B2B Debt Collection Placements Dropped in First Quarter

http://www.insidearm.com/news/00002183-b2b-debt-collection-placements-dropped-in/

Business-to-business collecting — when one business places an business’s account with a collection agency — has come down “a modest 3.7 percent from the first quarter of 2011,” according to the Sacremento Business Journal.

Some highlights from the story:

A total of more than $3.09 billion was placed in collection in the first quarter of 2012
The average amount per account rose slightly, to $1,793 from $1,747

While this drop in placements might seem like great news for business-to-business relations, and might also predict a continued (but slow) economic recovery, it also means added pressures to collection agencies’ margins. “Contrary to popular opinion, the commercial collection industry always does better in a robust economy,” Bob Biko, vice president of sales at Northern California Collection Service, told the Business Journal.