Collections & Credit Risk articles from April 2007

Collections & Credit Risk archives from April 2007

A Changing of the Guard: Change continues at Collections & Credit Risk. This issue brings you our exclusive industry salary survey, for example. We've been surveying our readers and talking to industry leading lights the past several months to compile the information and insights you'll see in that story.
April 1, 2007... The salary survey will become an annual CCR feature, alongside our industry rankings and other specials we have planned this year, one more tool you can use to better run your businesses and departments. Speaking of tools, we've created a...

Large Debt-Portfolio Sales - Industry Experts Disagree on Emerging Trend.
April 1, 2007... Great Seneca Financial Corp.'s $6.9 billion February sale of primarily credit card accounts in litigation could be the first of several by sellers anxious to recapitalize their businesses to take advantage of new opportunities in the debt...

Profitability Faltered in 2006 for Debt Buyers.(Encore Capital Group Inc.)(Financial report)
April 1, 2007... Although cash collections and revenues continued to grow, the increasing expense of doing business cut into profitability for three publicly traded debt buyers during 2006. Combined 2006 revenues of Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., Encore...

Debt Buyers' Revenues & Income.(Encore Capital Group Inc.)(Statistical table)(Financial report)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... (in thousands except per share) 3 months ended 3 months ended 12 months ended 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2006 Dec. 31, 2005 Dec. 31, 2006 Dec. 31, 2005 Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. ...

A Collections Juggling Act: Adding account management services can spell growth for commercial collection agencies. Even smaller shops can prosper if they know how to approach the new business.
April 1, 2007... Newton & Associates, a Metairie, La.-based commercial collection firm, started fielding client requests to handle more than just collections not long after it opened its doors in 1993. As a result, the agency eventually decided to add account...

Credit Decisions are Staying with Companies.(Emil Hartleb of Commercial Collection Agency Association of consumer credits)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... Although creditors seem willing to hand off more of the pre-collection tasks to collection agencies, most creditors are retaining the job of deciding to whom they extend credit, says Emil Hartleb, executive director of the Commercial Collection...

Four Rules When Moving into Account Management Work.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... * Ensure there is genuine demand among clients for account management services. Why? Adding account management to a collection agency's offerings works best when it's added in response to existing customer needs. Move forward only if you...

Shaking the Money Tree: Collection salaries are poised to rise in 2007 as demand for staff remains high. Here's what else CCR 's exclusive salary survey discovered.
April 1, 2007... For Mark Giddings, operations manager with MAF Collection Services in Tampa, Fla., business is so brisk this year that his agency expects to double its 40-person collection staff. But with a local unemployment level about half the national...

How We Did It.(survey on wages)(Survey)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... Collection & Credit's Risk's 2007 Collection Industry Salary survey was emailed to all subscribers of CCRNewsline, the magazine's twice-weekly e-newsletter. The survey was sent several times beginning in January and continuing into early...

Listening In: The adoption of new, more technically sophisticated call monitoring applications can improve coaching and raise customer satisfaction levels.
April 1, 2007... Call center monitoring has been and can be a time-consuming process. Collection managers listen in or record a call, personally evaluate performance and discuss the pros and cons of the call with the agent who made it. But with call...

Why Use Analytics in Call Monitoring?(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... Models can score every attribute of a call including: * Word selection * Collector tone of voice * Information agents access during a call * Actions taken after a call ends Plus, they: * Can speed call review time....

M&A: Coming Attractions: Here's what to expect this year: the hot spots for deals and growth.(merger and acquisition)(Column)
April 1, 2007... Like a good Hollywood movie, 2007 will have its share of merger and acquisition (M&A) action and drama. With the blockbuster 2006 year of M&A firmly behind us, everyone is wondering, will 2007 hold more of the same for the accounts receivable...

Leading the Texas Collection Posse: Gila Corp. started out rounding up payments for Texas courts; today it does business nationally, working for both governments and financial institutions.
April 1, 2007... Growing its business and winning awards in the process has become routine for Austin, Texas-based Gila Corporation. In 2006, for example, Gila won its sixth FAST 50 Award, given by a local business newspaper to the fastest growing private...

A Brownsville Showdown.
April 1, 2007... The growth at Gila Corporation hasn't come without the company spending some time in the public spotlight. In early July 2006, MSB filed a lawsuit against Brownsville, Texas, a former client, alleging it failed to follow good governance...

Loan Charge-offs and Recoveries at all U.S. Commercial Banks.
April 1, 2007... (in millions) % % 4Q 2006 4Q 2005 change FY 2006 FY 2005 change Total loan charge-offs $8,616.9 $11,302.4 -23.8% $31,571.1...