The last 18 months surprised the collections industry as it relates to forecasting future losses for respective loan portfolios. Many banks, credit unions, and credit providers were left asking themselves, “when do we expect this to turn?”
In speaking with many industry leaders in the collection space during the pandemic, they stated it was a “blind target they struggled to predict.” Losses were much lower than expected, and for most, residential real estate losses were zero.
Now that the government programs are nearing an end and foreclosures are initiating in many states, the time to make sure you’re ready for what is to come is now.
It’s absolutely critical to enhance and optimize your people, processes, and technology to ensure that you’re there for customers, and at the same time, preventing losses.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Has your staff become too comfortable with the reduced volume compared to pre-COVID levels?
- Have you hired new staff during the pandemic that isn’t familiar with the level of expectations surrounding pre-pandemic volumes?
If you answered “yes” to either question, consider attending our webinar next week, where I, along with my colleague Scott Albahary, will discuss how you can prepare for 2022 and mitigate the expected losses.
