Have you ever wondered who is responsible for reporting the information on your credit profile?
Creditors are individuals or institutions that have extended you credit.
They subscribe and report details about your credit information to Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs), also known as credit bureaus.
There are thousands of credit bureaus, but let’s hone in on the big three: Experian®, Equifax® and TransUnion®.
Experian®, the newest but largest of the big three credit bureaus, was founded in 1996. Experian® is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. In the U.S. alone, Experian® employs over 7,000 people and maintains over 200 million U.S. consumers’ credit information. North American sales exceed $2 billion annually.
Equifax® is the oldest of the three bureaus and was founded in 1899. They are headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Equifax® operates in 24 countries, employing approximately 11,000 employees. Equifax® is the second largest credit bureau.
TransUnion® was founded in 1968. They employ over 8,000 associates worldwide, and are headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Over 65,000 businesses in over 30 countries subscribe to TransUnion® to report credit information for over 1 billion consumers. TransUnion® is the third largest credit reporting agency in the United States.
