INTERNATIONAL SUBSIDIARY BANKS DIVISION

THE SKIP TRACING ACTIVITY. METHODS, TOOLS AND PROCESSES

Vernica Roxana Florentina, Workout Retail Coordinator

Prague, 13 - 14 June 2013

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Resume

 

Chapter I

Intesa Sanpaolo Bank in Romanian Banking System

Chapter II

The impact of skip tracing process on collection performance. Causal factors and context

Chapter III

The skip tracing methods, tools and processes

Chapter IV 

The attitudes and behaviors of the clients after the skip tracing activity

Chapter V 

SWOT analysis

 

Intesa Sanpaolo Bank in Romanian Banking System

Started to operate in the local market in 1996 in the West area of the country as a financial institution mainly focusing on small enterprises and Italy – related corporations.

In line with the Group’s rebranding policy, in January 2008 the bank was renamed Intesa Sanpaolo Bank starting to provide services to individuals, small enterprises and large – multinational companies.

According to “Annual Report 2012 “ we have registered 97 683 customers.

At the end of December 2012 the bank had a network of 86 branches.

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The impact of skip tracing process on collection performance

If you cannot locate the debtors, we are not able to collect money;

In some cases the skip tracing activity can be regarded as an early warning signal and the necessary investigation should be made;

A good way to prevent the fraud cases;

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Causal factors and context

Many clients left the country for other professional opportunities in other countries;

Some customers are unemployed and living with friends and relatives;

Customers have a weaker banking culture compared with other Europeans and this is the reason why they don’t update the phone numbers, the addresses etc;

Some clients never had the intention to pay, the friends and relatives have lost contact and they are hiding from law enforcement ( the fraudulent skip);

Many customers live in the rural area without the possibility of being contacted;

There is attitude of rejection from the customers behalf to banks;

The clients feel embarrassed by their financial problem and this is why they refuse to keep in touch with the bank;

The clients have problems to deep to find a way out and they are confused.

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Causal factors and context

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Causal factors of skip tracing

Circumstantial Emotional Intent to deceiveIntellectual

How do you administer your debts?

In the period 29 April 2013 – 7 Mai 2013 was made an online study by IVOX;

The goal of the study was to see how Romanians administer their debts;

The study was made on 7106 people aged 18 and more;

Conclusions :

• 86% of Romanians do not consider themselves bad debtors;

• Only 14% of customers ( the ones who agree to borrow money) would borrow money from a bank;

• 80 % of Romanians never heard about recovery companies;

• 45% of Romanians say they are delinquent customers for the following reasons: lost their job, had a family incident etc;

• 15% of those with unpaid debts believe that the budget calculation has been wrong from the beginning and they said "we'll see“;

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How do you feel now in the situation of the debtor?

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0%10%20%30%40%50%60%

The skip tracing strategies

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Plan Research Organize Analyze Execute

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The skip tracing methods, tools and processes

Skip tracing methods

Skip tracing online

Skip tracing by phones

Skip tracing with letters

Skip tracing with field visits

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Skip tracing online

Use search engines, public record searches, phone companies directories , Credit Bureau reports, internal reports etc

World Web

• Web- based search engines ( Google,Yahoo etc )

• Phone companies directories

• Public records ( marriage, divorce, foreclosures, tax information, etc.)

• Professional Websites ( Linkedin, Bestjobs, etc. )

• Social Websites ( Facebook, Twitter, My space, etc.)

• Other Online Resources (WordPress and other blogging sites, Alumni or Reunion sites, etc.)

Credit Bureau report

• The source with the most accurate information for skip

• Employment information

• Current addresses and phone numbers

• Ability to pay

• Spouse information

Strengths

• An economical tool

• Great for uncommon names

Weaknesses

• The skip searching is limited

• The skip searching is innaccurate

• Easy to hide

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Skip tracing online

Goal : Locating and validating

• Obtain a valid phone number

• Validate the place of employment and residence

• Obtain personal information to enable collection

The best sources of information:

• Parents and relatives

• Friends

• Neighbors

• Colleagues ( former colleagues)

• Employers ( former employers)

• Ex – spouse

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Skip tracing by phones

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Skip tracing by phones

Best Appeal

An appeal based on logic argument

An appeal based on the use of emotions

An appeal based on the perseverance of skip tracer

When any type of correspondence is returned, it means that the customer has changed his address or became a skip customer intentionally;

The returned letters may generate a new address;

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Skip tracing by letters

It is the last resort to contact a skip customer;

The field calls may be made to a customer’s home or business place;

Sometimes involves visiting former neighbors, employers or other known contacts to ask about the subject;

It is recommended to keep the number of visits to a minimum not to make the customer feel disturbed or get used to receiving field calls;

In this moment the activity is done in-house, but in the future we study the possibilities to externalize it;

Strengths

• Has a great impact on client’s behavior

Weaknesses

• The most expensive tool

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Skip tracing with field calls

The client who pays on the first demand;

The client who can’t pay on first demand but is willing to make arrangements;

The client with a dispute;

The client with an indifferent attitude;

The client who refuses to pay but can be motivated to do so;

The customer who will never pay.

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The attitudes and behaviors of the clients after the skip tracing activity

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SWOT analysis

Strengths

Persuasive skip tracers.Ability to influence the collection performance.

Weaknesses

Skip tracing takes time, so the results are not immediately.

Opportunities

Possibility to externalize field visits.Additional trainings to improve skip tracer’s performance.

Threats

Market competition in collecting debts

Thank You!

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