ATLANTA -

As the company's data showed auto loan originations now are at the highest level in five years, Equifax rolled out a new solution last week geared to help finance companies and dealers gain a better understanding of their customers' likely credit capacity, needs and usage.

Equifax explained the availability of CreditStyles Pro can enable marketers and risk executives at financial institutions, automotive finance companies and dealers, insurers, retailers and telecommunications companies to strategically differentiate customers by presenting aggregated household credit measures.

Officials highlighted CreditStyles Pro is designed to provide greater levels of insight on households' financial capacity for advanced prospecting, segmentation and risk management. 

These insights enable marketers to strategically differentiate customers and prospects, appropriately target specific households and inform both traditional customer management and online marketing efforts.

By leveraging CreditStyles Pro, companies can:

—Better differentiate which prospects are the best fit for their products and services based on consumers' likely credit capacity.

—Identify consumers who are likely to have high credit limits and are likely to maintain revolving balances.

—Identify consumers that are likely in the market for a particular product and might need a loan to make the purchase.

—Distinguish target markets that are likely to have high new mortgage, auto, home equity, bank card and student loan activity.

Additional benefits include:

—Aggregated FICO scores, which are exclusively available from Equifax that can enable marketers to utilize an aggregated version of the industry accepted credit risk assessment measure for non-FCRA marketing purposes across the customer lifecycle.

—Anonymous household metrics that represent nearly 100 percent of all active credit consumers, while still protecting consumer privacy.

—Variables that can be used to enhance segmentation in connection with prescreen initiatives

—More than 400 aggregated credit variables, risk scores, and intent indicators that are updated quarterly.

Offering an extensive array of aggregated credit metrics, CreditStyles Pro can enhance transparency in marketing and customer management by providing companies with insights on customers' financial capacity, such as:

—Likely credit limits and maintenance of revolving balances.

—Propensity to be in the market for new credit.

—Likely new credit activity and delinquency rates.

"In today's market, companies are seeking economical options that can help them drive their prospecting, cross-sell, and risk applications," said Ian Wright, senior vice president of business strategy and product management operations for Equifax's IXI Services.

"CreditStyles Pro is unique within the industry as it provides comprehensive, up-to-date aggregated credit metrics at the household-level that maximizes companies' return on their marketing investment," Wright continued.

Equifax: Auto Loan Originations at Highest Levels in Five Years

The latest data from Equifax's National Consumer Credit Trends Report shows that the total number of auto loan originations from January to August of this year totaled 14.6 million — the highest number of originations for that timeframe since 2007 when the level was 14.8 million.

Analysts said total outstanding auto loan balances through October are more than $770 billion, an increase of 11 percent since auto loan balances bottomed out in April of last year.

Similarly, Equifax found the total number of existing auto loans through October was more than 58 million, which represents a 33-month high.

"Consistent growth in the auto industry is influenced by a combination of factors, including the decreasing amount of write-offs and severely derogative accounts paired with corresponding increases in the numbers of total originations and loan sizes," said Equifax chief economist Amy Crews-Cutts.

"Sustained recent consumer demand for auto leasing, financing and purchase has driven a return of this portfolio to pre-recession numbers more rapidly than any other lending sector," Crews-Cutts added.

Other highlights from the most recent data include:

—New auto loan originations year-to-date through August totaled more than $283 billion, which is the highest for that timeframe since 2006 when it was $297.5 billion.

—The average loan amount ($19,492) for the month of August stands at a six-year high, and is only exceeded by the same time in 2006 when the average was $20,291.

—The most current data shows the number of new auto loans funded by auto finance companies increased 31 percent from the recession low for the month of August 2009 from 717,600 to more than one million in August of this year, a five-year high.

—The most current data also shows the number of new auto loans funded by bank, savings and loan or credit union reached 984,300 in August, a seven-year high for that month.