Equifax Inc. has joined with two South American companies to provide credit-information services in Argentina.
The Atlanta-based credit bureau will unite with Organization Veraz, the largest credit bureau in Argentina, and Banelco, a banking association there. The joint-venture company - which will continue to be called Organizacion Veraz - will draw on Equifax for product development and technical expertise.
"We don't pretend to know the culture of Argentina very well," said Jean-Claude Chartrand, the executive vice president of Equifax's international group. "[That's why] joint venturing is the preferred mode."
Strategic Alliance
The Yelin family, who founded Veraz in 1956, struck a strategic alliance with Equifax four years ago, Mr. Chartrand said. The relationship slowly evolved into the new business, of which each of the three partners owns an equal share. Through Banelco, the company will be able to expand its credit reporting from negative information to a broader range of customer history.
Equifax officials hope that between Banelco's contribution of consumer and business credit information and its own product offerings, Veraz will increase its annual revenue by as much as 25 percent, Mr. Chartrand said. Veraz now does only a modest $6 million to $7 million a year in credit-reporting business, although its customers include 18 of the top 20 Argentine banks and it handles more than 90 percent of all banking requests.
Fertile Soil for Products
This emerging market also represents a ripe climate for Equifax's growing line of decision support, modeling, and scoring products.
This is the second international joint venture for Equifax this month. It previously joined with Asnef, a Spanish association of banks and financial institutions, to form a credit-reporting agency based in Madrid.
Through joint ventures like these, Equifax is looking to reach far beyond its current borders. Mr. Chartrand said the it is pursuing agreements in Chile and Mexico, as well as in Southeast Asia and Japan.
"The use of consumer credit has yet to be fully utilized in these countries," he said. "It just will take a while and a lot of marketing work."
