Credit Reporting Agency
Definition
- An agency that prepares credit history reports. These reports are used by lenders to determine a potential borrower's financial worthiness. The agency obtains data for these reports from a credit repository as well as from other sources.
Synonyms
Equifax, Transunion
Acronyms
CRA
Related Terms and Acronyms
- Bad Credit — Definition,
- Someone who carries a higher credit risk.
- Credit Bureau (CB) — Acronym, Very Important,
- A company that collects and sells information about how people handle credit. It issues credit reports that list how individuals manage their debts and make payments, how much untapped credit they have available and whether they have applied for any loans. The reports are made available to individuals and to creditors who profess to have a legitimate need for the information.
➥ Company that determines one's credit worthiness. - Credit History — Definition,
- A record of an individual's or company's past borrowing patterns and whether or not debts were repaid on time.
- Credit Rating (CR) — Acronym, Very Important,
- A judgement of a person's ability to repay debts. The rating is often based on a person's current and projected income and past debt payment history. Also called a credit score.
➥ A metric to measure the credit worthiness of a debtor. - Credit Report (CR) — Acronym, Very Important,
- A report on a loan applicant's willingness and ability to make payments in a timely manner in the past. This report is provided to the bank by an outside agency.
➥ A report that outlines the credit worthiness of an individual or entity. - Credit Repository — Definition,
- Another term for a credit bureau.
- Equifax (EF) — Company Est. 1899, Canada, Important,
- A major credit bureau company in Canada along with Trans Union.
- Experian (XP) — Company, Canada,
- One of the Big Three credit bureaus, along with Equifax and Trans Union, Experian not normally used in Canada.
- Good Credit — Definition,
- Someone who carries little credit risk.
- Merged Credit Report — Definition,
- A summary of one's credit history from the big two credit bureaus: Equifax and Trans Union.
- Social Insurance Number (SIN) — Acronym, Canada, Very Important,
- Every person who has an income or pays taxes must apply for this number, which is assigned by the Government of Canada. You must, by law, provide this number to financial institutions with which you have an interest-bearing deposit account.
➥ A nine-digit number that you need to work in Canada or to have access to government programs and benefits. Banks may also request your SIN for tax purposes or to verify credit checks.
