Colleague Corner: Cabot Iberia
Welcome to Encore’s Colleague Corner. In this web series, we’ll get a chance to learn from our colleagues across Encore about their careers and what our Mission to create pathways to economic freedom means to them, while touching on aspects of our culture.
For this edition of Colleague Corner, we reached out to Juan Diego Torres, Country Manager of Cabot Financial’s Spain and Portugal (Cabot Iberia) offices, as well as four colleagues in Cabot Iberia’s offices.
- Juan Diego Torres is Country Manager of Cabot’s Spain and Portugal offices. He has been with the company three years.
Q: How did your career interests lead you to the consumer credit industry? What attracted you to Cabot?
Juan Diego: I’ve always been drawn to the finance industry, particularly consumer credit management. My specialization stems from understanding the critical role credit management plays in supporting society by connecting all the parties and elements involved in the economy.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked both on the banking side and in credit management services, gaining extensive experience across the entire credit lifecycle — from credit initiation to collections, recoveries and debt selling and purchasing, which has allowed me to empathize with all these parties.
A common thread in all my roles has been the importance of the consumer. Cabot gives me the opportunity to work within a company culture that fully aligns with my personal values. This alignment allows me to leverage my expertise to drive initiatives that benefit both the company and our consumers, fostering a more connected and efficient economic environment.
Q: How would you describe your leadership style? What are some ways you feel like it works well at Cabot?
Juan Diego: My leadership style aligns well with Encore’s Mission, Vision and Values (MVV). I characterize it with a deep sense of empathy, with a focus on setting each individual up for success. I prioritize understanding the unique needs and strengths of my team members, ensuring they have the resources and support they need to thrive. My approach involves active engagement, creative thinking and continuous collaboration, fostering an inclusive and dynamic work environment.
Self-awareness is also central to my leadership, allowing me to adapt my approach to resonate with different personalities and situations. By modeling the behaviors I wish to see, I try to inspire and motivate others, leading by example and building trust within my team.
Q: What are some ways Cabot stands ready to help consumers in Portugal and Spain create pathways to economic freedom?
Juan Diego: In Portugal and Spain, Cabot helps create pathways to consumers’ economic freedom by understanding their financial situations and partnering with them to restore their financial health. We have developed a consumer-centric collections model that leverages communication channels, tools, and payment solutions, all designed to deliver the best possible consumer experience while achieving our objectives.
Our commitment is to always make a positive difference in the lives of consumers. This model is in constant evolution, adapting to the changing needs of consumers and the broader macroeconomic conditions that Spain and Portugal are experiencing.
By staying responsive and proactive, we ensure that our approach remains effective and supportive, helping consumers regain financial stability and freedom.
Q: How would you describe Cabot’s role in keeping credit accessible to consumers?
Juan Diego: We try to keep credit accessible to consumers through several strategies. First is our consumer-centric approach. We focus on understanding each consumer’s financial situation by working collaboratively with them. This helps the consumer recover financially without being overwhelmed. Second, we also provide consumers with financial education resources. This helps them not only improve their financial health but also remain eligible for future credit.
When it comes to paying off debt, we offer consumers flexible payment options and tailored repayment plans. We maintain open lines of communication and provide ongoing support, helping consumers feel more confident and empowered to manage their debts. This is crucial in building trust and facilitating successful debt recovery. We also use data analytics to assess risk and help when possible with tailored collection strategies. As consumers pay off their debt, we report successful repayment behavior to credit bureaus to help improve their creditworthiness.
Throughout all these activities, we adhere to ethical collection practices and comply with regulations that ensure consumers are treated with respect.
Q: What opportunities do you see for Cabot to grow in Portugal and Spain?
Juan Diego: Iberia is one of the most attractive non-performing loan markets in Europe, which makes it very competitive. We also see it as key to Cabot’s expansion of our European presence. The Spanish consumer lending market is approximately €150 billion, and all major banks have been selling unsecured portfolios for over 10 years. As a result, most major debt purchasers in Europe are present in Spain and Portugal, creating high competition for portfolios. We aim to achieve scale in this market through operating leverage — buying portfolios, which then grows collections.
We also invited colleagues in Cabot’s Iberia offices to share how they feel about helping people restore their financial health.
- Sara Isabel Santos Henriquez is an Asset Manager in Cabot’s Portugal office. She has been with the company three years.
- Marina Peñas is a Call Center Account Manager in Cabot’s Spain office. She has been with the company 23 years.
- Felipe Sánchez is a Call Center & Dialer Director in Cabot’s Spain office. He has been with the company seven years.
- Cristina Garcia is a Quality & Assurance Agent in Cabot’s Spain office. She has been with the company two years.
Q: Helping people restore their financial health makes me feel ____________.
Sara: Helping people restore their financial health makes me feel fulfilled. One of the most rewarding parts of our work is reaching an agreement with consumers. It means that, together, we found a solution for their financial difficulties and that we accomplished our Mission. Showing interest and trying to understand the reasons that led to a consumer’s financial situation creates a feeling of exclusivity for them. With positive discussions, we develop credibility and trust, helping consumers believe that their situation has a solution.
Marina: Helping people restore their financial health makes me feel good. I try to make sure that, even though it is a difficult conversation, they feel heard and understood — the majority have had a bad time and have been left with nothing. Looking for a solution that turns out well is gratifying, and I am glad to be able to help them clean up their economic health.
Felipe: Helping people restore their financial health makes me feel satisfied and happy because we are contributing toward people transforming their life in a positive way. Many times, with our daily routine, we take things for granted, and this is when we need a reminder of our purpose — to give the consumer the best solution according to their financial situation.
Cristina: Helping people restore their financial health makes me feel tremendously satisfied. As a quality agent and trainer, supporting the account managers is imperative so they can use the right language to communicate to consumers the great opportunity to solve their situations with us — situations that are mostly very complicated — through empathy, dialogue, and respect.