Collections & Credit Risk articles from December 2006

Collections & Credit Risk archives from December 2006

How Do You Measure...(Editorial)
December 1, 2006... My daughter, who has heard all the stories about me being in the Math Club in high school and so knows I love all things numeric, gave me a CD of math songs for my birthday earlier this year. Math songs? Yes, every song she burned onto that...

A Collection's Christmas Story: How Companies are Helping Their Communities.(Roger Van Wert -Van Wert Receivables Management)(David Rosenberg -Unifund)(Jerry Silberman- Corporate Turnaround)
December 1, 2006... Editor's Note: Image problems for the collection business are well known and widespread - just ask the Federal Trade Commission to see the complaints filed against the business last year. But what's lesser known is the extent of community...

Recent Deals.(Vision Financial Corp.'s new call centre)(Financial Asset Management Systems Inc. promoted Jerry Hogan )(Fidelis Recovery Solutions Inc. hired Latitude Software )
December 1, 2006... Shareholders of Omaha-based West Corp., a diversified firm that includes accounts receivable management operations, voted Oct. 23 to adopt a merger agreement and recapitalization plan. Under the agreement with an investor group led by Thomas H....

Credit Report Freeze Law Found Unconstitutional.(U.D. Registry Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... A California court has struck down a consumer credit freeze law, the first known successful challenge to state statutes allowing consumers to "freeze" access to their credit reports. The California District 5 Court of Appeals agreed in...

Hits and Misses for Debt Buyers' Earnings.(Statistical data)
December 1, 2006... The third quarter was a mixed one for publicly traded debt buyers. Of the four companies reporting earnings by the time this issue went to press, two saw their revenues and earnings rise at double-digit rates while two others recorded revenue...

Third-Quarter Earnings.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... % Change Net % Change Company Revenues vs. 3Q '05 Income vs. 3Q '05 EPS Asset Acceptance $59,170 -7.5% $10,701 -21.9% $0.29 Encore Capital 60,597 -2.3% 5,208 -33.0% ...

Finding Mr., Mrs. Or Ms. Right: With debtors using only cell phones and moving more, finding the right person to collect from can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
December 1, 2006... Every collection agent knows that doing his or her job depends on contacting the debtor. Yet as simple as that may appear, making a right party contact is not a foregone conclusion. More than 60% of consumer contact information changes...

Barriers TO Reaching Right Parties.
December 1, 2006... * More than 60% of consumer contact information changes annually * More than 25 million households change address annually * About 75% of the outbound collections calls placed fail to reach a right party * Collections agents spend...

Finding the Right Words: Language is the key tool of collectors. Using it properly can spell the difference between getting paid or going home empty handed.
December 1, 2006... "It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content... it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble and from babble to confusion." - French poet Rene Daumal...

Lots of Talking About Words.(Quotation)
December 1, 2006... Collectors aren't the only ones who think about language and how to best use it. Writers, philosophers and others love to talk about language, as these quotes indicate. Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to...

Collection Calling DOs And DON'Ts.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Do: 1. Frame everything in a positive manner. 2. Help people visualize actions they will take. 3. Know how to use the power words: No, Why, Because 4. Articulate well, make yourself easy to understand. 5. Use tone of voice...

2006 Industry Rankings: After months of hearing our readers request an update, CCR has complied with its 2006 Industry Rankings, the first such rankings published since 2003.(Weltman, Weinberg and Reis)(NCO Financial Systems Inc.)(Outsourcing Solutions Inc.)
December 1, 2006... After months of hearing our readers request an update, CCR has complied with its 2006 Industry Rankings, the first such rankings published since 2003. The industry has matured into a billion-dollar annual business for some participants, such as...

Top Collection Agencies.(Table)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... 2005 Revenue Number of Rank Company (in thousands) Collectors 1 NCO Financial Systems Inc. $1,052,283 5,872 2 Outsourcing Solutions Inc. 473,000 4,108 3 IRMC...

Top Debt Buyers.(Table)
December 1, 2006... 2005 Revenue Number of Rank Company (in thousands) Collectors 1 Sherman Financial $1,000,000 Outsourced 2 Unifund 350,000 NA 3...

Top Collection Law Firms.(Table)
December 1, 2006... 2005 Revenue Number of Rank Company (in thousands) Collectors 1 Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co. L.P.A. $63,766 295 2 Eskanos & Alder P.C. 29,000 93 ...

First Annual Industry Roundtable.(Jessie Riddle, Riddle & Associates)(Gary Rippentrop, ACA International)(Henry Thoman, Unifund)(Discussion)
December 1, 2006... Collections & Credit Risk and TransUnion in October brought together 11 key industry leaders to discuss major issues facing the business. Here's what they had to say. JOHN FRANK, CCR: What have been the major factors impacting your...

What Concerns Collection & Debt Industry Leaders....
December 1, 2006... I. Regulations - on all levels from local to federal. II. The Industry's Image - negative articles on collectors can lead to regulatory problems. III. Technology Costs - major clients are demanding major investments in technology. ...

Credit Unions Get More Organized: More are outsourcing collections to increase effectiveness. Others are increasingly using technology to help recoveries.
December 1, 2006... Credit unions, which some in financial services characterize as conservative and slow to embrace new practices, are catching up to their banking big brothers with improved collections approaches and processes. A growing number are...

Credit Unions Step Up Collections Efforts.(Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union)(GTE Federal Credit Union)(Navy Federal Credit Union)(Northern Lights Federal Credit Union)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Credit Union: Action Taken Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union: Converted to a new system that arranges accounts depending on the balance, days past due and credit bureau scores. GTE Federal Credit Union: Outsourcing early stage credit...

Credit Unions Consolidating.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Like the banking industry, credit unions are in the midst of a consolidation wave. In 1969, credit union ranks peaked at 23,876, according to the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), Madison, Wis. The number of credit unions has...

The Subprime Sky Hasn't Fallen, Yet: Dire predictions of subprime lender woes haven't turned into reality. Better scoring and planning may be the reasons.
December 1, 2006... With a maelstrom of woes pelting the U.S. economy during summer, pundits forecast dire consequences for American borrowers, particularly those in the subprime market. These subprime consumers, the reasoning went, would be least able to...

Is the SubPrime Credit World Ready to take a Tumble?(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Yes... Higher rates are pushing subprime default rates up. Signs of stress are resurfacing in the subprime mortgage arena. No Subprime lenders are doing a better job scoring potential borrowers to minimize their lending risk....

Advertising and Service Contacts for Collections & Credit Risk and Credit & Collections World.
December 1, 2006... Advertising Associate Publisher Brenda Schultheis 550 West Van Buren, Suite 1100 Chicago, Illinois 60607 Brenda.Schultheissourcemedia.com (847) 251-1588 Fax: (847) 251-0887 Advertising Sales Manager ...

Stats.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Credit Card Metrics July Current Outstanding to Cycle 1: 7.58% Current Outstanding to Cycle 2: 1.68% Cycle 1 to Cycle 2: 24.09% 1 Charge-off: 4.89% 2 Charge-off: 22.84% Other Key Indicators Bankruptcy rate 0.82%...