An Uncertain Future for the Credit Market

TransUnion released an annual report on credit insights for 2021, largely highlighting the positive prediction of a lending rebound. Due to the pandemic, the amount of loans approved in the third and fourth quarters in 2020 was much less than originally expected in a pre-COVID forecast. Still though, in the second half of 2020, the Federal Reserve noted that credit card debt declined by 11%. This can be explained by the stimulus package and the decrease in people going out during the pandemic. In the Q3 of 2020, payments on deficient credit card accounts increased, marking the first time in 30 years that those months saw a drop in debt.  

What does this all mean for the debt collection industry? As noted above, many people are putting their money towards debts and banks and credit lenders are beginning to increase the number of loans that they grant. 

Image of hand holding a few credit cards

“What we saw last year, when the stimulus got passed, was that the additional 600 dollars a week put a lot of extra disposable cash in people’s pockets. And paired with the fact that they couldn’t go anywhere and spend it, a number of consumers in the debt cycle took advantage of that and paid down debt. There was a real increase in liquidity over the summer. That started to drop off in July when the checks ended, and the payments did begin to taper off at the end of the year in 2020,” said Chris Repholz, MRS’s Chief Customer Officer. 

Now, with the next stimulus package that was passed by Congress, 2021 is expected to be a strong year for the debt collections industry.

Repholz said, “We anticipate a really similar effect from the 2021 stimulus package. There’s going to be weekly unemployment payments plus an additional 1,400 dollars sent to everybody who qualifies for it. What we believe is going to happen in the remainder of 2021 is that a lot of people are going to use that stimulus money to pay down some debts. So 2021 looks like a really good year from a collection agency standpoint.”

But as payments and lending is favorable for the immediate future, there are undeniable implications in the payoff cycle. There will always be debt to collect, however the volume will decrease dramatically from 2021 to 2022.

“In 2022, many people predict that there will likely be a constriction in inventory that gets placed in the debt market. Usually, debt goes through a normal aging cycle and continues to get placed before it is paid. But because a lot of debt will be paid off this year, in 2022 there will be a definite decrease in the amount of overall placement value in the marketplace. This means there will be less debt for sale and less debt for placement for agencies.”

While it is expected that the debt and payment cycle will return to normal in 2023, the 2022 year will be integral for agencies. In this scenario, with less debt to place, bottom performing agencies are at risk to be cut by their creditors or consolidated. 2022 will be a year that ‘thins the herd,’ so to speak.

But there’s another side to the story. Some creditors predict exactly the opposite: Post charge off placements will be pushed back to later in the year and into 2022. “Banking clients will eventually cease COVID extensions and deferrals on consumer loan payments which will result in a large number of delinquent accounts rolling into charged off debt,” said Misty Carson, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

This other perspective asserts that due to credit companies’ understanding during tough pandemic times, the postponing of placing debt will actually increase the volume in 2022. Carson said, “Utilities and telecommunications clients are predicting similar trends for later in the year as they have also offered customers extended payment terms and suspensions of disconnects due to the pandemic.”

Each outlook may mean different things for the collections industry, but regardless, MRS is determined to keep expanding and helping customers and clients alike. “Our focus on innovative technology and quality to ensure that we have best in class results will enable us to safely grow our business in 2022 regardless of whether others are struggling or succeeding,” Repholz said.

With the predictions for the upcoming years, it is important to act now. Repholz said, “2021 is the right time to invest in technology and compliance systems that will enable a company to be first-rate for whatever comes in 2022.”

So, whether a bountiful harvest is in store, or the proverbial “winter is coming,” MRS is confident that our 2022 will remain strong, innovative, and successful.

Work From Home One Year Later

Picture a call center: a large open floor, desks in designated clusters, agents interacting with each other and customers alike. Prior to 2020, there would be nothing wrong with this image. But our newly minted pandemic sensibilities might sound alarm bells at the thought of a populated space.

MRS moved swiftly, prioritizing the health and safety of our employees and their families. By March 20th, 2020, MRS was able to integrate a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure to enable a work from home solution. In just two weeks, MRS achieved 100% deployment of eligible agents working productively and safely from their own homes. MRS’s decisive action came before ‘stay-at-home’ orders were issued, highlighting our trusted innovative drive.  

work from home spelled out in scrabble tiles

Using Amazon Web Services to host our VDI, MRS created a secure and seamless transition from three premises based environments to a work from home solution. Additionally, our agents’ ability to adapt and settle into the new normal was laudable.

MRS employees went above and beyond during such unprecedented times. Chief Operating Officer Jim Beck said, “Our outbound calls, contact rate, and performance exceeded expectations and prior months. The flexibility, understanding, and hard work of our team continues to impress me. The hard work of our agents has been an enormous benefit and value for our clients.” 

Though the pandemic has been incredibly traumatic, we have learned many things about work from home solutions. A study shows that employees are 35% to 40% more productive than when they are in the office. A survey reported that 94% of employers agreed that their company’s productivity was the same or higher since they implemented work from home solutions. 

Within MRS, we saw work from home results including reduced breaktime and not ready time, increased right party contacts, and increased gross collections and payments across the board. MRS has also seen an increase in payment count, which indicates that agents are reaching customers effectively and their interactions are resulting in more regular payments. Additionally, as right party contacts have increased, so has talk time, signifying an enhanced quality of negotiation and conversation with customers. Due to the ease and comfort of working from home, absences have decreased by 30% and employee 6 month tenure has increased by 23%. 

2020 has proved that working from home works. The practice will likely become commonplace, as many companies have seen their employees stay productive and diligent out of the office. While work from home is the only solution at the moment, it is not for everyone. We also predict more hybrid offerings, allowing employees to split time in the office and from their homes. Consequently, a number of state regulators—who also happen to be working from home—have become very receptive to allowing this solution to become an allowable option when the pandemic ends. Several states have already incorporated work from home language into their revised collections statutes. 

MRS has seen the resilience of our employees and their dedication never ceases to impress us. While working from home posed some hurdles, MRS easily surmounted them due to management’s rapid action in the face of a global health crisis and the adaptability of our agents.

Alec Tilley joins the MRS Team as Senior VP of Strategy and Operations

CHERRY HILL, NJ, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 — MRS is pleased to welcome Alec Tilley to the company full time as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Operations. Alec has a long history of success in our industry with over 12 years at ARS and Encore Capital prior to starting his consulting company. Previously, Alec was working with MRS as a consultant to assist with onboarding new clients. Alec will be leading a newly formed team that focuses on analytics, contact management, and letter strategies. Alec’s knowledge and skills pair perfectly with MRS values and vision and the company believes that his transition will be a seamless one.

Chief Operating Officer Jim Beck says, “I am excited to have Alec as part of the team at MRS. Alec brings a wealth of knowledge as well as a ton of experience to the team to help us execute our vision of building  a customer experience that integrates MRS’s cutting edge digital tools with traditional collections to greater financial results.”

Headshot of Alec Tilley

Tilley says, “I’m happy to join the growing MRS team that is winning with clients by leveraging industry-leading digital contact center solutions to provide customers options to communicate in their preferred channels.”

ABOUT MRS BPO, LLC

Founded in 1991, MRS has served the accounts receivable management needs of companies within the Financial Services, Governmental, Student Loans, Telecommunications, and Utility sectors for 26 years.

MRS BPO, LLC is a full service accounts receivable management firm based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The company’s unique combination of experience, technology, and compliance management processes allows them to provide industry-leading debt recovery solutions while enhancing their client’s brand and reputation. For more information on MRS BPO, LLC, visit them online at http://www.mrsbpo.com.

Generation Snapshot: how Millennials handle debt

Raised in the digital age, it’s no surprise that Millennials prefer text and email to traditional phone calls. Now many of them are postgraduates in their 20s, beginning to pay off their student loans.

The newly appointed CFPB director, Rohit Chopra, has in-depth experience with student loans and has witnessed the bad actors that pursue aggressive collection tactics. Along with abusive practices by certain agencies, there is a push to empower borrowers and supply them with more market power. Consequently, it is expected that Chopra’s administration will place stricter regulations regarding student loan collections. 

Picture of millennials holding tablets and phones

MRS always has, and always will, prioritize compliance as part of our strategy and we are confident that our digital solutions will be suitable in the proposed CFPB rule era. This means that we can reach our customers through their preferred communication channels, be it text or email, and  remaining loyal to Chopra’s new regulations. 

“MRS places a great deal of importance on customer experience and as we’ve pushed forward progressively with a digital transformation of our business, we have seen how well received it’s been from the end customers,” said Chris Repholz, MRS’s Chief Customer Officer. “While some people may want to still speak with an agent on the phone, the vast majority of them want digital solutions. We strongly believe that providing the customer with multiple communication options is the key to excellent customer experience. Self service via technology is the future of the collection industry,” he stated.

Millennials have almost 5 billion dollars worth of outstanding student loan debt, in addition to debt on credit cards, auto loans and other services. Oftentimes, they are not in a financial place to be making large monthly payments, but they still want to make an effort to settle their debt. MRS offers many solutions with flexible payment plans to suit the needs of each individual customer. Everyone’s situation differs and our goal is to ease the pressure, not add to it.

Overwhelmingly, Millennials want to pay back their student loans, but struggle to find the place to start. But MRS knows that the best way to get in contact with a Millennial is actually pretty simple: send a text.