Today’s economy relies on the constant exchange of funds within the financial system and the increased buying power that credit provides. With credit, consumers can manage their cash flow, make purchases they may not otherwise be able to make, and in so doing, contribute to the economy’s strength. However, the modern credit system would not be possible without the steady flow of borrower information. The average person usually doesn’t have the means to buy a home, buy a car, or start a college education without a little financial support. But before a lending institution will extend credit or approve a loan, the lender must have certain essential information in order to make a prudent lending decision. Simply stated, a lender must be able evaluate the likelihood that a borrower will repay the borrowed amount as agreed. Businesses that grant credit rely on tools like credit reports, credit scores, and other information solutions to assess the creditworthiness of a potential borrower.

Equifax®, Experian®, and TransUnion collect and store credit data on almost every adult consumer who has ever had some type of credit obligation. When a potential lender or creditor requests a consumer’s credit history, the information that has been reported about the consumer is packaged into a credit report. Because each bureau is slightly more prominent in each part of the country, and due to the fact the lenders are not required to report back to all three bureaus, one bureau may hold more or less comprehensive or up-to-date information on a given consumer’s credit file. Each bureau also has its own report format and uses its own classifications and codes to present data. This makes it difficult to identify any inconsistencies when cross-referencing each bureau’s credit report. Merged credit reports help solve the problem of data discrepancies between bureaus, in addition to streamlining analysis.

First American CREDCO, a credit reporting agency and leading provider of specialized credit reports, is in the business of providing the critical data companies need to make credit decisions. Businesses from a wide range of industries rely on the company’s premier menu of full-service credit information solutions to make decisions involving billions of dollars annually.

Since it was founded, First American CREDCO has garnered a reputation for innovation and ingenuity. For more than 40 years, the company has represented financial stability, integrity, and trust. However, the company that today provides one in every three credit reports used by the mortgage lending industry, traces its beginnings to the entrepreneurial spirit of a single man.

As a young professional, George Zoffel recognized a need for faster, more reliable credit information in the mortgage lending industry. In 1961, Mr. Zoffel opened Credit Associates, the predecessor to CREDCO, with Ray Aspiri, a close business associate. The company served a moderate client base in Seattle and achieved steady growth as it earned a reputation for quick turnaround and excellent customer service.

At the time the company was established, mortgage lenders had to wait more than two weeks to receive a consumer credit report. During the two-week wait, they ran the risk of losing the loan to competitors or simply having the customer experience a change of heart. As is the case in any sales transaction, the quicker the customer signs on the dotted line, the better. Credit Associates raised the bar for the credit reporting industry by speeding the delivery of credit reports to less than four days.

In order to continue to provide the exceptional service and quick delivery the company was known for, prior to computerization, Credit Associates had to maintain close geographical proximity to its customers. In 1972, Mr. Zoffel took his budding business to Phoenix, Arizona where the real estate industry was thriving. It was then, in an effort to differentiate Credit Associates from similarly named collection agencies, that the company’s name was changed to CREDCO.

In the early to mid-1970’s, as baby boomers came of age and began purchasing homes, the real estate industry experienced new growth. To meet the needs of the burgeoning mortgage industry, CREDCO continued to set up new operation centers, and by 1979 had locations in Colorado, California, Oregon, and Texas. As CREDCO continued its rapid expansion, the company quickly became a household name in the mortgage lending industry.

In 1989, CREDCO raised the standards of quality and service yet again by introducing the Instant Merge® credit report. The first merged credit report of its kind, Instant Merge offered a solution to the problem of data discrepancies between the three national credit bureaus: Equifax (formerly CBI), Experian, and TransUnion. Instant Merge uses CREDCO’s patented Merge Logic to create a more streamlined and comprehensive credit report. The proprietary Merge Logic system receives raw data from the national credit bureaus in real-time and applies a progressive series of comparisons to eliminate duplicate data. The result is an easy-to-read report containing the most accurate information available on the consumer. This, in turn, allows lenders to make fair and balanced lending decisions. Today, Instant Merge is the most popular merged credit report across all industries.