Collections & Credit Risk articles from December 2008

Collections & Credit Risk archives from December 2008

Better Luck Next Year.(Editor's Note)(economic conditions)(Editorial)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Darren Waggoner, Editor 2008 is on borrowed time and one thought keeps popping into my head: "Don't let the door hit ya on the way out." Yes, I censored that. Perhaps more than at any point in recent history, certainly for my...

Contact Centers: The Future is Here; Advanced contact center applications are emerging to help boost productivity and quality control while curbing costs - critical with the credit crunch crimping operating budgets.(Technology)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Peter Lucas With consumer debt rising fast, collection departments and agencies are awash in delinquent accounts and placements to work. But like most businesses, collection departments and agencies are feeling the pinch of the...

Caring Companies; In the face of trying economic times, these companies uphold their traditions of giving.(Philanthropy)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Bill Grabarek The slumping economy is affecting every facet of business in the United States and, contrary to popular belief, this includes collections and debt buying. Yet, despite the added financial stress, the industry is...

Star Treatment Hold on to Your Aces; Turnover remains a problem for many collection agencies. How can firms keep top performers motivated and happy?(Personnel)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Carolyn Heinze Rare is the child who dreams of growing up to become a debt collector. Scarce is the adult who launches a job search with the ultimate goal of landing a position as a collections agent. That's not to say the job...

The Crisis Sinks In; As the mortgage mess morphs and spills into the broader economy, credit and collection experts predict a tough slog ahead to get consumers to pay their bills.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Jane Adler and Darren Waggoner The causes of the economic meltdown are well known. Easy credit, the rise of complex mortgage instruments and overly optimistic and aggressive homebuyers and speculators created a world of escalating...

Issuers Walk a Fine Credit Line; U.S. credit card issuers gently rein in cardholder credit limits to offset delinquency and charge-off losses.(Risk Management)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Kate Fitzgerald U.S. Credit Card issuers are executing a variety of detailed strategies to blunt their losses as the credit crisis deepens and card delinquencies and charge-offs rise toward record levels. Many issuers are...

One-fourth of issuers plan collection investments.(Risk Management)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Kate Fitzgerald Relatively few card issuers are eager to invest in new technology and risk-management software during one of the worst economic downturns in recent history. Profits are down, and operations are under pressure to cut...

Hang On To Your Customers... We're in for a Wild Ride.(Guest Column)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Anthony Turni, Avaya The latest headlines and spending trends bear witness to a contagion of fear and a loss of confidence in all manner of financial institutions that have shaken the foundations of the world's economy. How...

Keeping Score: The Collectors; Managing the success of your business can become easier when you learn how to properly score your collectors.(Column)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Christopher Coelho You hired them and trained them. You gave them a desk, a telephone and a seat on your collection floor. They sounded great in the interview, had plenty of experience and their references checked out. So why...

STATS.
December 1, 2008... The first quarter of 2005 is considered a pivotal point for analyzing delinquencies. Mortgages originated before then follow statistical patterns accepted by the industry. Mortgages after that pivot point, however, diverge from standard...

LETTERS.
December 1, 2008... Concerning the government's financial rescue plan, do you expect a windfall for the collection and/or debt-buying industries? There will be plenty of work to be done for the debt collection industry from this bailout. I personally worked...

Collection Industry Awaits Bailout Fallout.(News & Analysis)
December 1, 2008... The collection industry, eager for a role in the federal government's $700 billion bailout of financial institutions, has offered to help the Department of Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. - hoping to snag what some believe could...

Changing Attitudes Hurt Economy.(News & Analysis)
December 1, 2008... American consumers' changing attitudes toward credit have contributed to the national credit crisis and the ailing U.S. economy, according to Dr. Robert Manning, director of the Center for Consumer Financial Services at the Rochester Institute...

Preemptive Strategies Can Help Lenders, Customers.(News & Analysis)
December 1, 2008... As consumer credit continues to tighten and the economy maintains its downward trajectory, lenders are faced with higher levels of delinquent customers. Because of these trends, some industry experts suggest companies take a more proactive...

Relief, Rebates for Consumers?(News & Analysis)
December 1, 2008... If Democrats in Congress successfully push through a second round of tax rebates, a possibility being discussed at press time, it could bring some financial relief to consumers. That would be welcome news for the collection industry. Those...

Home Foreclosures Drop From Record High.(News & Analysis)
December 1, 2008... RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties, reported last month that 851,000 homes have been repossessed by lenders since August 2007. In September alone, 265,968 troubled borrowers received foreclosure filings - including...

Card Charge-Offs Up For 20th Consecutive Month.(News & Analysis)
December 1, 2008... The U.S. credit card charge-off rate jumped in August to 6.82% of overall card receivables, up from 4.61% during the year-ago period, marking the 20th consecutive month of year-over-year rate increases, according to Moody's Credit Card Credit...

Atlantic Credit & Finance Honors Law Firm Partners.(News & Analysis)
December 1, 2008... Atlantic Credit & Finance's first Attorney Partner Awards recently recognized six law firms from the company's more than 100 attorney partners for "outstanding overall collection performance," says Kevin Hudson, vice president of business...