ATLANTA - Equifax Inc. will run the database of Regulatory DataCorp International LLC, a joint venture of several banks that offers due diligence services designed to meet the USA Patriot Act and other standards.
The newly established Global Regulatory Information Database contains information - on companies, individuals, and transactions - that can be used to verify new and existing accounts. It is the first shared database established by financial institutions to comply with the 2001 law, Equifax said.
The credit reporting agency announced its multiyear, multimillion-dollar servicing agreement July 17. It is "a tremendous leap forward into the safety and security markets," said Thomas F. Chapman, the company's chairman and chief executive officer.
Regulatory DataCorp was launched as a private, for-profit company. Its owners include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp. It also has servicing contracts with ChoicePoint, LexisNexis, and Thomson Financial Publishing, an affiliate of American Banker.
Equifax plans to run the database through Compliance Data Center Inc., a Zephyr Cove, Nev., company it bought in October 2000 for $10 million in stock.
This month, Equifax reported second-quarter net income of $47 million, 7% more than a year earlier. The per-share figure was 34 cents.
