The three main CRAs are privately owned, for-profit companies rather than being owned by the government. They have reporting relationships with the banks, credit card companies, and other financial lenders you have worked with in the past to provide them with the information to compile your credit history into a credit report. The CRAs then charge the potential lenders who request a copy of your credit report, which is how they make their profit. Since they are private companies, the CRAs work independently of each other, so they don’t communicate or share information.