Starting in the 1980’s when the Savings and Loan crisis was surfacing and the assets of hundreds of Savings and Loans were being auctioned off by the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), the United States distressed debt market has evolved into a robust secondary market where charged-off, non-performing loans and other obligations are sold to specialty buyers. For credit granting-institutions, selling charged-off debt is an increasingly popular option when compared to the traditional model of placing those debts with contingency-fee collection firms.

In recent years, consumer credit issuers have opted to sell off delinquent, non-performing accounts rather than undertaking the time and expense of effectuating collection through third-party collection agencies. Prior to the advent of this development, credit issuers would place an account with a collection agency. If the collection agency was unsuccessful in collecting the account, the collection agency would forward the account to a collection law firm. The overall cost of collection could easily exceed 40% of all monies collected. Moreover, the credit issuer would need to expend administrative resources to monitor its placement of charged-off accounts with these third-party collection agencies and would also be responsible for advancing all necessary court costs to prosecute the lawsuit.

In light of the high costs and administrative burdens associated with delayed recovery of delinquent accounts, many consumer credit issuers have opted to liquidate charged-off credit card account portfolios rather than undertake third-party collection efforts. This trend has unlocked lucrative investment opportunities to acquire portfolios of consumer debt, at a steep discount. Typically, charged off accounts can be acquired for between three and seven cents on the dollar, under current market conditions. Charged-off consumer credit portfolios vary significantly depending in part upon the credit issuer, age of the account and the amount of collection activity that was conducted prior to sale.

Unlike a collection agency, which relies on the powers of persuasion to motivate an account holder to make a payment, Streamline, using predetermined criteria, is able to actively pursue legal action if collection efforts are not fruitful. Streamline has developed the aggressive, Strategic Litigation™ model and is able to leverage this process to maximize the value of delinquent accounts and purchased pools of debt, long after traditional collection methods have been exhausted. Through the use of its Strategic Litigation™ process as well as powerful post-judgment remedies including wage garnishments, property liens and bank account attachments, the Firm has achieved collection-to-investment multiples for its clientele in excess of 5:1.

Allowing for market conditions, Streamline anticipates purchasing consumer credit portfolios on a monthly basis. Due to the expertise of its managing member, Streamline has been able to hire effective managing collection attorneys and can setup and operate an effective volume collection law firm. Such a process can be replicated in almost every major metropolitan area. Streamline, unlike most credit issuers who grant credit to consumers across the country, has the prerogative to purchase accounts on a state specific basis. Finally, once collections efforts have been exhausted, Streamline will package, re-market and resell the remainder of the accounts.