How Much Is A Company That Knows All About Your Financial Behavior Worth? Turns Out A Lot.bo

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  (Steve Depolo)

  It’s no secret that consumer financial data is valuable: it determines if you get better rates on loans and allows lenders to predict the likelihood you’ll pay back debts. While we can’t necessarily put a price tag on that data (yet), we now know that one of the largest companies to collect that information is worth a bundle – 4 billion bundles, in fact.

  TransUnion, one of the big three consumer credit reporting agencies (CRAs), has a reported value of $4 billion at the time of its initial public offering, the New York Times reports.

  The figure comes courtesy of TransUnion, as the CRA is expected to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange today.

  The company, along with Experian and Equifax, collect and maintain a bevy of very important information related to consumers’ credit experiences.

  The wealth of data held by these companies is used to create a credit report (don’t forget you’re entitled to one free report from each agency each year), which reflects how a consumer has repaid any debts they have. That information is then used to generate a credit score, which can be used by lenders and other companies to determine if a person is a good candidate for a loan, a job or even a place to live.

  While TransUnion’s IPO doesn’t exactly put a dollar amount on your credit profile, it does give us a little insight into how powerful – and valuable – a company with all our financial secrets is.

  TransUnion Valued at $4 Billion in I.P.O. [The New York Times]

  
  
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by Ashlee Kieler

via Consumerist