Determined to improve earnings on sales of bad debt, many credit issuers and consumer lenders are holding back the amount of chargeoffs placed for sale. The strategy is working as prices have inched up since late 2009.

Debt buyer Sherman Financial Group has re-purchased the last remaining outstanding stake in the firm from mortgage insurer Radian Group, according to an announcement today from Radian.

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. reported cash collections of $89.2 million in the first quarter ended March 31, versus cash collections of $94.1 million in the year-ago period.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a Norfolk, Va. debt buyer, reported a quarterly profit above Wall Street expectations as cash collections rose 33%. The company attributed the gain to a shift in its collection mix to bankrupt accounts, and seasonal strength in the quarter.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plans to accept bids on a $1.97 billion portfolio of loans from 22 seized banks, pushing the agency’s structured asset sales this year beyond the full-year 2009 total.

Citing modest improvements in its recession-battered card portfolio, JPMorgan Chase & Co. this week reported a $303 million loss within its Card Services unit for the first quarter ended March 31; it reported a $547 million net loss during the same period last year.

The U.S. House of Representatives this morning passed H.R. 3506 by voice vote, a move ACA International has supported to eliminate unnecessary paperwork requirements under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).

Late payments for most classes of consumer loans dropped in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, the second consecutive quarterly decline, according to a survey by the American Bankers Association.

United Community Banks Inc. has agreed to sell $100 million of nonperforming loans to an asset manager in order to rid illiquid assets and create capital as the bank continues to suffer from a credit crunch, reports Dow Jones.

Prices for bad-debt portfolios have gone up in recent weeks, with prices for fresh debt improving at a faster rate than older receivables, according to several industry insiders.

The four organizations representing the nation’s accounts receivables management industry are calling on Congress to keep the Federal Trade Commission as the exclusive regulator of debt purchasers and collectors. The unprecedented action by the trade groups to come together is a response to proposed legislation that would strip the FTC of its powers and place the industry under a new authority.

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., a Warren, Mich.-based debt buyer, posted a large fourth-quarter loss, mainly the result of non-cash impairment charges absorbed in the last three months of the year.

Credit unions sold 22 credit card portfolios last year, and while the total number of deals was the same as the previous year, the total asset value of the portfolios sold more than tripled, according to consulting firm TRK Advisors.

Credit card portfolio sales, which dwindled sharply last year as the economy retracted, will remain stagnant for at least another year, one analyst says.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a publicly owned debt buyer based in Norfolk, Va., announced Monday the closing of a $75.5 million public stock offering.

Editor's Note: Collections & Credit Risk has a 15-year tradition of honoring outstanding industry performers. In our series "Industry Champions" we look at those who have worked to improve their field in a meaningful way.

Oliphant Financial LLC, a debt buyer in Sarasota, Fla., has purchased most of the portfolio assets owned by Performance Capital Management (PCM), a Buena Park, Calif. debt buyer that is being liquidated.