Atlanta, Jan. 7, 1997 -- Equifax Inc. today announced it had acquired The Credit Bureau serving the Rochester/Buffalo, NY region, from the Rochester Credit and Financial Management Association. The Credit Bureau has been serving the credit reporting needs of the region for more than 50 years and has been an affiliate of Equifax since 1989.

"This is a great opportunity for Equifax and for the businesses of the Rochester-Buffalo-Syracuse area," said John T. Rougeou, president, Equifax North American Credit Services. "It enables us to directly serve the customers in the area with consistently high-quality credit reporting and financial products and services supported by state-of-the-art technology."

The association's mortgage reporting, retail collections and business credit reporting operations will remain under the association as the Rochester Credit Center. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The bureau's credit reporting geography covers 16 counties comprising the greater Buffalo and Rochester regions. Equifax envisions expanding the area to include increasing services to the Syracuse region.

Gregg Helfer, CEO of the Credit Center's credit reporting division, said, "Equifax's commitment to the Buffalo/Rochester area ensures the continuation and enhancement of the first-class service our customers have enjoyed from the Rochester Credit Center." Helfer will assist Equifax in a consulting capacity during the transition period.

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX), committed to Global Information Leadership for the Information Age, is the leading provider of information services that help businesses grant credit, authorize and process credit card and check transactions and insure lives and property. Established in 1899 in Atlanta, Equifax today employs 14,000 people throughout North and South America, the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Revenues for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 1996, exceeded $1.7 billion.