Percentage of Delinquent Dollars Showed Dramatic Increase in Q4 2010, According to Experian's Latest Business Benchmark Report

COSTA MESA, Calif., Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian®, the leading global information services company, today announced the latest results of its Business Benchmark Report. Findings from the Q4 report show that smaller businesses (with 1 to 99 employees) and large businesses (with 250 to 999 employees) have shown the largest increases in percentage of dollars delinquent in Q4, rising by as much as 22.5 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively, over Q3 numbers. Additionally, small businesses with 1 to 49 employees showed the most dramatic increases in percentage of dollars considered severely delinquent (accounts 91 or more days past due) in Q4 2010, rising by as much as 25.9 percent compared with Q3 numbers.

Since the beginning of 2010, however, midsize businesses (with 100 to 249 employees) and very large businesses (with more than 1,000 employees) have seen the greatest improvements in percentage of dollars severely delinquent, decreasing by 17.2 percent and 18.2 percent, respectively.

Other findings from the Q4 Business Benchmark Report include the following:

Risk score

• The average commercial risk score* remained relatively flat (worsening by 1 percent) in Q4 2010 when compared with the previous quarter, improving slightly (1.3 percent) since the beginning of 2010.
• Very large businesses (with more than 1,000 employees) showed a 4.6 percent improvement in their risk scores in Q4 2010, going from 40.1 in Q3 to 41.9 in Q4. These businesses have shown the greatest overall risk score improvement (26.9 percent) since the beginning of 2010, when the average score was 33.0.

Average days beyond terms (DBT)

• The national average days that businesses paid their bills beyond contracted terms at the end of Q4 2010 was 6.5. The average DBT saw a dramatic increase of 12.5 percent since the beginning of 2010 but has since stabilized, showing only slight fluctuations quarter over quarter.
• Very large businesses and nonemployer businesses (firms with no paid employees) have shown the greatest increase in DBT since the beginning of 2010, increasing by 23.5 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively.

*Based on a scale of 1 to 100 and predicts the likelihood of severe delinquency (slow 91 plus) within the next 12 months

Percentage of dollars delinquent

• All businesses saw an increase in the percentage of dollars delinquent in Q4, rising by 12.6 percent. Additionally all businesses saw an increase in the percentage of dollars severely delinquent in Q4, rising by 9.1 percent. Since the beginning of 2010, the percentage of dollars delinquent rose by 14.6 percent and the percentage of dollars severely delinquent rose by 13.2 percent.
• Since the beginning of 2010, all regions have shown an increase in the percentage of dollars delinquent, with the Southeast, Mid Atlantic and South Central regions showing increases by as much as 32.4 percent. In terms of severely delinquent dollars, the Southeast, Mid Atlantic, Plains and New England regions have shown the most dramatic increases, rising by as much as 39.3 percent since the beginning of 2010.

To download the full report or to see a visual representation of this data and other information broken down by state in an interactive map, visit http://www.experian.com/business-benchmark-report.

About the Business Benchmark Report

Experian's Business Benchmark Report is a monthly look at how businesses are faring in the United States. Designed to monitor the progress of business recovery, the report looks at four key indicators of business health, including commercial risk score, days beyond payment terms, percentage of dollars delinquent and percentage of dollars severely delinquent.

About Experian's Business Information Services

Experian's Business Information Services partners with organizations to establish and strengthen customer relationships, enabling them to mitigate risk and improve profitability. The company's business database provides comprehensive, third-party-verified information on U.S. companies of all sizes, with the industry's most extensive data on the broad spectrum of small and midsize businesses. By leveraging state-of-the-art technology and superior data compilation techniques, Experian is able to provide market-leading tools, such as BusinessIQ(SM), that assist clients in 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 http://www.experian.com/b2b.

About Experian

Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 90 countries. The company 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, 2010, was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and Sao 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.

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SOURCE Experian