Credit Overview

Salt River Financial Services provides opportunities for members of the Community to buy or improve their homes and start or expand their businesses. It also makes available financial education and coaching, credit counseling, technical support and other programs and services exclusively for Community members.

By partnering with banking organizations throughout the Valley and the U.S., Salt River Financial Services leverages the Community's investment by providing a wide range of financial products and services for the Community and its members. Nationally, about 40 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) exist in Indian Country. However, Salt River Financial Services is unique because it is the only CDFI that puts all its financial services under one umbrella institution.

All of the loan products offered by SRFSI require you to "credit qualify". This means that your credit must meet underwriting criteria. Even if you feel that you have a poor credit history we encourage you to talk to a SRFSI representative for an analysis. Even if your loan is not immediately approved we will provide you with resources to help you reach your goal.

Overview of Credit Reporting

Prior to the turn of the 20th Century, most people lived in or near small towns across America. Even those who lived in larger towns did not purchase many items from outside their immediate area. In that environment, storeowners knew their customers; therefore, when items were purchased on credit, the "creditor" personally knew the individual to whom the credit was extended. As society changed, mobility increased. After World War II, a population shift began to take place from rural areas into cities. As our society became more mobile, credit became a more acceptable way of purchasing items and creditors did not know their customers personally. It then became necessary for creditors to gather information about a person before they would extend credit. Thus began the evolution of credit reporting agencies.

A system of local credit reporting agencies, more commonly called credit bureaus, was created. Local businesses shared customers' account information and reported when payments were received and when new purchases were made. Credit bureaus collected information and shared account activity with other businesses. The credit bureaus did not make the credit decisions; they only held information about the consumer accounts and payment history.

Credit reporting systems today still have the same purpose, but technology has improved and expanded the available products and services. With automated credit reporting bureaus, consumers enjoy a variety of credit products and services at a very reasonable cost.

These changes benefit consumers by providing:

• Increased access to credit
• Decreased time for credit granting decisions
• Improved mobility of credit
• Access to consumer products and services
• Products and services that assist credit grantors in decision making