Asset Buyers Program Elevated to a Division within ACA

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – As the buying and selling of delinquent debt continues its strong presence among creditors and their third-party collection partners, the need for a special membership category within the receivables management industry’s largest association has been realized. At the 66th Annual Convention of ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals (ACA), held recently in Washington, D.C, the association’s board of directors voted to create a new membership division for asset buyers.

The Asset Buyers Division (ABD) will replace the Asset Buyers Program at ACA, opening up membership to important players in the debt purchasing market that previously did not have access within the ACA membership structure.

“No longer is a debt buyer merely an outgrowth of a collection agency,” said Gobind Sahney, chairman of the former asset buyers program who will continue to be involved as an active ABD member. “Debt buyers are now attorneys, private investors and investment firms as well as collectors. In order for our association to remain at the forefront of the industry we need to be inclusive of all these important players.”

The significant growth in asset buying has created new opportunities for collection agencies, Sahney said. These new opportunities surface because many of the companies that purchase delinquent debt portfolios do not actually recover the debt themselves. Instead, they outsource the accounts to be worked by traditional collection agencies. According to Sahney and the other ABP leaders who supported the change, expanding the association’s influence in debt buying will help to develop standard industry practices, facilitate the investment of capital in the credit and collection industry, and promote interaction that is mutually beneficial to collection agencies, brokers, service providers and the creditor clients they serve.

ACA expects the new Asset Buyers Division will continue to grow its member base and expand its educational and networking events.

According to Carol Freeland, the new chair of the Asset Buyers Division, one of the top priorities is to increase membership. “This increasingly inclusive membership will give those formerly unheard from a voice in the debt industry. These new voices will find that the ABD serves as a broad, professional resource on issues that directly affect the way debt industry professionals manage their businesses. We anticipate and welcome a wide range of interest,” said Freeland.

Those interested in the Asset Buyers Division membership are advised to contact ACA International’s Asset Buyers Division staff at (952) 926-6547 to learn the qualifications of membership.

ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, is the comprehensive, knowledge-based resource for success in the credit and collection industry. Founded in 1939, ACA brings together more than 5,500 members worldwide, including third-party collection agencies, attorneys, creditors and vendor affiliates. The association establishes ethical standards, 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 http://www.acainternational.org.