensure that the right individuals are contacted in the most efficient manner
• Develop an efficient, robust claims management system - The Equifax rules-based system minimises the chance of duplication or overpayment during the claims process, reducing errors and costs.
• Demonstrate best practice to customers and the FSA - By establishing the total PPI redress exposure and claims value, the Equifax solution helps firms accurately plan resources in order to handle claims as efficiently and fairly as possible

“The latest FOS newsletter reported that it has been involved in more than 3,000 complaints from consumers in the last two months”, continued Karl-Magnus Wadsack. “The pressure for banks to deal with this issue as quickly and accurately as possible is, therefore, increasing by the day and our solution provides an immensely quick-to-implement and cost-effective answer.”

“Equifax Single Customer Insight for compliance combines our best-in-class data and leading-edge analytics expertise to help our clients identify and resolve PPI redress quickly and effectively, with a high level of accuracy”, concluded Karl-Magnus Wadsack.

“By working in partnership with the banks we are not only helping them to manage their business costs and reputation; we are also helping to improve the claims experience for consumers.”

ENDS

For further press information please contact: Wendy Harrison, Jenny Thorneywork or Clare Watson at HSL on 020 8977 9132 / Fax: 020 8977 5200 or Email: equifaxbtobteam@harrisonsadler.com

About Equifax

Equifax is a global leader in consumer and commercial information solutions, providing businesses of all sizes and consumers with information they can trust. We organize and assimilate data on more than 500 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide, and use advanced analytics and proprietary technology to create and deliver customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax operates or has investments in 17 countries and is a member of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500® Index. Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. For more information, please visit www.equifax.com.