Women flexing their financial muscles; women's credit is in better shape than men's credit according to Experian

COSTA MESA, Calif., May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to credit, who is winning the battle between men and women? The latest credit trends study, released today from global information services company Experian, compares the financial differences between men and women, revealing that, overall, women are better at managing their money and debt.  

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130522/LA18498-INFO)

For the first time, Experian^® analyzed credit scores, average debt, utilization ratios, mortgage amounts and mortgage delinquencies of men and women in the United States. While the national credit scores only vary slightly — with a one point difference — other differences between the population of men and women include the following:

• Men have 4.3 percent more debt than women
• Men have a 2 percent higher credit utilization amount
• Mortgage loan amounts for men are 4.9 percent higher
• Men have a higher incidence of late mortgage payments by 7 percent

Below is a top-line look at how men and women fared when compared with each other.

"When looking closer at our data and cross-referencing it with other data sources, we see that women working full-time in the United States earn approximately 23 percent less income³ than men but that women are taking steps to manage their finances better than men," said Michele Raneri, vice president of analytics, Experian. "The most notable difference is that men are taking bigger individual mortgage loans than women, but it would appear that they are having a slightly more difficult time making those payments on time."

Mortgage insights
Some of the most compelling differences in the study were found in the mortgage category. On average, 72 percent of consumers have joint mortgages (a home loan given to more than one party) and the remaining number represents men and women who borrowed on an individual/independent basis. The data reveals that throughout the United States, men have 18.3 percent more independent mortgages than women, with one exception: Women in Washington, D.C., take out 33 percent more loans than men.

See below for a closer look at the states with most and least independent mortgages by gender.

With men having more individual mortgages and higher loan amounts when compared with women, where are the most interesting trends when it comes to their loans and financial health?

• The most significant difference at the state level is in Connecticut, where the average man has a mortgage loan of $229,510 and the average for women is $175,276, creating a gap of 24 percent between them. Men in Connecticut also have late payments 13.6 percent more often than women, carry an average debt that is 8.6 percent higher and have a 5.6 percent higher utilization amount than women.
• Florida stands out in the study, as the men and women in the Sunshine State both have some financial strain, but women still maintain a better financial picture on average.
  • West Palm Beach, Fla. — Men have 24 percent higher mortgage amounts than women, and their occurrences of late payments on them are 17.5 percent higher than women.
  • Miami, Fla. — Both sexes are struggling to pay their mortgages on time, with men's occurrences of late payments at 13.1 percent and women's at 12.7 percent, with a difference of only 2.8 percent between the two. The women in Miami, though, have a 6.9 percent lower average debt than men, which indicates they are approaching their debts better.

"Seeing the divide between how men and women approach credit is interesting, but what's most important is understanding the value of building a good credit history. How you manage credit and debt is critical to your financial well-being," said Maxine Sweet, Experian vice president of public education. "Paying attention to what's in your credit report, never missing a payment, and keeping your utilization rates low are three key steps to financial success."

Additional data resources

• More details from the analysis — including an infographic and statistics for more than 100 U.S. cities and states — are available at Experian's http://www.LiveCreditSmart.com.
• Experian is sponsoring a TweetChat with @Wisebread on May 23 at 3 p.m. Eastern time focused on the credit differences between men and women. Register at http://www.wisebread.com and follow #wbchat.
• Experian hosts a #CreditChat on Twitter every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern time with consumer credit experts Maxine Sweet and Rod Griffin. Follow @Experian_US to join in.
• For answers to common questions, advice and education about consumer credit, please visit Experian's one-stop resource at www.experian.com/help.

Analysis methodology
The analysis is based on a statistically relevant, sampling of depersonalized data of Experian's consumer credit database from December 2012. Gender information was obtained from Experian Marketing Services.

About VantageScore Soultions
VantageScore Solutions, LLC (www.vantagescore.com) is the independently managed company that owns the intellectual property rights to the VantageScore credit scoring models, including the recently announced VantageScore 3.0 model which provides up to 25 percent predictive improvement over earlier models and has the ability to formulate a score for 30 – 35 million previously unscoreable consumers. Initially developed by America's three national credit reporting companies (CRCs) — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — VantageScore Solutions' highly predictive models use an innovative, patented and patent-pending scoring methodology that provides lenders and consumers with more consistent credit scores across all three national credit reporting companies.

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 Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

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

VantageScore^® is a registered trademark of VantageScore Solutions, LLC.

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

¹Average debt for this study includes all credit cards, auto loans and personal loans.
²Amount of credit available being used
³Source: http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/The-Simple-Truth-2013.pdf

Contact:
Kristine Snyder
Experian Public Relations
1 714 830 5192
[email protected]

SOURCE Experian