Experian

Democrats are pushing for a public-sector alternative to the three main credit bureaus, but Republicans argue that the government is ill-equipped to safely handle consumer data and produce accurate reports.

Regulators have long warned the credit bureaus about deceptive marketing that causes consumers to sign up unwittingly for paid monitoring services. But the practice has persisted, according to complaint data.

A year after the major credit bureaus agreed to strip tax liens and civil judgments from consumers' credit files, a new study says it is hampering lenders' credit decisions. But proponents of the move insist it was the right call.

Mortgage debt climbed to a new peak of $9.4 trillion in the second quarter and the distribution across the U.S. varies greatly.

Ahead of testimony by the CEOs of the major bureaus, House Financial Services Committee leaders proposed sweeping changes for the credit reporting industry and credit-score protections for furloughed government workers.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed barring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from using credit scores developed by VantageScore over concern about conflicts of interest with the joint venture of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

In a move designed to improve access to financial products for consumers with low credit scores and short credit histories, Experian, FICO and Finicity are developing an "UltraFICO" score that lets individuals share checking and savings account data and help lenders better assess risk.

Allowing alternative data such as rent and utility payments has bipartisan support, but some say it could create more problems than it solves.

Calls for less reliance on credit bureaus and Social Security numbers for verification are leading many to envision a future of identity on a distributed ledger.

The Equifax breach has millions of Americans now thinking about freezing their credit to guard against identity theft. But those who act could be cutting themselves off from the nation's vast credit economy.