Ken Rapp, president and CEO at I.C. System for the past 10 years, has announced his retirement.

H.I.G. Capital, a global private equity investment firm, announced that its portfolio firm, National Asset Recovery Services Inc., acquired Pinnacle Financial Group, a third-party debt collection company, according to a news release.

The fourth quarter is often a time when banks try to tidy up their balance sheets for the coming year. As they step up efforts to sell problem loans, this quarter could be the big flush.

Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) Inc., a Norfolk, Va.-based debt buyer, announced that it recently was honored with the Inside Business Roaring 20 Award for business excellence and community involvement.

VION Receivable Investments (VION) has announced an agreement to provide a multimillion-dollar financing facility for the consumer lease program of Sparta Commercial Services Inc. (OTC BB: SRCO).

Afni Inc., based in Bloomington, Ill., has rented 51,577 square feet in Evans, Colo. for a new 500-person call center announced last week, according to brokers involved in the deal. The company plans to move in next week.

With M&A activity on the rise, the Accounts Receivable Management (ARM) sector saw some interesting

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., a Warren, Mich.-baed public debt buyer and collector of charged-off consumer loans, on Tuesday announced plans to close its Chicago collections office, a decision expected to reduce the company's operating expenses by approximately $2 million per year.

The trade group now known as BAFT-IFSA has been reinvented under Donna Alexander, shedding its 'U.S.-centric' image and emerging as a leading voice for banks worldwide.

Only one of the 2,150 credit unions with credit card receivables of $1 million or more sold its portfolio during the second quarter ended June 30, as buyers remained cautious about overall credit-union health, according to AssetExchange, a Portland, Ore.-based credit-union card broker.

Citigroup Inc. will exit its private student loan business after its indirect subsidiary, Student Loan Corporation, agreed with Discover Financial Services and Sallie Mae to divest its business through a string of transactions.

Hudson & Keyse LLC, a Painesville, Ohio collection firm, owes more than $63 million to an estimated 200 creditors. Last week, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Ohio. The firm reported assets of approximately $288,000.

The banking industry's loan losses could stay elevated for years, recent federal data suggests, even after appearing to peak in late 2009.

Tight supply has sent portfolio prices for the freshest chargeoffs soaring in recent weeks to as much as 12 cents on the dollar. Portfolio prices for these accounts are now averaging more than nine cents on the dollar, according to debt buyers.