Encore Capital Expands Credit Facility to $335 million, Adds Three Lenders

Debt buyer Encore Capital Group said Monday that it has expanded its current credit facility to $335 million and added three new lenders to the consortium of banks that provide the facility.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday, San Diego-based Encore (Nasdaq: ECPG) said that it was expanding its revolving credit facility from $230 million to $335 million. The new agreement took effect July 3.

Encore also said that three new banks — HSH Nordbank AG – London Branch, KeyBank, and Wachovia Bank — were added to the credit facility. Encore’s credit facility is now furnished by 12 banks, with JPMorgan Chase serving as the administrative agent for the facility. Bank of America increased its share of the credit facility to pull even with JPMorgan Chase; both banks have a loan commitment of $48.2 million under the agreement.

Encore did not say in its filing what the increased credit line will be used for, although in the past the company has used its facility primarily to purchase debt portfolios.

A breakdown of the consortium of lenders, and their commitments under the facility follows: