ARE YOU TAKING UNNECESSARY RISKS WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS' PII?

As a lender, you are entrusted with large amounts of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) about your consumers and, according to several federal statutes protecting PII,** you are responsible for the security of that data. As the originating creditor, you likely have security and access protocols in place to protect this data while it remains inside your organization. But what happens when you sell or place your nonperforming accounts on the secondary market? Is your consumer’s PII still protected? 

This article was published in Cornerstone's newsletter on April 19.

Table of Contents
5 TIPS FOR MITIGATING RISK WHEN BUYING DEBT
1. Strategy
2. Segment
3. Security
4. Due Diligence
5. Post-Sale
5 OBSTACLES THAT PREVENT CREDITORS FROM SELLING DEBT
1. Perception of Risk:
2. Lack of Resources:
3. Lack of Due Diligence:
4. Lack of Transparency:
5. Lack of Benchmarking Data:
5 REASONS WHY CREDITORS SHOULD SELL DEBT: THE PROS
1. Why Sell Debt?
2. Why Use a Broker?
3. Why Oversight and Compliance?
4. Why Technology?
5. Why Now?

When lenders decide to sell their debt, they have options. Many choose to use a broker because they don't want to invest in the staff and the technology it would take to compliantly sell debt directly to a buyer. Sure, you could hire the staff, train them, and implement the technology – but that's a big lift. Because it's not just the technology expense upfront, but it's an ongoing expense to ensure that your technology doesn't just meet the needs of today's regulatory environment, but tomorrow's as well. You pay a broker a fee to cover the transaction, but it does not include compliance oversight – that still lies with you as the original creditor.