ACA International Board of Directors Support Legislation to End Operation Choke Point

The Board of Directors of ACA International, the association of credit and debt collection professionals, has unanimously voted to support legislation and policy changes that would bring an end to the Department of Justice program known as “Operation Choke Point.”  This viewpoint was expressed Wednesday in a letter to ACA membership, which represents tens of thousands of industry professionals.

Operation Choke Point is a program in which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Department of Justice reportedly applied pressure to financial institutions in order to cut off financial services to certain licensed, legally operating industries.

“This initiative has already been shown to have severe, negative impact on legal and legitimate businesses – including our nation’s legitimate debt collectors,” the letter from the ACA Board of Directors said. “As we have done since this emerged in 2014, we will continue to share examples of members being negatively impacted by Operation Choke Point with legislators and regulators as a key part of our advocacy efforts in Washington.”

ACA International President Rick Doane said that this action by the Board of Directors demonstrates that the health and well-being of the debt collection industry remains a top priority for the association.

“ACA’s presence in Washington has always been focused on the issues that affect our membership everyday. This letter goes far to ensure that our members are aware of our on-going, persistent effort to introduce and support legislative and policy changes that will protect the debt collection industry and its positive impact on the nation’s economy,” Doane said.

ACA International (ACA), the association of credit and collection professionals, is the largest membership organization in the credit and collection industry. Founded in 1939, ACA brings together third-party collection agencies, law firms, asset buying companies, creditors and vendor affiliates, representing tens of thousands of industry professionals. ACA produces a wide variety of products, services and publications, including educational and compliance-related information, and articulates the value of the credit and collection industry to businesses, policymakers and consumers. www.acainternational.org.