When it comes to U.S. regulatory reforms promulgated by federal agencies, there could be some significant and welcome news for financial institutions next year.

Here’s my advice for 2019 in a nutshell: With IFRS 9 impacts and €780 billion of NPL in Europe alone, stop reading about AI and start thinking about optimization.

Organisations will benefit from standing back from the BAU and determining how their analytics and technologies, which identify and support the management of distressed customers, need to change to ensure they secure that competitive advantage.

Are we making the progress we want to see — and regulators demand — on non-performing loans (NPL)?

Where do we stand on the industry’s challenge to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), now that the DC Circuit Court of Appeals finally issued its long-awaited decision?

In this uncertain environment, are retailers doing enough to manage the vast amount of “tick” consumers have amounted?

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority desperately wants to help 3+ million borrowers get out of persistent debt — but will the fixes work the way they want them to?

Last year saw collectors making plans to deal with new regulations, as were their colleagues throughout banking. It’s no surprise then that the most popular collections posts on the FICO Blog dealt with getting ready for IFRS 9 and GDPR.

With much of the dramatic shift in the U.S. regulatory landscape complete, we are moving to the next stage, which will focus more on efforts to adopt regulatory reform.

In 2017, collections professionals were pulled by regulations, digital transformation, customer demands and new ways of working. Will 2018 be better?