Collections & Credit Risk articles from March 2007

Collections & Credit Risk archives from March 2007

Skip-Tracing Challenge, Take Two: Normally I reserve this column for looking ahead but allow me a few lines here to look back a bit, specifically to our Skip-Tracing Challenge.(Column)
March 1, 2007... The results of the challenge appeared in our January issue and my e-mail box soon filled with comments, criticisms and suggestions for how to improve the challenge. We're already taking some of those to heart. One vendor, for example, has...

Congress Keeps the Spotlight's Hot Glare on IRS Private Collections.
March 1, 2007... It's a battle royale, Washington D.C.-style. Congress is the battleground where critics and supporters of the IRS debt collection privatization program are clashing, armed with dueling press conferences, inflammatory public statements and...

The IRS Private Collection Battle Lines.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Critics of privatization fear: * Abusive collectors * Identity theft * High cost, saying IRS agents would be cheaper * Work is too sensitive to outsource While supporters say: * Only limited taxpayer information is...

New Player Debt Resolve Wants to Shake Up Collections.
March 1, 2007... A new company has joined the ranks of publicly traded debt buyers but its business model is very different from that of its debt-buying brethren. White Plains. N.Y.-based Debt Resolve Inc. is purchasing debt as a means to show its main...

Card Charge-Offs Likely to Rise in '07, But High Portfolio Prices May Not Abate.
March 1, 2007... Credit card issuers this year will have to wean themselves off the windfall of low charge-offs that they saw in 2006 as a result of bankruptcy law changes. Card issuers are likely to see delinquencies and charge-offs rise during 2007,...

Credit Card Issuers' Chargeoffs.
March 1, 2007... (in 000s) 3 mos. ended 3 mos. ended Full year Full year Issuer Dec. 31, 2006 Dec. 31, 2005 % change 2006 2005 % change JPMorgan Chase $1,281,000 $2,236,000 -42.7% $4,698,000 $7,100,000...

Calling All Cell Phones - Maybe: As they await an FCC decision on the prohibition of autodialer use to contact debtors' cell phones, collectors are searching for, and forging ahead with, ways to reach cell phones.
March 1, 2007... With two-thirds of house-holds in the United States using at least one mobile phone and an estimated 7% to 9% of U.S. consumers dropping land line phones in favor of cellular service, the collection industry finds itself at a crossroads. ...

How the Dialer Ban Began.(Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991)(Federal Communications Commission)
March 1, 2007... The genesis of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prohibition against using autodialers to call cell phones dates back to June 2003 when efforts by the FCC to close a loophole in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991...

The Commercial Bankruptcy Forecast: Clouds Ahead: New bankruptcy rules plus high liquidity meant a sharp decline in corporate filings last year but experts see a gloomier outlook this year.
March 1, 2007... Commercial bankruptcy filings in the United States declined sharply last year, due in large part to 2005's sweeping bankruptcy code changes. But the new rules were not the only reason fewer businesses went bankrupt. Healthier business cycles,...

U.S. Corporate Bankruptcy Filings.
March 1, 2007... Year 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. Total 2000 9,456 9,243 8,211 8,413 35,472 2001 10,005 10,330 9,537 10,013 40,099 2002 9,775 9,695 9,433 9,500 38,540 2003 8,814 9,331 8,446 8,294...

A Sample of Commercial Bankruptcy Law Changes.
March 1, 2007... 1. Under the new code: * A bankruptcy court cannot extend an initial 120-day plan period beyond 18 months after the bankruptcy filing. * The 180-day acceptance period may not be extended beyond 20 months after the initial filing. ...

Do Your Homework: Dangers often lay hidden in secondary market debt portfolio offerings. Here are lessons from the market pros that novices can use to avoid nasty surprises.
March 1, 2007... More collection agencies are turning to the debt resale market as a place to pick up accounts to collect on. Too small to buy portfolios directly from major credit issuers, they look to the secondary market where portfolios are resold in...

Must-Have Answers Help Determine Value.(of portfolio)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Buyers and brokers have developed sophisticated measures to determine the provenance and value of a portfolio, but some approaches are actually low-tech, such as a seller questionnaire. Here is a sample of 20 questions asked by a major...

Homework for Debt Buyers.(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... * Know, or research, the seller. * Track title to originator and acquire all bills of sale. * Analyze the portfolio using up-to-date modeling. * Protect your interest in the sales contract, especially with regard to putbacks. ...

Turn On Utility Collections: Account balances may be low and finding debtors is more complex, but utility collection work can be profitable if you know the right approaches to use.
March 1, 2007... What's the secret to successfully collecting utility debt? Mike Horn, collections supervisor at Midwestern utility giant Ameren, likes to hire agencies that specialize in both medical and utility collections. Both the debtors and the clients...

Tools to Collect Utility Debt.
March 1, 2007... * Phone calls * Sophisticated skip-tracing * Scoring programs * Credit reporting * Staff enough collectors to deal with high volume (c) 2007 Collections & Credit Risk and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved....

The Regulation Challenge of Utility Work.
March 1, 2007... Ask most utility collection managers to name their biggest headache and they'll say regulations. Whether public or private, utility companies are regulated by state commissions appointed by governors. "Utilities are very political,"...

Bringing Floaters into Port: Here's how to turn employees who can be a liability into an asset by using the right management approach.
March 1, 2007... Do you like a good scare? Look at your staff turnover rate for last year. How many employees terminated within their probationary period? How many within six months? There's only one answer: too many. Now ask yourself a question: how much...

How to Keep Floaters from Floating Away.(securities)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... 1. During Training: a. Have managers and supervisors participate in training classes. b. Have trainees sit on the collection floor early in their initial training. c. Stress to new hires that you're taking an active interest in their...

Advertising and Service Contacts for Collections & Credit Risk and Credit & Collections World.(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... 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.(household debt service ratio)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Household Debt Service and Financial Obligations Ratios DSR FOR Total Renter Homeowner Quarter Total Mortgage Consumer 1Q 2005 13.89 18.81...