Experian® launches analysis ranking top metropolitan areas by key indicators of business health

COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian^®, the leading global information services company, today announced the launch of the Metro Business Pulse, an analysis that ranks the top metropolitan statistical areas in four key business credit categories, including bankruptcy rates, the number of days business pay their bills beyond contracted terms, delinquency rates and commercial risk scores. Findings from the Q2 2013 analysis showed the New York metro area had the lowest business bankruptcy rate at 0.28 percent, while Sacramento, Calif. area businesses had the highest at 2.41 percent.

"When evaluating new customers and prospects, it's important to understand how businesses are performing in order to uncover unique pockets of opportunity that can help your own enterprise grow," said Joel Pruis, Experian's senior business consultant. "As such, we've taken our research a step further to provide insight on how businesses and different industry groups are performing at a metropolitan-area level. The additional layer of information can help businesses make more informed decisions that can ultimately affect their bottom line."

Regarding how fast businesses pay their bills, the analysis showed that San Francisco area businesses topped the list, paying their bills an average 3.2 days beyond contracted terms. Businesses in the Omaha, Neb. (3.54 days); New York (3.57 days); Seattle (3.58 days); and Milwaukee (3.61 days) areas rounded out the top five with the least number of days beyond term. On the slower side, businesses in the Fort Myers, Fla. area, took the longest to pay their bills, averaging 18.04 days beyond contracted terms, followed by the Orlando, Fla. (14.02 days); Las Vegas (12.18 days); Miami (10.58 days); and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (9.78 days) areas.

Findings from the Q2 2013 analysis also showed that businesses in the Salt Lake City area had the lowest delinquency rates at 0.92 percent, followed by the Boise City, Idaho; Houston; San Diego; and Tucson, Ariz. areas. Conversely, major metropolitan areas in Florida made up four of the bottom five for business delinquency rate, with the Miami area having the highest delinquency rate at 44.72 percent. The other areas in the bottom five included Fort Myers, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Cincinnati; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

When looking at commercial risk score*, Portland, Ore. area businesses came in with the highest average score in Q2 2013, with an average of 65.68. The other metropolitan areas in the top five included, Pittsburgh (65.58); Grand Rapids, Mich. (62.99); Seattle (62.09); and Albany, N.Y. (61.86). However, Miami area businesses had the lowest average commercial risk score (47.96) during the same time period, followed by the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Atlanta; Memphis, Tenn.; and Orlando, Fla. areas.

*Based on a scale of 1 to 100 (with 100 being least risky) and predicts the likelihood of severe delinquency (more than 91 days past due) within the next 12 months

Complete findings from the Q2 2013 Metro Business Pulse, including detailed industry group analysis, will be presented in Experian's Quarterly Business Credit Review Webinar on Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. Pacific time/1 p.m. Central time/2 p.m. Eastern time. If you would like to attend the event, click here.

About Experian's Business Information Services
Experian's Business Information Services is a leader in providing data and predictive insights to organizations, helping them mitigate risk and improve profitability. The company's business database provides comprehensive, third-party-verified information on 99.9 percent of all U.S. companies. Experian provides market-leading tools that assist clients of all sizes in making real-time decisions, processing new applications, managing customer relationships and collecting on delinquent accounts. For more information about Experian's advanced business-to-business products and services, visit www.experian.com/b2b.

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2013, was US$4.7 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.

Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
Roslyn Whitehurst
Experian Public Relations
1 714 830 5578
[email protected]
Twitter: @RozWhitehurst

SOURCE Experian