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ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC - Quarter Report: 2021 September (Form 10-Q)

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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
___________________________________________________________________________________
FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
    QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021 or
    TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from __________to__________.
COMMISSION FILE NUMBER: 000-26489
ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware48-1090909
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
(IRS Employer
Identification No.)
350 Camino De La Reina, Suite 100
San Diego, California 92108
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(877) 445 - 4581
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
(Not Applicable)
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)
_______________________________________________________________

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value Per ShareECPGThe NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the last 90 days.    Yes      No  
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes      No  
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filerAccelerated filerNon-accelerated filerSmaller reporting company
Emerging growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.        
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes      No  
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.
ClassOutstanding at October 28, 2021
Common Stock, $0.01 par value29,271,730 shares


Table of Contents
ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
INDEX TO FORM 10-Q
 
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Table of Contents
PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1— Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)
ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition
(In Thousands, Except Par Value Amounts)
(Unaudited)
September 30,
2021
December 31,
2020
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents$158,243 $189,184 
Investment in receivable portfolios, net3,083,271 3,291,918 
Property and equipment, net121,097 127,297 
Other assets291,840 349,162 
Goodwill895,515 906,962 
Total assets
$4,549,966 $4,864,523 
Liabilities and Equity
Liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities$214,486 $215,920 
Borrowings2,796,224 3,281,634 
Other liabilities140,436 146,893 
Total liabilities
3,151,146 3,644,447 
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 10)
Equity:
Convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value, 5,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding
— — 
Common stock, $0.01 par value, 75,000 shares authorized, 29,598 and 31,345 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively
296 313 
Additional paid-in capital105,326 230,440 
Accumulated earnings1,352,825 1,055,668 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(59,627)(68,813)
Total Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders’ equity1,398,820 1,217,608 
Noncontrolling interest— 2,468 
Total equity
1,398,820 1,220,076 
Total liabilities and equity
$4,549,966 $4,864,523 
The following table presents certain assets and liabilities of consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”) included in the consolidated statements of financial condition above. Most assets in the table below include those assets that can only be used to settle obligations of consolidated VIEs. The liabilities exclude amounts where creditors or beneficial interest holders have recourse to the general credit of the Company. See “Note 8: Variable Interest Entities” for additional information on the Company’s VIEs.
September 30,
2021
December 31,
2020
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents$718 $2,223 
Investment in receivable portfolios, net500,304 553,621 
Other assets4,285 5,127 
Liabilities
Borrowings471,570 478,131 
Other liabilities10 37 
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements
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ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
(Unaudited)
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2021202020212020
Revenues
Revenue from receivable portfolios$316,225 $342,489 $982,393 $1,035,141 
Changes in recoveries65,913 30,451 176,628 (2,203)
Total debt purchasing revenue382,138 372,940 1,159,021 1,032,938 
Servicing revenue29,321 29,787 93,901 82,417 
Other revenues1,165 949 4,274 3,435 
Total revenues412,624 403,676 1,257,196 1,118,790 
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits94,662 95,979 288,892 279,944 
Cost of legal collections64,170 60,383 198,212 164,018 
General and administrative expenses35,819 53,459 102,790 113,954 
Other operating expenses25,226 28,088 81,895 83,527 
Collection agency commissions11,964 12,703 38,465 36,562 
Depreciation and amortization14,136 10,609 37,694 31,436 
Total operating expenses245,977 261,221 747,948 709,441 
Income from operations166,647 142,455 509,248 409,349 
Other expense
Interest expense(40,874)(52,974)(131,559)(157,963)
Loss on extinguishment of debt— (14,988)(9,300)(14,988)
Other (expense) income(17,504)361 (16,993)(1,211)
Total other expense(58,378)(67,601)(157,852)(174,162)
Income before income taxes108,269 74,854 351,396 235,187 
Provision for income taxes(24,703)(19,747)(76,278)(59,875)
Net income 83,566 55,107 275,118 175,312 
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest— (457)(419)(784)
Net income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders$83,566 $54,650 $274,699 $174,528 
Earnings per share attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
Basic$2.76 $1.74 $8.90 $5.56 
Diluted$2.66 $1.72 $8.71 $5.51 
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic30,225 31,484 30,863 31,402 
Diluted31,362 31,826 31,531 31,672 
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements
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ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
(Unaudited, In Thousands)
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2021202020212020
Net income$83,566 $55,107 $275,118 $175,312 
Other comprehensive income, net of tax:
Change in unrealized gain (loss) on derivative instruments:
Unrealized gain (loss) on derivative instruments3,297 118 7,113 (3,985)
Income tax effect(753)(1,633)1,120 
Unrealized gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net of tax2,544 125 5,480 (2,865)
Change in foreign currency translation:
Unrealized (loss) gain on foreign currency translation(23,035)30,982 (16,198)(32,088)
Removal of other comprehensive loss in connection with divestiture19,904 — 19,904 2,632 
Unrealized (loss) gain on foreign currency translation, net of divestiture(3,131)30,982 3,706 (29,456)
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax:(587)31,107 9,186 (32,321)
Comprehensive income82,979 86,214 284,304 142,991 
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest:
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest— (457)(419)(784)
Unrealized loss on foreign currency translation— (15)— (11)
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest:— (472)(419)(795)
Comprehensive income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders$82,979 $85,742 $283,885 $142,196 
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements
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ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Equity
(Unaudited, In Thousands)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021
Common StockAdditional Paid-In CapitalAccumulated EarningsAccumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) IncomeNoncontrolling InterestTotal Equity
SharesPar
Balance as of June 30, 202130,413 $304 $143,827 $1,269,259 $(59,040)$— $1,354,350 
Net income— — — 83,566 — — 83,566 
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax— — — — (20,491)— (20,491)
Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes39 — (1,658)— — — (1,658)
Repurchase of common stock(854)(8)(40,690)— — — (40,698)
Stock-based compensation— — 3,847 — — — 3,847 
Removal of other comprehensive loss in connection with divestiture— — — — 19,904 — 19,904 
Balance as of September 30, 202129,598 $296 $105,326 $1,352,825 $(59,627)$— $1,398,820 
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
Common StockAdditional Paid-In CapitalAccumulated EarningsAccumulated Other Comprehensive LossNoncontrolling InterestTotal Equity
SharesPar
Balance as of June 30, 202031,288 $313 $227,030 $963,698 $(152,190)$3,536 $1,042,387 
Net income— — — 54,650 — 457 55,107 
Other comprehensive income, net of tax— — — — 31,092 15 31,107 
Purchase of noncontrolling interest— — (2,196)— — (1,428)(3,624)
Issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes57 — (1,605)— — — (1,605)
Stock-based compensation— — 3,884 — — — 3,884 
Balance as of September 30, 202031,345 $313 $227,113 $1,018,348 $(121,098)$2,580 $1,127,256 
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
Common StockAdditional Paid-In CapitalAccumulated EarningsAccumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) IncomeNoncontrolling InterestTotal Equity
SharesPar
Balance as of December 31, 202031,345 $313 $230,440 $1,055,668 $(68,813)$2,468 $1,220,076 
Cumulative adjustment— — (40,372)22,458 — — (17,914)
Net income— — — 274,699 — 419 275,118 
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax— — — — (10,718)— (10,718)
Purchase of noncontrolling interest— — (2,669)— — (2,887)(5,556)
Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes230 (6,876)— — — (6,874)
Repurchase of common stock(1,977)(19)(88,100)— — — (88,119)
Stock-based compensation— — 12,903 — — — 12,903 
Removal of other comprehensive loss in connection with divestiture— — — — 19,904 — 19,904 
Balance as of September 30, 202129,598 $296 $105,326 $1,352,825 $(59,627)$— $1,398,820 
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Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020
Common StockAdditional Paid-In CapitalAccumulated EarningsAccumulated Other Comprehensive LossNoncontrolling InterestTotal Equity
SharesPar
Balance as of December 31, 201931,097 $311 $222,590 $888,058 $(88,766)$3,213 $1,025,406 
Cumulative adjustment— — — (44,238)— — (44,238)
Net income— — — 174,528 — 784 175,312 
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax— — — — (34,964)11 (34,953)
Purchase of noncontrolling interest— — (2,196)— — (1,428)(3,624)
Issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes248 (6,470)— — — (6,468)
Stock-based compensation— — 13,189 — — — 13,189 
Other— — — — 2,632 — 2,632 
Balance as of September 30, 202031,345 $313 $227,113 $1,018,348 $(121,098)$2,580 $1,127,256 
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements

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ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited, In Thousands)
 Nine Months Ended September 30,
 20212020
Operating activities:
Net income$275,118 $175,312 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization37,694 31,436 
Expense related to financing9,300 19,791 
Other non-cash interest expense, net13,677 22,725 
Stock-based compensation expense12,903 13,189 
Deferred income taxes(8,504)(15,070)
Changes in recoveries(176,628)2,203 
Other, net18,003 24,469 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
Other assets13,320 14,267 
Prepaid income tax and income taxes payable40,590 (11,226)
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other liabilities(23,483)(27,114)
Net cash provided by operating activities211,990 249,982 
Investing activities:
Purchases of receivable portfolios, net of put-backs(473,013)(517,959)
Collections applied to investment in receivable portfolios, net803,185 540,101 
Purchases of property and equipment(24,163)(22,658)
Other, net6,799 8,091 
Net cash provided by investing activities312,808 7,575 
Financing activities:
Payment of loan and debt refinancing costs(11,667)(48,676)
Proceeds from credit facilities418,941 1,695,914 
Repayment of credit facilities(713,958)(2,051,764)
Proceeds from senior secured notes353,747 410,820 
Repayment of senior secured notes(349,355)(152,430)
Repayment of convertible senior notes(161,000)(89,355)
Repurchase of common stock(88,119)— 
Other, net(13,262)(32,400)
Net cash used in financing activities(564,673)(267,891)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents(39,875)(10,334)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents8,934 (12,018)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period189,184 192,335 
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period$158,243 $169,983 
Supplemental disclosure of cash information:
Cash paid for interest$100,335 $148,059 
Cash paid for taxes, net of refunds42,815 87,154 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements
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ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)
Note 1: Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Encore Capital Group, Inc. (“Encore”), through its subsidiaries (collectively with Encore, the “Company”), is an international specialty finance company providing debt recovery solutions and other related services for consumers across a broad range of financial assets. The Company purchases portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables at deep discounts to face value and manages them by working with individuals as they repay their obligations and work toward financial recovery. Defaulted receivables are consumers’ unpaid financial obligations to credit originators, including banks, credit unions, consumer finance companies and commercial retailers. Defaulted receivables may also include receivables subject to bankruptcy proceedings. The Company also provides debt servicing and other portfolio management services to credit originators for non-performing loans.
Through Midland Credit Management, Inc. and its domestic affiliates (collectively, “MCM”), the Company is a market leader in portfolio purchasing and recovery in the United States. Through Cabot Credit Management Limited (“CCM”) and its subsidiaries and European affiliates (collectively, “Cabot”), the Company is one of the largest credit management services providers in Europe and a market leader in the United Kingdom and Ireland. These are the Company’s primary operations.
The Company also has investments and operations in Latin America and Asia-Pacific, which the Company refers to as “LAAP.”
COVID-19
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) as a global pandemic, which continues to spread throughout the United States and around the world. The COVID-19 outbreak and resulting containment measures implemented by governments around the world, as well as increased business uncertainty, have impacted the Company. The circumstances around the COVID-19 pandemic continue to rapidly evolve and will continue to impact the Company’s business and its estimation of expected recoveries in future periods. The Company will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and update its assumptions accordingly.
Financial Statement Preparation and Presentation
The accompanying interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company, without audit, in accordance with the instructions to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and, therefore, do not include all information and footnotes necessary for a fair presentation of its consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”).
In the opinion of management, the unaudited financial information for the interim periods presented reflects all adjustments, consisting of only normal and recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements. These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of operating results for an entire fiscal year.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and the disclosure of contingent amounts in the Company’s financial statements and the accompanying notes. The inputs into the judgments and estimates consider the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s critical and significant accounting estimates. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.
Basis of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP and reflect the accounts and operations of the Company and those of its subsidiaries in which the Company has a controlling financial interest. The Company also consolidates variable interest entities for which it is the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary has both (a) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly affect the entity’s economic performance, and (b) either the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits. Refer to “Note 8: Variable Interest Entities” for further details. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.
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Translation of Foreign Currencies
The financial statements of certain of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries are measured using their local currency as the functional currency. Assets and liabilities of foreign operations are translated into U.S. dollars using period-end exchange rates, and revenues and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars using average exchange rates in effect during each period. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income or loss. Equity accounts are translated at historical rates, except for the change in retained earnings during the year which is the result of the income statement translation process. Intercompany transaction gains or losses at each period end arising from subsequent measurement of balances for which settlement is not planned or anticipated in the foreseeable future are included as translation adjustments and recorded within other comprehensive income or loss. Translation gains or losses are the material components of accumulated other comprehensive income or loss and are reclassified to earnings upon the substantial sale or liquidation of investments in foreign operations.
Recently Adopted Accounting Guidance
On January 1, 2021, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (“Subtopic 470-20”) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (“Subtopic 815-40”): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”). The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 using the modified-retrospective approach, by recording a net cumulative-effect adjustment to equity of approximately $17.9 million.
The ASU simplifies the accounting for convertible instruments by removing certain models in Subtopic 470-20 and revises the guidance in Subtopic 815-40 to simplify the accounting for contracts in an entity’s own equity. The ASU also amends the guidance to improve the consistency of earnings per share calculations, which requires the if-converted method be used for convertible instruments.
Under ASU 2020-06, the Company’s convertible and exchangeable notes are no longer bifurcated to a debt component and an equity component, instead, they are carried as a single liability which reflects the principal amount of the convertible and exchangeable notes. The interest expense recognized on the convertible and exchangeable notes is based on coupon rates, rather than higher effective interest rates. As a result, the Company recognizes lower interest expense after the adoption. Additionally, effective January 1, 2021, the Company uses the if-converted method in calculating the dilutive effect of its convertible and exchangeable notes for earnings per share.

The Company has not adjusted prior period comparative information and will continue to disclose prior period financial information in accordance with the previous accounting guidance. The following table summarizes the cumulative effects of adopting the new guidance on the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition at January 1, 2021 (in thousands):

Balance as of December 31, 2020AdjustmentOpening Balance as of January 1, 2021
Liabilities
Convertible notes and exchangeable notes$583,500 $— $583,500 
Debt discount(19,364)19,364 — 
Other liabilities (for deferred tax liabilities)146,893 (1,450)145,443 
Equity
Additional paid-in capital230,440 (40,372)190,068 
Accumulated earnings1,055,668 22,458 1,078,126 

With the exception of the updated standard discussed above, there have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to the recent accounting pronouncements described in our Annual Report, that have significance, or potential significance, to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Note 2: Earnings Per Share
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net earnings attributable to Encore by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is calculated based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock plus the effect of dilutive potential common shares during the period. Dilutive potential common shares include outstanding stock options, non-vested share awards, and the dilutive effect of the convertible and exchangeable senior notes, if applicable.
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The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021, using a modified retrospective approach. Effective January 1, 2021, the dilutive effect of the Company’s convertible and exchangeable notes is calculated using the if-converted method. Prior to the adoption, the dilutive effect of the convertible and exchangeable notes was calculated using the treasury stock method. In September 2021, in accordance with the indenture for the convertible senior notes due in March 2022 (the “2022 Convertible Notes”), the Company irrevocably elected “combination settlement” with a specified dollar amount equal to $1,750 per $1,000 principal amount of the 2022 Convertible Notes for all conversions of the 2022 Convertible Notes that occur on or after September 15, 2021, the free conversion date, which effectively will result in an all cash settlement for the 2022 Convertible Notes so long as the stock price is less than $79.74 at the time of conversion. As a result, the 2022 Convertible Notes were only dilutive prior to September 15, 2021. All of the Company’s other convertible and exchangeable notes require net share settlement, using the if-converted method results in a similar dilutive effect as using the treasury stock method under the previous accounting standard, due to the fact that only in-the-money shares are included in the dilutive effect. The Company had 0.7 million and 0.3 million shares of dilutive effect from its convertible and exchangeable notes during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.
On August 12, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a $50.0 million share repurchase program. On May 5, 2021, the Company announced that the Board of Directors had approved an increase in the size of the repurchase program from $50.0 million to $300.0 million (an increase of $250.0 million). Repurchases under this program are expected to be made with cash on hand and may be made from time to time, subject to market conditions and other factors, in the open market, through private transactions, block transactions, or other methods as determined by the Company’s management and Board of Directors, and in accordance with market conditions, other corporate considerations, and applicable regulatory requirements. The program does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and it may be modified or suspended at any time at the Company’s discretion. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company repurchased 854,002 and 1,976,857 shares of our common stock for approximately $40.7 million and $88.1 million, respectively. The Company’s practice is to retire the shares repurchased.
A reconciliation of shares used in calculating earnings per basic and diluted shares follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2021202020212020
Net income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders$83,566 $54,650 $274,699 $174,528 
Total weighted-average basic shares outstanding30,225 31,484 30,863 31,402 
Dilutive effect of stock-based awards404 342 358 270 
Dilutive effect of convertible and exchangeable senior notes733 — 310 — 
Total weighted-average dilutive shares outstanding31,362 31,826 31,531 31,672 
Basic earnings per share$2.76 $1.74 $8.90 $5.56 
Diluted earnings per share$2.66 $1.72 $8.71 $5.51 
Anti-dilutive employee stock options outstanding were 0 and approximately 4,000 during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. Anti-dilutive employee stock options outstanding were approximately 13,000 and 64,000 during each of the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.
Note 3: Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received upon sale of an asset or the price paid to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (i.e., the “exit price”). The Company uses a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used in valuation techniques to measure fair value into three broad levels. The following is a brief description of each level:
Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.
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Level 3: Unobservable inputs, including inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions.
Financial Instruments Required To Be Carried At Fair Value
Financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized below (in thousands):
 Fair Value Measurements as of September 30, 2021
 Level 1Level 2Level 3Total
Assets
Interest rate cap contracts$— $788 $— $788 
Liabilities
Interest rate swap agreements— (1,155)— (1,155)
Cross-currency swap agreements— (11,640)— (11,640)
Contingent consideration— — (5,211)(5,211)
 Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2020
 Level 1Level 2Level 3Total
Assets
Cross-currency swap agreements$— $11,578 $— $11,578 
Interest rate cap contracts— 659 — 659 
Liabilities
Interest rate swap agreements— (5,232)— (5,232)
Contingent consideration— — (2,957)(2,957)

Derivative Contracts:
The Company uses derivative instruments to manage its exposure to fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. Fair values of these derivative instruments are estimated using industry standard valuation models. These models project future cash flows and discount the future amounts to a present value using market-based observable inputs, including interest rate curves, foreign currency exchange rates, and forward and spot prices for currencies.
Contingent Consideration:
The Company carries certain contingent liabilities resulting from its mergers and acquisition activities. Certain sellers of the Company’s acquired entities could earn additional earn-out payments in cash based on the entities’ subsequent operating performance. The Company recorded the acquisition date fair values of these contingent liabilities, based on the likelihood of contingent earn-out payments, as part of the consideration transferred. The earn-out payments are subsequently remeasured to fair value at each reporting date based on actual and forecasted operating performance.
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The following table provides a roll-forward of the fair value of contingent consideration for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and year ended December 31, 2020 (in thousands):
Amount
Balance as of December 31, 2019$66 
Issuance of contingent consideration in connection with purchase of noncontrolling interest2,848 
Payment of contingent consideration(88)
Effect of foreign currency translation131 
Balance as of December 31, 20202,957 
Issuance of contingent consideration in connection with purchase of noncontrolling interest2,913 
Change in fair value of contingent consideration(388)
Payment of contingent consideration(167)
Effect of foreign currency translation(104)
Balance as of September 30, 2021$5,211 
Non-Recurring Fair Value Measurement:
Certain assets are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis. These assets include real estate-owned assets classified as held for sale at the lower of their carrying value or fair value less cost to sell. The fair value of the assets held for sale and estimated selling expenses were determined at the time of initial recognition using Level 3 measurements. The fair value estimate of these assets was approximately $42.8 million and $42.2 million as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.
Financial Instruments Not Required To Be Carried At Fair Value
The table below summarizes fair value estimates for the Company's financial instruments that are not required to be carried at fair value. The total of the fair value calculations presented does not represent, and should not be construed to represent, the underlying value of the Company.
The carrying amounts in the following table are included in the consolidated statements of financial condition as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020 (in thousands):
 September 30, 2021December 31, 2020
 Carrying AmountEstimated Fair ValueCarrying AmountEstimated Fair Value
Financial Assets
Investment in receivable portfolios, net$3,083,271 $3,439,547 $3,291,918 $3,705,672 
Financial Liabilities
Convertible notes and exchangeable notes(1)
422,500 537,144 564,136 622,081 
Senior secured notes(2)
1,619,110 1,680,277 1,642,058 1,684,729 
_______________________
(1)Prior to January 1, 2021, under the previous accounting standard, the convertible and exchangeable notes included a debt discount. The carrying amount as of December 31, 2020 represented the principal amount of the notes, net of the debt discount.
(2)Carrying amount represents historical cost, adjusted for any related debt discount or debt premium.
Investment in Receivable Portfolios:
The fair value of investment in receivable portfolios is measured using Level 3 inputs by discounting the estimated future cash flows generated by the Company’s proprietary forecasting models. The key inputs include the estimated future gross cash flow, average cost to collect, and discount rate. The determination of such inputs requires significant judgment, including assessing the assumed market participant’s cost structure, its determination of whether to include fixed costs in its valuation, its collection strategies, and determining the appropriate weighted average cost of capital. The Company evaluates the use of these key inputs on an ongoing basis and refines the data as it continues to obtain better information from market participants in the debt recovery and purchasing business.
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Borrowings:
The Company’s convertible notes, exchangeable notes and senior secured notes are carried at historical cost, adjusted for the debt discount. The fair value estimate for the convertible and exchangeable notes incorporates quoted market prices using Level 2 inputs. The fair value of the senior secured notes is estimated using widely accepted valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow analyses using available market information on discount and borrowing rates with similar terms, maturities, and credit ratings. Accordingly, the Company used Level 2 inputs for these debt instrument fair value estimates.
The carrying value of the Company’s senior secured revolving credit facility agreement approximates fair value due to the short-term nature of the interest rate period. The Company’s borrowings also include private placement notes, a securitisation senior facility and finance lease liabilities for which the carrying value approximates respective fair value.
Note 4: Derivatives and Hedging Instruments
The Company may periodically enter into derivative financial instruments to manage risks related to interest rates and foreign currency.
The following table summarizes the fair value of derivative instruments as included in the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition (in thousands):
 September 30, 2021December 31, 2020
Balance Sheet LocationFair ValueBalance Sheet LocationFair Value
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:
Interest rate cap contractsOther assets$788 Other assets$659 
Interest rate swap agreementsOther liabilities(5,232)
Cross-currency swap agreementsOther liabilities(11,640)Other assets11,578 
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments
The Company has operations in foreign countries which expose the Company to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations due to transactions denominated in foreign currencies. To mitigate a portion of this risk, the Company may enter into derivative financial instruments, principally foreign currency forward contracts with financial counterparties. The Company adjusts the level and use of derivatives as soon as practicable after learning that an exposure has changed and reviews all exposures and derivative positions on an ongoing basis.
The Company may periodically enter into interest rate swap agreements to reduce its exposure to fluctuations in interest rates on variable interest rate debt and their impact on earnings and cash flows. Under the swap agreements, the Company receives floating interest rate payments and makes interest payments based on fixed interest rates. The Company designates its interest rate swap instruments as cash flow hedges. Previously, the Company held four interest rate swap agreements that hedged the risk of USD-LIBOR interest rate fluctuations for the Encore revolving credit facility and term loan facility. As part of the financing transactions completed in September 2020, the Company settled two of the interest rate swap agreements. As of September 30, 2021, there were two interest rate swap agreements outstanding with a total notional amount of $181.1 million. On September 30, 2021, the Company ceased hedge accounting for its interest rate swap instruments due to the continued pay down of its USD-LIBOR denominated borrowings. As a result, the Company reclassed all the remaining unrealized loss in OCI of approximately $1.9 million into earnings. The two interest swap agreements will mature in December 2021.
The Company uses cross-currency swap agreements to manage foreign currency exchange risk by converting fixed-rate Euro-denominated borrowings including periodic interest payments and the payment of principal at maturity to fixed-rate USD debt. The cross-currency swap agreements are accounted for as cash flow hedges. As of September 30, 2021, there were four cross-currency swap agreements outstanding with a total notional amount of €350.0 million (approximately $405.4 million based on an exchange rate of $1.00 to €0.86, the exchange rate as of September 30, 2021). The Company expects to reclassify approximately $4.9 million of net derivative loss from OCI into earnings relating to cross-currency swaps within the next 12 months.
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As of September 30, 2021, the Company held two interest rate cap contracts with a notional amount of approximately $934.8 million that are used to manage its risk related to interest rate fluctuations on the Company’s variable interest rate bearing debt. The interest rate cap hedging the fluctuations in three-month EURIBOR floating rate debt (“2019 Cap”) has a notional amount of €400.0 million (approximately $463.3 million based on an exchange rate of $1.00 to €0.86, the exchange rate as of September 30, 2021) and matures in 2024. The interest rate cap hedging the fluctuations in sterling overnight index average (“SONIA”) bearing debt (“2020 Cap”) has a notional amount of £350.0 million (approximately $471.6 million based on an exchange rate of $1.00 to £0.74, the exchange rate as of September 30, 2021) and matures in 2023. The Company expects the hedge relationships to be highly effective and designates the 2019 Cap and 2020 Cap as cash flow hedge instruments. The Company expects to reclassify approximately $0.7 million of net derivative loss from OCI into earnings relating to interest rate caps within the next 12 months.
The following tables summarize the effects of derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships designated as hedging instruments in the Company’s consolidated financial statements (in thousands):
Derivatives Designated as Hedging InstrumentsGain (Loss) Recognized in OCILocation of Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)
Three Months Ended September 30,Three Months Ended September 30,
2021202020212020
Foreign currency exchange contracts$— $— Salaries and employee benefits$— $— 
Foreign currency exchange contracts— — General and administrative expenses— — 
Interest rate swap agreements(20)(140)Interest expense / Other expense(4,203)(2,458)
Interest rate cap contracts72 (624)Interest expense(109)(103)
Cross-currency swap agreements(12,030)(6,779)Interest expense / Other expense(10,963)(5,100)
Derivatives Designated as Hedging InstrumentsGain (Loss) Recognized in OCILocation of Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)
Nine Months Ended September 30,Nine Months Ended September 30,
2021202020212020
Foreign currency exchange contracts$— $(341)Salaries and employee benefits$— $49 
Foreign currency exchange contracts— (44)General and administrative expenses— 11 
Interest rate swap agreements(68)(7,405)Interest expense / Other expense(8,742)(5,558)
Interest rate cap contracts140 (2,755)Interest expense(325)(2,741)
Cross-currency swap agreements(26,852)(6,779)Interest expense / Other expense(24,826)(5,100)
Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments
The Company enters into currency exchange forward contracts to reduce the effects of currency exchange rate fluctuations between the British Pound and Euro. These derivative contracts generally mature within one to three months and are not designated as hedge instruments for accounting purposes. The Company continues to monitor the level of exposure of the foreign currency exchange risk and may enter into additional short-term forward contracts on an ongoing basis. The gains or losses on these derivative contracts are recognized in other income or expense based on the changes in fair value. As of September 30, 2021, the Company had no outstanding currency exchange forward contracts that were not designated as cash flow hedging instruments.
As discussed in “Derivatives Designed as Hedging Instruments,” on September 30, 2021, the Company ceased hedge accounting for its interest rate swap instruments due to the continued pay down of its USD-LIBOR denominated borrowings. The interest rate swap agreements had a liability balance of $1.2 million as of September 30, 2021 and will mature in December 2021.
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The following table summarizes the effects of derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships not designated as hedging instruments in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations (in thousands):
Amount of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income (Loss)
Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging InstrumentsLocation of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivative2021202020212020
Foreign currency exchange contractsOther (expense) income$(20)$(407)$(20)$3,564 
Note 5: Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net
The Company’s purchased portfolios of loans are grossed-up to their face value with an offsetting allowance and noncredit discount allocated to the individual receivables as the unit of account is at the individual loan level. Since each loan is deeply delinquent and deemed uncollectible at the individual loan level, the Company applies its charge-off policy and fully writes-off the amortized costs (i.e., face value net of noncredit discount) of the individual receivables immediately after purchasing the portfolio. The Company then records a negative allowance that represents the present value of all expected future recoveries for pools of receivables that share similar risk characteristics using a discounted cash flow approach, which ultimately equals the amount paid for a portfolio purchase and presented as “Investment in receivable portfolios, net” in the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition. The discount rate is an effective interest rate (or “purchase EIR”) based on the purchase price of the portfolio and the expected future cash flows at the time of purchase.
Receivable portfolio purchases are aggregated into pools based on similar risk characteristics. Examples of risk characteristics include financial asset type, collateral type, size, interest rate, date of origination, term, and geographic location. The Company’s static pools are typically grouped into credit card, purchased consumer bankruptcy, and mortgage portfolios. The Company further groups these static pools by geographic location. Once a pool is established, the portfolios will remain in the designated pool unless the underlying risk characteristics change. The purchase EIR of a pool will not change over the life of the pool even if expected future cash flows change.
Revenue is recognized for each static pool over the economic life of the pool. Debt purchasing revenue includes two components:
(1)     Revenue from receivable portfolios, which is the accretion of the discount on the negative allowance due to the passage of time (generally the portfolio balance multiplied by the EIR) and also includes all revenue from zero basis portfolio (“ZBA”) collections, and
(2)     Changes in recoveries, which includes
(a)     Recoveries above or below forecast, which is the difference between (i) actual cash collected/recovered during the current period and (ii) expected cash recoveries for the current period, which generally represents over or under performance for the period; and
(b)     Changes in expected future recoveries, which is the present value change of expected future recoveries, where such change generally results from (i) collections “pulled forward from” or “pushed out to” future periods (i.e. amounts either collected early or expected to be collected later) and (ii) magnitude and timing changes to estimates of expected future collections (which can be increases or decreases).
The Company measures expected future recoveries based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Factors that may change the expected future recoveries may include both internal as well as external factors. Internal factors include operational performance, such as capacity and the productivity of our collection staff. External factors that may have an impact on our collections include new laws or regulations, new interpretations of existing laws or regulations, and macroeconomic conditions.
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The following table summarizes the changes in the balance of investment in receivable portfolios, net during the periods presented (in thousands):
Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
2021202020212020
Balance, beginning of period$3,154,001 $3,201,241 $3,291,918 $3,328,150 
Purchases of receivable portfolios (1)
168,188 170,131 481,094 532,183 
Collections applied to investment in receivable portfolios, net (2)
(250,465)(197,259)(803,185)(540,101)
Changes in recoveries (3)
65,913 30,451 176,628 (2,203)
Put-backs and Recalls(1,724)(2,830)(8,081)(14,224)
Deconsolidation of receivable portfolios(4)
(7,335)— (7,335)(2,822)
Disposals and transfers to assets held for sale(1,816)(3,560)(6,128)(6,273)
Foreign currency adjustments(43,491)67,818 (41,640)(28,718)
Balance, end of period$3,083,271 $3,265,992 $3,083,271 $3,265,992 
_______________________
(1)The table below provides the detail on the establishment of negative allowance for expected recoveries of portfolios purchased during the periods presented:
Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
2021202020212020
Purchase price$168,188 $170,131 $481,094 $532,183 
Allowance for credit losses449,412 507,907 1,174,524 1,400,525 
Amortized cost617,600 678,038 1,655,618 1,932,708 
Noncredit discount786,194 1,104,695 2,228,664 2,858,922 
Face value1,403,794 1,782,733 3,884,282 4,791,630 
Write-off of amortized cost(617,600)(678,038)(1,655,618)(1,932,708)
Write-off of noncredit discount(786,194)(1,104,695)(2,228,664)(2,858,922)
Negative allowance168,188 170,131 481,094 532,183 
Negative allowance for expected recoveries - current period purchases$168,188 $170,131 $481,094 $532,183 
(2)Collections applied to investment in receivable portfolios, net, is calculated as follows during the periods presented:
Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
2021202020212020
Cash Collections$566,690 $539,748 $1,785,578 $1,575,242 
Less - amounts classified to revenue from receivable portfolios(316,225)(342,489)(982,393)(1,035,141)
Collections applied to investment in receivable portfolios, net$250,465 $197,259 $803,185 $540,101 
(3)Changes in recoveries is calculated as follows during the periods presented, where recoveries include cash collections, put-backs and recalls, and other cash-based adjustments:
Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
2021202020212020
Recoveries above forecast$77,064 $78,268 $277,861 $197,155 
Changes in expected future recoveries(11,151)(47,817)(101,233)(199,358)
Changes in recoveries$65,913 $30,451 $176,628 $(2,203)
(4)Deconsolidation of receivable portfolios as a result of the Company’s divestiture of its investments in Colombia and Peru in August 2021 and Brazil in April 2020.
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Recoveries above or below forecast represent over and under-performance in the reporting period, respectively. Collections during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 significantly outperformed the projected cash flows. The Company believes the collection over-performance was a result of its sustained improvements in portfolio collections driven by change in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and its liquidation improvement initiatives.
While the Company now has additional information with respect to the impact on collections of the COVID-19 pandemic, the future outlook remains uncertain, and will continue to evolve depending on future developments, including the duration and spread of the pandemic, as well as related actions taken by governments. When reassessing the future forecasts of expected lifetime recoveries during the three months ended September 30, 2021, management considered historical and current collection performance, and believes that for certain static pools collections over-performance resulted in increased total expected recoveries. Although management believes that the relevant macroeconomic conditions have improved and therefore no longer materially impact the Company’s collections performance, uncertainty still remains in the geographies in which the Company operates. As a result of a combination of the above, the Company has updated its forecast, resulting in a net reduction of total estimated remaining collections which in turn, when discounted to present value, resulted in a negative change in expected future period recoveries of approximately $11.2 million and $101.2 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company recorded approximately $47.8 million and $199.4 million, respectively, in negative change in expected future period recoveries. The circumstances around this pandemic continue to rapidly evolve, and will continue to impact the Company’s business and its estimation of expected recoveries in future periods. The Company will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and update its assumptions accordingly.
Note 6: Other Assets
Other assets consist of the following (in thousands):
September 30,
2021
December 31,
2020
Operating lease right-of-use assets$71,962 $72,164 
Real estate owned42,800 42,173 
Identifiable intangible assets, net38,224 45,012 
Deferred tax assets34,473 33,202 
Service fee receivables23,898 26,539 
Prepaid expenses23,087 26,717 
Equity method investments17,286 10,155 
Other financial receivables5,921 12,238 
Income tax deposits— 35,853 
Other34,189 45,109 
Total$291,840 $349,162 

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Note 7: Borrowings
The Company is in compliance in all material respects with all covenants under its financing arrangements as of September 30, 2021. The components of the Company’s consolidated borrowings were as follows (in thousands):
September 30,
2021
December 31,
2020
Global senior secured revolving credit facility$186,188 $481,007 
Encore private placement notes117,290 146,550 
Senior secured notes1,627,019 1,651,619 
Convertible notes and exchangeable notes422,500 583,500 
Cabot securitisation senior facility471,570 478,131 
Other23,922 24,398 
Finance lease liabilities8,003 8,288 
2,856,492 3,373,493 
Less: debt discount and issuance costs, net of amortization(60,268)(91,859)
Total$2,796,224 $3,281,634 
Encore is the parent of the restricted group for the Global Senior Facility, the Senior Secured Notes and the Private Placement Notes, each of which is guaranteed by the same group of material Encore subsidiaries and secured by the same collateral, which represents substantially all of the assets of those subsidiaries.
Global Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility
In September 2020, the Company entered into a multi-currency senior secured revolving credit facility agreement (as amended and restated, the “Global Senior Facility”). In previous periods, the Company referred to this facility as the Cabot Credit Facility. On August 5, 2021, the Company amended and restated the Global Senior Facility to, among other things, (1) extend the termination date from September 2024 to September 2025; (2) reduce the LIBOR and EURIBOR floors from 0.75% to 0.00%; and (3) make certain other administrative changes. The amendment was accounted for as a debt modification. Fees incurred were capitalized as debt issuance costs.
The Global Senior Facility provides for a total committed facility of $1,050.0 million that matures in September 2025 and includes the following key provisions:
Interest at LIBOR (or EURIBOR for any loan drawn in euro or a rate based on SONIA for any loan drawn in British Pound) plus 2.50% per annum, with a LIBOR (or EURIBOR or SONIA) floor of 0.00%;
A restrictive covenant that limits the LTV Ratio (defined in the Global Senior Facility) to 0.75 in the event that the Global Senior Facility is more than 20% utilized;
A restrictive covenant that limits the SSRCF LTV Ratio (defined in the Global Senior Facility) to 0.275;
A restrictive covenant that requires the Company to maintain a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as defined in the Global Senior Facility) of at least 2.0;
Additional restrictions and covenants which limit, among other things, the payment of dividends and the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens; and
Standard events of default which, upon occurrence, may permit the lenders to terminate the Global Senior Facility and declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable.
The Global Senior Facility is secured by substantially all of the assets of the Company and the guarantors. Pursuant to the terms of an intercreditor agreement entered into with respect to the relative positions of (1) the Global Senior Facility, any super priority hedging liabilities and the Private Placement Notes (collectively, “Super Senior Liabilities”) and (2) the Senior Secured Notes, Super Senior Liabilities that are secured by assets that also secure the Senior Secured Notes will receive priority with respect to any proceeds received upon any enforcement action over any such assets.
As of September 30, 2021, the outstanding borrowings under the Global Senior Facility were $186.2 million. The weighted average interest rate of the Global Senior Facility was 3.01% and 3.19% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. The weighted average interest rate of the previous Cabot Credit Facility was 3.06% and 3.30% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively. The weighted average interest rate of the previous Encore revolving credit facility was 3.63% and 3.90% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively. Available capacity under the Global Senior Facility was approximately $863.8 million as of September 30, 2021.
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Private Placement Notes
In August 2017, Encore entered into $325.0 million in senior secured notes with a group of insurance companies (the “Private Placement Notes”). As of September 30, 2021, $117.3 million of the Private Placement Notes remained outstanding. The Private Placement Notes bear an annual interest rate of 5.625%, mature in August 2024 and require quarterly principal payments of $9.8 million. The covenants and material terms for the Private Placement Notes are substantially similar to those for the Global Senior Facility.
Senior Secured Notes
The following table provides a summary of the Company’s senior secured notes (the “Senior Secured Notes”) ($ in thousands):
September 30,
2021
December 31,
2020
Maturity DateInterest Payment DatesInterest Rate
Cabot 2023 Notes$— $309,034 Oct 1, 2023Apr 1, Oct 17.500 %
Encore 2025 Notes405,350 426,752 Oct 15, 2025Apr 15, Oct 154.875 %
Encore 2026 Notes404,203 409,827 Feb 15, 2026Feb 15, Aug 155.375 %
Encore 2028 Notes336,836 — Jun 1, 2028Jun 1, Dec 14.250 %
Encore 2028 Floating Rate Notes
480,630 506,006 Jan 15, 2028Jan 15, Apr 15, Jul 15, Oct 15
EURIBOR +4.250%(1)
$1,627,019 $1,651,619 
_______________________
(1)Interest rate is based on three-month EURIBOR (subject to a 0% floor) plus 4.250% per annum, resets quarterly.

On June 1, 2021, Encore issued £250.0 million (approximately $336.8 million based on an exchange rate of $1.00 to £0.74, the exchange rate as of September 30, 2021) aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due 2028 (the “Encore 2028 Notes”). The Encore 2028 Notes accrue interest at a rate of 4.250% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears on June 1 and December 1 of each year, commencing on December 1, 2021. The Encore 2028 Notes will mature on June 1, 2028, unless earlier repurchased or redeemed by the Company. Encore used the proceeds from the offering to redeem in full the then outstanding £226.2 million (approximately $304.8 million based on an exchange rate of $1.00 to £0.74, the exchange rate as of September 30, 2021) aggregate principal amount of 7.500% senior secured notes due 2023 (the “Cabot 2023 Notes”) at a redemption price of 101.875%, and to pay certain transaction fees and expenses incurred in connection with the offering.

The Senior Secured Notes are secured by the same collateral as the Global Senior Facility and the Private Placement Notes. The guarantees provided in respect of the Senior Secured Notes are pari passu with each such guarantee given in respect of the Global Senior Facility and Private Placement Notes. Subject to the intercreditor agreement described above under “Global Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility,” Super Senior Liabilities that are secured by assets that also secure the Senior Secured Notes will receive priority with respect to any proceeds received upon any enforcement action over any such assets.
Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes
The following table provides a summary of the principal balance, maturity date and interest rate for the Company’s convertible and exchangeable senior notes (the “Convertible Notes” or “Exchangeable Notes,” as applicable) ($ in thousands):
September 30,
2021
December 31,
2020
Maturity DateInterest Payment DatesInterest Rate
2021 Convertible Notes(1)
$— $161,000 Mar 15, 2021Mar 15, Sep 152.875 %
2022 Convertible Notes150,000 150,000 Mar 15, 2022Mar 15, Sep 153.250 %
2023 Exchangeable Notes172,500 172,500 Sep 1, 2023Mar 1, Sep 14.500 %
2025 Convertible Notes100,000 100,000 Oct 1, 2025Apr 1, Oct 13.250 %
$422,500 $583,500 
_______________________
(1)The 2021 Convertible Notes matured on March 15, 2021 and the Company repaid the outstanding principal in cash.
As discussed in “Note 1: Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” the Company adopted ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021 using a modified-retrospective approach. The Company’s convertible and exchangeable notes are no longer bifurcated into a debt component and an equity component, instead, they are carried as a
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single liability, which reflects the principal amount of the convertible and exchangeable notes. The interest expense recognized on the convertible and exchangeable notes is based on coupon rates, rather than higher effective interest rates. The Company has not adjusted prior period comparative information and will continue to disclose prior period financial information in accordance with the previous accounting guidance.
The Exchangeable Notes were issued by Encore Capital Europe Finance Limited (“Encore Finance”), a 100% owned finance subsidiary of Encore, and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Encore. Unless otherwise indicated in connection with a particular offering of debt securities, Encore will fully and unconditionally guarantee any debt securities issued by Encore Finance. Amounts related to Encore Finance are included in the consolidated financial statements of Encore subsequent to April 30, 2018, the date of the incorporation of Encore Finance.
Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding their respective free conversion or exchange date (listed below), holders may convert or exchange their Convertible Notes or Exchangeable Notes under certain circumstances set forth in the applicable indentures. On or after their respective free conversion or exchange dates until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding their respective maturity date, holders may convert or exchange their notes at any time. Certain key terms related to the convertible and exchangeable features as of September 30, 2021 are listed below:
2022 Convertible Notes2023 Exchangeable Notes2025 Convertible Notes
Initial conversion or exchange price$45.57 $44.62 $40.00 
Closing stock price at date of issuance$35.05 $36.45 $32.00 
Closing stock price dateFeb 27, 2017Jul 20, 2018Sep 4, 2019
Conversion or exchange rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)21.9467 22.4090 25.0000 
Free conversion or exchange dateSep 15, 2021Mar 1, 2023Jul 1, 2025
Stated interest rate3.250 %4.500 %3.250 %
In September 2021, in accordance with the indenture for the 2022 Convertible Notes, the Company irrevocably elected “combination settlement” with a specified dollar amount equal to $1,750 per $1,000 principal amount of the 2022 Convertible Notes for all conversions of the 2022 Convertible Notes that occur on or after September 15, 2021, the free conversion date, which effectively will result in an all cash settlement for the 2022 Convertible Notes so long as the stock price is less than $79.74 at the time of conversion. None of the 2022 Convertible Notes have been converted.
In the event of conversion or exchange, the 2025 Convertible Notes and the 2023 Exchangeable Notes are convertible or exchangeable into cash up to the aggregate principal amount of the notes and the excess conversion premium, if any, may be settled in cash or shares of the Company’s common stock at the Company’s election and subject to certain restrictions contained in each of the indentures governing the Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes.
Interest expense related to the Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes during the periods presented was as follows (in thousands):
Three Months Ended September 30,Nine Months Ended September 30,
2021202020212020
Interest expense—stated coupon rate$3,972 $5,130 $12,867 $16,728 
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount— 2,382 — 8,521 
Interest expense—Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes$3,972 $7,512 $12,867 $25,249 
Hedge Transactions
In order to reduce the risk related to the potential dilution and/or the potential cash payments the Company may be required to make in the event that the market price of the Company’s common stock becomes greater than the exchange price of the 2023 Exchangeable Notes, the Company maintains a hedge program that increases the effective exchange price for the 2023 Exchangeable Notes. The Company did not hedge the 2022 Convertible Notes or the 2025 Convertible Notes.
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The details of the hedge program are listed below (in thousands, except conversion or exchange price):
2023 Exchangeable Notes
Cost of the hedge transaction(s)$17,785 
Initial exchange price$44.62 
Effective exchange price$62.48 
Cabot Securitisation Senior Facility
Cabot Securitisation UK Ltd (“Cabot Securitisation”), an indirect subsidiary of Encore, has a senior facility for a committed amount of £350.0 million (as amended, the “Cabot Securitisation Senior Facility”). The Cabot Securitisation Senior Facility matures in March 2025. Funds drawn under the Cabot Securitisation Senior Facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to SONIA plus a margin of 3.06% plus, for periods after March 15, 2023, a step-up margin ranging from zero to 1.00%.
As of September 30, 2021, the outstanding borrowings under the Cabot Securitisation Senior Facility were £350.0 million (approximately $471.6 million based on an exchange rate of $1.00 to £0.74, the exchange rate as of September 30, 2021). The obligations of Cabot Securitisation under the Cabot Securitisation Senior Facility are secured by first ranking security interests over all of Cabot Securitisation’s property, assets and rights (including receivables purchased from Cabot Financial UK from time to time), the book value of which was approximately £364.4 million (approximately $491.0 million based on an exchange rate of $1.00 to £0.74, the exchange rate as of September 30, 2021) as of September 30, 2021. The weighted average interest rate was 3.11% for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 3.12% and 3.28% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.
Cabot Securitisation is a securitized financing vehicle and is a VIE for consolidation purposes. Refer to “Note 8: Variable Interest Entities” for further details.
Note 8: Variable Interest Entities
A VIE is defined as a legal entity whose equity owners do not have sufficient equity at risk, or, as a group, the holders of the equity investment at risk lack any of the following three characteristics: decision-making rights, the obligation to absorb expected losses, or the right to receive expected residual returns of the entity. The primary beneficiary is identified as the variable interest holder that has both the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly affect the entity’s economic performance and the obligation to absorb expected losses or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The Company consolidates VIEs when it is the primary beneficiary.
As of September 30, 2021, the Company’s VIEs include certain securitized financing vehicles and other immaterial special purpose entities that were created to purchase receivable portfolios in certain geographies. The Company is the primary beneficiary of these VIEs. The Company has the power to direct the activities of the VIEs which includes but is not limited to the ability to exercise discretion in the servicing of the financial assets. The Company evaluates its relationships with its VIEs on an ongoing basis to ensure that it continues to be the primary beneficiary.
Most assets recognized as a result of consolidating these VIEs do not represent additional assets that could be used to satisfy claims against the Company’s general assets. Conversely, liabilities recognized as a result of consolidating these VIEs do not represent additional claims on the Company’s general assets; rather, they represent claims against the specific assets of the VIE.
Note 9: Income Taxes
The Company’s effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 was 22.8% and 21.7%, respectively. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company’s effective tax rate was 26.4% and 25.5%, respectively. The difference between the effective tax rate and the 21% federal statutory rate in 2021 was primarily due to the proportion of income earned in higher tax rate jurisdictions compared to lower tax rate jurisdictions. The difference between the effective tax rate and the 21% federal statutory rate in 2020 was primarily due to a change in valuation allowance recognized in the period under the discrete method. The Company utilized the discrete method for recording income taxes during 2020 due to uncertainty in estimating annual pre-tax earnings, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company returned to using the estimated annual effective tax rate method beginning January 1, 2021.
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Each interim period is considered an integral part of the annual period and tax expense or benefit is measured using an estimated annual effective income tax rate. The estimated annual effective tax rate for the full year is applied to the respective interim period, taking into account year-to-date amounts and projected amounts for the year. Since the Company operates in foreign countries with varying tax rates, the Company's quarterly effective tax rate is dependent on the level of income or loss from international operations in the reporting period.
The Company’s subsidiary in Costa Rica is operating under a 100% tax holiday through December 31, 2026. The impact of the tax holiday in Costa Rica for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, was immaterial.
The Company is subject to income taxes in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgement is required in evaluating uncertain tax positions and determining the provision for income taxes. There has been no material change to the Company’s total gross unrecognized tax benefits from December 31, 2020.        
Note 10: Commitments and Contingencies
Litigation and Regulatory
The Company is involved in disputes, legal actions, regulatory investigations, inquiries, and other actions from time to time in the ordinary course of business. The Company, along with others in its industry, is routinely subject to legal actions based on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), comparable state statutes, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), state and federal unfair competition statutes, and common law causes of action. The violations of law investigated or alleged in these actions often include claims that the Company lacks specified licenses to conduct its business, attempts to collect debts on which the statute of limitations has run, has made inaccurate or unsupported assertions of fact in support of its collection actions and/or has acted improperly in connection with its efforts to contact consumers. Such litigation and regulatory actions could involve potential compensatory or punitive damage claims, fines, sanctions, injunctive relief, or changes in business practices. Many continue on for some length of time and involve substantial investigation, litigation, negotiation, and other expense and effort before a result is achieved, and during the process the Company often cannot determine the substance or timing of any eventual outcome.
As of September 30, 2021, there were no material developments in any of the legal proceedings disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
In certain legal proceedings, the Company may have recourse to insurance or third-party contractual indemnities to cover all or portions of its litigation expenses, judgments, or settlements. The Company records loss contingencies in its financial statements only for matters in which losses are probable and can be reasonably estimated. Where a range of loss can be reasonably estimated with no best estimate in the range, the Company records the minimum estimated liability. The Company continuously assesses the potential liability related to its pending litigation and regulatory matters and revises its estimates when additional information becomes available. The Company’s legal costs are recorded to expense as incurred. As of September 30, 2021, the Company has no material reserves for legal matters.
Purchase Commitments
In the normal course of business, the Company enters into forward flow purchase agreements. A forward flow purchase agreement is a commitment to purchase receivables over a duration that is typically three to twelve months, but can be longer, generally with a specifically defined volume range, frequency, and pricing. Typically, these forward flow contracts have provisions that allow for early termination or price re-negotiation should the underlying quality of the portfolio deteriorate over time or if any particular month’s delivery is materially different than the original portfolio used to price the forward flow contract. Certain of these forward flow purchase agreements may also have termination clauses, whereby the agreements can be canceled by either party upon providing a certain specified amount of notice.
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had entered into forward flow purchase agreements for the purchase of nonperforming loans with an estimated minimum aggregate purchase price of approximately $238.0 million. The Company expects actual purchases under these forward flow purchase agreements to be significantly greater than the estimated minimum aggregate purchase price.
Note 11: Segment and Geographic Information
The Company conducts business through several operating segments that have similar economic and other qualitative characteristics and have been aggregated in accordance with authoritative guidance into one reportable segment, portfolio purchasing and recovery. Since the Company operates in one reportable segment, all required segment information can be found in the consolidated financial statements.
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The Company has operations in the United States, Europe and other foreign countries. The following table presents the Company’s total revenues by geographic area in which the Company operates (in thousands):
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2021202020212020
Total revenues(1):
United States$295,700 $256,212 $871,978 $751,197 
International
Europe(2)
113,987 142,495 372,880 353,950 
Other geographies2,937 4,969 12,338 13,643 
116,924 147,464 385,218 367,593 
Total$412,624 $403,676 $1,257,196 $1,118,790 
________________________
(1)Total revenues are attributed to countries based on consumer location.
(2)Based on the financial information that is used to produce the general-purpose financial statements, providing further geographic information is impracticable.
Note 12: Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets
The Company’s goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level annually and in interim periods if certain events occur that indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit may be below its carrying value. Determining the number of reporting units and the fair value of a reporting unit requires the Company to make judgments and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions.
The annual goodwill testing date for the reporting units that are included in the portfolio purchasing and recovery reportable segment is October 1st. There have been no events or circumstances during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 that have required the Company to perform an interim assessment of goodwill carried at these reporting units. Management continues to evaluate and monitor all key factors impacting the carrying value of the Company’s recorded goodwill and long-lived assets. Adverse changes in the Company’s actual or expected operating results, market capitalization, business climate, economic factors or other negative events that may be outside the control of management could result in a material non-cash impairment charge in the future.
The Company’s goodwill is attributable to reporting units included in its portfolio purchasing and recovery segment. The following table summarizes the activity in the Company’s goodwill balance (in thousands):
Three Months Ended September 30,Nine Months Ended September 30,
2021202020212020
Balance, beginning of period$915,067 $838,024 $906,962 $884,185 
Effect of foreign currency translation(19,552)28,633 (11,447)(17,528)
Balance, end of period$895,515 $866,657 $895,515 $866,657 
The Company’s acquired intangible assets are summarized as follows (in thousands):
 As of September 30, 2021As of December 31, 2020
 Gross
Carrying
Amount
Accumulated
Amortization
Net
Carrying
Amount
Gross
Carrying
Amount
Accumulated
Amortization
Net
Carrying
Amount
Customer relationships$66,975 $(29,322)$37,653 $66,796 $(22,714)$44,082 
Developed technologies2,646 (2,566)80 5,048 (4,760)288 
Trade name and other1,567 (1,076)491 6,644 (6,002)642 
Total intangible assets$71,188 $(32,964)$38,224 $78,488 $(33,476)$45,012 

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Item 2 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains “forward-looking statements” relating to Encore Capital Group, Inc. (“Encore”) and its subsidiaries (which we may collectively refer to as the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”) within the meaning of the securities laws. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “will,” “may,” and similar expressions often characterize forward-looking statements. These statements may include, but are not limited to, projections of collections, revenues, income or loss, estimates of capital expenditures, plans for future operations, products or services, financing needs or plans or the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as assumptions relating to these matters. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we caution that these expectations or predictions may not prove to be correct or we may not achieve the financial results, savings, or other benefits anticipated in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgment of our senior management and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which may be beyond our control or cannot be predicted or quantified, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. Many factors including, but not limited to, those set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K under “Part I, Item 1A—Risk Factors” and those set forth in “Part II, Item 1A, Risk Factors” of this Quarterly Report could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, achievements or industry results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Our business, financial condition, or results of operations could also be materially and adversely affected by other factors besides those listed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements were made. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events, or for any other reason, even if experience or future events make it clear that any expected results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements will not be realized. In addition, it is generally our policy not to make any specific projections as to future earnings, and we do not endorse projections regarding future performance that may be made by third parties.
Our Business
We are an international specialty finance company providing debt recovery solutions and other related services for consumers across a broad range of financial assets. We purchase portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables at deep discounts to face value and manage them by working with individuals as they repay their obligations and work toward financial recovery. Defaulted receivables are consumers’ unpaid financial commitments to credit originators, including banks, credit unions, consumer finance companies and commercial retailers. Defaulted receivables may also include receivables subject to bankruptcy proceedings. We also provide debt servicing and other portfolio management services to credit originators for non-performing loans.
Encore Capital Group, Inc. (“Encore”) has three primary business units: MCM, which consists of Midland Credit Management, Inc. and its subsidiaries and domestic affiliates; Cabot, which consists of Cabot Credit Management Limited (“CCM”) and its subsidiaries and European affiliates, and LAAP, which is comprised of our investments and operations in Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
MCM (United States)
Through MCM we are a market leader in portfolio purchasing and recovery in the United States, including Puerto Rico.
Cabot (Europe)
Through Cabot we are one of the largest credit management services providers in Europe and a market leader in the United Kingdom. Cabot, in addition to its primary business of portfolio purchasing and recovery, also provides a range of debt servicing offerings such as early stage collections, business process outsourcing (“BPO”), and contingent collections, including through Wescot Credit Services Limited (“Wescot”), a leading U.K. contingency debt collection and BPO services company.
LAAP (Latin America and Asia-Pacific)
We have purchased non-performing loans in Mexico. Additionally, we have invested in Encore Asset Reconstruction Company (“EARC”) in India. We previously owned non-performing loans in Colombia and Peru (sold in August 2021) and Brazil (sold in April 2020).
To date, operating results from LAAP have not been significant to our total consolidated operating results. Our long-term growth strategy is focused on continuing to invest in our core portfolio purchasing and recovery business in the United States and United Kingdom and strengthening and developing our business in the rest of Europe.
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Recent Developments
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) a pandemic, which has resulted in authorities implementing numerous measures to contain the virus, including travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, and business limitations and shutdowns (including court closures in certain jurisdictions). While we are unable to accurately predict the full impact that COVID-19 will have on our results from operations, financial condition, liquidity and cash flows due to numerous uncertainties, including the duration and severity of the pandemic and containment measures, our compliance with these measures has impacted our day-to-day operations and could disrupt our business and operations for an indefinite period of time. Through a combination of work-from-home and social distancing, we remain fully operational in all the markets we serve. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting containment measures, we have observed, among other things, a decrease in supply in both US and Europe driven mainly by a decrease in charge off rates.
Government Regulation
MCM (United States)
As discussed in more detail under “Part I - Item 1 - Business - Government Regulation” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our U.S. debt purchasing business and collection activities are subject to federal, state and municipal statutes, rules, regulations and ordinances that establish specific guidelines and procedures that debt purchasers and collectors must follow when collecting consumer accounts, including among others, specific guidelines and procedures for communicating with consumers and prohibitions on unfair, deceptive or abusive debt collection practices.
On October 30, 2020, the CFPB issued final rules in the form of a new Regulation F to implement the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which rules restate and clarify prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices by debt collectors when collecting consumer debt. The rules included provisions related to, among other things, the use of newer technologies (text, voicemail and email) to communicate with consumers and limits relating to telephonic communications. On December 18, 2020, the CFPB also issued an additional debt collection final rule focused on consumer disclosures. This final rule amends Regulation F to provide additional requirements regarding validation information and disclosures provided at the outset of debt collection communications, prohibit suits and threats of suits regarding time-barred debt, and identify actions that must be taken before a debt collector may report information about a debt to consumer reporting agencies. The rules will become effective on November 30, 2021. Based on our assessment of the rules, we believe that the new rules will not have a material incremental effect on our operations.
Cabot (Europe)
As discussed in more detail under “Part I - Item 1 - Business - Government Regulation” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our operations in Europe are affected by foreign statutes, rules and regulations regarding debt collection and debt purchase activities. These statutes, rules, regulations, ordinances, guidelines and procedures are modified from time to time by the relevant authorities charged with their administration, which could affect the way we conduct our business.
Portfolio Purchasing and Recovery
MCM (United States)
In the United States, the defaulted consumer receivable portfolios we purchase are primarily charged-off credit card debt portfolios. A small percentage of our capital deployment in the United States comprises of receivable portfolios subject to Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings.
We purchase receivables based on robust, account-level valuation methods and employ proprietary statistical and behavioral models across our U.S. operations. These methods and models allow us to value portfolios accurately (and limit the risk of overpaying), avoid buying portfolios that are incompatible with our methods or strategies and align the accounts we purchase with our business channels to maximize future collections. As a result, we have been able to realize significant returns from the receivables we acquire. We maintain strong relationships with many of the largest financial service providers in the United States.
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Cabot (Europe)
In Europe, our purchased under-performing debt portfolios primarily consist of paying and non-paying consumer loan accounts. We also purchase: (1) portfolios that are in insolvency status, in particular, individual voluntary arrangements; and (2) non-performing secured mortgage portfolios and real estate assets previously securing mortgage portfolios. When we take possession of the underlying real estate assets or purchase real estate assets, we refer to those as real estate-owned assets, or REO assets.
We purchase paying and non-paying receivable portfolios using a proprietary pricing model that utilizes account-level statistical and behavioral data. This model allows us to value portfolios accurately and quantify portfolio performance in order to maximize future collections. As a result, we have been able to realize significant returns from the assets we have acquired. We maintain strong relationships with many of the largest financial services providers in the United Kingdom and continue to expand in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe with our acquisitions of portfolios.
Purchases and Collections
Portfolio Pricing, Supply and Demand
MCM (United States)
Issuers have continued to sell predominantly fresh portfolios. Fresh portfolios are portfolios that are generally sold within six months of the consumer’s account being charged-off by the financial institution. Pricing in the third quarter remained in line with previous periods. Issuers continued to sell their volume in mostly forward flow arrangements that are often committed early in the calendar year. We are closely monitoring the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on pricing and supply. We have observed a decrease in supply as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but expect supply to ultimately increase.
We believe that smaller competitors continue to face difficulties in the portfolio purchasing market because of the high cost to operate due to regulatory pressure and because issuers are being more selective with buyers in the marketplace. We believe this favors larger participants, such as us, because the larger market participants are better able to adapt to these pressures and commit to larger forward flow agreements.
Cabot (Europe)
The U.K. market for charged-off portfolios has generally provided a relatively consistent pipeline of opportunities over the past few years, despite an ongoing historic low level of charge-off rates, as creditors have embedded debt sales as an integral part of their business models and consumer indebtedness has continued to grow since the financial crisis.

The Spanish debt market continues to be one of the largest in Europe with significant debt sales activity, and an expectation of a significant amount of debt to be sold and serviced in the future. Additionally, financial institutions continue to experience both market and regulatory pressure to dispose of non-performing loans, which should continue to provide debt purchasing opportunities in Spain.
Across all of our European markets, we are closely monitoring the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on pricing and supply of portfolios to purchase. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, banks decreased portfolio sales during 2020 in order to focus on customers’ needs. While we have seen a resumption of sales activity across many of our European markets in 2021, underlying default rates are generally low by historic levels, and sales levels are expected to fluctuate from quarter to quarter as banks seek to re-establish a more stable debt sales strategy. In general, supply remains below pre-pandemic levels while portfolio pricing has become more competitive across our European footprint.


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Purchases by Geographic Location
The following table summarizes the geographic locations of receivable portfolios purchased during the periods presented (in thousands):
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2021202020212020
MCM (United States)$102,339 $141,066 $284,230 $451,141 
Cabot (Europe)65,849 29,065 196,864 81,042 
Total purchases of receivable portfolios$168,188 $170,131 $481,094 $532,183 
During the three months ended September 30, 2021, we invested $168.2 million to acquire receivable portfolios, with face values aggregating $1.4 billion, for an average purchase price of 12.0% of face value. The amount invested in receivable portfolios decreased $1.9 million, or 1.1%, compared with the $170.1 million invested during the three months ended September 30, 2020, to acquire receivable portfolios with face values aggregating $1.8 billion, for an average purchase price of 9.5% of face value.
During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, we invested $481.1 million to acquire receivable portfolios, with face values aggregating $3.9 billion, for an average purchase price of 12.4% of face value. The amount invested in receivable portfolios decreased $51.1 million, or 9.6%, compared with the $532.2 million invested during the nine months ended September 30, 2020, to acquire receivable portfolios with face values aggregating $4.8 billion, for an average purchase price of 11.1% of face value.
In the United States, purchases of receivable portfolios decreased during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the corresponding periods in the prior year. The majority of our purchases in the U.S. are in forward flow agreements, and the timing, contract duration, and volumes for each contract can fluctuate leading to variation when comparing to prior periods. The decrease in purchases in the U.S. is a result of a decrease in supply, which we believe is temporary.
In Europe, purchases of receivable portfolios increased during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the corresponding periods in the prior year. The increases were primarily the result of a relatively limited supply of portfolios and a continuation of our selective purchasing process in conjunction with a plan to reduce European debt leverage during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020. The increases were also attributable to the favorable impact from foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound.
The average purchase price, as a percentage of face value, varies from period to period depending on, among other factors, the quality of the accounts purchased and the length of time from charge-off to the time we purchase the portfolios.
During the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, we invested $8.1 million and $0.2 million in REO assets, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, we invested $11.7 million and $1.5 million in REO assets, respectively.
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Collections from Purchased Receivables by Channel and Geographic Location
We utilize three channels for the collection of our purchased receivables: call center and digital collections; legal collections; and collection agencies. The call center and digital collections channel consists of collections that result from our call centers, direct mail program and online collections. The legal collections channel consists of collections that result from our internal legal channel or from our network of retained law firms. The collection agencies channel consists of collections by third parties to whom we pay a fee or commission. We utilize this channel to supplement capacity in our internal call centers, to service accounts in regions where we do not have collections operations or for accounts purchased where we maintain the collection agency servicing relationship. The following table summarizes the total collections by collection channel and geographic area during the periods presented (in thousands):
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2021202020212020
MCM (United States):
Call center and digital collections$234,923 $246,689 $762,487 $709,780 
Legal collections170,538 139,473 510,285 431,096 
Collection agencies1,121 4,699 6,833 10,766 
Subtotal406,582 390,861 1,279,605 1,151,642 
Cabot (Europe):
Call center and digital collections71,192 65,182 226,873 182,206 
Legal collections45,144 40,171 137,926 115,107 
Collection agencies39,053 36,120 121,545 104,634 
Subtotal155,389 141,473 486,344 401,947 
Other geographies:
Collection agencies4,719 7,414 19,629 21,653 
Subtotal4,719 7,414 19,629 21,653 
Total collections from purchased receivables$566,690 $539,748 $1,785,578 $1,575,242 
Gross collections from purchased receivables increased by $26.9 million, or 5.0%, to $566.7 million during the three months ended September 30, 2021, from $539.7 million during the three months ended September 30, 2020. Gross collections from purchased receivables increased by $210.3 million, or 13.4%, to $1,785.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, from $1,575.2 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2020.
The increase in collections from purchased receivables in the United States was primarily driven by changes in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in legal channel collections and our continued effort in improving liquidation. We are frequently being called upon by our consumers to assist them with their financial recovery through inbound calls and online digital interaction. The large volume of consumer contact resulted in a significant increase in collections and improved our operating efficiency.
The increase in collections from purchased receivables in Europe was primarily due to reduced collections in the prior year resulting from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the favorable impact from foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting containment measures, including impacts to the legal collections process, negatively affected legal collections during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020. We are closely monitoring the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on collections and cost-to-collect.





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Results of Operations
Results of operations, in dollars and as a percentage of total revenues, adjusted by net allowances, were as follows (in thousands, except percentages):
 Three Months Ended September 30,
 20212020
Revenues
Revenue from receivable portfolios$316,225 76.6 %$342,489 84.8 %
Changes in recoveries65,913 16.0 %30,451 7.6 %
Total debt purchasing revenue382,138 92.6 %372,940 92.4 %
Servicing revenue29,321 7.1 %29,787 7.4 %
Other revenues1,165 0.3 %949 0.2 %
Total revenues412,624 100.0 %403,676 100.0 %
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits94,662 22.9 %95,979 23.8 %
Cost of legal collections64,170 15.6 %60,383 15.0 %
General and administrative expenses35,819 8.7 %53,459 13.2 %
Other operating expenses25,226 6.1 %28,088 7.0 %
Collection agency commissions11,964 2.9 %12,703 3.1 %
Depreciation and amortization14,136 3.4 %10,609 2.6 %
Total operating expenses245,977 59.6 %261,221 64.7 %
Income from operations166,647 40.4 %142,455 35.3 %
Other expense
Interest expense(40,874)(9.9)%(52,974)(13.1)%
Loss on extinguishment of debt— — %(14,988)(3.7)%
Other (expense) income(17,504)(4.2)%361 0.1 %
Total other expense(58,378)(14.1)%(67,601)(16.7)%
Income before income taxes108,269 26.3 %74,854 18.6 %
Provision for income taxes(24,703)(6.0)%(19,747)(4.9)%
Net income 83,566 20.3 %55,107 13.7 %
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest— — %(457)(0.1)%
Net income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders$83,566 20.3 %$54,650 13.6 %
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 Nine Months Ended September 30,
 20212020
Revenues
Revenue from receivable portfolios$982,393 78.1 %$1,035,141 92.5 %
Changes in recoveries176,628 14.1 %(2,203)(0.2)%
Total debt purchasing revenue1,159,021 92.2 %1,032,938 92.3 %
Servicing revenue93,901 7.5 %82,417 7.4 %
Other revenues4,274 0.3 %3,435 0.3 %
Total revenues1,257,196 100.0 %1,118,790 100.0 %
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits288,892 23.0 %279,944 25.0 %
Cost of legal collections198,212 15.8 %164,018 14.7 %
General and administrative expenses102,790 8.1 %113,954 10.2 %
Other operating expenses81,895 6.5 %83,527 7.5 %
Collection agency commissions38,465 3.1 %36,562 3.3 %
Depreciation and amortization37,694 3.0 %31,436 2.8 %
Total operating expenses747,948 59.5 %709,441 63.5 %
Income from operations509,248 40.5 %409,349 36.5 %
Other expense
Interest expense(131,559)(10.5)%(157,963)(14.1)%
Loss on extinguishment of debt(9,300)(0.7)%(14,988)(1.4)%
Other expense(16,993)(1.4)%(1,211)(0.1)%
Total other expense(157,852)(12.6)%(174,162)(15.6)%
Income before income taxes351,396 27.9 %235,187 20.9 %
Provision for income taxes(76,278)(6.1)%(59,875)(5.4)%
Net income275,118 21.8 %175,312 15.5 %
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest(419)0.0 %(784)(0.1)%
Net income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders$274,699 21.8 %$174,528 15.4 %

Comparison of Results of Operations
Revenues
Our revenues primarily include revenue recognized from engaging in debt purchasing and recovery activities, our debt purchasing revenue. Effective January 1, 2020, we adopted the CECL accounting standard. Under CECL, we apply our charge-off policy and fully write-off the amortized costs (i.e., face value net of noncredit discount) of the individual receivables we acquire immediately after purchasing the portfolio. We then record a negative allowance that represents the present value of all expected future recoveries for pools of receivables that share similar risk characteristics using a discounted cash flow approach, which is presented as “Investment in receivable portfolios, net” in our consolidated statements of financial condition. The discount rate is an effective interest rate (or “purchase EIR”) established based on the purchase price of the portfolio and the expected future cash flows at the time of purchase.
Debt purchasing revenue includes two components:
(1)     Revenue from receivable portfolios, which is the accretion of the discount on the negative allowance due to the passage of time (generally the portfolio balance multiplied by the EIR), and
(2)     Changes in recoveries, which includes
(a)     Recoveries above (below) forecast, which is the difference between (i) actual cash collected/recovered during the current period and (ii) expected cash recoveries for the current period, which generally represents over or under performance for the period; and
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(b)     Changes in expected future recoveries, which is the present value change of expected future recoveries, where such change generally results from (i) collections “pulled forward from” or “pushed out to” future periods (i.e. amounts either collected early or expected to be collected later) and (ii) magnitude and timing changes to estimates of expected future collections (which can be increases or decreases).
Certain pools already fully recovered their cost basis and became zero basis portfolios (“ZBA”) prior to our adoption of CECL. We did not establish a negative allowance for these pools as we elected the Transition Resource Group for Credit Losses’ practical expedient to retain the integrity of these legacy pools. Similar to how we treated ZBA collections prior to the adoption of CECL, all subsequent collections to the ZBA pools are recognized as ZBA revenue, which is included in revenue from receivable portfolios in our consolidated statements of operations.
Servicing revenue consists primarily of fee-based income earned on accounts collected on behalf of others, primarily credit originators. We earn fee-based income by providing debt servicing (such as early stage collections, BPO, contingent collections, trace services and litigation activities) to credit originators for non-performing loans.
Other revenues primarily include revenues recognized from the sale of real estate assets that are acquired as a result of our investments in non-performing secured residential mortgage portfolios in Europe and LAAP. Other revenues may include gains recognized on transfers of financial assets.
The following table summarizes revenues for the periods presented (in thousands, except percentages):
Three Months Ended September 30,
20212020$ Change% Change
Revenue recognized from portfolio basis$304,341 $329,106 $(24,765)(7.5)%
ZBA revenue11,884 13,383 (1,499)(11.2)%
Revenue from receivable portfolios316,225 342,489 (26,264)(7.7)%
Recoveries above forecast77,064 78,268 (1,204)(1.5)%
Changes in expected future recoveries(11,151)(47,817)36,666 (76.7)%
Changes in recoveries65,913 30,451 35,462 116.5 %
Debt purchasing revenue382,138 372,940 9,198 2.5 %
Servicing revenue29,321 29,787 (466)(1.6)%
Other revenues1,165 949 216 22.8 %
Total revenues$412,624 $403,676 $8,948 2.2 %

Nine Months Ended September 30,
20212020$ Change% Change
Revenue recognized from portfolio basis$944,012 $991,614 $(47,602)(4.8)%
ZBA revenue38,381 43,527 (5,146)(11.8)%
Revenue from receivable portfolios982,393 1,035,141 (52,748)(5.1)%
Recoveries above forecast277,861 197,155 80,706 40.9 %
Changes in expected future recoveries(101,233)(199,358)98,125 (49.2)%
Changes in recoveries176,628 (2,203)178,831 (8117.6)%
Debt purchasing revenue1,159,021 1,032,938 126,083 12.2 %
Servicing revenue93,901 82,417 11,484 13.9 %
Other revenues4,274 3,435 839 24.4 %
Total revenues$1,257,196 $1,118,790 $138,406 12.4 %
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Our operating results are impacted by foreign currency translation, which represents the effect of translating operating results where the functional currency is different than our U.S. dollar reporting currency. The strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies has an unfavorable impact on our international revenues, and the weakening of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies has a favorable impact on our international revenues. Our revenues were favorably impacted by foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound by 6.3% during the three months ended September 30, 2021 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020 and by 8.3% for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2020.
The decreases in revenue recognized from portfolio basis during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 were primarily due to lower portfolio basis driven by the negative changes in expected future period recoveries and a lower volume of purchases in recent quarters.
As discussed above, ZBA revenue represents collections from our legacy ZBA pools. We expect our ZBA revenue to continue to decline as we collect on these legacy pools.
Recoveries above or below forecast represent over and under-performance in the reporting period. Collections during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 significantly outperformed the projected cash flows. We believe the collection over-performance was a result of our sustained improvements in portfolio collections driven by change in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and our liquidation improvement initiatives.
While we now have additional information with respect to the impact on collections of the COVID-19 pandemic, the future outlook remains uncertain, and will continue to evolve depending on future developments, including the duration and spread of the pandemic, as well as related actions taken by governments. When reassessing the future forecasts of expected lifetime recoveries during the three months ended September 30, 2021, management considered historical and current collection performance, and believes that for certain static pools collections over-performance resulted in increased total expected recoveries. Although management believes that the relevant macroeconomic conditions have improved and therefore no longer materially impact our collections performance, uncertainty still remains in the geographies in which we operate. As a result of a combination of the above, we have updated our forecast, resulting in a net reduction of total estimated remaining collections which in turn, when discounted to present value, resulted in a negative change in expected future period recoveries of approximately $11.2 million and $101.2 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recorded approximately $47.8 million and $199.4 million, respectively, in negative change in expected future period recoveries. The circumstances around this pandemic continue to rapidly evolve, and will continue to impact our business and our estimation of expected recoveries in future periods. We will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and update our assumptions accordingly.
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The following tables summarize collections from purchased receivables, revenue from receivable portfolios, end of period receivable balance and other related supplemental data, by year of purchase (in thousands, except percentages):
 Three Months Ended September 30, 2021As of September 30, 2021
 CollectionsRevenue from Receivable PortfoliosChanges in RecoveriesInvestment in Receivable PortfoliosMonthly EIR
United States:
ZBA$11,247 $11,247 $— $— — %
20116,343 4,442 1,815 1,604 88.6 %
20126,371 4,371 1,779 3,320 42.0 %
201314,535 11,842 2,377 9,658 40.5 %
20148,810 5,311 1,365 25,039 6.7 %
20159,872 4,829 2,524 39,618 3.9 %
201620,762 9,188 7,177 73,942 4.1 %
201733,102 16,798 8,297 101,034 5.3 %
201854,240 23,335 9,181 188,650 3.8 %
201995,390 40,104 22,558 331,071 3.8 %
2020107,901 46,988 33,139 403,776 3.7 %
202138,009 26,023 757 264,786 4.0 %
Subtotal406,582 204,478 90,969 1,442,498 4.4 %
Europe:
ZBA22 22 — — — %
201323,131 19,265 (4,703)188,032 3.2 %
201420,522 15,195 (3,087)158,709 3.0 %
201513,901 9,775 (2,984)126,822 2.4 %
2016(1)
11,798 10,087 (7,791)113,336 2.8 %
201719,984 13,325 (6,372)222,894 1.9 %
201818,558 13,090 (6,856)264,678 1.6 %
201920,231 12,403 (1,305)213,600 1.8 %
202014,795 8,432 5,889 120,945 2.3 %
202112,447 8,512 796 186,080 1.9 %
Subtotal155,389 110,106 (26,413)1,595,096 2.2 %
Other geographies:(2)
ZBA615 615 — — — %
2013— — 138 — — %
2014869 190 414 38,441 — %
2015741 220 322 2,265 — %
2016352 110 457 — — %
20171,222 294 — 4,971 — %
2018885 201 15 — — %
201935 11 11 — — %
Subtotal4,719 1,641 1,357 45,677 — %
Total$566,690 $316,225 $65,913 $3,083,271 3.3 %
_______________________
(1)Portfolio balance includes non-accrual pool groups. The EIR presented is only for pool groups that accrete portfolio revenue.
(2)All portfolios are on non-accrual basis subsequent to the sale of our investments in Colombia and Peru in August 2021.
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 Three Months Ended September 30, 2020As of September 30, 2020
 CollectionsRevenue from Receivable PortfoliosChanges in RecoveriesInvestment in Receivable PortfoliosMonthly EIR
United States:
ZBA$12,145 $12,148 $— $— — %
20116,026 5,275 673 2,027 88.6 %
20126,245 5,894 196 4,552 42.0 %
201315,028 14,050 718 11,361 40.5 %
201411,368 8,334 (1,443)37,728 6.7 %
201515,362 7,465 1,585 59,920 3.9 %
201627,343 13,517 2,270 109,636 3.9 %
201745,696 24,441 9,872 149,478 5.2 %
201873,473 36,907 2,871 297,062 3.8 %
2019108,410 64,583 (9,618)522,303 3.8 %
202069,765 37,347 18,752 422,572 3.6 %
Subtotal390,861 229,961 25,876 1,616,639 4.3 %
Europe:
ZBA42 41 — — — %
201324,113 21,588 671 221,977 3.2 %
201421,414 17,301 1,189 191,851 3.1 %
201513,595 10,745 476 147,919 2.4 %
2016(1)
13,531 10,748 1,629 129,015 2.6 %
201721,729 14,891 (689)259,394 1.8 %
201819,341 14,707 (1,577)309,543 1.6 %
201920,682 13,569 (1,557)239,346 1.8 %
20207,026 4,713 3,172 82,980 2.4 %
Subtotal141,473 108,303 3,314 1,582,025 2.3 %
Other geographies:
ZBA1,182 1,194 — — — %
2014(1)
922 399 241 45,043 101.7 %
2015(1)
1,054 597 305 3,395 96.7 %
2016608 390 109 1,626 7.1 %
2017(1)
1,993 925 336 10,933 6.2 %
20181,587 686 261 5,922 3.7 %
201968 34 409 4.6 %
Subtotal7,414 4,225 1,261 67,328 7.9 %
Total$539,748 $342,489 $30,451 $3,265,992 3.4 %
_______________________
(1)Portfolio balance includes non-accrual pool groups. The EIR presented is only for pool groups that accrete portfolio revenue.
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 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021As of September 30, 2021
 CollectionsRevenue from Receivable PortfoliosChanges in RecoveriesInvestment in Receivable PortfoliosMonthly EIR
United States:
ZBA$35,418 $35,418 $— $— — %
201118,660 13,554 5,014 1,604 88.6 %
201219,425 13,930 4,786 3,320 42.0 %
201344,569 37,252 7,269 9,658 40.5 %
201427,714 17,896 936 25,039 6.7 %
201534,788 16,393 5,237 39,618 3.9 %
201671,702 30,703 17,073 73,942 4.1 %
2017117,087 57,023 22,940 101,034 5.3 %
2018184,002 79,230 27,475 188,650 3.8 %
2019317,708 137,499 42,570 331,071 3.8 %
2020335,862 151,098 93,395 403,776 3.7 %
202172,670 44,963 9,203 264,786 4.0 %
Subtotal1,279,605 634,959 235,898 1,442,498 4.4 %
Europe:
ZBA82 82 — — — %
201372,423 62,806 (30,524)188,032 3.2 %
201465,210 49,571 (20,137)158,709 3.0 %
201544,723 31,013 (9,323)126,822 2.4 %
2016(1)
39,204 31,081 (5,594)113,336 2.8 %
201765,295 41,981 (9,409)222,894 1.9 %
201861,584 41,292 (13,968)264,678 1.6 %
201967,610 38,863 3,062 213,600 1.8 %
202046,174 25,853 18,272 120,945 2.3 %
202124,039 16,350 4,653 186,080 1.9 %
Subtotal486,344 338,892 (62,968)1,595,096 2.2 %
Other geographies:(2)
ZBA2,881 2,881 — — — %
2013— — 138 — — %
20142,896 933 678 38,441 — %
20153,058 1,196 1,009 2,265 — %
20161,533 655 731 — — %
20175,211 1,656 535 4,971 — %
20183,905 1,161 589 — — %
2019145 60 18 — — %
Subtotal19,629 8,542 3,698 45,677 — %
Total$1,785,578 $982,393 $176,628 $3,083,271 3.3 %
_______________________
(1)Portfolio balance includes non-accrual pool groups. The EIR presented is only for pool groups that accrete portfolio revenue.
(2)All portfolios are on non-accrual basis subsequent to the sale of our investments in Colombia and Peru in August 2021.
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 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020As of September 30, 2020
 CollectionsRevenue from Receivable PortfoliosChanges in RecoveriesInvestment in Receivable PortfoliosMonthly EIR
United States:
ZBA$40,202 $40,215 $— $— — %
201119,494 17,398 1,444 2,027 88.6 %
201221,377 19,518 338 4,552 42.0 %
201348,854 46,166 (986)11,361 40.5 %
201437,795 27,302 (3,056)37,728 6.7 %
201551,856 25,068 2,821 59,920 3.9 %
201693,103 45,161 4,786 109,636 3.9 %
2017154,198 82,417 17,595 149,478 5.2 %
2018243,439 124,467 (4,204)297,062 3.8 %
2019313,152 205,004 (2,749)522,303 3.8 %
2020128,172 69,143 32,567 422,572 3.6 %
Subtotal1,151,642 701,859 48,556 1,616,639 4.3 %
Europe:
ZBA142 141 — — — %
201369,322 64,334 (6,317)221,977 3.2 %
201462,882 51,799 (1,179)191,851 3.1 %
201540,451 32,138 1,416 147,919 2.4 %
2016(1)
37,144 32,096 (7,235)129,015 2.6 %
201764,225 45,071 (10,603)259,394 1.8 %
201859,452 44,562 (24,395)309,543 1.6 %
201957,277 41,017 (8,139)239,346 1.8 %
202011,052 8,724 4,746 82,980 2.4 %
Subtotal401,947 319,882 (51,706)1,582,025 2.3 %
Other geographies:
ZBA3,162 3,171 — — — %
2014(1)
3,445 1,262 270 45,043 101.7 %
2015(1)
3,559 2,027 525 3,395 96.7 %
20162,025 1,474 (100)1,626 7.1 %
2017(1)
5,082 3,008 52 10,933 6.2 %
20184,201 2,348 205 5,922 3.7 %
2019179 110 (5)409 4.6 %
Subtotal21,653 13,400 947 67,328 3.4 %
Total$1,575,242 $1,035,141 $(2,203)$3,265,992 3.4 %
_______________________
(1)Portfolio balance includes non-accrual pool groups. The EIR presented is only for pool groups that accrete portfolio revenue.
Servicing revenues during the three months ended September 30, 2021 was relatively consistent as compared to servicing revenues during the three months ended September 30, 2020. Servicing revenues increased during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the same period in the prior year, the increase was primarily attributable to increased fee-based income driven by growth in BPO operations in Cabot and the favorable impact of foreign currency translation, which was primarily the result of the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound.
Other revenues increased during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, primarily driven by the increased sale of real estate assets and the favorable impact of foreign currency translation, which was primarily the result of the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound.
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Table of Contents
Operating Expenses
The following table summarizes operating expenses for the periods presented (in thousands, except percentages):
Three Months Ended September 30,
20212020$ Change% Change
Salaries and employee benefits$94,662 $95,979 $(1,317)(1.4)%
Cost of legal collections64,170 60,383 3,787 6.3 %
General and administrative expenses35,819 53,459 (17,640)(33.0)%
Other operating expenses25,226 28,088 (2,862)(10.2)%
Collection agency commissions11,964 12,703 (739)(5.8)%
Depreciation and amortization14,136 10,609 3,527 33.2 %
Total operating expenses$245,977 $261,221 $(15,244)(5.8)%
Nine Months Ended September 30,
20212020$ Change% Change
Salaries and employee benefits$288,892 $279,944 $8,948 3.2 %
Cost of legal collections198,212 164,018 34,194 20.8 %
General and administrative expenses102,790 113,954 (11,164)(9.8)%
Other operating expenses81,895 83,527 (1,632)(2.0)%
Collection agency commissions38,465 36,562 1,903 5.2 %
Depreciation and amortization37,694 31,436 6,258 19.9 %
Total operating expenses$747,948 $709,441 $38,507 5.4 %
Our operating results are impacted by foreign currency translation, which represents the effect of translating operating results where the functional currency is different than our U.S. dollar reporting currency. The strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies has a favorable impact on our international operating expenses, and the weakening of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies has an unfavorable impact on our international operating expenses. Our operating expenses were unfavorably impacted by foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound by approximately 6.3% for the three months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020, and by 8.3% for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2020.
Operating expenses are explained in more detail as follows:
Salaries and Employee Benefits
The decrease in salaries and employee benefits during the three months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020 was primarily due to the following reasons:
Slight decrease of headcount in the US and International locations;
The decrease was partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound.
The increase in salaries and employee benefits during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2020 were primarily due to the following reasons:
Increased salaries and benefits in our fee-based business in Cabot driven by growth in BPO operations;
The unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound.

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Table of Contents
Cost of Legal Collections
Cost of legal collections primarily includes contingent fees paid to our external network of attorneys and the cost of litigation. We pursue legal collections using a network of attorneys that specialize in collection matters and through our internal legal channel. Under the agreements with our contracted attorneys, we advance certain out-of-pocket court costs. Cost of legal collections does not include internal legal channel employee costs, which are included in salaries and employee benefits in our consolidated statements of operations.
The following table summarizes our cost of legal collections during the periods presented (in thousands, except percentages):
Three Months Ended September 30,
20212020$ Change% Change
Court costs$37,970 $38,500 $(530)(1.4)%
Legal collection fees26,200 21,883 4,317 19.7 %
Total cost of legal collections$64,170 $60,383 $3,787 6.3 %
Nine Months Ended September 30,
20212020$ Change% Change
Court costs$119,366 $96,202 $23,164 24.1 %
Legal collection fees78,846 67,816 11,030 16.3 %
Total cost of legal collections$198,212 $164,018 $34,194 20.8 %
Cost of legal collections increased driven by increased legal channel collections. Beginning in late March of 2020, our legal collection channel spending reduced substantially due to court closures in certain jurisdictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the legal collection channel spending has gradually increased and are now back to historical levels.
General and Administrative Expenses
The decreases in general and administrative expense during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 were primarily due to the following reasons:
A charge of $15.0 million relating to our settlement with the CFPB recognized in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020;
Certain third-party costs of approximately $6.9 million incurred relating to various financing transactions completed in September 2020;
The unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound;
The decreases were partially offset by increased information technology related expense.
Other Operating Expenses
Other operating expenses decreased during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, primarily due to reduced expenditures for temporary services and direct collection expenses. The decreases were partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound.
Collection Agency Commissions
Collection agency commissions are commissions paid to third-party collection agencies. Collections through the collections agencies channel are predominately in Europe and Latin America and vary from period to period depending on, among other things, the number of accounts placed with an agency versus accounts collected internally. Commission rates vary depending on, among other things, the amount of time that has passed since the charge-off of the accounts placed with an agency, the asset class, and the geographic location of the receivables. Generally, freshly charged-off accounts have a lower commission rate than accounts that have been charged off for a longer period of time, and commission rates for purchased bankruptcy portfolios are lower than the commission rates for charged-off credit card accounts.
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Depreciation and Amortization
The increases in depreciation and amortization expense during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 were primarily due the write-off of certain computer software and equipment and the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound.
Interest Expense
The following tables summarize our interest expense (in thousands, except percentages):
 Three Months Ended September 30,
 20212020$ Change% Change
Stated interest on debt obligations$36,600 $44,484 $(7,884)(17.7)%
Amortization of debt issuance costs3,917 6,000 (2,083)(34.7)%
Amortization of debt discount
357 2,490 (2,133)(85.7)%
Total interest expense$40,874 $52,974 $(12,100)(22.8)%

 Nine Months Ended September 30,
 20212020$ Change% Change
Stated interest on debt obligations$117,881 $137,366 $(19,485)(14.2)%
Amortization of debt issuance costs12,469 11,795 674 5.7 %
Amortization of debt discount
1,209 8,802 (7,593)(86.3)%
Total interest expense$131,559 $157,963 $(26,404)(16.7)%
In September 2020, we entered into various transactions, agreements and amendments related to our borrowings and completed the implementation of our new global funding structure. In November and December 2020, we completed two offerings of senior secured notes, partially redeemed our Cabot senior secured notes due 2023 and fully redeemed our Cabot floating rate notes due 2024. In June 2021, we completed an offering of senior secured notes due 2028 and fully redeemed the remaining outstanding portion of our Cabot senior secured notes due 2023. These refinancing transactions successfully reduced the interest rates on our outstanding borrowings.
The decreases in interest expense during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 were primarily due to the following reasons:
Lower average debt balances;
Decreased interest rates as a result of various refinancing transactions;
Effective January 1, 2021, we adopted a new accounting standard for our convertible and exchangeable notes and now recognize interest expense at the stated coupon rate of interest, rather than the higher effective interest rate;
Partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation, primarily by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound and increased amortization of loan fees and other loan costs as a result of higher capitalized debt issuance costs.
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt
During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, we recorded $9.3 million of loss on extinguishment of debt in connection with the redemption of our Cabot senior secured notes due 2023. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recorded $15.0 million of loss on extinguishment of debt in connection with various financing transactions. Refer to “Note 7: Borrowings” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements for details of our financing activities.
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Other (Expense) Income
Other income or expense consists primarily of foreign currency exchange gains or losses, interest income, and gains or losses recognized on certain transactions outside of our normal course of business. Other expense was $17.5 million and other income was $0.4 million during the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Other expense was $17.0 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and other expense was $1.2 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2020.
Other expense recognized during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 primarily included the loss on the sale of our investment in Colombia and Peru of $17.4 million. Other expense recognized during the nine months ended September 30, 2020 primarily included a loss of $4.8 million as a result of the divestiture of our investment in Brazil. This loss was partially offset by other income from fair value changes for currency exchange forward contracts which were not designated as hedge instruments for accounting purposes.
Provision for Income Taxes
Provision for income taxes and effective tax rate are as follows for the periods presented ($ in thousands):
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
2021202020212020
Provision for income taxes$24,703 $19,747 $76,278 $59,875 
Effective tax rate22.8 %26.4 %21.7 %25.5 %
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, the difference between our effective tax rate and the federal statutory rate was primarily due to the proportion of income earned in higher tax rate jurisdictions compared to lower tax rate jurisdictions. In 2020, the difference between our effective tax rate and the federal statutory rate was primarily due to a change in valuation allowance recognized in the period under the discrete method. We utilized the discrete method for recording income taxes during 2020 due to uncertainty in estimating annual pre-tax earnings primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We returned to using the estimated annual effective tax rate beginning January 1, 2021.
Non-GAAP Disclosure
In addition to the financial information prepared in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), we provide historical non-GAAP financial information. Management believes that the presentation of such non-GAAP financial information is meaningful and useful in understanding the activities and business metrics of our operations. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of our business that, when viewed with our GAAP results, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business.
Management believes that the presentation of these measures provides investors with greater transparency and facilitates comparison of operating results across a broad spectrum of companies with varying capital structures, compensation strategies, and derivative instruments, which provide a more complete understanding of our financial performance, competitive position, and prospects for the future. Readers should consider the information in addition to, but not instead of, our financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. This non-GAAP financial information may be determined or calculated differently by other companies, limiting the usefulness of these measures for comparative purposes.
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Adjusted EBITDA. Management utilizes adjusted EBITDA (defined as net income before interest income and expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expenses, acquisition, integration and restructuring related expenses, and other charges or gains that are not indicative of ongoing operations), in the evaluation of our operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented is as follows (in thousands):
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
2021202020212020
GAAP net income, as reported$83,566 $55,107 $275,118 $175,312 
Adjustments:
Interest expense40,874 52,974 131,559 157,963 
Interest income(270)(394)(1,170)(1,953)
Provision for income taxes24,703 19,747 76,278 59,875 
Depreciation and amortization14,136 10,609 37,694 31,436 
CFPB settlement fees(1)
— 15,009 — 15,009 
Stock-based compensation expense3,847 3,884 12,903 13,189 
Acquisition, integration and restructuring related expenses(2)
17,950 (23)17,950 4,940 
Loss on extinguishment of debt— 14,988 9,300 14,988 
Adjusted EBITDA$184,806 $171,901 $559,632 $470,759 
Collections applied to principal balance(3)
$188,181 $172,406 $641,765 $547,902 
________________________
(1)Amount represents a charge resulting from the Stipulated Judgment with the CFPB. We have adjusted for this amount because we believe it is not indicative of ongoing operations; therefore, adjusting for it enhances comparability to prior periods, anticipated future periods, and our competitors’ results.
(2)Amount represents acquisition, integration and restructuring related expenses, including the loss recognized on the sale of our investment in Colombia and Peru of $17.4 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and the loss on sale of our investment in Brazil of $4.8 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2020. We adjust for this amount because we believe these expenses are not indicative of ongoing operations; therefore, adjusting for these expenses enhances comparability to prior periods, anticipated future periods, and our competitors’ results.
(3)Collections applied to principal balance is calculated in the table below. For consistency with our debt covenant reporting, for periods subsequent to June 30, 2020, the collections applied to principal balance also includes proceeds applied to basis from sales of REO assets and related activities; prior period amounts have not been adjusted to reflect this change as such amounts were immaterial.
Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
2021202020212020
Collections applied to investment in receivable portfolios, net$250,465 $197,259 $803,185 $540,101 
Less: Changes in recoveries(65,913)(30,451)(176,628)2,203 
REO proceeds applied to basis3,629 5,598 15,208 5,598 
Collections applied to principal balance$188,181 $172,406 $641,765 $547,902 

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Adjusted Operating Expenses. Management utilizes adjusted operating expenses in order to facilitate a comparison of approximate costs to cash collections for our portfolio purchasing and recovery business. Adjusted operating expenses for our portfolio purchasing and recovery business are calculated by starting with GAAP total operating expenses and backing out operating expenses related to non-portfolio purchasing and recovery business, acquisition, integration and restructuring related operating expenses, stock-based compensation expense, settlement fees and related administrative expenses and other charges or gains that are not indicative of ongoing operations. Adjusted operating expenses related to our portfolio purchasing and recovery business for the periods presented are as follows (in thousands):
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
2021202020212020
GAAP total operating expenses, as reported$245,977 $261,221 $747,948 $709,441 
Adjustments:
Operating expenses related to non-portfolio purchasing and recovery business(1)
(47,088)(54,001)(133,008)(137,876)
CFPB settlement fees(2)
— (15,009)— (15,009)
Stock-based compensation expense(3,847)(3,884)(12,903)(13,189)
Acquisition, integration and restructuring related operating expenses(3)
— 23 — (132)
Adjusted operating expenses related to portfolio purchasing and recovery business
$195,042 $188,350 $602,037 $543,235 
________________________
(1)Operating expenses related to non-portfolio purchasing and recovery business include operating expenses from other operating segments that primarily engage in fee-based business, as well as corporate overhead not related to our portfolio purchasing and recovery business.
(2)Amount represents a charge resulting from the Stipulated Judgment with the CFPB. We have adjusted for this amount because we believe it is not indicative of ongoing operations; therefore, adjusting for it enhances comparability to prior periods, anticipated future periods, and our competitors’ results.
(3)Amount represents acquisition, integration and restructuring related operating expenses. We adjust for this amount because we believe these operating expenses are not indicative of ongoing operations; therefore, adjusting for these expenses enhances comparability to prior periods, anticipated future periods, and our competitors’ results.
Cost per Dollar Collected
We utilize adjusted operating expenses in order to facilitate a comparison of approximate costs to cash collections from purchased receivables for our portfolio purchasing and recovery business. The following table summarizes our cost per dollar collected (defined as adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of collections from purchased receivables) by geographic location during the periods presented:
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2021202020212020
United States35.4 %36.9 %34.5 %36.1 %
Europe31.0 %28.1 %30.7 %28.7 %
Other geographies58.7 %55.6 %55.4 %55.5 %
Overall cost per dollar collected34.4 %34.9 %33.7 %34.5 %
Cost-to-collect decreased during the periods presented, primarily attributable to decreased cost-to-collect in the U.S., driven by continued improvement in operational efficiencies in the collection process.
Cost-to-collect in Europe increased due to increased spend in legal collection channel. Our European legal collection channel spending reduced substantially in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the legal collection channel spending increased substantially in the third quarter of 2021 as compared to the same period in the prior year and drove the higher overall cost-to-collect in Europe.
Collections from other geographies continue to decline as we continue to focus on the U.S. and European markets. Cost-to-collect in LAAP is expected to stay at an elevated level and will continue to fluctuate over time.
Over time, we expect our cost-to-collect to remain competitive, but also to fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on seasonality, product mix, acquisitions, foreign exchange rates, the cost of new operating initiatives, and the changing regulatory and legislative environment.
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Supplemental Performance Data
The tables included in this supplemental performance data section include detail for purchases, collections and ERC by year of purchase.
Our collection expectations are based on account characteristics and economic variables. Additional adjustments are made to account for qualitative factors that may affect the payment behavior of our consumers and servicing related adjustments to ensure our collection expectations are aligned with our operations. We continue to refine our process of forecasting collections both domestically and internationally with a focus on operational enhancements. Our collection expectations vary between types of portfolio and geographic location. For example, in the U.K., due to the higher concentration of payment plans, as compared to the U.S. and other locations in Europe, we expect to receive streams of collections over longer periods of time. As a result, past performance of pools in certain geographic locations or of certain types of portfolio are not necessarily a suitable indicator of future results in other locations or for other types of portfolio.
The supplemental performance data presented in this section is impacted by foreign currency translation, which represents the effect of translating financial results where the functional currency of our foreign subsidiary is different than our U.S. dollar reporting currency. For example, the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies has an unfavorable reporting impact on our international purchases, collections, and ERC, and the weakening of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies has a favorable impact on our international purchases, collections, and ERC.
We utilize proprietary forecasting models to continuously evaluate the economic life of each pool.

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Cumulative Collections from Purchased Receivables to Purchase Price Multiple
The following table summarizes our receivable purchases and related gross collections by year of purchase (in thousands, except multiples):
Year of
Purchase
Purchase
Price(1)
Cumulative Collections through September 30, 2021
<20122012201320142015201620172018201920202021
Total(2)
Multiple(3)
United States:
<2012$2,143,750 $3,983,166 $760,285 $554,597 $391,737 $293,528 $206,933 $155,456 $121,545 $99,300 $77,101 $52,866 $6,696,514 3.1 
2012548,803 — 187,721 350,134 259,252 176,914 113,067 74,507 48,832 37,327 27,797 19,564 1,295,115 2.4 
2013551,866 — — 230,051 397,646 298,068 203,386 147,503 107,399 84,665 64,436 45,642 1,578,796 2.9 
2014517,651 — — — 144,178 307,814 216,357 142,147 94,929 69,059 47,628 27,714 1,049,826 2.0 
2015499,075 — — — — 105,610 231,102 186,391 125,673 85,042 64,133 34,788 832,739 1.7 
2016553,170 — — — — — 110,875 283,035 234,690 159,279 116,452 71,702 976,033 1.8 
2017528,087 — — — — — — 111,902 315,853 255,048 193,328 117,087 993,218 1.9 
2018630,553 — — — — — — — 175,042 351,696 308,302 184,002 1,019,042 1.6 
2019676,937 — — — — — — — — 174,693 416,315 317,708 908,716 1.3 
2020539,131 — — — — — — — — — 213,450 335,862 549,312 1.0 
2021283,288 — — — — — — — — — — 72,670 72,670 0.3 
Subtotal7,472,311 3,983,166 948,006 1,134,782 1,192,813 1,181,934 1,081,720 1,100,941 1,223,963 1,316,109 1,528,942 1,279,605 15,971,981 2.1 
Europe:
2013619,079 — — 134,259 249,307 212,129 165,610 146,993 132,663 113,228 93,203 72,423 1,319,815 2.1 
2014623,129 — — — 135,549 198,127 156,665 137,806 129,033 105,337 84,255 65,210 1,011,982 1.6 
2015419,941 — — — — 65,870 127,084 103,823 88,065 72,277 55,261 44,776 557,156 1.3 
2016258,218 — — — — — 44,641 97,587 83,107 63,198 51,609 39,233 379,375 1.5 
2017461,571 — — — — — — 68,111 152,926 118,794 87,549 65,295 492,675 1.1 
2018433,302 — — — — — — — 49,383 118,266 78,846 61,584 308,079 0.7 
2019273,354 — — — — — — — — 44,118 80,502 67,610 192,230 0.7 
2020116,899 — — — — — — — — — 22,721 46,174 68,895 0.6 
2021196,864 — — — — — — — — — — 24,039 24,039 0.1 
Subtotal3,402,357 — — 134,259 384,856 476,126 494,000 554,320 635,177 635,218 553,946 486,344 4,354,246 1.3 
Other geographies:
20126,721 — — 3,848 2,561 1,208 542 551 422 390 294 199 10,015 1.5 
201329,465 — — 6,617 17,615 10,334 4,606 3,339 2,468 1,573 1,042 708 48,302 1.6 
201485,418 — — — 9,652 16,062 18,403 9,813 7,991 6,472 4,300 3,204 75,897 0.9 
201581,232 — — — — 15,061 57,064 43,499 32,622 17,499 4,688 3,058 173,491 2.1 
201661,595 — — — — — 29,269 39,710 28,992 16,078 5,196 3,199 122,444 2.0 
201749,670 — — — — — — 15,471 23,075 15,383 7,303 5,211 66,443 1.3 
201825,731 — — — — — — — 12,910 15,008 5,892 3,905 37,715 1.5 
20192,468 — — — — — — — — 3,198 245 145 3,588 1.5 
Subtotal342,300 — — 10,465 29,828 42,665 109,884 112,383 108,480 75,601 28,960 19,629 537,895 1.6 
Total$11,216,968 $3,983,166 $948,006 $1,279,506 $1,607,497 $1,700,725 $1,685,604 $1,767,644 $1,967,620 $2,026,928 $2,111,848 $1,785,578 $20,864,122 1.9 
________________________
(1)Adjusted for Put-Backs and Recalls. Put-Backs (“Put-Backs”) and recalls (“Recalls”) represent ineligible accounts that are returned by us or recalled by the seller pursuant to specific guidelines as set forth in the respective purchase agreement.
(2)Cumulative collections from inception through September 30, 2021, excluding collections on behalf of others.
(3)Cumulative Collections Multiple (“Multiple”) through September 30, 2021 refers to collections as a multiple of purchase price.
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Total Estimated Collections from Purchased Receivables to Purchase Price Multiple
The following table summarizes our purchases, resulting historical gross collections, and estimated remaining gross collections from purchased receivables, by year of purchase (in thousands, except multiples):
Purchase Price(1)
Historical
Collections(2)
Estimated
Remaining
Collections
Total Estimated
Gross Collections
Total Estimated Gross
Collections to
Purchase Price
United States:
<2011$1,759,963 $5,523,904 $87,587 $5,611,491 3.2 
2011383,787 1,172,610 50,965 1,223,575 3.2 
2012548,803 1,295,115 51,217 1,346,332 2.5 
2013(3)
551,866 1,578,796 139,113 1,717,909 3.1 
2014(3)
517,651 1,049,826 81,461 1,131,287 2.2 
2015499,075 832,739 90,200 922,939 1.8 
2016553,170 976,033 168,721 1,144,754 2.1 
2017528,087 993,218 281,518 1,274,736 2.4 
2018630,553 1,019,042 410,059 1,429,101 2.3 
2019676,937 908,716 736,161 1,644,877 2.4 
2020539,131 549,312 866,983 1,416,295 2.6 
2021283,288 72,670 622,332 695,002 2.5 
Subtotal7,472,311 15,971,981 3,586,317 19,558,298 2.6 
Europe:
2013(3)
619,079 1,319,815 749,120 2,068,935 3.3 
2014(3)
623,129 1,011,982 549,610 1,561,592 2.5 
2015(3)
419,941 557,156 359,332 916,488 2.2 
2016258,218 379,375 300,482 679,857 2.6 
2017461,571 492,675 492,610 985,285 2.1 
2018433,302 308,079 546,999 855,078 2.0 
2019273,354 192,230 454,661 646,891 2.4 
2020116,899 68,895 285,049 353,944 3.0 
2021196,864 24,039 420,688 444,727 2.3 
Subtotal3,402,357 4,354,246 4,158,551 8,512,797 2.5 
Other geographies:
20126,721 10,015 — 10,015 1.5 
201329,465 48,302 — 48,302 1.6 
201485,418 75,897 43,032 118,929 1.4 
201581,232 173,491 8,713 182,204 2.2 
201661,595 122,444 — 122,444 2.0 
201749,670 66,443 18,372 84,815 1.7 
201825,731 37,715 — 37,715 1.5 
20192,468 3,588 — 3,588 1.5 
Subtotal342,300 537,895 70,117 608,012 1.8 
Total$11,216,968 $20,864,122 $7,814,985 $28,679,107 2.6 
________________________
(1)Purchase price refers to the cash paid to a seller to acquire a portfolio less Put-backs, Recalls, and other adjustments. Put-Backs and Recalls represent ineligible accounts that are returned by us or recalled by the seller pursuant to specific guidelines as set forth in the respective purchase agreement.
(2)Cumulative collections from inception through September 30, 2021, excluding collections on behalf of others.
(3)Includes portfolios acquired in connection with certain business combinations.

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Estimated Remaining Gross Collections by Year of Purchase
The following table summarizes our estimated remaining gross collections from purchased receivable portfolios and estimated future cash flows from real estate-owned assets by year of purchase (in thousands):
 
Estimated Remaining Gross Collections by Year of Purchase(1)
 
2021(3)
20222023202420252026202720282029>2029
Total(2)
United States:
<2011$8,163 $26,306 $18,251 $12,631 $8,595 $5,815 $3,846 $2,374 $1,221 $385 $87,587 
20114,224 14,326 10,122 7,106 4,993 3,511 2,473 1,744 1,233 1,233 50,965 
20124,263 14,238 10,097 7,064 4,964 3,492 2,459 1,735 1,227 1,678 51,217 
2013(4)
12,543 38,277 26,397 18,705 13,264 9,408 6,674 4,737 3,363 5,745 139,113 
2014(4)
6,876 22,954 15,764 10,755 7,580 5,364 3,801 2,696 1,916 3,755 81,461 
20157,838 26,045 17,718 12,070 8,048 5,578 3,935 2,786 1,977 4,205 90,200 
201615,720 50,154 33,272 22,245 15,002 9,910 6,788 4,770 3,375 7,485 168,721 
201725,052 80,723 52,589 37,768 25,771 18,021 12,424 8,833 6,254 14,083 281,518 
201839,157 123,594 82,906 55,370 36,686 24,444 16,246 10,558 7,198 13,900 410,059 
201969,662 209,416 140,462 99,741 67,544 46,306 31,966 22,256 15,288 33,520 736,161 
202077,996 265,217 165,362 113,679 77,896 52,503 35,916 25,042 17,506 35,866 866,983 
202142,573 175,202 144,756 84,334 54,499 37,777 25,627 17,916 12,643 27,005 622,332 
Subtotal314,067 1,046,452 717,696 481,468 324,842 222,129 152,155 105,447 73,201 148,860 3,586,317 
Europe:
2013(4)
21,579 83,496 77,549 70,589 65,365 59,671 54,055 49,522 45,689 221,605 749,120 
2014(4)
18,058 68,075 61,742 54,979 49,564 43,928 38,357 34,947 31,261 148,699 549,610 
2015(4)
12,661 47,050 41,672 37,045 33,006 29,192 25,089 22,323 19,879 91,415 359,332 
201613,636 47,744 42,403 35,051 30,149 25,566 20,491 17,246 14,291 53,905 300,482 
201721,184 76,732 65,552 55,338 46,490 38,930 33,538 28,306 24,451 102,089 492,610 
201820,441 76,964 70,419 61,516 53,214 46,010 38,916 33,593 28,522 117,404 546,999 
201920,499 73,974 63,270 53,923 45,296 37,549 29,880 24,897 21,167 84,206 454,661 
202012,604 46,701 42,463 34,385 27,902 24,548 19,793 16,193 13,261 47,199 285,049 
202113,972 64,070 59,243 48,965 41,491 35,532 31,164 26,798 22,480 76,973 420,688 
Subtotal154,634 584,806 524,313 451,791 392,477 340,926 291,283 253,825 221,001 943,495 4,158,551 
Other geographies:
2012— — — — — — — — — — — 
2013— — — — — — — — — — — 
20142,095 7,022 6,502 5,814 4,758 2,796 1,591 1,448 1,448 9,558 43,032 
2015296 1,001 1,217 1,131 1,044 754 631 529 445 1,665 8,713 
2016— — — — — — — — — — — 
2017711 2,621 2,385 2,101 1,894 1,428 822 745 745 4,920 18,372 
2018— — — — — — — — — — — 
2019— — — — — — — — — — — 
Subtotal3,102 10,644 10,104 9,046 7,696 4,978 3,044 2,722 2,638 16,143 70,117 
Portfolio ERC471,803 1,641,902 1,252,113 942,305 725,015 568,033 446,482 361,994 296,840 1,108,498 7,814,985 
REO ERC(5)
10,393 21,264 17,499 9,377 3,471 1,596 269 218 281 — 64,368 
Total ERC$482,196 $1,663,166 $1,269,612 $951,682 $728,486 $569,629 $446,751 $362,212 $297,121 $1,108,498 $7,879,353 
________________________
(1)As of September 30, 2021, ERC for Zero Basis Portfolios include approximately $87.6 million for purchased consumer and bankruptcy receivables in the United States. ERC for Zero Basis Portfolios in Europe and other geographies was immaterial. ERC also includes approximately $70.1 million from cost recovery portfolios, primarily in other geographies.
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(2)Represents the expected remaining gross cash collections over a 180-month period. As of September 30, 2021, ERC for 84-month and 120-month periods were:
84-Month ERC120-Month ERC
   United States$3,341,255 $3,515,672 
   Europe2,932,487 3,537,275 
   Other geographies50,659 58,434 
Portfolio ERC6,324,401 7,111,381 
REO ERC63,872 64,368 
Total ERC$6,388,273 $7,175,749 
(3)Amount for 2021 consists of three months data from October 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
(4)Includes portfolios acquired in connection with certain business combinations.
(5)Real estate-owned assets ERC includes approximately $62.7 million and $1.7 million of estimated future cash flows for Europe and Other Geographies, respectively.
Estimated Future Collections Applied to Investment in Receivable Portfolios
As of September 30, 2021, we had $3.1 billion in investment in receivable portfolios. The estimated future collections applied to the investment in receivable portfolios net balance is as follows (in thousands):
Years Ending December 31,
United States

Europe

Other Geographies
Total
2021(1)
$120,224 $54,385 $3,074 $177,683 
2022422,620 195,574 10,644 628,838 
2023295,722 185,481 9,111 490,314 
2024194,942 158,762 5,814 359,518 
2025129,002 138,140 4,758 271,900 
202687,199 121,473 2,796 211,468 
202758,767 101,652 1,591 162,010 
202840,550 89,193 1,448 131,191 
202928,225 78,677 1,448 108,350 
203019,696 70,113 1,448 91,257 
203114,002 66,216 1,448 81,666 
203210,159 63,471 1,448 75,078 
20337,694 65,008 649 73,351 
20346,006 67,741 — 73,747 
20354,928 75,380 — 80,308 
20362,762 63,830 — 66,592 
Total$1,442,498 $1,595,096 $45,677 $3,083,271 
________________________
(1)Amount for 2021 consists of three months data from October 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
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Purchases by Quarter
The following table summarizes the receivable portfolios we purchased by quarter, and the respective purchase prices and fair value (in thousands):
Quarter# of
Accounts
Face ValuePurchase 
Price
Q1 2019854 $1,732,977 $262,335 
Q2 2019778 2,307,711 242,697 
Q3 20191,255 5,313,092 259,910 
Q4 2019803 2,241,628 234,916 
Q1 2020943 1,703,022 214,113 
Q2 2020754 1,305,875 147,939 
Q3 2020735 1,782,733 170,131 
Q4 2020558 1,036,332 127,689 
Q1 2021749 1,328,865 170,178 
Q2 2021612 1,151,623 142,728 
Q3 2021767 1,403,794 168,188 

Liquidity and Capital Resources
Liquidity
The following table summarizes our cash flow activities for the periods presented (in thousands):
 Nine Months Ended September 30,
 20212020
(Unaudited)
Net cash provided by operating activities$211,990 $249,982 
Net cash provided by investing activities312,808 7,575 
Net cash used in financing activities(564,673)(267,891)
Operating Cash Flows
Cash flows from operating activities represent the cash receipts and disbursements related to all of our activities other than investing and financing activities.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $212.0 million and $250.0 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Operating cash flows are derived by adjusting net income for non-cash operating items such as depreciation and amortization, changes in recoveries, stock-based compensation charges, and changes in operating assets and liabilities which reflect timing differences between the receipt and payment of cash associated with transactions and when they are recognized in results of operations.
Investing Cash Flows
Cash flows relating to investing activities is primarily affected by receivable portfolio purchases offset by collection proceeds applied to the principal of our receivable portfolios.
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Net cash provided by investing activities was $312.8 million and $7.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Receivable portfolio purchases, net of put-backs, were $473.0 million and $518.0 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Collection proceeds applied to the investment in receivable portfolios, net, were $803.2 million and $540.1 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Financing Cash Flows
Financing cash flows are generally affected by borrowings under our credit facilities and proceeds from various debt offerings, offset by repayments of amounts outstanding under our credit facilities and repayments of various notes.
Net cash used in financing activities was $564.7 million and $267.9 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Borrowings under our credit facilities were $418.9 million and $1,695.9 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Repayments of amounts outstanding under our credit facilities were $714.0 million and $2,051.8 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Proceeds from the issuance of senior secured notes were $353.7 million and $410.8 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Repayments of senior secured notes were $349.4 million and $152.4 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We paid $161.0 million of convertible senior notes that matured on March 15, 2021 and $89.4 million of convertible senior notes using cash on hand during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Capital Resources
Historically, we have met our cash requirements by utilizing our cash flows from operations, cash collections from our investment in receivable portfolios, bank borrowings, debt offerings, and equity offerings. Depending on the capital markets, we consider additional financings to fund our operations and acquisitions. From time to time, we may repurchase outstanding debt or equity and/or restructure or refinance debt obligations. Our primary cash requirements have included the purchase of receivable portfolios, entity acquisitions, operating expenses, the payment of interest and principal on borrowings, and the payment of income taxes.
Currently, all of our portfolio purchases are funded with cash from operations, cash collections from our investment in receivable portfolios, and our bank borrowings.
We are in material compliance with all covenants under our financing arrangements. See “Note 7: Borrowings” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements for a further discussion of our debt.
On August 12, 2015, our Board of Directors approved a $50.0 million share repurchase program. On May 5, 2021, we announced that the Board of Directors had approved an increase in the size of the repurchase program from $50.0 million to $300.0 million (an increase of $250.0 million). Repurchases under this program are expected to be made with cash on hand and may be made from time to time, subject to market conditions and other factors, in the open market, through private transactions, block transactions, or other methods as determined by our management and Board of Directors, and in accordance with market conditions, other corporate considerations, and applicable regulatory requirements. The program does not obligate us to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and it may be modified or suspended at any time at our discretion. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, we repurchased 854,002 and 1,976,857 shares of our common stock for approximately $40.7 million and $88.1 million, respectively. Our practice is to retire the shares repurchased.
On November 3, 2021, we announced our intent to launch a tender offer on November 4, 2021 to purchase with cash up to $300.0 million of shares of our common stock. We expect to fund the purchase of shares pursuant to the tender offer, together with all related fees and expenses, with cash and cash equivalents. We may also make a drawing from our Global Senior Facility. We will retire the shares purchased from the tender offer.
In May 2021, we terminated our at-the-market equity offering program (the “ATM Program”) pursuant to which we could issue and sell shares of Encore’s common stock having an aggregate offering price of $50.0 million.
Our cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021 consisted of $20.7 million held by U.S.-based entities and $137.5 million held by foreign entities. Most of our cash and cash equivalents held by foreign entities is indefinitely reinvested and may be subject to material tax effects if repatriated. However, we believe that our U.S. sources of cash and liquidity are sufficient to meet our business needs in the United States and do not expect that we will need to repatriate the funds.
Included in cash and cash equivalents is cash that was collected on behalf of, and remains payable to, third-party clients. The balance of cash held for clients was $28.3 million as of September 30, 2021.
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Cash from operations could also be affected by various risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including timing of cash collections from our consumers, and other risks detailed in our Risk Factors. However, we believe that we have sufficient liquidity to fund our operations for at least the next twelve months, given our expectation of continued positive cash flows from operations, cash collections from our investment in receivable portfolios, our cash and cash equivalents, our access to capital markets, and availability under our credit facilities. Our future cash needs will depend on our acquisitions of portfolios and businesses.
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Item 3 – Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Foreign Currency Exchange Rates. As of September 30, 2021, there had not been a material change in any of the foreign currency risk information disclosed in Item 7A, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
Interest Rates. As of September 30, 2021, there had not been a material change in the interest rate risk information disclosed in Item 7A, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

Item 4 – Controls and Procedures
Attached as exhibits to this Form 10-Q are the certifications required by Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This section includes information concerning the controls and controls evaluation referred to in the certifications.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our periodic reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, our management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives and accordingly, management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.
Based on their most recent evaluation, as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act are effective at the reasonable assurance level.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Except as noted below there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended September 30, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
We have not experienced any material impact to our internal controls over financial reporting due to the COVID-19 pandemic even though many of our employees are working remotely. We are continually monitoring and assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our internal controls to minimize the impact on their design and operating effectiveness.
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PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1 – Legal Proceedings
Information with respect to this item may be found in “Note 10: Commitments and Contingencies,” to the consolidated financial statements.

Item 1A – Risk Factors
There is no material change in the information reported under “Part I-Item 1A-Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

Item 2 - Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Issuer Repurchases of Equity Securities
During the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Company repurchased 854,002 shares of our common stock for approximately $40.7 million. The following table presents information with respect to purchases of common stock of the Company during the three months ended September 30, 2021, by the Company or an “affiliated purchaser” of the Company, as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act:
PeriodTotal Number of Shares Purchased Average
Price Paid
Per Share
Total Number of
Shares Purchased
as Part of Publicly
Announced Plans
or Programs(1)(2)
Maximum Number
of Shares (or
Approximate Dollar
Value) That May
Yet Be Purchased
Under the Publicly
Announced Plans
or Programs(1)
July 1, 2021 to July 31, 2021211,176 $46.74 211,176 $242,710,103 
August 1, 2021 to August 31, 2021337,983 $47.64 337,983 $226,608,593 
September 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021304,843 $48.31 304,843 $211,881,627 
Total854,002 $47.66 854,002 $211,881,627 
________________________
(1)On August 12, 2015, we publicly announced that our Board of Directors had authorized a stock repurchase program for the Company to purchase $50.0 million of our Company’s common stock. On May 5, 2021, we publicly announced that our Board of Directors had authorized a $250.0 million increase to the stock repurchase program, which increased the size of the program from $50.0 million to $300.0 million.
(2)This column discloses the number of shares purchased pursuant to the program during the indicated time periods.

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Item 6 – Exhibits
NumberDescription
3.1.1
3.1.2
3.1.3
3.3
10.1
10.2
31.1
31.2
32.1
101.INSXBRL Instance Document - The instance document does not appear in the interactive data file because XBRL tags are embedded within the inline XBRL document. (filed herewith)
101.SCHXBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document (filed herewith)
101.CALXBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document (filed herewith)
101.DEFXBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document (filed herewith)
101.LABXBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document (filed herewith)
101.PREXBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document (filed herewith)
104Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101


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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
 
ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
By: /s/ Jonathan C. Clark
 Jonathan C. Clark
 Executive Vice President,
 Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
/s/ Peter Reck
Peter Reck
Vice President,
Chief Accounting Officer



Date: November 3, 2021

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