Credit & Debt Collection Industry Executives Express Cautious Optimism About Economic Recovery in 2010

The results from insideARM.com’s quarterly Credit & Debt Collection Industry Confidence Survey are in, and it shows that confidence in the economic recovery has improved among professionals in the accounts receivable management industry (ARM).

The ARM Confidence Index is a weighted index calculated from survey responses, and it provides a snapshot of the level of confidence industry leaders have for their company’s future performance. The Index rose nearly 9 percent to 65.5 in the Spring 2010 survey, which is up from 60.2 recorded in Winter 2010.

Much of this confidence is buoyed by a strong Q1 performance reported this year by many ARM companies. Collection professionals ranked their liquidation performance 4.5 percent higher in Q1 2010 compared to the first quarter of 2009. It will be interesting to see if this performance improvement is sustained through Q2, since the first quarter of the year incorporates tax season and thus tends to be a good-performing quarter.

The slow economic recovery and high unemployment has many consumers struggling, and ARM companies continue to report high numbers of accounts and lower collection rates. However, professionals surveyed are cautiously optimistic. As one survey respondent noted, “Rates seemed to have bottomed out in mid-Q4 of 2009. Some tax season uplift, but it continued long after tax season.”

With sustained high demand for collection services, many agencies report increased staffing levels. Looking ahead, over 58 percent of collection agency professionals surveyed said they expect to add jobs over the rest of the year.

To view the full results of the Spring 2010 Confidence Survey, please visit www.insidearm.com/go/confidence-survey/spring10.

Patrick Lunsford manages all content for insideARM.com. Contact him with your news and comments at editor@insidearm.com, or call 240-499-3828.