Knauf Leads Debt Buyers Through Legislative, Economic Challenges

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Roger Knauf’s tenure leading DBA International, the nation’s largest association of debt-buying companies, is dotted with achievements on the legislative front and gains in how the multibillion-dollar industry is perceived in the greater financial services world.

He has been deeply involved in educating federal and state lawmakers about the concerns of debt buyers, including why the Consumer Financial Protection Agency proposed last year likely wouldn’t be fair to the industry, Whither The Consumer Financial Protection Agency?, Feb. 8.

Knauf lobbied two years ago for Gramm-Leach-Bliley reform to drop a need for debt buyers to send annual notices enabling consumers to opt out of sharing information that buyers already are banned from sharing by other laws. It would save the industry $20 million annually, he says. The House passed the reform. The Senate never took it up.

“The relationships we’ve fostered and the education we’ve provided to legislators and their staffs have let us show our value to consumers by helping to provide solutions to their financial problems,” he says.

Knauf also has helped develop DBA International’s ties with other industry trade associations including ACA International and the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys by working more closely with them on important industry concerns.

The Early Years

Knauf joined the collection industry in the 1970s, working for his father at the family firm, Bonded Collectors Inc. He remembers working off of 3x5 collection cards with debtor information - widely used before the industry adopted, then embraced, automation.

Years later, in 1996, he became a charter member of what is now known as DBA International. That same year he became a founding partner of Four Score Resources Capital, a debt-buying company in Minneapolis. Knauf also served as president of the Minnesota Association of Collectors in 1995-96, and on its board from 1990 to 1995. For the bulk of the 1980s he served on the board of the Wisconsin Collectors Association.

Knauf ended up working at Bonded Collectors until 1989, when he moved to Minneapolis to start the agency, Interstate Credit Control Inc.

To date, he has launched four asset recovery firms – and all are still in business. He estimates he has led the acquisition of more than $6 billion in distressed asset portfolios.

Knauf handed over daily operations at Four Score in 2003 and retained an interest in the firm through 2009.

He was asked to become DBA International’s executive director in 2007, one year after his election to president of the group. Between 1997 and 2007, he served on the association’s board of directors.

Knauf willingly deepened his involvement with DBA International when he became executive director, he says. It provided him the chance for him to stay connected with friends and colleagues. He looked forward to playing a key role in building the industry.

Going forward, Knauf knows he’ll be steering DBA International through more challenges – and not simply on the regulatory front. He expects the industry to weather a period of mergers and acquisitions, leading to industry contraction.

He also says that with tighter credit standards, it is more difficult for consumers to obtain new credit cards. That likely means card chargeoffs will decrease and the availability of loans will be limited for some time.

Still, he sees some signs of hope. “As we come out of the recession and consumers have a better ability to pay debts, those member firms that can survive will be stronger,” he says. “We’re now experiencing some of the lowest pricing in the industry. The [high] pricing of the old days will return, sooner than we think.”