Collections & Credit Risk articles from May 2006

Collections & Credit Risk archives from May 2006

Please Doctor, No More Bills.(Cover story)
May 1, 2006... Our cover story this month on healthcare debt couldn't be timelier. As the Baby Boom Generation, my generation, hits its 60s, healthcare is going to become the major topic of the day. Healthcare debt can be expected to skyrocket - not only...

Expect ARM Defaults, Bankruptcy Fallout, Ongoing Privacy Issues, Speakers Agree.
May 1, 2006... A 15 percent spike in adjustable rate mortgage defaults could occur as an estimated $2 trillion in ARMs are re-set in the next two years, predicted Keith Leggett, senior economist for the American Bankers Association and the opening keynote...

Recent Deals.(OutSource Group)(Midwest Collection Services)(Experian Information Solutions Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The OutSource Group, a St. Louis-based accounts receivable management company specializing in healthcare, acquired Midwest Collection Services. The combined companies will have 130 employees in three offices. Industry consulting firm Kaulkin...

First-Quarter M&A Activity Mirrors Year-Ago Period.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... M&A activity in the accounts receivable management industry is off to a similar start in 2006 as compared to 2005, with eight transactions completed totaling roughly $128 million. The same quarter last year generated 12 transactions totaling...

CreditMax Launches National Online Debt Exchange.
May 1, 2006... Buying debt is often an individualized, time-consuming, process with sellers and buyers negotiating terms specific to each deal. CreditMax, a 26-month-old Florida-based debt buyer, is hoping to change that. On May 8 it will officially...

VantageScore Raises Industry Questions.
May 1, 2006... VantageScore, a uniform credit score developed by the three major consumer credit bureaus, drew mixed reactions from the collection and financial services industries after it was announced in early March. Spurred on by banks, credit card...

Economic Strength Boosts Credit Index.
May 1, 2006... The U.S. economy is strong, providing the support needed for important industry sectors, reports the National Association of Credit Management. Euler Hermes ACI Chief Economist Dan North provided the analysis. After gains realized last month,...

First City Gets Analyst Attention.
May 1, 2006... Commercial debt buyer FirstCity Financial Corp. has gotten one analyst's attention. Stephens Inc.'s Barry McCarver recently delivered an analyst's version of a rave review, targeting FirstCity stock at $17, a $5.50 cent increase from where it...

Personal Bankruptcies Drop.
May 1, 2006... Consumer bankruptcy filings in the first quarter sunk to the lowest quarterly mark in 20 years, a trickle-down result of a stricter bankruptcy law that took effect last October. Filings in the first quarter totaled 102,949, down from...

No Hammer Time.(Credit Adjustment Corp)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... I grew up in medical collections, my father Peter Eskin owned U.S. Credit Adjustment Corp., opened in the 1950s. He helped in the writing of the FDCPA as he believed then, as I do now, that due to the nature of collections as an industry,...

Use Same Age Staffers.(healthcare)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Healthcare collections will continue to become a major effort as baby boomers and politicians turn 60 and saturate the medical field as patients. I suggest using same age collectors to more effectively relate to the special problems of paying...

No More Rules.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... There are enough rules/-regs/laws on the books now. The problem is that most people in healthcare do not know enough about credit/collections to make intelligent, ethical, compassionate decisions about what is bad debt vs. charity. Lester...

Survey Results.
May 1, 2006... Here's how visitors to ccrmag.com voted on this month's Instant Survey: The issue of healthcare collections increasingly is taking center stage with politicians seeking consumer protections. With this area of collections suffering an image...

Welcome to a New World of Debt: Debt sales are burgeoning around the world. A new report quantifies the size and scope of the market.
May 1, 2006... Debt buying has captivated the accounts receivable management industry in recent years with ongoing talk of strategy, competition and relative profitability. In fact, it may not be an understatement to suggest that, because the major debt...

The Global Debt Buying Market Face Value of Debt Purchased in 2005.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... $158 Billion Worldwide (Est.) North America Billions of US dollars U.S. Credit Card $100.00 U.S. Telecommunications $5.00 U.S. Bankruptcy $3.00 U.S. Auto Deficiency $2.00 ...

Software Solutions: Agencies that once had to worry about buying software and maintaining systems can now look to remote providers. They're finding Web-based alternatives can cut costs and increase productivity.
May 1, 2006... Being a pioneer can often have its drawbacks. Two years ago, Receivables Management Solutions plunged into the world of Web-based application service provider (ASP) solutions only to find the software service it had selected was not the best...

Land of the Industry Giants: Five trade group officials lead the way for the industry and their members.
May 1, 2006... Any industry is only as strong as its members, working through trade associations, make it. Associations serve the vital role of speaking up for members when legislation or rules surface that could hurt their business. They also are...

Healthcare Debt Challenges: Healthcare debt has a character all its own, but with the quantity of debt growing, collectors and debt buyers are willing to work with skittish hospitals. Here's what they need to know.
May 1, 2006... When Todd Cole, director of patient accounts for Cincinnati-based TriHealth Inc., first considered selling off his hospitals' bad debt three years ago, he was filled with qualms. "I was not initially in favor of it," Cole recalls. "I was...

The Big are Getting Bigger: Big collection law firms, seeking to match client needs and bring in more business, are expanding their reach across the country.
May 1, 2006... The past three years have been busy for Wolpoff & Abramson LLP, a big Rockville, Md.-based collection law firm that has only gotten bigger. From its existing offices in the Mid-Atlantic states, Wolpoff has added operations in New England, New...

Shiffling DebtS to Buffalo New York: The Buffalo area, long a booming center for back office operations, anticipates steady expansion of collection agencies despite growing competition for workers and rising wages.
May 1, 2006... Mention Buffalo, N.Y., to most people and chances are they'll think about snow and a fading rust-belt economy. But mention Buffalo to a collection industry insider, and you'll have a different picture painted for you. The Buffalo area...

Let's Work Together Right Now: Commercial credit executives are realizing working with other company departments can pay big dividends.
May 1, 2006... There is an old saying that two heads are better than one. When it comes to credit and collection management, more and more executives are coming to realize that four or five heads are better than one. When credit execs work with colleagues...

India vs. The Philippines: Cultural and local worker differences abound. Here's how to decide which location might be right for your outsourcing needs.
May 1, 2006... One of the toughest jobs of any executive is to hire the best people. It's become even more challenging now that many of our workers are in far-flung places such as India, the Philippines and China. In this global employment market, the need to...

Advertisers Index.(Directory)
May 1, 2006... Advertiser Page Allsec Technologies 37 817-704-3546 www.allsectech.com ChoicePoint 17 800-530-4539 www.choicepoint.com/onlinebatch2 ...

Advertising and Service Contacts for Collections & Credit Risk and Credit & Collections World.(Directory)(Brief article)
May 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 ...