Debt collection

Debt buyer Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) Inc. announced Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Aktiv Kapital AS, an Oslo Norway-based accounts receivable management company in one of the largest deals in accounts receivable management history.

Twelve defendants that allegedly operated Web sites enticing consumers with bogus offers of "free $1,000 gift cards" for major retailers have agreed to pay $2.5 million in settlements with the Federal Trade Commission.

The credit card delinquency rate (the ratio of borrowers 90 days or more delinquent on their general purpose credit cards) dropped on a yearly basis from 1.61 percent in Q4 2012 to 1.48 percent in Q4 2013.

A South Dakota lawmaker has proposed a bill he hopes the state's legislature will pass to put restrictions on short-term payday loans.

A Maine bill to thwart predatory online lenders is moving to the full state legislature with the unanimous support of the state's Insurance and Financial Services Committee.

Oregon lawmakers held a public hearing Wednesday on a bill that would prevent the state's Department of Revenue from hiring private collection agencies to help collect unpaid state taxes.

The mortgage delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 60 days or more delinquent on their mortgages) dropped below 4 percent for the first time since 2008, ending Q4 2013 at 3.85 percent, according to TransUnion's Industry Insights Report.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office has reached a settlement with Union Workers Credit Services Inc. (UWCS) and its president, Joe Malazzo, banning the company from offering credit or financial services or products in New York.

Encore Capital Group Inc., a large U.S.-based debt buyer, announced Monday that it will acquire UK-based debt buyer Marlin Financial Services for approximately $481 million through Cabot Credit Management, a UK subsidiary of Encore acquired last year.

DBA International elected Bryan Faliero as president during the association’s annual conference last week.

New York Foundling Hospital, a Manhattan-based provider of child foster care services, has reached a $250,000 settlement with New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office to resolve allegations the hospital billed Medicaid for the care of children while they were absent from the program.

A class-action lawsuit in Albuquerque, N.M. claims the collection practices surrounding local red light camera and speed camera tickets violate the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The Federal Trade Commission testified before Congress Tuesday on the agency’s ongoing efforts to promote data security, and reiterated its support for enactment of a strong federal data security and breach notification law.

Debt buyer Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., based in Norfolk, Va. and operating in the U.S. and U.K., announced Tuesday the acquisition of certain operating assets from Pamplona Capital Management LLP.

Cash Store Financial Group, which operates Cash Stores and Instaloans in British Columbia, Canada, has been ordered to repay more than $1 million to B.C. customers after allegedly charging them exorbitant interest rates on payday loans and charging extra to load the loans onto debit cards.

A U.S. district court judge in Florida has issued a contempt order against Bryon Wolf and Roy Eliasson, two people who operated a deceptive marketing scheme since 2009.

A federal judge has reduced to $1.62 million the amount a jury had awarded an Oregon woman who spent years battling with Equifax.

The number of completed foreclosures in the U.S. dropped 24 percent last year, compared to 2012, according to a report from CoreLogic.

In New Zealand, numbers from the country's Reserve Bank show total credit card balances neared $6 billion in December - a record high and a sign people are returning to poor credit card habits not seen since before the global financial crisis.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's says his office has collected more than $1.3 billion in debts owed to state government offices.