CHICAGO -

Research recently released by TransUnion found that two in three lenders feel that data and analytics are evolving faster than their own internal capabilities. TransUnion surveyed 309 banks, credit unions and consumer finance companies to learn more about their use of data and analytics.

The survey found that 61 percent of lenders feel that the vast amounts of data now available to them are overwhelming, and more than half — 54 percent to be exact — say it is difficult to discover useful insights when there is so much data.

Yet TransUnion discovered that 70 percent of lenders want direct, immediate, self-service visibility into their analytics.

The need for real-time data is real, according to TransUnion’s research. Nearly three in four respondents (73 percent) report that their analytics capabilities — or lack thereof — affects their ability to compete in the marketplace. Virtually all (92 percent) respondents agree there are new or hidden opportunities in today’s market, but struggle with uncovering opportunities in a timely fashion due to massive data volume and limited resources.

Versta Research surveyed 309 lenders about how they are using analytics to compete, how they prioritize data and analytics, and their strengths and weaknesses in data and analytics. Respondents included risk, compliance, lending, finance, marketing, and analytics executives and managers responsible for optimizing growth.

Versta Research conducted the survey from Feb. 12 to March 15.

“Our research found half of lenders say their organizations are driven mostly by intuition and the experience of managers rather than by analytics. Yet, 80 percent of lenders believe that improving their analytics capabilities would make their organizations more competitive,” said Steve Chaouki, executive vice president of TransUnion’s financial services business.

“We believe our Prama suite of solutions addresses these needs, and the industry is beginning to recognize the importance of having access to analytic services that facilitate faster decisions and strategy adjustments,” Chaouki added.

To meet the changing demands of the lending market, TransUnion launched Prama, what the company thinks is a groundbreaking suite of solutions changing how companies explore data and act on insights.

“Prama puts the power of broad, deep data and the reliability of superior analytics at the customer’s fingertips — giving them the information they need to make better decisions at the speed their business requires,” TransUnion said.

The Prama suite of solutions currently consists of Prama Insights, which includes two modules — Market Insights and Vintage Analysis. The Market Insights module can provide quarterly views on key lending metrics at a state, regional and national level.

The Vintage Analysis module can allow users to view seven years of their own performance data spanning the life of each loan such as delinquency, charge-offs and bankruptcy. Leveraging a full depersonalized national credit file, users can compare or benchmark vintage performance against their peer groups and the industry as a whole.

The next step in the Prama journey — Prama Studio — is planned to be generally available later this year. Its first module, Attribute Manager, will include capabilities for custom attribute development through a convenient web-based portal.

To learn more about the TransUnion data analytics study visit solutions.transunion.com/analytics.