RENTBUREAU INFUSION TO FUND DATA HIKE

RentBureau LLC, an Atlanta company that collects data on consumers' rent payment histories, has received an equity investment from a fund managed by the Center for Financial Services Innovation, a nonprofit affiliate of Chicago's ShoreBank Corp.

The nonprofit, which promotes financial products and services for the underbanked, did not disclose the size of its investment. RentBureau said it will use the proceeds to expand its database, which has 4 million records.
Landlords report renters' payment information to RentBureau's database, which can be used to evaluate rental applicants. The reporting companies include Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc., McKinley Inc., and Morrison, Ekre & Bart Management Services, which together manage more than 70,000 apartments in 19 states.

The data is being tested by Fair Isaac Corp.'s FICO Expansion Score, an alternative score that draws on 90 nontraditional data sources to measure the risk of lending to people with thin credit files. In an interview Tuesday, Eric Hartz, RentBureau's president and chief executive, said his company's "main thrust is to get more data quickly." Amassing 10 million records would establish the company as a mainstream credit reporting agency, he said.

Founded three years ago, RentBureau has several other investors, Mr. Hartz said. Arjan Schutte, an associate director of the nonprofit who oversees its investment fund, is to join RentBureau's board.

Last year, Keycorp and the Ford Foundation contributed a combined $1 million to CFSI Catalyst Fund LP. Half the money has been allocated; the other recipient is Accounts Now Inc., a prepaid card provider.