News & Events

Good reads, good deeds and good people

You know those public service announcements that end with the familiar phrase, “The more you know . . .”? That’s how we look at our “News & Events” section. This is where you will find all sorts of useful information – from industry news to thought leadership in the form of blogs and videos, to company announcements highlighting innovative services, new members of our CIS family and more exciting news and events. All of which leave you, we hope, saying, “How about that – the more you know…”

We Are Pleased to Announce A New Efficient and Low-Cost Opportunity to Order IRS Tax Transcripts & Income Verifications

Credit Information Systems has a new business relationship with Halcyon allowing our clients to order TAX TRANSCRIPTS and IRS WAGE & INCOME VERIFICATIONS more efficiently and with fewer IRS turndowns than the current 4506C process.  This will help you close loans faster for a fraction of the cost.

What does that mean for our clients?  Now that Credit Information Systems is Powered by Halcyon, the only authorized income verification solution with a GSE-accepted 8821 tool, our clients can get the tax data they need, the way they need it!

  • Faster Processing Times. Tax transcripts for loan origination are fulfilled 70% faster, are 100% accurate & are a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. 
  • Enhanced Accuracy. Leverage modernized IRS 8821 forms and use a proprietary & direct connection with the IRS to retrieve accurate data with unparalleled precision, reducing the risk of errors and discrepancies. Less than a 1% rejection rate. 
  • Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty. Enjoy peace of mind with relief from representations & warranties on validated loan components. 
  • API, Web Portal or LOS/POS integration. Halcyon IRS VOI’s tech stack is API driven, provides quick & secure integrations with POS/LOS & 3rd party services, and scales volume without limits while maintaining high performance & low cost. 
  • Available Formats: PDF & JSON.                    
  • Get data mapped directly to your income calculator.

Plus, Halcyon is now an official authorized tax transcript report supplier for Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) Validation Service!  Their integration with the DU® validation service allows us to offer seamless access to tax transcript reports, which are essential for verifying borrower information, quickly and accurately.

Learn More?  QUESTIONS?  Schedule a Demo?  Contact us TODAY!  support@creditinfosystems.com  |  800-782-9094

We are here to support YOU as we continue to expand the breadth of products & services we offer, so YOU can better serve your customers and remain compliant.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS!

FHFA NEWS RELEASE (7/11/2024):

FHFA Announces Release of Historical VantageScore® Credit Score by the Enterprises

As your business partner, Credit Information Systems knows how credit reporting and lending risk mitigation solutions help YOU efficiently manage your business. And we are here to support YOU with personalized experiences, expert advice, industry updates and innovative solutions that go above & beyond your expectations.

To help YOU remain current on changes impacting your business, we wanted to share an announcement published today, July 11, 2024, from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) are making historical VantageScore® 4.0 credit scores available to approved users to support the transition to updated credit score and credit report requirements.

This comprehensive release is associated with single-family loans purchased by the Enterprise from April 2013 through March 2023, reflecting the period for which trended consumer credit data is reliably available across the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies.

These scores will provide market participants with the ability to better analyze and understand the new credit score models that have been validated and approved for use by Enterprises. The historical credit scores are available for download at the Enterprises’ respective websites. 

Click Here to link to the official News Release.

If you have any questions or need assistance,  please contact your Account Manager at 800-782-9094.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS!  We are here to support YOU as we continue to expand the breadth of products & services we offer, so YOU can better serve your customers and remain compliant.

We Are Pleased to Announce

Heather Russell-Schroeder, Owner/President of Credit Information Systems, is the new President of the Board of Directors of the National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA), a national trade organization of consumer reporting agencies and associated professionals who provide products and services to mortgage lenders and property managers using consumer reports for housing decisions.

The National Consumer Reporting Association promotes the general welfare of its members: credit reporting agencies, tenant screening companies, employment screening companies, and all issuers of consumer reports, as well as the businesses they serve and the consumers whose information they report. They provide leadership in education, legislation, ethics, and enhanced vendor relations to enable members to meet the needs of business and the modern consumer under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The team at Credit Information Systems congratulates our leader on her new important role in this respected and impactful organization.

Nebraska Mortgage Association

Credit Information Systems Represents

Please join us in congratulating Credit Information Systems Senior Account Manager, Mike Osbourne, as he was recently elected to the Nebraska Mortgage Association’s (NMA) Board of Directors and will begin serving a three-year term in January 2024. The NMA is a non-profit trade association representing the mortgage lending interests of banks, mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, credit unions, and commercial lenders for 40+ years. The NMA works on behalf of its members to improve communications, generate goodwill, and create an informed and ethical membership among mortgage lenders. Mike will be a great addition to this very appreciated and effective group of professionals, and the team at Credit Information Systems and Star Appraisal Management are happy to support him in his new position.

Exciting News from Fannie Mae® & Appraisal Firewall

In continuation of efforts to make the home valuation process more efficient and accurate, Fannie Mae is transitioning to various options to establish a property’s market value, with the option matching the risk of the collateral and the loan transaction. Focused on preparing for the future of appraisals, Appraisal Firewall, along with Star Appraisal Management Company, Credit Information Systems & Accurate Financial Services, will be prepped and ready to deliver the options to lenders for Value Acceptance, Value Acceptance + Property Data, and Hybrid Appraisals as of 4/15/2023. For more information, click here.

New Website Launch for Credit Industry Leader

If you want to know more about a client-focused company that’s been in business for more than 100 years, go now to the new website for Credit Information Systems, https://unruffled-turing.66-175-232-200.plesk.page/. This new website, which launched on June 1st, tells the story of Credit Information Systems, a third-generation family-owned company, dedicated

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Joe has been delivering credit reporting and verification services nationally for over 30 years.

He believes in building relationships with lenders for the goal of making the process of home ownership a reality.

Active in Rotary and Knights of Columbus, Joe also enjoys golfing, cycling and spending time with family and friends.

As Chief Compliance Officer, Jackie brings 22 years of consumer reporting experience to Credit Information Systems and to our clients. Jackie has been a frequent speaker and trainer throughout the industry. In addition to having worked in CRA Reseller compliance, she has also spent years originating residential mortgages for various national mortgage companies and operated All in Compliance, an industry compliance consulting firm. While managing “AIC”, Jackie wrote and marketed a consumer reporting compliance certification program designed to educate and offer certification for industry professionals. Jackie earned a BS in Marketing from Quinnipiac University. When not working she loves to spend time with her family and enjoys a great love for all animals, big and small.

Mike Osbourne, Senior Account Manager

For Mike Osbourne, his 28-year career in the credit reporting industry began October 1990 in a sales role for CSC Credit Services. As an Account Manager for CSC, Mike opened a brand-new sales territory in Western Iowa and developed new and existing accounts in Eastern Nebraska. CSC was acquired by Equifax and Mike continued to work successfully at various sales roles within the new organization for his midwestern clients. Mike joined Credit Information Systems as a Senior Account Manager April 2021.

Mike has a passion for the financial services industry both personally and professionally. Mike has served on several credit industry boards and continues to facilitate financial literacy though Financial Peace University.

Mike grew up in Northwestern Illinois and received his Management degree from Millikin University in 1985. He moved to the Omaha in 1987. Eventually, he went on to earn his MBA from the University of Phoenix. Mike is excited to now be part of the customer-focused sales team at Credit Information Systems.

Amy Blubaugh, Marketing Director

Over the last thirty years, Amy Blubaugh has been honing her marketing skills while gathering experience and learning from each of her diverse career opportunities and co-workers.

As a college student studying communications and public relations in the early 1990s, Amy worked as a research phone representative at a radio station. It was with this job, and through several other tasks assigned at the station, Amy noticed she was drawn to events and messages generating a response.

Upon college graduation from the University of Nebraska Omaha in 1993, Amy accepted a Sales Assistant position for KEZO-FM (later, Journal Broadcast Group). Eager to support the sales team with communication to clients and office management, she was also excited to help with station events and programming needs. Her dedication and the talents she observed from her co-workers helped her learn to listen to the customer’s needs and create turnkey marketing programs.

In early 1995, Amy moved on to Redstone Communications as a Media Buyer. Broadening her media knowledge, she was invigorated by people with the same goal of garnering a response by delivering the right message to the right customer via the right mix of media.

After a short return to radio, Amy found herself taking her marketing knowhow to the finance industry as a Product Manager for First National Bank Omaha’s bank card division. Working for eight years with direct mail, event marketing, operations and emerging forms of electronic media was a great way to learn to project profitability, measure response and properly analyze results.

As both the Partnership Marketing Manager and Acquisition Manager for Omaha Steaks, Amy spent the next ten years working with various companies throughout the country developing marketing programs to sell product, acquire new customers, and generate leads and awareness of the business. It was with this position Amy was able to improve both her marketing analyst and creative abilities, producing reports to track real time results and make tweaks to print and digital ads to improve marketing efforts.

Amy began her four years at Mutual of Omaha in late 2015 managing product launches, applying process to all areas of marketing, testing print and online campaigns and maneuvering marketing projects in a very regulated industry.

Excited to be the first marketing-focused member of the Credit Information Systems team and work within the business-to-business area, Amy joined as Marketing Director in December of 2019.

Shane Hoelscher, Senior Account Manager

Shane Hoelscher received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics in 1991 from Texas A&M University. He followed that up with a Master of Agriculture in Agricultural Economics – Agribusiness emphasis in 1994. Shortly thereafter he entered a management training program with Terminix Pest Control engaging in all aspects of the professional environment.

Shane began his 23-plus year career in the credit industry after leaving Terminix to join CSC Credit Services as an Account Manager. He managed the relationships and was responsible for revenue-growth with various resellers in the auto, mortgage, tenant, and employment screening industries. In addition to his account management role, Shane was also a member of a new business development team and eventually led a trio of representatives engaged selling credit reporting services to all types of industries.

Shane continued with Equifax as a Channel Manager after they acquired CSC Credit Services in 2012. His primary focus was on the small-to-mid-sized resellers of Equifax products and services before he separated from Equifax in 2020.

Shane joined Credit Information Systems in April, 2020 as a Senior Account Manager and is looking forward to continued growth for the company.

Chad Hartnett, Chief Financial Officer

Chad has over 29 years of finance leadership experience in industries that include professional services, vertically integrated supply chain, franchise and public accounting.

After graduating in 1992 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in Accounting, Chad spent 6 years in public accounting as a consultant and auditor with companies that included Deloitte & Touche and Ernst & Young.

Chad then worked 16 years at HDR, Inc., one of the country’s largest engineering and architecture firms, in various roles including leading the company’s mergers and acquisitions division. He spent his final 7 years as the company’s Treasurer and Corporate Controller.

Chad then worked for 4 years as the Chief Financial Officer of Scooter’s, one of the fastest growing vertically integrated franchise companies in the country before joining Credit Information Systems in 2020 as their Chief Financial Officer and member of the board of directors.

Helen M. Meyers, Senior Executive Vice President

With a Credit Reporting career spanning more than forty years, Helen Meyers started at Credit Bureau of Council Bluffs (1975-1979) learning the business and providing service to customers by reading their credit reports to them over the phone, verifying tradelines and gaining certification to interview consumers during a time when consumer files were handwritten.

In 1980, Helen accepted a customer service position in the installment loan department of Council Bluffs Savings Bank. Before she left the bank in 1995, she had worked her way up to Assistant Vice President/Loan Officer.

Returning to the Credit Bureau of Council Bluffs (d/b/a Credit Information Systems) in 1996, Helen has spent the last twenty-five years overseeing all mortgage loan customer service staff members, ensuring happy clients and a smooth flow of the company’s day-to-day operations. She also manages compliance with the Repositories as well as with state and federal laws.

Helen also served on the board of the National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) from 2018–2020.

Lee H. Volmer, Vice President Sales

In 1979, Lee Volmer’s Credit Reporting industry career launched with the Credit Bureau of Rockford, Illinois, where he was involved in automation to the Chilton System. After the Credit Bureau was purchased by Parker Business Systems, Lee was promoted to General Manager and led the Bureau’s conversion to the TransUnion System.

Lee was transferred to Seattle, Washington in 1982 to automate and market Washington and Oregon as an affiliate of the TransUnion System. Parker Business sold the franchise to TransUnion in 1985 and Lee took on the role as sales manager of Chilton’s Dallas, Texas operation. Promoted to General Manager of Chilton’s Omaha, Nebraska location in 1986, Lee’s duties included management of a 5-state area. Lee left TRW (formerly Chilton) in 1994 and worked with CSC Credit on special projects.

The Credit Bureau of Council Bluffs added Lee to the team as Vice President of Sales in 1995, a position he currently holds along with being a trusted resource to many in the credit reporting industry.

Heather Russell-Schroeder, President

Heather Russell-Schroeder began her 35 plus year career in the Credit Reporting industry as a high school and college student working part-time answering phones, entering data, handling consumer disputes and public record bulletins for her family’s business, Credit Bureau of Council Bluffs.

After graduating from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with a Master of Arts Degree in Deaf Education in 1997, Heather spent two years teaching 1st grade at Crete Elementary and managing their Deaf Education program.

Heather returned to the Credit Bureau of Council Bluffs in 2000 as Compliance Officer – Executive Vice President, holding that position for eight years.

Heather has been the Credit Bureau of Council Bluffs, President and the President of Performance Data Systems, Inc since 2008. Beginning in 2009, Heather was the Co-Owner Credit Bureau of Council Bluffs, Inc and Performance Data Systems, Inc.

Currently, Heather is the third generation Owner Credit Bureau of Council Bluffs, Inc and Performance Data Systems, Inc.