A scam artist debt collector out of jail and in the news.
Bartmann to Share Views at Debt Seller Conference
William R. Bartmann, former head of defunct debt buyer Commercial Financial Services, is scheduled to share his perspective about limiting risk in the current seller’s market at the National Loan Exchange’s 11th annual debt seller conference in St. Louis, May 11 and 12. Before the firm’s collapse in 1999, CFS monopolized debt sales contracts with most of the top 15 credit card issuers by paying top dollar.
Bartmann is a controversial choice in some circles, acknowledges David Ludwig, president of NLEX, a leading debt sales broker based in Edwardsville, Ill. CFS declared bankruptcy amid federal and state investigations of possible fraud. Eventually company officials revealed that a shell company had been formed to buy CFS debt and inflate returns. But Bartmann denied involvement in the scheme and a federal jury found him not guilty of the fraud that reportedly cost investors more than $1 billion.
“There are similarities between the market today and when CFS had driven up prices years ago,” Ludwig says. “When CFS defaulted, sellers saw prices plummet.” According to Ludwig, sellers want to hear how to protect themselves in the event of future defaults on forward flow agreements. “They also want to know how to identify buyers heading for trouble,” he adds.”
Other featured speakers include Dr. Gary Wood, Ph.D., president of Austin, Texas-based Collins Financial Services Inc., who will analyze the economy’s impact on the debt sales industry, and Gerald E. Moore, of the Marietta, Ga.-based law firm Gerald E. Moore & Associates, who will discuss issues related to the purchase-sales contract and compliance with privacy laws. “Privacy laws are particularly important in light of the recently publicized instances of data theft,” Ludwig says.
The conference’s informal format, including question-and-answer sessions, allows participants to discuss current market conditions, as well as recovery and sale-related issues, with speakers and colleagues, Ludwig says.
Participants – all of them debt sellers -- are more diverse than they were when NLEX organized its first conference in 1994. “Then 95% of the sellers were recovery managers from among the top 25 credit card issuers,” Ludwig says. Today, he notes, about half of the attendees come from credit card firms, with the rest from various segments of the market, including utility companies, as well as lenders of auto, consumer, and business loans – a reflection of the changing nature of the debt-sales market. For information about the conference, call Kristi Moore at (800) 264-3683, ext. 211.
William R. Bartmann, former head of defunct debt buyer Commercial Financial Services, is scheduled to share his perspective about limiting risk in the current seller’s market at the National Loan Exchange’s 11th annual debt seller conference in St. Louis, May 11 and 12. Before the firm’s collapse in 1999, CFS monopolized debt sales contracts with most of the top 15 credit card issuers by paying top dollar.
Bartmann is a controversial choice in some circles, acknowledges David Ludwig, president of NLEX, a leading debt sales broker based in Edwardsville, Ill. CFS declared bankruptcy amid federal and state investigations of possible fraud. Eventually company officials revealed that a shell company had been formed to buy CFS debt and inflate returns. But Bartmann denied involvement in the scheme and a federal jury found him not guilty of the fraud that reportedly cost investors more than $1 billion.
“There are similarities between the market today and when CFS had driven up prices years ago,” Ludwig says. “When CFS defaulted, sellers saw prices plummet.” According to Ludwig, sellers want to hear how to protect themselves in the event of future defaults on forward flow agreements. “They also want to know how to identify buyers heading for trouble,” he adds.”
Other featured speakers include Dr. Gary Wood, Ph.D., president of Austin, Texas-based Collins Financial Services Inc., who will analyze the economy’s impact on the debt sales industry, and Gerald E. Moore, of the Marietta, Ga.-based law firm Gerald E. Moore & Associates, who will discuss issues related to the purchase-sales contract and compliance with privacy laws. “Privacy laws are particularly important in light of the recently publicized instances of data theft,” Ludwig says.
The conference’s informal format, including question-and-answer sessions, allows participants to discuss current market conditions, as well as recovery and sale-related issues, with speakers and colleagues, Ludwig says.
Participants – all of them debt sellers -- are more diverse than they were when NLEX organized its first conference in 1994. “Then 95% of the sellers were recovery managers from among the top 25 credit card issuers,” Ludwig says. Today, he notes, about half of the attendees come from credit card firms, with the rest from various segments of the market, including utility companies, as well as lenders of auto, consumer, and business loans – a reflection of the changing nature of the debt-sales market. For information about the conference, call Kristi Moore at (800) 264-3683, ext. 211.
posted by Creditwrench at 11:58 AM
