Credit monitor TransUnion hires new Washington lobbyists

By Ginger Gibson

WASHINGTON, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 9 (Reuters) - Credit monitoring firm TransUnion (Berlin: 13331323.BE - news) added to its lobbying roster in Washington in early October after news of a hack at its competitor Equifax brought more government scrutiny to the industry.

TransUnion, which already had three lobbying shops under contract, added CGCN Group, a Republican firm that lobbies on a myriad of topics, according to disclosures filed with the U.S. Congress.

Congress has begun to look more closely at rules governing credit monitoring agencies after Equifax (NYSE: EFX - news) acknowledged in early September that it had been hacked in the spring, with the information of an estimated 145.5 million people breeched.

Companies like Equifax, TransUnion and Experian (Amsterdam: EP8.AS - news) keep a trove of consumer data for banks and other creditors who want to know whether a customer is likely to default.

CGCN will lobby on topics including, "issues affecting data security, privacy and cyber-security," according to the disclosure.

The three other firms employed by TransUnion also lobby on issue regarding cybersecurity and data safety, according to disclosures. TransUnion spent about $128,000 on lobbying in the first six months of the year.

Experian (Other OTC: EXPGF - news) already maintained a large team of lobbyists, spending $690,000 in lobbying for the first six months of the year, according to disclosures. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by David Gregorio)