The move by Standard & Poor has seen Greece upgraded from a rating of “selective default” to “CCC” on the back of Greece completing the largest debt restructuring in history.

S & P Said:

“While the exchange has, in our view, alleviated near-term funding pressures, Greece’s sovereign debt burden remains high.”

Greece has been bailed out twice.

The news of the credit upgrade arrives on the the back of two debt bail outs. The first in 2010 saw Greece receive loans totalling 110bn euros and, after a further restructuring of debt, an additonal 130bn euros was loan from the Eurozone and the International Monetary Fund in March of 2012.

The rating of CCC means, according to S&P, that Greece is “currently vulnerable and dependent on favourable business, financial and economic conditions to meet financial commitments” and follows rival agency Fitch who also raised its rating of Greece out of default in March.

S & P went on to say:

“The fiscal consolidation underway is largely premised on tax hikes and improved tax collection, an extensive privatisation programme, and wholesale cuts in government spending.”

“We believe this adjustment has implementation risks given the likely further contraction of the sovereign’s GDP this year and next, which will likely result in persistent social pressures.”

Whether Greece continues to remain on the road to debt recovery remains to be seen.

Greece Rating Upgraded Out of Default is a post from: Federal Management

The Office for National Statistics claim that a sharp fall in construction output was the primary factor behind the surprising reduction and follows a further reduction of 0.3% for the final Quarter of 2011. Some have questioned the validity of the ONS’ figures, particularly on the construction industry, which has been volatile in recent quarters.The ONS said output of the production industries decreased by 0.4%, construction decreased by 3%, and output of the service sector increased by 0.1%.

A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. The economy shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Wednesday’s figure is an early estimate and is subject to at least two further revisions in the coming months. It is compiled using 40% of the data gathered for later revisions.

The UK economy was last in recession in 2009.

Prime Minister David Cameron speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions said:

“I don’t seek to excuse them (the figures), I don’t seek to try to explain them away. “There is no complacency at all in this government in dealing with what is a very tough situation, which frankly has just got tougher.”

He said it was “painstaking, difficult” work, but the government would stick with its plans and do “everything we can” to generate growth.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said the figures were “catastrophic” and asked Mr Cameron what his excuse was.

Mr Miliband said:

“This is a recession made by him and the chancellor in Downing Street. It is his catastrophic economic policy that has landed us back in recession.”

KPMG Chief Economist, Andrew Smith, said:

“It’s official, we’re in a double-dip.”

“The 0.2 percent fall in GDP in the first quarter, coming on the back of the 0.3 percent decline at the end of last year, confirms that the UK moved back into technical recession over the winter.”

“But worse, output remains broadly unchanged from its level in the third quarter of 2010 and, four years on from its pre-recession peak is still some 4 percent down– making this slump longer than the 1930s Depression.”

“Looking ahead, output is expected to remain weak in the second quarter and with extra holidays, the Jubilee and the Olympic Games distorting the picture over the summer it will be some time before the underlying picture is clear. But even if activity recovers in the second half, overall this looks like being – at best – another year of weak growth, held back by squeezed real incomes and public spending cuts. Recovery postponed (again).”

UK Economy Has Re-Entered Recession is a post from: Federal Management

Held at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa, Las Vegas, the conference featured 10 health care collection educational sessions and 10 of ACA’s most popular seminars and was attended by nearly 300 credit and collection professionals.

In addition to the educational programming, Spring Forum & Expo provided those in attendance with time to visit the 30 exhibitors on display who were offering the latest solutions for the credit and collection industry

A wide range of debt collection areas were discussed including data privacy, healthcare collection and many more.

The Expo was a big hit with the leading collection agencies from around the world in attendance.

For any business that is experiencing difficulties with bad debt, unpaid invoices or overdue accounts then contact Federal Management immediately on 0844 875 4022 for advice and assistance on the recovery of the outstanding debts.

ACA International 2012 Spring Forum & Expo is a post from: Federal Management

Irish energy firm, Bord Gais, is one of the first to take the step of tackling the practice of pursuing these “debt hoppers” through the use of a debt collection agency.

A spokeswoman for Bord Gais said yesterday debt hopping was a “serious issue facing the energy industry”:

“The non-payment of closed accounts is an unfair practice which ultimately leads to higher costs for all customers and therefore the company took the decision to appoint third-party providers to help us recover this debt.”

“This is normal practice in the energy industry in Ireland. It is important to stress that only debt on closed accounts is passed to these agencies and only following substantial efforts to collect the debt via in-house collection processes.”

Energy Firms Turning to Debt Collection Agencies is a post from: Federal Management

Mr Clegg announced that the UK has apporved a Free Trade Agreement between the UK and South Korea which could see upto £500 Million a year coming into the British economy.

Mr Clegg, attending a nuclear summit in Seoul, said the UK aimed to foster good trade links with expanding economies.

Mr Clegg who is attending  a nuclear summit in Seoul said that the UK was aiming to foster good trade links with expanding economies and that the agreement “marks a new and even stronger era for trade” between the UK and South Korea.

Bilateral trade between the two countries is already around £6.5bn – Britain is South Korea’s second largest European trading partner after Germany and more than 50% of Korea’s investment in the EU in 2010 and 2011 was in the UK.

Mr Clegg said:

“The best of British design, innovation and services will have even greater opportunity to show their strength in South Korea.”

“UK and Korean companies will be able to form alliances on multi-billion pound projects across the world.”

South Korea Trade Deal Could See £500 Million Come Into UK Economy is a post from: Federal Management

The Federal Reserve released data which showed that there was a rise in consumer debt for the final quarter of 2011 at an annualised rate of 0.3 per cent. This was the first time since the second quarter of 2008 that there had been such a rise. Business lending also saw positive movement with an increase at an annualised rate of 4.6%, again the highest movement since 2008.

The growth of credit shows the progress consumers have made in reducing debts left behind by the recession, as well as healing in the banking system. Stronger credit growth should support consumption and make the economic recovery more resilient.

The positive news is a strong indication of the progress made by consumers on the debts that they had accrued before and during the recession, and the efforts they had gone through to reduce them. It is also an indication of US banks bringing themselves back into order. Further growth should aid in further improving the debt recovery and aiding in the recovery of the US economy.

US Borrowing on the Rise is a post from: Federal Management

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which created the CFPB, authorizes the CFPB to supervise non-banks in the specific markets of residential mortgage, payday lending, and private education lending. In addition, for other nonbank markets for consumer financial products or services, the CFPB has the authority to supervise “larger participants.” As directed by Dodd-Frank, the Bureau must define such “larger participants” by rule, and an initial such rule must be issued by July 21, 2012. Last summer, the CFPB sought public comment about possible markets to include in the initial rule and available data sources the Bureau could use to define larger participants in - markets.

Under the proposed rule, debt collectors with more than $10 million in annual receipts from debt collection activities would be subject to supervision. Based on available data, the CFPB estimates that the proposed rule would cover approximately 175 debt collection firms — or 4 percent of debt collection firms — and that these firms account for 63 percent of annual receipts from the debt collection market.

Under the proposed rule, consumer debt collection or reporting agencies with more than $7 million in annual receipts from consumer reporting activities would be subject to supervision. This would include approximately 7 percent of consumer reporting agencies based on available data. The proposed threshold would allow the CFPB to cover about 30 consumer reporting agencies. The CFPB estimates that these 30 companies account for about 94 percent of the annual receipts from consumer reporting.

This is the CFPB’s first in a series of rulemakings to define larger participants. The CFPB chose annual receipts as the criterion for both debt collection and consumer reporting because it approximates market participation in these two markets. As the CFPB adds new markets, it will choose the best criteria and the appropriate thresholds for each market.

CFPB to Supervise US Debt Collectors is a post from: Federal Management

A three hour conference call on Wednesday between Finance Ministers scrutinised the planned Greek budget cuts and, while praising the “substantial progress” that Greece had made, greater levels of detail, including a full timeline of events for implementing measures was demanded.

A decision on the bailout is expected to be finalised on Monday.

A final decision on the bailout is expected to be completed on Monday with Greece facing an oncoming  mid-March deadline to make repayments 14.5bn-euro bond, or face bankruptcy.

The EU and IMF have demanded that Greece make deep cuts and restructure its economy in return for the bailout.

Eurozone Calling For Tighter Oversight in Greek Bailout is a post from: Federal Management

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.

International Association of Commercial Collectors Elects 2012 Board of Directors is a post from: Federal Management

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.”

Third Party Debt Collection Agencies Boosting Economies is a post from: Federal Management