Collections & Credit Risk articles from August 2005

Collections & Credit Risk archives from August 2005

Predictive Analytics: Better Than a Crystal Ball.
August 1, 2005... Predicting behavior is something that credit grantors have attempted to do for years. Until recently, credit scores, based on past behavior, provided guidance at the front end, the credit application stage. The higher the score, the better the...

Letters To The Editor.
August 1, 2005... Too Risky To the Editor: Given the focus on security resulting from Gramm-Leach-Bliley and other legislation, and all of the publicity recently regarding inadvertent disclosure of consumer information, I don't understand why any...

Survey Results.(credit card industry)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Here's how visitors to Credit & Collections World, Collections & Credit Risk's Web site, voted on this month's Instant Survey: Several firms and financial institutions recently lost computer tapes containing sensitive customer data while...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
August 1, 2005... July's issue incorrectly identified the provider of The Collector System. Columbia Ultimate is the provider of The Collector System. (c) 2005 Collections & Credit Risk and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved....

NCO Group Snags RMA.
August 1, 2005... NCO Group Inc.'s position as the largest accounts receivables management firm soon will strengthen with the purchase of key competitor Risk Management Alternatives Inc. The companies announced the $118.8 million deal in early July. Rumors...

What's New.(Debt Resolve Inc. and Intelligent Results are getting into partnership.)
August 1, 2005... Debt Resolve, Intelligent Results Join Forces Debt Resolve Inc. and Intelligent Results are partnering on a new project. Debt Resolve's online settlement and cure tools will be integrated with the customer analytics technology that...

Events Calendar.(Calendar)
August 1, 2005... Aug. 16-18 Credit and Accounts Receivable Open Forum Credit Research Foundation CHICAGO www.crfonline.org/events/august.asp Sept. 20-21 Ninth Annual Gateway Credit Conference & Expo National Association of Credit...

NCO Group Buys RMA.(NCO Group acquired Risk Management Alternatives Inc.,)(Bank of America Corp. acquired MBNA Corp.)(Encore Capital Group Inc., acquired a collection call center)
August 1, 2005... NCO Group, Horsham, Pa., the largest accounts receivable management firm, is buying Risk Management Alternatives Inc., a debt collection and ARM services provider, for $118.8 million in cash. * Bank of America Corp. acquired MBNA Corp. for...

The Lowdown on Fraud Rings: Fraud rings are growing, and the more sophisticated ones can morph quickly to thwart newly devised defenses. What do we know about them?(prevention of identity fraud against credit card industries)
August 1, 2005... By many measures, identity fraud growth has stabilized, largely because credit grantors have invested significant resources to strengthen their fraud detection and verification technologies at the point of application. However, dollar...

Behavior Forecast: Predictive analytics can identify credit risk on the front end - and price products accordingly. They also can help spot customers heading for delinquency. Is there anything they can't foretell?
August 1, 2005... Plotting consumer behavior patterns before loans fall delinquent is the trend emerging in risk management and collections work, fields that too often had counted on treating problem loans when it was too late to cure them. With ever-rising...

Credit Research Foundation: Credit & Accounts Receivable Open Forum August 15-17 2005 - The Drake Hotel, Chicago.(Calendar)
August 1, 2005... Monday, August 15 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Forum Registration 12:30 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. Welcome & Opening Remarks 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Recruitment, Retention & the Red Sox Chris Esgar, Esgar & Associates Inc....

Setting Goals & Measuring Performance: Gauging performance sounds like an admirable goal for any B2B credit and collections operation, but does it really help achieve meaningful results?
August 1, 2005... Before taking a four-month class in formal performance measurement and improvement strategies, Terry Jordan was ready to select a technology vendor to improve the performance of her department's collections efforts. She had made her decision...

SMART Goal Setting.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... There can be a variety of reasons to set goals, says Susan Delloiacono, director of credit for Brother International Corp. in Bridgewater, N.J. Among them: to identify areas of expertise or growth, improve policies and procedures, reduce errors...

Business Bankruptcy Reform: Winners and Losers: Provisions in the new bankruptcy reform law address some concerns of B2B creditors but, some experts say, not the major challenges in business bankruptcy today.
August 1, 2005... Nearly drowned out in the chorus of voices reacting to consumer bankruptcy reforms enacted in April, changes in business bankruptcy practice included in the new law received scant notice in the popular press. But that's not the only place. They...

Bad Debt's Resale Chic: Bad debt's by-product market is now a core strategy for many debt buyers. Can the newfound success last?(Garnet Capital Advisors LLC)
August 1, 2005... The bad-debt resale market, once a shunned offshoot of the debt-buying industry, is now a multibillion-dollar business - its growth fostered by a rise in specialty buyers and high prices that creditors are now commanding for bad debt. ...

Reaching Elusive Debtors: There are many challenges facing the skip-tracing industry due to high-profile security breaches that could lead to more regulatory oversight. Still, the greatest issue remains how to find new sources to reach evasive debtors.
August 1, 2005... It's a difficult time to be a skip tracer. Months after security breaches at ChoicePoint and LexisNexis, the industry awaits its fate as legislators debate whether to restrict the sale of Social Security numbers or possibly create tighter rules...

Skip Tracing Vendors.(Directory)
August 1, 2005... Company American Research Bureau Inc. Aries Data Corp. Asset Locators Inc. Austin Logistics ChoicePoint Inc. DataServe Datalure DebtWatcher Inc. DirectoryNET Estate Information Services Estate...

Q&A's Skip Tracing: Leading industry product and services providers discuss skip tracing strategies and best practices.
August 1, 2005... Q: Credit grantors and collectors are always looking for more ways to locate missing debtors. What new data sources can help increase the likelihood of tracking them down? Audrey L. Ferdinand, ChoicePoint: While cell phone data, utility...

ChoicePoint.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Audrey L. Ferdinand Director, Strategic Collections Market Development Corporate Profile ChoicePoint (NYSE: CPS) helps businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations make better decisions through information and...

InsightAmerica.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Jeff Flood Vice President of Sales and Marketing Corporate Profile Since it's founding in 1994, InsightAmerica has become a leader in providing sophisticated, low cost access to public record information. InsightAmerica offers a...

LexisNexis.
August 1, 2005... Dane Mauldin VP, Market Planning Corporate Profile LexisNexis Collection and Recovery Solutions provide trusted, reliable and comprehensive solutions to help collection professionals increase contact rates and maximize...

United Recovery Systems.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Douglas Schultz CEO Corporate Profile United Recovery Systems, LP, a Houston based collection agency with offices in Tulsa, OK and Monterrey, Mexico, has for 28 years provided professional and ethical collection services to the...

Commercial Indices Up.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... For commercial credit grantors responding to the Credit Research Foundation's latest National Summary of Domestic Trade Receivables, the key indicators in the first quarter of 2005 were better than the previous quarter - with the exception of...

Equifax's Stock Climbs.
August 1, 2005... Equifax's stock has been on the rise, hitting $35.71 at the end of June, a significant increase from its March 2003 stock price of $19.99. At the end of the first quarter this year, the Atlanta-based credit information and technology company...