JustinAlbertson

EnghBus1010407Sp15
TermPaper

Industry
Shorttermdebtfortheaveragepersoncanbecategorizedintotwogeneraltypes:
consumerdebtandbusinessdebt.Consumerdebtisusuallyowedastheresultof
purchasinggoodsand/orservicesthatdonotappreciate.Businessdebtisusuallyinthe
formofliabilitiesandloansduewithinoneyear.

Consumerdebtisnotusuallybeneficial,andinexcesscanchallengeanindividual's
abilitytomakeregularpayments.Ifdebtisusedtopurchasesomethingthathassome
sortofproductivityenhancingusefulness,likeacar,foodormedicalexpenses,etc.,it
canbebeneficial.Theaverageamericanconsumerin2009had$3,100dollarsin
unsecuredcreditcarddebtaccordingtoaFederalReserveReportonAmerican
1
2
households
.AnotherreportissuedbytheFederalReserveBoard
(2010),showscredit
cardsaccountfor2.9%oftotaldebtowedbysurveyedhouseholds.

Apartfromregularconsumerdebt,11%ofbusinessfinancingranonpersonaland
3
businesscreditcardsforyoungfirmsstartedin2004reportingin2008(SBA
).
AccordingtoasmallbusinesssurveyconductedbytheNationalSmallBusiness
4
Association
43%ofbusinessessurveyedusedarevolvinglineofcredittofinance
operations.Itisclearthatshorttermlendingiscriticalforsmallbusinessandthe
individual.Othershorttermloansareavailableforsmallbusinesstobepaidbackinsix
to18monthsbuttheyusuallycarryaboveaverageinterestrates.
Consumerdebtor
householddebt
,includessecuredandunsecureddebt(student
loans,creditcards,autoloansanddelinquencies)andamountsto$11.83trilliondollars
4
asofDec2014
.Thisamountstotheequivalentofapproximately66.83%ofGDP.That
debt/creditequatestoextraspendingpowerfortheamericanconsumerthatisdirectly
facilitatedbybanksandlenders.Itsclearthatnearly12trilliondollarswouldnotbe
circulatingintheeconomyifnotforbankslendingoutthismoney.
TakingintoaccountthattwothirdsoftheU.S.economyisbasedonconsumer
spending,itseasytosaythattheextraspendingpowerfinancedbydebt/creditis
importanttotheeconomy.Consumerspendingdoesntdifferentiatebetweencashand
debtbutonecancontrastaveragediscretionaryspendingversusaverageunsecured
5
debt(creditcards).A
2011Discretionaryspendingreport
byExperian
citesthat
the
typicalAmericanhouseholdhas$12,800inannualdiscretionaryspending
.According
6
tocensusdatafrom2000to2011
,unsecureddebtaveragestoseventhousanddollars
(in22011dollars).
Fromtheperspectiveofthelender,that$11.83trilliondollarsisprovidedand
servicedtoconsumerswhom,inturn,spendthatmoneywhichaddstotheGDPofthis
country.Thatcredit(money)isarguablythemostimportantpartoftheeconomy

JustinAlbertson
EnghBus1010407Sp15
TermPaper

becauseitisalargeportionoftheeconomyanditisalsovolatilebecauseitissensitive
tochangesininterestratesandinflation.Shorttermcreditcardsaccountfor
4
approximately$1.5Trilliondollarsinextraspendingpower
fortheaverageconsumer.
Issuingconsumercreditcardsisabilliondollarbusinessformajorplayerslike
CapitalOne,Discover,Mastercard,Visa,andAmericanExpress.Eachofthese
companieshavedifferentinterestrates,termsandfees.Mostnotably,Visaisglobally
recognized,CapitalOnehasagreatrewardsprogramandAmericanExpresshas
excellentcustomerserviceandfraudprotection.
Creditcardsareservicedbybanksandcreditunionsworldwidethatuseacomputer
systemtocreditthemerchantfortheamountofthepurchaseandassemblesthe
chargesonamonthlybillfortheconsumer.Amerchantcanswipeyourcreditcardata
pointofsalewhichcommunicateswithwhatscalledan
acquirer
,toauthorizethecard
andprovideaguaranteetothemerchant.Afterthisauthorization,thechargesarethen
submittedtothebankorcreditunionthatissuedthecard.
Creditcardcompanieshavecallcentersandcardproductionfacilitiestoserviceand
producethecreditcarditself.Themarketingofanygivencardisdoneinchannelsas
standardastelevisioncommercialsorasvariedassportsvenues.Asidefrommarketing
andadvertising,thereisthecostofprovidingcustomerserviceoverthephonetoany
cardmember.Onceacustomerhasbeenacquireditcanbelaborintensive,ina
competitivemarket,tomaintainacustomersexperience.Finally,thereisanadditional
laborcostinvolvedtomakecollectioncallsonunsecureddebtsowed.
Personalinterest
Iampersonallyinterestedincreditcardcompaniesasaconsumer,customerand
student.Ifindittobethemostaccessiblebranchofthefinancialservicesindustry
(comparedtosay,investmentbanking).Iknowsomeonewhohasworkedinthe
financialservicesindustry,atacorporatelevel,makingasixfiguresalaryworkinginthe
financialcrimesdivisionatAmericanExpress.
JobDescription
Asafinancialcrimessupervisor,onewouldworkwithateamoffraudanalystsanda
teamleadtoprovidedetection,preventionandlossmitigationforamajorcardholder.
Resolvingescalatedissuesandmakingcustomercontactwouldbeakeyfunctionof
thisposition.ReportingdirectlytoFraudPreventionmanagementandstayinginstep
withmanagementwouldbeakeyfunctionofthisposition.

JustinAlbertson
EnghBus1010407Sp15
TermPaper

EducationExperience
Thispositionrequiresatleastoneyearofexperienceasafraudanalystinthecredit
cardindustry(whichisconsideredanentrylevelposition)andoneyearofsupervisory
experienceinacallcenterenvironment.Additionally,itrequiresthreeyearsof
experiencewithfinancialservices,fraudand/orcriminaljustice.Knowledgeofsystems
include:PREVENT,FDR,HOGAN,VISADPS/MART/CATS,FDWC.Career
professionalslikemyfriendMr.GarvinhaveanMBAandoveradecadeof
industryrelatedexperienceandaresixsigmatrained.
AverageSalary
AseniormanageratAmericanExpress,forexample,caneasilymakesixfigures.As
aV.P.onecanmakeanaverageof$180k/year.InthecaseofmyfriendMr.Garvin,
yearsofindustryrelatedexperiencegothimaroundtwohundredayear.
CareerOutlook
Ataseniormanagementposition,thereislimitedroomforverticalgrowthbutthereis
plentyofhorizontalgrowthavailable.Amiddlemanagementpositionisusuallyheldfor
anumberofyearsbeforegettingintouppermiddlemanagement.Finally,withindustry
experienceandteamleadershipexperience,asitedirectorpositioncouldbeavailable
atanymajorcreditcardcompany.Atthislevelitsnotuncommontohavea
platinumstatuswithanairlineastraveliscommon.Settingupnewcallcenterscantake
monthsofhandsonworkwhileworkingataV.P.levelcantakeoneawayfromthe
officeoncorporatebusinessandindustryrelatednetworkingopportunities.
ShortBiography
Mr.GarvinhasaBachelorofArtsdegreefromWarrenWilsoncollegeandstartedhis
careerwithAmericanExpressin1991asateamlead.Movingfromateamof60+to
350+asasitedirectorin1994wasabigcareerstep.WorkingasaDirectorfor
Telemarketing,CustomerService,andNewAccountOperations,foratotaloffive
years,Mr.GarvinwaspromotedtothepositionofV.P.OperationsofNewU.S.
Accountsin1999stayingwiththecompanyuntil2011.
Advantages,Disadvantages&FamilyLife
Makingasixfiguresalaryiswithinarmsreachwithinthefinancialservicesindustry.
Whileanalystsmake40kto60k/year,callcenterDirectorsmake90Kto120K.The
moneyisgoodintheuppermanagementofacallcenterenvironmentbuthoursof
overtimecanquicklyaddupattheDirectorlevel.Thiscanbeachallengeforawork/life
balance,especiallyintheFinancialServicesindustry.

JustinAlbertson
EnghBus1010407Sp15
TermPaper

FinalFit
EversinceIfirststartedworkinginacallcenterin2005Ihavehadaneyeonthetop
spotinahighenergyworkplace.Thereisastrongdemandforcallcenterjobsinmy
areaandIhaveseenthatananalyst,(certainlyasupervisor,directororV.P.)canmake
agoodsalaryandalivablewage.Ithinkworkinginfraudpreventionwouldbeagoodfit
formeasasteppingstonetoalongercareerpath.Ihavealwaysbeeninterestedinthe
FinancialServicesindustry,LossPreventionandSecurity.

JustinAlbertson
EnghBus1010407Sp15
TermPaper

TermPaperBibliography
1)SurveyingtheAftermathoftheStorm:ChangesinFamilyFinancesfrom2007to2009
Table5,pg27
By:JesseBricker,BrianBucks,ArthurKennickell,TraciMach,andKevinMoore.
FinanceandEconomicsDiscussionSeriesDivisionsofResearch&StatisticsandMonetary
AffairsFederalReserveBoard,Washington,D.C.
ReferenceLink:
http://federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2011/201117/201117pap.pdf

2)ChangesinU.S.FamilyFinancesfrom2007to2010Table11,pg55
By:BoardofGovernorsoftheFederalReserveSystem
FederalReserveBulletin.June2012,Vol98No2
ReferenceLink:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/pdf/scf12.pdf

3)SmallBusinessFinance.Pg2,Figure3
By:TheSmallBusinessAdministration:OfficeofAdvocacy
ReferenceLink:
https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2014_Finance_FAQ.pdf

4)HouseholdDebtandCreditReport
Graphictitled:
TotalDebtBalance
&
NonHousingDebtBalance

By:TheCenterforMicroeconomicData
ReferenceLink:
http://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html

5)The2011DiscretionarySpendReport
Overview,Pg3Ln1
By:Experian
ReferenceLink:
http://www.experian.com/assets/simmonsresearch/whitepapers/2011discretionaryspendre
port.pdf

6)
MedianHouseholdDebt:2000and2011Fig2,Pg5
Graphictitled:
UnsecuredDebt

By:U.S.CensusBureau
ReferenceLink:
https://www.census.gov/people/wealth/files/Debt%20Highlights%202011.pdf