President Donald Trump’s pro-business stance has had a positive impact on the ARM industry since he took office nearly 18 months ago, according to panelists who spoke on a webinar about the topic last week.
Not only has morale within the industry improved, but the people on the other end of the phone are more pleasant these days, the panelists shared during the webinar, which was sponsored by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, making it more likely to obtain payments.
The panelists for the webinar were:
- Rozanne Andersen, Chief Compliance Officer, Ontario Systems
- Gordon Beck, CEO, Diversified Consultants, Inc.
- Joann Needleman, Partner, Clark Hill
- Rick Perr, Partner, Fineman Krekstein & Harris & President, ACA International
A copy of the webinar recording can be accessed by clicking here. (EDITOR’S NOTE: A copy of all AccountsRecovery.net webinar recordings are available here.)
In assessing whether the Trump administration has had a positive or negative impact on the ARM industry, the panelists discussed the changes that have occurred within all three branches of the federal government — executive, legislative, and judicial.
Some of the obvious changes have been seen at the top of the regulatory agencies that have oversight of the ARM industry, including the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. Each has had a new chairman or director installed under President Trump, and each is pushing a theme of de-regulation.
President Trump’s first big test in an ARM-related area is expected to come this month, when he nominates a permanent director to the CFPB. With the mid-term elections on the horizon in November and an increasingly polarized Congress making it difficult to get anything accomplished, who gets selected to replace Mick Mulvaney at the CFPB could face a difficult confirmation process, the panelists said. In fact, Perr said he would not be surprised if the first person who is nominated is not the individual who ends up getting confirmed by the Senate to be the next director.
One of the benefits to the pro-business individuals atop the FTC, FCC, and CFPB is that the ARM industry now has individuals who are more willing to listen to their concerns and take their side of the debate into consideration.
“The whole idea that we can influence the regulatory agenda is so important,” Needleman said during the webinar.
