CFSI Makes Equity Investment in RentBureau

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), a nonprofit organization that encourages the financial service industry’s efforts to support underbanked consumers, has made an equity investment in RentBureau, the online system that collects current rental payment histories and provides that information to the multifamily and credit industries. The equity investment will go toward enhancing the use of RentBureau’s proprietary data for enabling consumers to secure credit.CFSI’s investment in RentBureau was made through its Catalyst Fund, a private equity limited partnership, and developed in July 2007 to invest in financial services companies and solutions focused on enabling underbanked consumers. As part of its partnership with RentBureau, CFSI Associate Director Arjan Schütte will join RentBureau’s Board. “The value of RentBureau is the clear mechanism it provides underbanked consumers, through rental histories, to demonstrate a consumer’s willingness and ability to pay future lenders,” says Schütte. “This financial reporting exemplifies the goals of our initiative. We believe our investment in RentBureau will help more consumers gain access to more affordable credit.”