New services offered by credit agencies The issue of transparency

Introduction  Credit reports  Credit scores  Two questions: What are the new services offered by credit agencies? Are consumers sufficiently informed about these services?

What are the new services offered by credit agencies?  Scoring multiplication  Diversification of the uses for credit reports  Identity verification and fraud prevention  Services to consumers  Service automation

Are consumers sufficiently informed about these services?  Difficulty to obtain information  The major financial institutions’ consent clauses  Management policies for personal information (credit agencies and banks)  Legal implications

Possible solutions  The need to better inform Canadian consumers  Change the law: principle - openness  Changes in practices  Simplify and explain

Other issues  Re-identification risk  Inaccurate data in credit reports  Freedom of contract and risk management

Alexandre Plourde