American Recovery Association (ARA) and National Finance Adjusters (NFA) announced the merger into one trade association. The combined resources and memberships of these two long standing, well respected entities will result in the strongest trade association the industry has ever seen. The new trade association will move forward under the name of the American Recovery Association (ARA). As part of the comprehensive agreement, American Recovery Management Solutions (ARMS) joined with Relliance, Inc. to form the largest industry-owned forwarding and facilitation cooperative in the United States. The co-op will be named National Finance Adjusters (NFA). 

The new trade association, ARA, will focus on compliance training and monitoring, education and training through certification programs, legal representation and lobbying, promotion of member and lender direct relationships, networking, and a captive insurance program.

NFA, the co-op, will focus on offering the lenders a viable alternative to the standard forwarding model, while regaining market share lost to the national forwarding companies. In addition to a centralized assignment, communication and accounting, and risk mitigation, lenders will have the option of communicating directly with the agent if they choose.

The first order of business of this combined entity will be the announcement of a new compliance-monitoring platform that will serve the membership. As the CFPB continues to raise the bar on the lenders and their hiring of third party servicers, this platform will be the most important achievement for our members and our industry.

"Members of both associations, along with lending and recovery industry professionals, have long asked for this to happen and I am proud to be a part of this monumental and historic occasion,” said Jerry Wilson, president of NFA. “The history of these two associations are so intertwined that it makes the merger seamless. In addition, the merger of ARMS and Relliance into one co-op is a very important part of this agreement." 

"We are proud to take this step to create an organization that will concentrate on education, training and compliance monitoring, which is badly needed in today's challenging environment,” said Mary Jane Hogan, president of ARA. “ARMS was created to offer clients a single contract and billing source, so ARA members could receive the maximum amount of revenue on an assignment. As we move forward, the new NFA will continue to fulfill this.”

The home office of the newly formed ARA will remain in Dallas and the corporate office of the co-op will be located in Scottsdale, Ariz. Membership into ARA will be required to join the NFA co-op.