Leigh Berkley has succeeded Ken Maynard as the Chairman of the Debt Buyers and Sellers Group (DBSG), the specialist section of the Credit Services Association (CSA) that represents the interests of all those involved in debt sale.

His immediate priorities are to continue to strengthen membership of the group (current membership stands at 61) by up to 10 new members a year, and further widen its appeal especially within the seller community and internationally. He is also looking to advance the work already started in establishing the DBSG as the ‘voice’ of the debt sale industry:

“We need to continue our consultations with all stakeholders, especially government in setting regulation and legislation that is relevant and proportionate,” Leigh explains. “We need to promote the need to balance the rights of the consumers with their responsibilities as debtors, and robustly defend our industry in the wake of misleading and often wholly inaccurate consumer websites.

“We also need to follow on from the recent success around SCOR, and seek better access to data, specifically pushing for a change in the law that makes it obligatory for debtors to notify their creditors of any change of address. This will virtually wipe out the likelihood of ‘mistraces’ overnight and greatly improve collections performance.”

Leigh has been involved in the debt recovery sector for more than 17 years, having originally qualified as a chartered accountant. His early career was spent in the City at the US lawyers Sidley & Austin where he worked with Schuyler Henderson, the man who invented the currency and interest rate SWAP. He joined Tarlo Lyons in 1989 as Financial Director, and was CEO from 1993 of Tarlo Lyons Debt Recovery Services following the company’s acquisition of the debt recovery unit of Midland Bank.

An MBO in 1998 saw the formation of the Tessera Group PLC of which he remains the Chief Executive, responsible for the strategic direction of the business. Tessera completed its first debt purchase in 1998 in conjunction with Cargill Value Investment Group (now Carval).

The DBSG was founded in 2004 to reflect the importance of debt sale as a specific discipline within the credit services sector, and to give voice to the interests and opinions of those most closely involved. Membership of the DBSG comprises all of the major debt purchasers, and a growing number of highly influential sellers and intermediaries including Bradford & Bingley, Capital One Bank, Citigroup UK, Egg PLC, Lloyds TSB Bank, The Co-operative Bank, Marks & Spencer Money and MBNA.

Debt sale is the fastest growing sector within the collections industry and last year (2006) the amount of debt sold reached more than £7 billion.

www.dbsg-uk.com