Archive for the ‘Financial News’ Category

N30bn Loan To Exporters by NEXIM

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

The Managing Director of Nigeria Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr Roberts Orya, yesterday informed the Nigerian House of Representatives that the bank would release N30billion to Nigerian exporters to enable them perform optimally in the export trade sector of the economy in 2012.

This is just as the House of Representatives committee on Works has expressed dismay over the poor funding of road projects in the country.

Speaking during the budget defence session of the bank before the House Committee on Banking and Currency on Monday, Orya said the bank has set a target to generate N1.65billion within the same period.

According to Mr Orya, those who qualify to benefit from the support fund which is in form of loans, are players in manufacturing, agricultural, solid minerals and service sectors. The NEXIM boss however pointed out that the bank’s 2012 budget has a major challenge in area of debt recovery, noting that the bank was doing all it could in relation to commercial debt collection.

He said some of the debts were as old as 5 to 10 years and some were even from the banks that were liquidated in the early 1990s by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

Mr Roberts Orya, Managing Director of Nexis, said:

“Some of the debt being owed the bank span between 10 to 15 years, and that the bank was only able to recover N418 million out of about N1.9 billion it had planned to recover in year 2011.”

“Low levels of debt recovery has been the major challenge of NEXIM and we hope that this year we should be able to do much better.”

Posted in Debt News, Financial News, International Debt News | No Comments »

Cebr: UK Probably in Recession

Monday, January 16th, 2012

New forecasts released by Cebr indicate that the UK economy is probably already in recession with negative GDP growth in Q4 2011 and Q1 2012.

Cebr has also revised down its forecast for growth for 2012 as a whole from 0.7% growth as predicted last October to a decline of 0.4% with a risk of a more serious decline of 1.1% if developments in the Euro zone are especially negative.

Cebr has forecast sluggish growth in the medium term, Growth in 2013 is forecast to be minimal at 0.9% and from 2014 onwards at around 1% per annum.

Unemployment is forecast to to see a sharp increase to about 3 million in 18 months time as companies batten down the hatches for the long term and revise their medium expectations of labour requirements while base rates are expected to remain at 0.5% to 2016.

Increased quantitative easing to a total of £400 billion is expected for 2012 with the possibility of more in future years.

Scott Corfe, Cebr Senior Economist and main author of the report, said:

“We see a weak outlook for sterling. But of course the euro and the dollar are also likely to be weak, so the main weakening is likely to be against the Asian currencies and the commodity based currencies.”

“We see the Western currencies falling by about 30% vs the renminbi to 2016 and by 15-40% against commodity based currencies.”

Douglas McWilliams, Chief Executive of Cebr, and an author of the report said:

“We take no pleasure in outlining such a bleak forecast. But the world is going through a fundamental change where previously poor economies are industrialising fast. This is good news for them, but because of the limits imposed by shortages of energy, minerals and food, some of their growth is at our expense.”

“This is not to say that if we break off trading with them we will be better off. On the contrary, a strategy of disengagement with the rest of the world would make matters very much worse. The Chancellor will not reduce the deficit as quickly as he thinks since tax revenues will be depressed by slow growth.”

“But this does not make the case for giving up on austerity. Indeed our forecast, which shows that the UK debt to GDP ratio will go above 90%, means that he will at the minimum have to keep the austerity programme going for much longer than he originally thought.”

Tags: Cebr, GDP, recession, uk economy
Posted in Debt News, Financial News | No Comments »

Universities have £50 Million of Debt Collected

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Universities across the UK have collected almost £50 million in library fines for overdue books.

The University of Leeds was the biggest gainer with collection of almost £1.8 million while the Imperial College London propped up the rest with collection figures of only £26,703.

Library book fines from universities tend to start frmo 10p per day so the massive amounts show the huge volumes of books that are being returned late – if at all with over 300,000 books currently unaccounted for.

Bucks New University has the highest amount of missing books with 30,540 unaccounted for, closely followed by Oxford University with 20,923 and then the University of Kent with 19,613 books.

The problem itself has manifested to such an extent that many Universities no longer allow students to graduate until overdue fines are paid.

As little as a £5 debt at Exeter University will prevent graduation, as will £20 at Lancaster University or £25 at the University of Glasgow.

Other universities said they would instruct debt collection agencies if the library debts were part of other larger debts owed, such as fees and accommodation.

Tags: debt collection, library fines, overdue, universities
Posted in Financial News | No Comments »

“Surprisingly Buoyant” UK Service Sector in December

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

Activity in the UK service sector grew in December at its fastest rate since July, according to the latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI).

The PMI for December was 54.0, up from 52.1 in November. Any figure over 50 indicates that the sector is growing.

But confidence about the future remains subdued, with business expectations matching September’s two-and-a-half year low.

Chris Williamson, the report’s author described conditions as “surprisingly buoyant” and went on to say:

“The December survey rounds off a reasonable fourth quarter for the service sector, which is likely to again provide the main stimulus to overall economic growth.”

The service sector accounts for more than 70% of the UK’s economic output.

Tags: PMI, Purchasing Managers Index, UK Service Sector
Posted in Financial News | No Comments »

Merkel Urges Deal Be Reached for Second Greek Bailout

Monday, January 9th, 2012

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that an agreement with Greek bondholders must be reached shortly to enable Greece to receive a vital second bailout.

Mrs Merkel told a new conference:

“The second Greek aid package, including this [debt] restructuring, must be in place quickly. Otherwise it won’t be possible to pay out the next tranche for Greece.”

The debt recovery plan in place for Greece requires a second bailout from the Eurozone and the International Monetary Fund to enable Greece to avoid defaulting on its debts and avoid the potential of exclusion from the EU.

The rescue, worth 130bn euros (£107bn), would include a voluntary restructuring of Greek debt – meaning bondholders would have to write off 50% of the Greek bonds’ value.

Tags: Angela Merkel, EU, eurozone, greece
Posted in Debt News, Financial News, International Debt News | No Comments »

5 Tips on Improving Your Cashflow

Friday, January 6th, 2012

While 2012 is now upon us many businesses still experience the same difficulties that they did in 2011 when it comes to late payers and overdue accounts.

Federal Management, the UK’s leading commercial debt collection agency, have compiled a list of 5 key tips to help you and your business deal with non payment of invoices and improve your cash flow.

Prevention is Better Than a Cure

When it comes to unpaid invoices and overdue accounts the ideal solution to the problem is to not get them at all. Utilising a credit referencing agency such as Creditsure can make you aware of just who it is you are offering credit to, if they have a history of judgement for non-payment or if they are credit worthy at all. Preventing the debt from accruing can save both time and money in the long run.

For further information you can contact Creditsure by contacting them directly on 0844 875 4066 or by clicking on the following link. Creditsure Credit Checks

Time Is Money

The time you and your staff spend chasing a debt is time that could be spent running and improving your company. As the old saying goes “Time is money” and time wasted is money wasted. Don’t delay when your accounts become overdue. The more expedient a company is in utilising a debt collection agency to handle their bad debt ledger the quicker the company can get the money they are rightfully owed.

Don’t Accept Excuses.

“We are just waiting for a payment to clear.” “A cheque is on its way.” Sound familiar? Debtors will try every means possible to avoid paying a debt including telling you what you want to hear without any real intention of resolving the issue. Don’t accept excuses – once a payment is overdue then let the professionals take over.

Make a Statement

By utilising the services of a reputable debt collection agency you send out a clear message that late/non-payment of debts is unacceptable which can act as a deterrent to both new and existing clients who may have been considering not paying an invoice on time.

Professional Expertise

We live in a world of heavy legislation and compliance. A simple phone call to somebody that owes you money can be construed as harassment. Let the experts deal with it. A reputable debt collection agency will not only recover your debt professionally and expediently but will do so in way that won’t harm your reputation or your relationship with your customer.

Any business who is experiencing difficulties with late payment of invoices, overdue accounts or any other form of non payment should contact Federal Management immediately on 0844 875 4022 to take the first steps in resolving the situation.

Tags: debt collection, federal management, improve your cashflow, unpaid invoices
Posted in Debt News, Financial News | 1 Comment »

Bad Business Debt Warning Issued for New Year Ahead

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Debt Collection at Christmas

UK Businesses are being told they may face a financial festive hangover in the form of non paying bad debtors if preemptive measures are not taken.

A Senior Commercial Debt Collection expert from Federal Management has predicted that December and January will represent the worst two months of the year for non payment of business debts.

A combination of bad weather, reduced productivity and Christmas holidays will mean that businesses find their customers either avoiding them or promising payments before Christmas that often, will not materialise till mid January.

Whilst it is the season of goodwill, failure to take adequate steps to combat the aforementioned can potentially lead to a serious hangover for businesses, in particular SMEs, who historically find that cash flow has considerably deteriorated by the end of January.

John McGovern, a Senior Collections Officer said:

“UK businesses of all kinds suffer financially at this time of year with the slowdown in payment by their customers. Many businesses consider it to be unavoidable but given the current economic climate, that should not be the case.”

“Credit controllers should be contacting customers in advance of invoices falling due to remind them of the payment date and that they expect to receive payment on or before that date and not after.”

He further adds:

“We understand that it is Christmas and there maybe a degree of leniency however, in the current economic climate, it is essential that preemptive measures are taken by Companies to prevent the accruing of bad debts. Just because it is Christmas, that is not an excuse for the non payment of outstanding invoices and accounts”

For further information on the recovery of overdue accounts, bad debts or Debt Collection in general, contact Federal Management for free advice and assistance.

Tags: bad debt, christmas, commercial debt collection, federal management
Posted in Debt News, Financial News | No Comments »

Federal Management Accepted Into FENCA

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Federal Management are proud to announce their membership of FENCA (Federation of European National Collection Associations), further strengthening their debt collection operations across the UK, EU and Overseas.

FM are one of only a select few Debt Collection Companies in the UK to have been accepted as members and will only enhance their reputation as the UK’s Leading Commercial Debt Collection Organisation.

A Federal Management spokesman said:

“This is a hugely significant moment in the history of Federal Management. To be accepted into such a prestigious and recognisable organisation as FENCA is a clear indication of the quality of service and high standards of excellence that Federal Management continues to provide to our clients on a daily basis.”

FENCA, which was founded 15th January 1993, is the non profit-making umbrella of National associations and aims to:

Protect and take care of the interests of the national member associations;
Promote the development of European legislation within the debt collection industry;
Promote the development within national member associations of the following:

Keep the collected means for clients separated from the company means.
Have special insurance for the protection of the clients.
Establish a committee for complaints.
Establish training facilities.
Introduce basic rules and guidelines for contracts and agreements between the agencies and their clients.

Tags: federal management, FENCA
Posted in Debt News, Financial News, International Debt News | No Comments »

How Debt Recovery Can Fill the Payment Gaps for SME’s

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

As concern continues to grow over the likelihood of a double dip recession and the incoming RPI linked business rate rise next year there is genuine worry amongst small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) about the increase in business costs and the likelihood of further unpaid invoices.

Combine this with the current state of the economic climate, the difficulty in borrowing from banks and the already large amounts of unpaid invoices and overdue accounts and it wouldn’t be hard for this fear amongst SME’s to become pandemic. With business insolvencies already at high levels the lack of support from banks lending to SME’s which could ease cash flow problems stands out even more.

One of the biggest issues facing SME’s currently is late payment of invoices. This increase in the amount of time taken to clear an outstanding balance is known within the industry as a “payment gap” and payment gaps themselves are at record levels with recent figures revealing that the average payment gap currently stands at 22 days! Furthermore, a large amount of invoices that go past this period don’t see any payment whatsoever.

This is where debt recovery can help.

With many small businesses the primary focus is on the growth of the business. The time and resources involved in chasing outstanding invoices are often not there, or, if they are, is time and resources that could be better utilised elsewhere in the business. By utilising a debt collection agency, such as Federal Management, many SME’s see an immediate boost to their company simply from the time that has been freed up which allows them to focus on growing their business while having the peace of mind and security in knowing that their outstanding invoices are being actively recovered by the professionals.

Tags: debt recovery, overdue invoices, payment gaps, small and medium enterprises, sme
Posted in Debt News, Financial News | 1 Comment »

Saab Facing Bankruptcy

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Swedish car manufacturer Saab is facing applications for bankruptcy from two Swedish Unions after being unable to pay wages to its staff.

Only last week Saab made an application for bankruptcy protection to the Swedish courts as it sought to obtain new funding that would help it to remain in business but this was rejected by the courts.

Unionen and Lederna made the move for bankruptcy as staff are yet to receive there salaries for August and it is expected that other unions could follow suit in calling for bankruptcy. Unionen boss Cecilia Fahlberg said :

“A bankruptcy application is a way to make sure that our members are not left without the money they have the right to.”

Saab was purchased by Swedish Automobile (previously known as Spyker) from US car manufacturer General Motors in January of 2010.

Chinese interest in purchasing a minority stake in Saab was announced before the summer by Swedish Automobile but with any deal yet to receive regulatory approval in either Sweden or China, it is doubtful whether the deals will go ahead leaving the very real possibility of bankruptcy.

Tags: bankruptcy, lederna, Saab, swedish automobile, unionen
Posted in Financial News, International Debt News | No Comments »