If there has ever been an opportunity to convince small and mid size banks in your region to sell bad debt, now may be the time. Today on the front page of The Wall Street Journal is an article about banks tightening up their lending standards for businesses and consumers alike. The article states that with bad loans piling up, some lenders are strained for capital. At the crossroads of growth and contraction, I find it shocking that many community banks are choosing contraction, shying away from making loans even to clients with solid histories. They risk losing their clients to another bank that may issue the same loan at a competitive rate. This loss of potential revenue to a competitor is sure to make some banks take a closer look at selling their bad debt.

The timing of this article could not be better as it’s likely to be a topic of discussion for debt buyers and sellers converging on Las Vegas today for the annual Debt Buyers Association conference.

Speaking of timing, this will mark the first time that I will miss the Debt Buyers conference. I threw out my back this past weekend and still can’t walk straight. I'm not happy about either development, however Mark Russell, Paul Legrady and Jamie Welsh will be there to talk with you if you wish to catch up. Have a great conference!