The American Repossessor

NFA Remembers Repo Legend Barnes
By Susan Marston

New Recovery Industry Facilitation Organization Aims to Preserve and Protect Lending Institutions’ Brand
By Susan Marston

American Recovery Association’s New Member-Owned Company Sets New Benchmark and Standards for the Recovery Industry

DALLAS, Jan. 25, 2012 – American Recovery Association, Inc. (ARA), the world’s largest association of recovery and remarketing professionals, today announced the creation of ARMS (American Recovery Management Solutions), a member-owned contract and billing organization. The assignment facilitation model is focused on bringing the benefits of a direct relationship back to the lender and the recovery agent; while offering the single contact and indemnification benefits that the client wants. …more…

BANK ECONOMISTS SEE GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT IN U.S. ECONOMY
By Susan Marston

1/12/2012 WASHINGTON – The U.S. economy will continue on a course of moderate growth with relatively low inflation and steady job growth in 2012, according to the forecast from the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association.

According to the committee, which includes 11 chief economists from the largest banks across the country, inflation-adjusted GDP growth rose to an annualized pace near the long-term potential of 2.5 percent in the latter half of 2011, and will stay on this path throughout 2012.

“Despite severe shocks in recent years, the economy has shown resilience as it continues a gradual march forward,” George Mokrzan, committee chairman and Huntington Bank chief economist, said.  “The economy is gaining momentum, with strong capital expenditures from businesses and moderate consumer spending setting the stage for sustained growth.” …more…

NADA: Top 3 Factors Why New Car Sales Will Increase in 2012
By Susan Marston

NADA economist predicts more than 13.9 million new car sales in 2012

Paul Taylor

McLEAN, Va. (Jan. 5, 2012) – As the U.S. economy continues to improve this year, Paul Taylor, chief economist of the National Automobile Dealers Association, predicts more than 13.9 million new cars and light trucks will be purchased or leased in 2012.

Taylor, who is forecasting sales of 13.945 million new cars and light trucks for 2012 in the U.S., cites three key factors for the increase:

(1)    Aging vehicles,
(2)    Affordable credit, and
(3)    Aggressive incentives.

…more…

Are Your Dealership Customers on the Federal “Bad Guy” List? By Tom Hudson
By Susan Marston

You’d be amazed at the stuff that crosses my desk.  Here’s a recent example:

“A Mt. Juliet car dealership has been shut down on suspicion that it has ties to a terrorist organization.  A lawsuit was filed by the U.S. government against a group of overseas banks Dec. 15 in U.S. District Court in New York. It names Cedar Exports & Auto Sales at 7925 Eastgate Blvd. as part of a nationwide network of auto dealers who received money from an international money laundering concern with ties to drug traffickers, some of whom are supporters of Hezbollah.  The United States regards Hezbollah as a terrorist group and blames it for the 1983 bombing of U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.  The suit alleges that at least $248 million was transferred from overseas accounts to the car dealerships.”

There’s always a risk in taking government allegations at face value before a jury has heard any evidence or has had a chance to weigh in with a verdict, but that didn’t stop me from having a “Yikes” reaction to this particular news blurb. …more…

Altes Spots Potential Pitfalls of Voluntary Repossessions
By Susan Marston

1/3/2012 Veteran repossessor and Time Finance Adjusters executive Patrick Altes believes there has been an industry myth circulating for years about how voluntary repossessions are expected to unfold easier for both agents and lenders.

However, Altes takes a cautious approach about voluntary repossessions saying, “The reality is that the chances of finding the easy, should-be-done-cheaper voluntary repossession is as difficult to find as Sasquatch.”

Altes noted several of the criminal incidents where repo agents have been harmed or even killed were associated with voluntary repossessions. He also pointed out numerous other episodes quickly evolved from being cooperative to confrontational.

The TFA executive thinks many accounts assigned to repo agents with the tag “voluntary repossession” never should have been assigned as such.

“It puts the customer more in control of the time, place, and manner of surrender,” Altes acknowledged. …more…

Exeter Finance CEO to be NARS 2011 Keynote
By Susan Marston

Mark Floyd, CEO and Vice Chairman of Exeter Finance, is the keynote speaker for NARS 2011. Floyd, former executive of AmeriCredit, will provide insight about loss-mitigation and what it means to recovery agents and the industry. He’ll also discuss how recovery agents can help the industry succeed. This will be a keynote you won’t want to miss!

Floyd joins clients from Nissan, Wells Fargo Auto Finance, Westlake Finance, CapOne Auto Finance, Bank of America, Chase, and many more who are participating and attending NARS! …more…

Calling all Repossession Company Owners….it’s time to ‘ROCK AND ROLL!’.
By Susan Marston

If you have not already reserved your place at the 2011 North American Repossessors Summit (NARS) you need to do that now.  Stop procrastinating and leaving things to the last minute as there is another ‘action packed’ NARS Conference on the horizon that is pertinent to the development and growth of the Repossession Industry and its future.

And you, yes YOU, need to be there!

For those that attended the 2010 event, you will have a good idea of the quality of the conference and its content.

There are no half-way measures here…it is THE industry conference and the only one that is open to ALL repossession company owners and this is YOUR opportunity to get involved. …more…

Information…Differentiation…
By Susan Marston

INFORMATION…..DIFFERENTIATION…..ANALYSIS….. words that can move your company in the right direction -if you know how to use them!

For over 22 years, I have been working to help companies in many industries to develop and grow and one of the key functions to begin the process of development, and a function that I continually apply during the growth process is utilizing management information, analyzing it and then develop actions/plans according the needs of the business.

Management information is something that ALL companies have, but many do not know it.  For those that do know, not many know how to use it to help to develop and grow their business.  Management information can help you to make good business decisions about your company if used correctly. …more…