Building upon a 10-year track record of collaboration in the UK, the two companies are now focused on developing innovative solutions that will help businesses in banking, insurance, retail and other industries accelerate growth while controlling risk and meeting new regulatory requirements.

Financial services providers today are striving to make sharper lending decisions based on more precise customer assessments; adapt more swiftly in a dynamic economic environment; comply with more stringent regulatory demands; fight new and persistent forms of fraud; and improve the customer experience. The new solutions from Equifax and FICO will address these demands, leveraging FICO's unparalleled predictive analytics and decision management software, Equifax's unmatched data and analytics on UK consumers, and both companies' depth of knowledge and experience in credit scoring. The first joint solution, set to be launched in May, will bring more comprehensive customer data to credit risk analyses, enabling lenders to make more knowledgeable decisions and reduce losses while cross-selling more effectively and building customer loyalty.

Equifax and FICO have been partners in the UK market for over a decade, serving banking clients through innovative product integration. These clients have used Equifax data and scores on the FICOTM TRIAD® Customer Manager and FICOTM Blaze Advisor® platforms, and the FICO origination management platform as part of the Equifax Decision Navigator solution. Both companies serve all the top UK banks, as well as leading insurers and retailers.

"Both Equifax and FICO clients have been telling us that they want the risk management solutions they use to go further in helping them accelerate growth in today's challenging marketplace," explained Shawn Holtzclaw, managing director, Equifax UK. "Equifax and FICO already have a strong working relationship, with a number of shared clients. It made huge sense to create this alliance, delivering innovative solutions that no single company could promise."

"This is the right time for new ideas, and this alliance is a platform for new ideas," added Mike Gordon, vice president and managing director of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for FICO. "UK financial services businesses require broad expertise and innovative solutions in order to accelerate growth. FICO and Equifax are ideally suited to help them develop and execute the game-changing strategies they need to succeed."

"Financial institutions (FIs) want managed growth to balance consumer needs with the FI's growth strategies and risk management policies," said Craig Focardi, senior research director in TowerGroup's Retail Banking & Cards practice. "Integrated vendor solutions help FIs implement new and better systems more quickly, which is especially valuable with sophisticated analytic solutions. These solutions also help FIs evaluate the entire customer relationship and offer the right product at the right time."