New York Times Explores Indian Debt Collection Outsourcing

On the front page of its Thursday edition, The New York Times is running an article detailing the emergence of Indian debt collection operations among U.S.-based collection agencies.

The article delves into the offshore operations of San Diego-based debt buyer Encore Capital Group (Nasdaq: ECPG) and contingency native collector Genpact (NYSE: G), formerly a unit of General Electric.

Focusing on the sharp rise in growth on the subcontinent for Encore’s operations, The Times claims that India is the ARM company’s largest operational area. Encore’s CEO, Brandon Black, is quoted as saying, “India will be the only place we grow this year.”

But the article strikes a principally positive tone on the behavior of collection representatives in India. Black comments that collectors in India are “very polite, very respectful, and they don’t raise their voice.” Manu Rikhye, vice president at the Encore office in Gurgaon, India, goes further, saying that collectors who lose their cool or raise their voices are warned by collection management.

India has long been a target for collection operations, whether through merger and acquisition activity (“Global Aspirations: International and Cross-Border ARM M&A Activity Gains Momentum,” May 23, 2007) or through shifts in strategic plans due to economic forces (“Indian BPOs Cashing in on Subprime Meltdown Through Collections,” Dec. 4, 2007).

Thursday’s Times article is the latest in a string of positive press for the debt collection industry.