Equifax recently launched Equifax Emergent Score, which is designed to help lenders make better credit decisions on near-prime consumers without increased exposure to risk.

Consumers falling below certain risk scores are near-prime and have traditionally been ignored by major lenders. But, according to Equifax, there are consumers that are classified as near-prime, who are likely to evolve into responsible, loyal customers.

Equifax Emergent Score aims to help pinpoint these prospects. The company calls the new product “a targeted risk model that is designed to specifically address the differences in the near-prime market in order to provide the best possible risk assessment.”

Equifax Emergent Score predicts the likelihood of a near-prime consumer becoming severely delinquent over a period of twelve months (including charge-offs, collections, repossessions, foreclosures, bankruptcies, etc.).

This model returns a three-digit score, which it says will allow lenders to assess higher- and lower-risk consumers from within the near-prime pool.