A comparison of the 30 institutions participating in both the 1998 and 1999 studies reveals a significant growth in portfolio size. Dollar charge off rates have increased over the last three years. This is congruent with the declining delinquency rates reported earlier. As delinquent dollars serves as the denominator for the dollar charge off rate, assuming gross dollar charge off levels remain consistent, this rate would naturally increase with a smaller denominator. Moreover, the relationship between the two ratios, delinquency rate and charge off rate, suggests that lenders are achieving lower delinquency rates through more aggressive charge off tactics and not as the result of improved cure rates.
Composite results show a decreasing trend in the use of internal resources for recovery efforts.
Improved recovery results may be the result of better recovery efforts as well as more accurate accounting of recovery portfolios. The benefits of economies of scale are evident here. All organizations require a certain number of management and supervisory staff to oversee the various collection functions. Outsourcing of collection activities is less prevalent among 1999 respondents compared with the 1998 survey population. The use of regional collection centers has historically been limited to the largest consumer loan organizations.