Collections & Credit Risk articles from April 2004

Collections & Credit Risk archives from April 2004

Security Concerns: The Drumbeat Grows Louder @BY#By Kit Ladwig, Editor.
April 1, 2004... Security is a topic of importance to companies of every stripe, particularly to those handling sensitive consumer data. For that reason, two of our articles this month deal with topics related to that very issue. Our cover story, "Security...

Letters to the Editor.(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... A Primary Concern To the Editor: Security has become a primary concern for us. We have attempted to take some of the burden off the shoulders of our clients by putting into place secure servers, physical security procedures, and...

Survey Results.(security concerns)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Here's how visitors to Credit & Collections World, Collections & Credit Risk's website, voted on this month's Instant Survey: Concerns about privacy and security are on the rise. Is your operation taking additional measures to ensure the...

Public Buyers Fare Well.(debt-buying market)
April 1, 2004... Asset Acceptance Capital Corp.'s public unveiling in February came off without a hitch as the bad-debt buyer's stock opened at $15 a share and hovered around $18 a share one month later. Investors are counting on the Warren, Mich.-based buyer...

What's New?(BitWise Solutions)
April 1, 2004... Ontario Partners with BitWise Ontario Systems, based in Muncie, Ind., announces a strategic alliance with BitWise Solutions, a Web development firm based in Fort Worth, Texas to jointly market upgrades to Ontario Systems' FACS Web product....

MasterCard Advisors Buys TowerGroup.(MasterCard Advisors)
April 1, 2004... MasterCard Advisors bought TowerGroup, Needham, Mass., from Reuters for undisclosed terms. MasterCard plans to strengthen its research expertise. TowerGroup will operate separately with editorial independence. Karen Cone, former MasterCard...

Tech's High Fliers.
April 1, 2004... Identifying the top performing technology vendors in the collections business is not an easy task. New products, updated software, programs in beta testing - all designed to make the job of the collector a little easier and boost profits for...

Hubbard Develops A Mobile Solution.(Colipso)
April 1, 2004... When Jim Hubbard bought a collections software suite from the accounting firm he worked for in the early 1980s, kicking off his own business, the newly built Hubbard Systems became an instant trailblazer in the legal collections software field....

Columbia Ultimate's Flexible Configuration.
April 1, 2004... As one of the pioneers in the collections software industry, few companies know the industry better than Columbia Ultimate. The company's been at the forefront of the trade since developing its first computerized collections system, The...

Collection Data Systems' Java-XML Tiger.
April 1, 2004... Data is critical when it comes to setting collections strategies and making decisions about buying or selling a portfolio. But most collections applications use different codes to label document data fields, thus making it hard to exchange...

Ontario's Artiva Makes Customization Standard.
April 1, 2004... Off-the-shelf collections applications, for the most part, meet about 60% of the functionality requirements for a specific market segment - such as healthcare or attorney collections. Functionality, beyond what is standard with the application,...

CR Software's ASP Wave.
April 1, 2004... While many new-generation collections and recovery applications bring customized reporting and greater operating efficiencies to creditors, agencies, and debt buyers, they also can be cost prohibitive for end-users. CR Software Inc.,...

Lonestar Boosts WinDebt Scoring Software.(Lonestar Turnkey Systems)
April 1, 2004... With bad debt flooding the market and collectors pressured to improve productivity without using more resources, account scoring is more critical. Indeed, pre- or post-chargeoff scoring can help collections managers set more effective...

Security Alert!: Security isn't just for the homeland. Spurred by their own concerns and those of consumers and regulators, some credit grantors are setting increasingly higher standards for collections agencies and law firms that handle their accounts. How hard is it to measure up?
April 1, 2004... The hacker tried and tried to get into Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co. LPA.'s Ohio-based system. Fourteen straight hours of unrelenting attempts against the collections law firm's system failed. United Recovery Systems Inc., a Houston-based...

Top-Ranked Collections Law Firms: Perennial leader Weltman Weinberg & Reis still heads CCR's revenue-based rankings for law firms specializing in debt collection. But there are several new names on the list.(Schreiber & Associates PC)(Silver & Associates )
April 1, 2004... It should come as no surprise that collections attorneys have generally enjoyed a booming business in recent years. Indeed, the top tier of Collections & Credit Risk's ranking of attorneys specializing in collections hasn't changed very much...

Top 25 Collections Law Firms (Ranked by 2002 Revenue).(Directory)
April 1, 2004... (part 1 of 2) Rank Company 1 Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co. LPA 2 Schreiber & Associates PC - Business and Trial Lawyers 3 Eskanos & Adler PC 4 Javitch, Block & Rathbone, LLP 5 Machol &...

Debt Buyer Ranks Swell.(Directory)
April 1, 2004... The debt-sales industry is two years into a revival that arrived on the heels of a three-year growth stunt. New funding sources injected life into the business - sources ranging from Wall Street money to private-equity investors to buyer...

Beyond the Numbers: Instead of focusing on financial analysis, some experts say, commercial credit managers should spend more time examining their customer's reputation, competitive position, and executive team. Are they right?(3JM Company Inc.)
April 1, 2004... As chairman and chief executive of Lake Dallas, Texas-based 3JM Company Inc., David Balovich frequently speaks with executives who lament their poor credit decisions. "I have talked with a few who said that the results of some customers'...

Custom Built: Custom scoring models became popular with credit grantors a few years ago. What types of custom models are being built today to boost collections?
April 1, 2004... Custom scoring models - applications using a mix of internal customer data along with external credit bureau data - are starting to show their worth to businesses in the credit card industry by bringing significant returns on investment. ...

Scoring Solution Vendors (Partial List).(Directory)
April 1, 2004... Company Austin Logistics Creative Business Decisions Inc. Credit & Management Systems Inc. CreditXpert Inc. D&B Corp. Equifax Experian Inc. Fair Isaac Corp. Intelligent Results LexisNexis RiskWise...

A/R Indices Improve.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The final quarter of 2003 saw across-the-board improvement in key indices for commercial credit grantors responding to the Credit Research Foundation's National Summary of Domestic Trade Receivables. "The fourth quarter typically shows...

Curbing ID Theft: Businesses are becoming more proactive in fighting fraud and ID theft. And more sophisticated software, better processes, and tougher laws are aiding them in the battle.
April 1, 2004... Fraud, and identity theft in particular, is fast becoming one of America's hottest growth industries. The FBI calls identity theft the fastest-growing white-collar crime in America. According to a recent Federal Trade Commission report,...