LAS VEGAS — As in all things, anticipation is an important component of surviving regulatory exams, noted Art Sookazian, the vice president of collections and risk management at Los Angeles Federal Credit Union and the president of the National Credit Union Collections Alliance, speaking during a session on the importance of preparation during the association’s annual conference. Preparation and anticipating what the regulators are likely to focus on are key reasons that have helped the credit union pass its past four exams without regulators identifying a single finding, Sookazian said.
While regulators are seeking consistent application of an organization’s policies and procedures, they are also looking for organizations to show that they are trying to innovate and identify new ways of engaging with consumers and members who are behind on their loans.
“Show them what you are doing to combat rising delinquencies,” Sookazian said. “You can be too modern. There are some concerns about AI. But they want to see you doing something different. Whether it’s real-time payments, text messaging, or skiptracing, they want to see what’s happening that’s new.”
Anyone who has been through an examination knows that regulators are going to ask to look at the list of loans that are more than 180 days past due, they’re going to look at the list of loans that have been modified, and they’re going to look at the exceptions list, Sookazian noted.
“You don’t ever want surprises, and you definitely don’t want a surprise to be found during an exam,” he said.
Noted Skiptracer Shares Tips to Get What You Want From Consumers
It’s likely that every collector learned the importance of word choice and tone of voice during their training. Ron Brown, the president and chief executive of CSI Group and one of the most well-known skiptracers in the credit and collection industry, walked attendees through just how important words and tone are when trying to get information from people over the phone.
For example, Brown pointed out the differences between calling himself Mr. Brown, Ron, or Ronnie during a calls and how they are likely to elicit different answers from people on the other end of the phone. Likewise, calling a consumer Mr. or Mrs. or Miss conveys more respect then calling someone by his or her first name. Brown pointed to a situation where he calls himself Mr. Brown and the consumer by his or her first name as one where it appears as though he is being more respectful to himself then to the consumer.
Brown also reminded the audience that consumers hate to say no and want to say yes, which is why there are so many broken promises to pay, because people don’t want to disappoint others.
