Dear Valued Partners,Second quarter has officially begun and now that winter has taken its final breath, we here at RA Business Solutions are welcoming the warmer weather.

At the very end of the first quarter, the RA Business Solutions team went to Atlanta for the Equifax Sales Agent Summit. We were able to gather and bring back valuable information on several areas of interest from growing commercial loans to prequalifying consumers online to synthetic identity fraud solutions.

We look forward to meeting with you and your team to hear about what is keeping you up at night as well as how we can help you drive towards your business goals.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to anyone on our team with any questions, comments, or concerns that you may have.

We appreciate you and your business and look forward to helping you thrive in 2018.

Matthew BoyerVP of Credit Services RA Business Solutions

CreditLine

Quarter 2, 2018

Quarterly Business Newsletter

Passage of a GOP budget that added $300 billion in new spending has focused plenty of attention on surging federal government debt over the last week or so. But Uncle Sam isn’t the only one running up those credit cards. Everyday Americans are also piling on the debt.

Total household debt soared to a record $13 trillion dollars in 2017, according to the latest data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data.

Eighty-two percent of businesses that fail do so because of cash flow problems. This stat presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the commercial lending industry. How can Commercial banks and lenders make smarter lending decisions and optimize profitability? While access to small business credit and payment data is important, it is really just the beginning.

Configurability is a tool that allows lenders to quickly and effectively address specific small business needs by choosing the precise pieces needed to reach an educated decision.

Reducing Risk in Small Business Lending: A Configured Approach

Total Household Debt Hit Record $13 Trillion in 2017

<continued on page 2> <continued on page 3>

Total household debt increased by $193 billion to $13.15 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017. The report marked the fifth consecutive year of positive annual household debt growth. American indebtedness has eclipsed levels seen on the eve of the Great Recession. Household debt rose in every category in Q4 2017.

Americans are burning up those credit cards. Revolving debt grew by $26 billion in the fourth quarter alone, a 3.2% increase. Americans have run up an $834 billion credit card tab. Meanwhile, flows into serious delinquency have increased steadily since the third quarter of 2016.

Mortgage debt grew by $139 billion, a 1.6% increase. Housing loans make up the largest portion of American household debt. As the debt grows, the creditworthiness of borrowers is dropping. The median credit score for those taking out new mortgages decreased slightly in Q4 2017.

Auto loan balances continued a steady rise that started in 2011. Currently, Americans owe $1.22 trillion on vehicle loans. Last year saw the highest annual auto loan origination volume ever observed in the New York Fed data. As of Dec. 31, 2017, 4.1% of auto loan balances were 90 or more days delinquent.

Student loan debt stands at a staggering $1.38 trillion. Outstanding student loan balances increased by 1.5% in Q4 2017 and delinquency levels remain high. About 11% of aggregate student loan debt was 90+ days delinquent or in default in the last quarter of 2017.

As we reported last year, student loan debt is one of the biggest factors driving a growing trend of millennials struggling to transition into adulthood.

Growing debt levels should come as no surprise. The Federal Reserve has held interest rates unnaturally low for nearly a decade. This has pumped up what US Global Investors CEO Frank Holmes called “the mother of all bubbles.”

The skyrocketing levels of debt also tell us something about the “economic recovery” since the 2008 financial crisis. It is essentially a fake recovery built on debt. This is not just an American phenomenon. As we reported last month, global debt is growing three times faster than global wealth.

So, you really can’t talk about wealth without talking about debt. While it may appear the economy is growing and Americans are getting wealthier because they have more stuff, it’s an illusion. Debt is holding everything up and that is not a firm foundation.

Increasing debt levels will likely temper future spending and could put a significant drag on the economy. This will become especially acute if the Federal Reserve continues pushing interest rates up. Rising rates will increase payments on outstanding debt. That could be the pin that pops the debt bubble. ❢

Source: Schiff, Peter. (2018, February 14) Total Household Debt Hit Record $13 Trillion in 2017 [Web Article]. Retrieved from https://www.sgtreport.com/articles/2018/2/14/total-household-debt-hit-record-13-trillion-in-2017

Ray Mattes President/CEO Retail Alliance(757) 455-9321rmattes@retailalliance.com

Matt BoyerVice President(757) 455-9326mboyer@retailalliance.com

Amy CardonaAccount Executive(757) 455-9387acardona@retailalliance.com

Chris ResendezAccount Executive(757) 455-9309cresendez@retailalliance.com

Ashley MillerSales Support & Mktg Coordinator(757) 455-9343amiller@retailalliance.com

Your Retail Alliance Business Solutions Team

Total Household Debt Hit Record $13 Trillion in 2017 cont'd

B2B marketing just got easier

In sales and marketing, a strong sales pipeline starts with quality leads. Marketing lists lacking business leads that best match your target criteria or include stale business information can break the best of campaigns — especially in business-to-business (B2B) campaigns. To be successful, you need tools to help you cut through the clutter and beat your competition to the best sales opportunities.

That’s exactly what you get with B2B Marketing Lists from Equifax. Using our unique data, advanced analytics and proprietary technology, you can hone your marketing lists to:

• Quickly identify, reach and connect with your target audience

• Boost your marketing qualified leads• Cross-sell and up-sell within your existing customer base• Generate a higher return-on-investment for your sales and

marketing dollars

Increase your response rates

B2B Marketing List customers in the U.S. consistently see up to a 10 percent lift in their campaign response rates. Unlike the one-dimensional lists available through other providers, our solution differentiates itself thanks to several key advantages:

• Small business expertise • Fresh, high quality contact data • Smart mix of commercial and consumer data • Lists segmented according to your risk profile • Linked contacts to key businesses

To learn more about B2B Marketing Lists and how they can benefit you and your business, please contact your account executive. ❢

Source: Equifax Commercial Services. (2018) Business-to-Business Marketing Lists [Web Product]. Retrieved from https://www.equifax.com/business/b2b-marketing-lists/

Simply put, creating a unique combination of data, scores, analytical approaches and strategies will help lenders make smarter decisions and maximize performance across their commercial portfolio.

Configured models help lenders know more about small businesses to score more applicants and, ultimately, approve more loans and grow their business. Lenders choose the best strategy for their needs, and then tailor it to each situation.

Configured models built upon the Equifax Commercial Financial Network (CFN), can provide lenders the insights and flexibility needed to properly adjust their market positioning and strategies to help make stronger decisions and optimize performance across their portfolio.

Equifax has the data and insights lenders need to fuel these models, including:

• Configurable Data Sources• NeuroDecisionTM Technology• Trended Data and Attributes

Essentially, with increased configurability, lenders get the performance and flexibility of a custom score without the lead time to develop it. In fact, one customer had a 50% lift in predictiveness of risk when evaluating their commercial card lending with configured models versus traditional models. ❢

Source: Goldman, Lee. (2018, January 22) Reducing Risk in Small Business Lending: A Configured Approach [Web Article]. Retrieved from https://insight.equifax.com/smbconfigurableresults/

Business-to-Business Marketing Lists

Reducing Risk in Small Business Lending: A Configured Approach cont'd

838 Granby StreetNorfolk, VA 23510 (757) 466 1600 ph (757) 466 9363 fax888-757-5265 toll freewww.rabizsol.com

Quarter 2, 2018 RA Business Solutions Newsletter

“How to Read a Credit Report” 2018 Schedule

Hampton Roads Area 9:00AM-10:30AM

• May 23 • August 22 • November 14

Location: Retail Alliance838 Granby St, Norfolk, VA 23510

Seating is limited to 20 guests (in-person).

We now have the capability to live stream our trainings so we can accommodate larger groups and bring the seminar to your workplace at your convenience.

FREE TRAINING!!

Register to Ashley MillerEmail: amiller@retailalliance.com

Ph: (757) 455-9343CONNECT WITH US!