Archive for the ‘International Debt News’ Category

International Association of Commercial Collectors Elects 2012 Board of Directors

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

The International Association of Commercial Collectors (IACC) recently elected its board of directors for the 2012 year during the association’s 41st Annual Convention in Miami Beach, Fla.

Directors have been elected by their fellow association members to serve in a leadership role, providing guidance and direction for the association.

The 2012 IACC Board of Directors:

  • President: Randy Frazee, Randall & Richards, Tucson, Ariz.
  • Vice President: Robert Ingold, Commercial Collection Corp. of New York, Tonawanda, N.Y.
  • Treasurer: Lee VandenHeuvel; Ross, Stuart & Dawson, Inc.; Auburn Hills, Mich.
  • Past-President: John Yursha, Commercial Recovery Group, Dover, Del.
  • Director: Terri Boettcher, BC Services, Inc., Longmont, Colo.
  • Director: Michael Daugherty, Synter Resource Group LLC, Charleston, S.C.
  • Director: Thomas Hamilton, The American Lawyers Quarterly, Cleveland.
  • Director: Albert Knowles, A.V. Knowles & Co Ltd., Port of Spain, Trinidad.
  • Director: Bryan Leib, Leib Solutions, LLC, Gibbsboro, N.J.
  • Director: Bill Mann; Joseph, Mann & Creed; Shaker Heights, Ohio.
  • Director: Jocelyn Nager; Frank, Frank, Goldstein & Nager, P.C.; New York

With about 320 commercial collection agency, associate, law list and affiliate members, The International Association of Commercial Collectors Inc. (IACC) is the world’s largest international trade association for commercial debt collection professionals. Headquartered in Minneapolis, IACC serves members throughout the United States and in 25 other countries worldwide. Members of IACC recover millions of dollars annually for their clients and provide valuable assistance to credit departments in controlling mounting debts.

Third Party Debt Collection Agencies Boosting Economies

Monday, February 6th, 2012

Third party debt collection has an important impact on the national and New Hampshire economies, according to a new study by ACA International and global advisory firm Ernst and Young based on 2010 data.

New England Collectors Association President David Sands said:

“These findings reinforce the critical role the third-party debt collection industry plays as a service provider in recovering unpaid consumer debt on behalf of the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Moreover, third-party collectors are actively engaged in New Hampshire communities as employers, volunteers, philanthropists and taxpayers.”

ACA International CEO Pat Morris said:

“Our nation was built on the premise that those who provide credit, goods and services to consumers have the expectation of being repaid. Recovering these debts helps organizations survive; prevents layoffs; keeps cost down and credit, goods and services available; and reduces the need for tax increases to cover government budget shortfalls.”

Federal Management Becomes Member of International Trade Association

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., USA—(27 January 2012)— Federal Management Limited, located at Federal House, 1c Maple Court, Maple View, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9TW England, has become an international member of ACA International – the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

ACA membership demonstrates that Federal Management Limited is dedicated to advancing quality and professionalism in the credit and collection industry. As an ACA member, Federal Management Limited has agreed to comply with all applicable laws and regulations as well as the ethical standards and guidelines established by the association.

Founded in 1939, ACA International brings together more than 5,000 members worldwide, including third-party collection agencies, asset buying companies, attorneys, creditors and vendor affiliates.

ACA produces a wide variety of products, services and publications, and articulates the value of the credit and collection industry to businesses, policymakers and consumers.

For more information about ACA International, visit www.acainternational.org.

 

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.”

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.

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.

 

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.

Problems With Late Payers? The Debt Collection Experts are on Your Doorstep!

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Late invoice payment and outstanding debts are an issue that continues to cast a shadow over many part of the UK Business Community with some alarming figures being released relating to the number of companies that are being forced into liquidation and administration despite being owed considerable sums of money. Yet this need not be the case providing expedient and cost effective steps are taken to recover outstanding debts.

One company that has an excellent reputation for dealing with serious matters such as the collection of outstanding debts is Federal Management.

This Lancashire based business has their Head Office in Skelmersdale, as well as offices in London and Manchester, and operate their renowned debt collection services across the UK, EU and Internationally, recovering millions of pounds every year for their clients. They are only too aware of the problems facing UK businesses with regards to late payments and outstanding invoices etc as swell as the need to maintain existing business relationships where possible.

Federal Management began life in 2004 by initially delivering their debt collection services to predominantly small businesses up and down the UK but their growth quickly gathered momentum as word spread of heir low cost services. A development of existing services along with continued internal development has seen them emerge as the UK’s leading commercial debt collection agency.

One of the key elements to Federal Management’s success has been the high level of internal investment. Thousands of pounds have been spent on cutting edge technology that gives them the edge over their competitors as well as the ongoing training of existing personnel ensures that they deliver a service that is professional and quickly gets results. Attention to detail and highly diligent staff ensure the potential of recovering monies owing is at a much higher level than normal.

The professional management systems they employ saw them awarded the ISO9001 accreditation in January of 2010 and they boast a collections team that deal solely with the pursuit of outstanding debts and are relentless in their efforts. In addition the to the Collections Team, they also have an internal legal team to deal with disputed debts and have professional collection officers to visit debtors who ignore demands for payment.

Such has been the success of Federal Management, in early 2009 they were awarded a place on the High Growth Programme, a Government backed scheme led by the North West Development Agency to aid the growth and development of 2high growth” businesses. This will aid their expansion and growth as they continue to go from strength to strength.

Marc Curtis-Smith, Managing Director of the company says:

“At Federal Management, as members of the Credit Services Association, we pride ourselves on delivering a highly professional service to our clients and coupled with our high collection rates, has been the main reason for our success. We have literally thousands of clients that benefit from the services that we offer, from Large PLC’s to local small business.”

“Quite Simply the service that we offer is unrivalled as we provide a low fixed cost service that delivers results and is one of the reasons why we have been so successful. We even have a considerable number of law firms that use our services to recover their debts and this gives testament to our ability to deliver a highly professional service at a fraction of the time and cost one would normally associate with recovering bad debts.”

Concludes Marc:

“We are proud to say that the greatest form of advertisement for our services is ‘word of mouth’. Our services are designed to maximise the prospect of a successful collection of debts whilst minimising the cost to our clients. Anybody that is experiencing debtor late payment problems should contact us sooner rather than later.”

Fur further information on how Federal Management can help your business recover monies owed, please contact them on 0844 875 4022 or visit their website at http://www.federalmanagement.co.uk

Saab Facing Debt Collection Probe

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Swedish carmaker Saab is currently undergoing an official debt collection probe by Swedish Authorities which could ultimately end with bankruptcy.

The Swedish Enforcement Administration, or Kronofogden, launched the commercial debt collection probe on the back of claims for unpaid bills totalling 369,000 Kronor (40,000 Euro’s.) This is currently owed to two difference creditors but the probe is expected to include claims from an additional 12 other creditors unless Saab manage to get their finances in order.

Speaking to Sweden’s AFB, Kronofogden’s Hans Ryberg confirmed the two creditors which forced the debt recovery investigation are Infotiv (Sweden) who are owed 224,000 Kronor, and Kongsberg (Norway) who are owed 145,000 Kronor. 14 different creditors have claimed that in total they are owed 42 million Kronor by the car manufacturer but in all likelihood additional claims could soon be made which could cause this figure to rise dramatically.

Kronofogden aim to determine if Saab is able to meet it’s obligations via it’s monetary resources and assets.

Mr Ryberg said to AFB:

“It is not impossible that it has the money since (parent company) Swedish Automobile has conducted a new share offering. If we see that Saab does not have the means to pay its suppliers, they could ask a court that the company be declared bankrupt.”

Federal Management Announces New Partnership With Frontline Collections

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Federal Management have given formal announcement of their exciting new corporate partnership with Frontline Collections, strengthening their debt collection operations across the UK & Overseas.

Under the New Partnership, Frontline Collections will be solely concentrating on the Private & consumer debt collection sector and this will allow Federal to focus solely on further developing their high level services in the Commercial, Corporate & Executive markets.

Frontline, whose Head Office is in Manchester, have quickly developed a reputation for delivering a professional and direct service. Already boasting prestigious clients in the Financial Services industry, Frontline expects considerable growth over the next 12 months as demand rises for their Low Cost Debt Recovery Services.

Federal Management’s Managing Director said “This is an exciting new venture that will see everybody benefit, especially our clients. Federal Management’s modus operandi can now solely be largely tailored around the Corporate & Commercial Sectors in which we are so prolific.” He further adds: “From an internal perspective also, it will allow us to significantly improve our working practices & further develop the expertise of our highly trained personnel.”

Federal Management will now largely deal with Commercial & Executive Debt Recovery allowing Frontline to cater specifically for the Private & Consumer Markets that deal with predominantly lower Debt Values.

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