Dear Colleague,
As we busily prep for a marathon of industry conferences, it’s like the calm before the storm here at VantageScore Solutions—although it’s by no means calm. We’re busy printing signs, writing speeches and readying our business cards for the high season of professional gatherings this fall.
Of course, summer isn’t exactly free of conferences and meetings. I spoke last month at the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) Annual Conference in Boston about how new developments in credit scoring models can help credit unions to broaden membership, empower members to establish and maintain good credit management habits, and strengthen the credit union-member relationship. We’ve posted my presentation on our website.
Coming up on the schedule is the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Risk Management and Quality Assurance Forum in Phoenix (Sept. 10-12), where Sarah Davies, VantageScore Solutions’ senior vice president for analytics, research and product development, will join a panel discussion we’ve organized with an engaging cast of industry experts. Joining her on the panel are Fred Bader, senior vice president and risk executive at Chase Mortgage, and Anand Bhattacharya, professor of financial practice at Arizona State University. Moderator Neil Weinberg, editor-in-chief of American Banker, will guide the panel through a discussion of how consumer credit behavior has changed in the wake of the recession and how that is impacting the mortgage industry. We’ll live-tweet the event and provide a recap in a forthcoming newsletter article. (Look for posts from VantageScore Solutions, and other attendees, by using the official conference hashtag, #mbarmqa13.)
Then it’s a red-eye back to New York, where I will be on a panel Sept. 12 at the annual CreditSights Regulatory & Risk Rodeo conference at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. I will participate in a panel called “Consumer Exposures Outlook.”
Also slated for September are conferences of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (Sept. 19-21) and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (Sept. 29-Oct. 1).
And then things really start to get busy! In October, the American Bankers Association (ABA), the American Financial Services Association (AFSA) and the Mortgage Bankers’ Association (MBA) will all host their annual conferences. Congratulations to the MBA as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.
We’ll provide additional information about how VantageScore Solutions participates in the conferences through our newsletter, Twitter feed, and LinkedIn updates.
In the meantime, we have terrific content for this month’s newsletter. We take a deep dive into the concept of risk-based pricing through our “Did You Know” article. “Risk-based pricing” is an industry term, but it’s an important concept for consumers to understand, and with this knowledge consumers can more effectively find the best terms and rates for loans.
Credit scoring guru John Ulzheimer tells us how to handle credit while doing back-to-school shopping. And for the industry readers, we’ve included a recap of a very prominent article published in the ABA Banking Journal featuring the VantageScore 3.0 model.
Speaking of conferences and trade groups, I’m very pleased that answering our “Five Questions” this month is Dan Berger, who this month took the reins as president and CEO of NAFCU. Readers will be very interested in his agenda and the issues that are at the forefront of his association’s membership.
Dan has taken over from the recently retired Fred Becker, who was a great supporter of VantageScore Solutions. Fred was an advocate for his members and consumers for more than a decade at NAFCU, during which time he helped credit unions navigate through an extremely turbulent period. I’d like to congratulate Fred on his retirement and thank him for his years of service and support.
Regards,
Barrett Burns