Collections & Credit Risk articles from September 2006

Collections & Credit Risk archives from September 2006

Here Come Rankings and Our First Skip-Tracing Challenge.
September 1, 2006... When I took the helm at Collections & Credit Risk last October, I vowed to bring you more news, more information, more ways to help you run your businesses more efficiently and more profitably. In July, we launched one of the most dramatic...

Hospital Debt Increases by Double Digits, but the Prognosis Is Cloudy for Collectors.
September 1, 2006... Like the temperature of a fevered patient, hospital bad debt is on the rise. Several large hospital systems reported double-digit spikes in uncollectible debt in their most recent quarterly reports. That's good news for the medical debt...

Recent Deals.(Experian)(NCO Group)(One Equity Partners )(Capital Collection Bureau)
September 1, 2006... Credit bureau Experian, which is being spun off by British parent GUS Plc, will issue new shares to raise 800 million British pounds, roughly $1.5 billion, after its stock begins trading Oct. 11 on the London Stock Exchange. GUS shares will...

Asta Soars While FirstCity Droops.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Asta Funding Inc.'s fiscal 2006 third-quarter earnings rose 38 percent to a record $11.78 million, or 80 cents a share, compared with $8.53 million in the same quarter a year ago. Revenues of $26.4 million jumped 39 percent over the same period...

Wall Street Still Wary of Debt Buyers.
September 1, 2006... The second quarter was a challenging one for publicly traded debt buyers. Wall Street remained wary of the investment potential their shares presented amid signs that consumers' ability to repay old debt is starting to slow. "The sentiment...

Legal Issues Top Agenda at ACA Meeting.
September 1, 2006... The generation of people born after 1982, the Millennials, constitute new challenges for collectors, a university bursar told attendees at ACA International's annual conference in San Diego. Millennials have a high expectation of service...

Home Equity Loans Continue Attractive.
September 1, 2006... Rising interest rates and slowing housing markets were supposed to curtail consumer use of home equity loans and spell higher credit card balances - and perhaps more credit card debt to collect. So far, though, the conventional wisdom is...

Asset Acceptance Earnings Fall 23.9%.
September 1, 2006... Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. saw second-quarter revenues slip 2.9 percent even though cash collections rose 5.6 percent from the same period in 2005. Net income was $12.4 million, or 33 cents a share, down 23.9 percent from $16.3 million or...

Oh Canada, Sell Some Debt: Canadian banks aren't selling their debt, yet, but a market is developing as retailers and others dip their toes in the sales marketplace.
September 1, 2006... Canadians often revel in telling people how they are different than their U.S. neighbors to the south. Those differences, apparently, extend to the debt sales marketplace. Talk to collectors in Canada and they agree that debt sales there...

Mortgage Clouds Are Gathering: Increased mortgage problems could impact how consumers handle other bills, and ultimately, how they respond to collectors.
September 1, 2006... The outlook for mortgage delinquencies and defaults contains several parts predictability and one part serendipity, with a general forecast of climbing delinquencies over the next six months to a year. Expect the increase to be incremental, not...

The Imperfect Reform Storm: Bankruptcy reform was supposed to change things. Collectors say it has helped a little but judges, not collectors, are feeling most of the impact.
September 1, 2006... Credit card issuers and other credit grantors pushed Congress for years to amend federal bankruptcy requirements. They got their wish in 2005 with the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), the...

Debt Buying Implications.
September 1, 2006... One area that may be seeing fallout from bankruptcy changes is the debt markets. Charles "Chick" Natkins, general counsel for Collins Financial Services Inc., Austin, Texas, and past president of the Debt Buyers Association, has learned,...

Lawyers Win One on Bankruptcy.
September 1, 2006... A Texas federal district court on July 26 ruled unconstitutional a section of the sweeping bankruptcy reform law. The ruling could set precedence for another lawsuit now pending. Dallas District Court Judge David C. Godbey declared in Hersh...

Washington Changes The Bankruptcy Game.
September 1, 2006... I. What Change Backers Expected a. Fewer people filing for bankruptcy just to avoid debts they could really afford to pay. b. Fewer charge-offs of credit card portfolios. c. More Chapter 13 filers, who have to repay debts, and fewer Chapter 7...

A Conversation with Charly Filipek, VeriFacts.(Interview)
September 1, 2006... 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? Credit grantors and collectors are advised to look beyond traditional...

A Conversation with Jeff Flood, Acxiom Insight.(Interview)
September 1, 2006... 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? One key is using databases that are complied from many, many different...

A Critical View from the Bench: Chief Judge Barry Russell talks about what's wrong with the new federal bankruptcy rules and how they're hurting the court system.
September 1, 2006... When a debtor files for bankruptcy, it's like he's climbing into a lifeboat. Then the creditors climb in with him, and as the opposing parties attempt to thrash it out, the sturdiness of the boat is crucial. But now the boat has been seriously...

The Cell Phone Collection Challenge: The business is fighting hard to end regulations that hamper productivity when collecting via cell phones.
September 1, 2006... As cell phones become more ubiquitous, and in many cases the primary or sole point of telecommunications contact for consumers, credit grantors and collections agencies are finding their productivity severely curtailed. The drop has less...

Advertising and Service Contacts for Collections & Credit Risk and Credit & Collections World.
September 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)
September 1, 2006... Credit Card Metrics May Current Outstanding to Cycle 1 7.46% Current Outstanding to Cycle 2 1.61% Cycle 1 to Cycle 2 21.74% 1 Chargeoff 4.66% 2 Chargeoff ...