Consumer Portfolio Services Inc. is focused on strengthening its network of marketing reps, rather than on portfolio growth, Chief Executive Charles Bradley Jr. said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
Given the company’s “conscious decision” to slow down a bit in the market, CPS is focused on quality over quantity in regards to its current reps, Bradley said.
“We’re going to grow them slower — trying to just find qualified individuals we can get up to speed a little quicker.”
Currently, the company has 87 “wellseasoned” representatives doing the job that 114 were doing at the company’s peak, he said.
“We have to keep hiring new ones and getting rid of old ones — or getting rid of the weaker ones — so as much as the numbers are slightly different, I think the results are probably just as good, if not better,” Bradley added. “As we sort of move into next year, we’ll probably start hiring again.”
In the third quarter, CPS originations were down year over year to $242 million, from $287 million at the same time a year prior, according to their earnings — a result of the company’s decision to tighten credit earlier this year.
Delinquencies 31-plus days past due ticked up to 8.98% in 3Q, versus 7.31% at the same time a year prior, which Bradley called “the new normal,” as the industry heads into the next recession.
“It would be very nice to have a really quick recession, just to get that off the table so people would stop worrying about having a severe recession,” he said. “I think a recession will show up, I don’t know if it is tomorrow, but again we are very well prepared for it.”