Asta Funding, Inc., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, engages in various business segments in the financial services industry, primarily in the United States.
Segments
The company operates through three segments, Consumer Receivables, Social Security Disability Advocacy and Personal Injury Claims.
Consumer Receivables
This segment engages in the business of purchasing, managing for its own account and servicing distressed charged off consumer receivables. The company also engages...
Asta Funding, Inc., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, engages in various business segments in the financial services industry, primarily in the United States.
Segments
The company operates through three segments, Consumer Receivables, Social Security Disability Advocacy and Personal Injury Claims.
Consumer Receivables
This segment engages in the business of purchasing, managing for its own account and servicing distressed charged off consumer receivables. The company also engages in the international areas (primarily South America).
Personal Injury Claims
This segment conducts its business primarily in the United States and includes purchased interests in personal injury claims from claimants who are a party to a personal injury claim. The company advances to each claimant funds on a non-recourse basis at an agreed upon fee, in anticipation of a future settlement. The company’s subsidiary, Arthur Funding, LLC. (Arthur Funding), engages in funding advances in Personal Injury Claims.
Social Security Disability Advocacy
This segment consists of advocacy groups representing individuals throughout the United States in their claims for social security disability and supplemental social security income benefits from the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs.
Principal Markets and Methods of Distribution
Consumer Receivables
Prior to purchasing a portfolio, the company performs a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the underlying receivables and calculates the purchase price, which is intended to offer the company an adequate return on its investment after servicing expenses. After purchasing a portfolio, the company monitors performance and review and adjusts its collection and servicing strategies accordingly. The company purchases receivables from credit grantors and others through privately negotiated direct sales. The company funds portfolios through internally generated cash flow.
Personal Injury Claims
Arthur Funding relies on generating business from attorneys.
Social Security Disability Advocacy
The company’s subsidiaries, GAR Disability Advocates, LLC (GAR Disability Advocates) and Five Star Veterans Disability, LLC (Five Star) provide their social security disability advocacy services throughout the United States.
Operations
Consumer Receivables
The Operations Servicing Division of consumer receivables consists of the Collection Department, which handles disputes and correspondence, and the Accounting and Finance Department.
Collection Department: The Collection Department is responsible for making contact with and receiving calls from consumers for the purpose of collecting upon the accounts contained in the company’s consumer receivables portfolios. The Collection Department uses a customer service approach to collect receivables and utilizes collection software, a dialer and telephone system to accomplish this goal. Each collector is responsible for initiating outbound collection calls and handling incoming calls from the consumer; identifying the debt and iterating the benefits of paying the obligation; working with the customer to develop acceptable means of satisfying the obligation; and offering (if necessary, and based upon the individual situation) an obligor a discount on the overall obligation.
Accounting and Finance Department: In addition to customary accounting activities, the Accounting and Finance Department is responsible for making daily deposits of customer payments; posting payments to customers accounts; and providing senior management with daily, weekly and monthly receivable activity and performance reports. Additionally, the Accounting Department reviews the results of the collection of consumer receivable portfolios that are being serviced by third-party collection agencies and attorneys. The Accounting and Finance Department also participates in the internal auditing and consolidation of all business segments.
Personal Injury Claims
The operations of the personal injury claims unit include:
Sales/Underwriting/Collections-The underwriting group is responsible for analyzing the merits of the personal injury claims, collections of the portfolio and for business development and sales.
Accounting-The accounting group is responsible for the reporting of all the financial operations of the personal injury claims unit.
Social Security Disability Advocacy
GAR Disability Advocates and Five Star consists of the following departments:
Sales/Marketing-The Sales Group is responsible for the sales strategy and advertising campaigns.
Intake-The Intake Department is responsible for client development, including screening leads and developing information on individual cases.
Case Management-The Case Management Department oversees client claims to obtain social security disability benefits.
Accounting-The accounting group is responsible for the reporting of all the financial operations of the social security disability segment.
Strategy
The company’s strategies include managing the collection and servicing of its consumer receivable portfolios, including outsourcing those activities to maintain low fixed overhead by partnering with experienced collection and debt buying firms; selling accounts on an opportunistic basis; and capitalizing on its strategic relationships to identify and acquire consumer receivable portfolios as pricing, financing and conditions permit.
Government Regulation
Annual supplemental instruction in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and collection techniques is provided to all the company’s account representatives. The company is subject to changing rules and regulations of federal and state governments, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; and NASDAQ, all of which have issued various new and major requirements and regulations over the course of the last various years and continue to develop additional regulations and requirements in response to laws enacted by Congress.
History
Asta Funding, Inc. was founded in 1994. The company was incorporated in New Jersey in 1994 and was reincorporated in Delaware in 1995.
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