Survey Participants

The turnout was epic for insideARM’s Credit & Debt Collection Industry Confidence Survey for the first quarter of 2009 (and we thank you all). More than 560 ARM professionals took the survey, the second-highest total so far.

There were some interesting takeaways from the results of the survey (“ARM Companies Tell Different Tales in First Quarter Confidence Survey,” May 20).

First, ARM firm performance was stronger in the first quarter than what companies had anticipated in the fourth quarter. On the flip side, survey respondents reported slightly poorer performance in April than in the first quarter, most likely due to the tax return effect in February and March.

Second, ARM firms (and banks) were forced to lay off workers at a higher rate than they were planning last year.

Finally, of the three ARM company types participating in the survey – collection agencies, debt buyers, and collection law firms – the law firms reported the best performance in the quarter.

insideARM readers can download a free copy (PDF) of the survey results at http://www.insidearm.com/go/credit-debt-collection-confidence-survey-q1-2009-free-report