Free Report: Credit & Debt Collection Confidence Survey - 3rd Quarter 2008

Download this Free Report and Learn:

• The macroeconomic factors influencing debt collection rates
• Creditor and debt collection agency reaction to debt recovery rates
• Vendor perception of performance and marketing intentions

Credit & Debt Collection Confidence Survey - 3rd Quarter 2008

Important Trends and Analysis of the Accounts Receivable Management Industry

Download this free report and discover the results of the accounts receivable management survey conducted for the third quarter of 2008, which showed serious deterioration in the confidence of creditors and accounts receivable firms' ability to collect bad debt. Creditors see their own internal operations suffering for at least a year and they are increasingly concerned about debt collection agency recovery rates. Debt collection agencies also feel less confident about the current state of recoveries and the prospect for improvement moving forward.

What Macroeconomic Factors are Influencing Recovery Rates?

The general economic unease felt by all was only heightened by the financial market turmoil and the stock market's plunge to multi-year lows, while the spotlight focused on Wall Street as the symbol of the economic crisis and its point of origin.

Download Credit & Debt Collection Confidence Survey - 3rd Quarter 2008 and gain valuable insight on how creditors are reacting to macroeconomic factors through respondent comments:

• "Unless credit thaws significantly, we will continue to see a very large number of "overnight" business failures as maturities come due and are not renewed."
• "The biggest issue is the press talking down the economy. If they did not sensationalize the stock market downturn everything would tick along nicely."
• "Growth in joblessness (especially layoffs that hit moderate to high income households) will weaken future prospects for my business."

Consumer confidence during the third quarter remained well below levels from the year prior and at historical lows. Foreclosures and a continued housing slump, bank failures, and unemployment levels that saw well over nine million people without jobs, kept many Americans uneasy about their own financial prospects.

What are Creditor Perceptions of Internal Recovery Performance?

Download Credit & Debt Collection Confidence Survey - 3rd Quarter 2008 and discover:

• Which creditors saw "strong" or "excellent" debt collection performance quarter-over-quarter.
• Rising "poor" and "weak" debt collection performance.
• How expectations for "poor" and "weak" debt collection performance in the next six months have changed during the third quarter.
• How long term projections (twelve months hence) measured up with debt recovery performance.

What are Creditor Perceptions of Debt Collection Agency Performance?

Credit & Debt Collection Confidence Survey - 3rd Quarter 2008 and discover:

• What creditors foresee for debt collection agency recovery rates.
• How expectations of "excellent" debt collection performance changed among creditors.
• The level of increased expectations by creditors that "weak" or "poor" performance would occur among debt collection agency service providers.

What are Debt Collection Agency Perceptions of Recovery Performance?

The number of debt collection agencies anticipating "strong" or "excellent" recovery performance six months hence actually experienced a marginal improvement from the quarter prior.

Download Credit & Debt Collection Confidence Survey - 3rd Quarter 2008 and learn how the optional free response question concluding the survey reinforced this positive focus:

• "We do not buy into any negative ideas swirling around. We are aware but we do not focus our energy on that. Instead, we are grateful and look forward to a brighter future."
• "It is my belief that we must continue to believe and we can make it happen."
• "Those of us that can withstand the economic storm will greatly benefit as we come out of recession."

Debt Collection Agency Expectations of Current & Future Placements

Debt collection agencies remained bullish in their views of current and future placement volume. Anecdotal evidence has persisted for months that account placement volumes – those turned over to debt collection agencies by creditors for recovery work – have skyrocketed in the past few months.

Download Credit & Debt Collection Confidence Survey - 3rd Quarter 2008 and discover how the debt collection agencies participating in the survey gave credibility to those anecdotes and feel that the trend will persist:

• How optimism about the future of placements among debt collection agencies was affected by market conditions.
• What percentage of debt collection agencies expected their placement volume to increase from quarter to quarter.
• What level of confidence do debt collection agencies have in the future of their placement volume.