Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
Document and Entity Information (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2014	Feb. 11, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	ECPG
Entity Registrant Name	ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001084961
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		25,804,077
Entity Public Float			$ 1,082,366,321

Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 124,163	$ 126,213
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	2,143,560	1,590,249
Receivables secured by property tax liens, net	259,432	212,814
Property and equipment, net	66,969	55,783
Deferred court costs, net	60,412	41,219
Other assets	197,666	154,783
Goodwill	897,933	504,213
Total assets	3,750,135	2,685,274
Liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	231,967	137,272
Debt	2,773,554	1,850,431
Other liabilities	79,675	95,100
Total liabilities	3,085,196	2,082,803
Commitments and contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	28,885	26,564
Redeemable equity component of convertible senior notes	9,073	0
Equity:
Convertible preferred stock, $.01 par value, 5,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding	0	0
Common stock, $.01 par value, 50,000 shares authorized, 25,794 shares and 25,457 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively	258	255
Additional paid-in capital	125,310	171,819
Accumulated earnings	498,354	394,628
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) gain	(922)	5,195
Total Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders’ equity	623,000	571,897
Noncontrolling interest	3,981	4,010
Total equity	626,981	575,907
Total liabilities, redeemable equity and equity	$ 3,750,135	$ 2,685,274

Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition (Parenthetical) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Convertible preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Convertible preferred stock, shares authorized	5,000,000	5,000,000
Convertible preferred stock, shares issued	0	0
Convertible preferred stock, shares outstanding	0	0
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	50,000,000	50,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	25,794,000	25,457,000
Common stock, shares outstanding	25,794,000	25,457,000
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 124,163	$ 126,213
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	2,143,560	1,590,249
Receivables secured by property tax liens, net	259,432	212,814
Property and equipment, net	66,969	55,783
Deferred court costs, net	60,412	41,219
Other assets	197,666	154,783
Goodwill	897,933	504,213
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	231,967	137,272
Debt	2,773,554	1,850,431
Other liabilities	79,675	95,100
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary, Aggregated Disclosure [Member]
Cash and cash equivalents	44,996	62,403
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	993,462	620,312
Receivables secured by property tax liens, net	108,535	0
Property and equipment, net	15,957	13,755
Deferred court costs, net	17,317	0
Other assets	80,264	33,772
Goodwill	671,434	376,296
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	137,201	47,219
Debt	1,556,956	846,676
Other liabilities	$ 8,724	$ 1,897

Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Revenues
Revenue from receivable portfolios, net	$ 992,832	$ 744,870	$ 545,412
Other revenues	51,988	12,588	905
Net interest income	27,969	15,906	10,460
Total revenues	1,072,789	773,364	556,777
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits	246,247	165,040	101,084
Cost of legal collections	205,661	186,959	168,703
Other operating expenses	93,859	66,649	48,939
Collection agency commissions	33,343	33,097	15,332
General and administrative expenses	146,286	109,713	61,798
Depreciation and amortization	27,949	13,547	5,840
Total operating expenses	753,345	575,005	401,696
Income from operations	319,444	198,359	155,081
Other (expense) income
Interest expense	(166,942)	(73,269)	(25,564)
Other income (expense)	113	(4,222)	808
Total other expense	(166,829)	(77,491)	(24,756)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	152,615	120,868	130,325
Provision for income taxes	(52,725)	(45,388)	(51,754)
Income from continuing operations	99,890	75,480	78,571
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	(1,612)	(1,740)	(9,094)
Net income	98,278	73,740	69,477
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	5,448	1,559	0
Net income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders	103,726	75,299	69,477
Amounts attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
Income from continuing operations	105,338	77,039	78,571
Loss income from discontinued operations, net of tax	(1,612)	(1,740)	(9,094)
Net income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders	$ 103,726	$ 75,299	$ 69,477
Basic earnings (loss) per share from:
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 4.07	$ 3.12	$ 3.16
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	$ (0.06)	$ (0.07)	$ (0.36)
Net basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 4.01	$ 3.05	$ 2.80
Diluted earnings (loss) per share from:
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 3.83	$ 2.94	$ 3.04
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	$ (0.06)	$ (0.07)	$ (0.35)
Net diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 3.77	$ 2.87	$ 2.69
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	25,853	24,659	24,855
Diluted (in shares)	27,495	26,204	25,836

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net income	$ 98,278	$ 73,740	$ 69,477
Other comprehensive gain (loss), net of tax:
Unrealized gain (loss) on derivative instruments	2,340	(817)	194
Unrealized (loss) gain on foreign currency translation	(8,457)	7,786	0
Other comprehensive (loss) gain, net of tax	(6,117)	6,969	194
Comprehensive income	92,161	80,709	69,671
Comprehensive loss (gain) attributable to noncontrolling interest:
Net loss	5,448	1,559	0
Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign currency translation	3,469	(1,398)	0
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	8,917	161	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders	$ 101,078	$ 80,870	$ 69,671

Consolidated Statements of Equity (USD $)
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified

Total

Common Stock [Member]

Additional Paid-In Capital [Member]

Accumulated Earnings [Member]

Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income [Member]

Noncontrolling Interests [Member]

Balance at Dec. 31, 2011

$ 371,535

$ 245

$ 123,406

$ 249,852

$ (1,968)

$ 0

Balance, Shares at Dec. 31, 2011

24,520,000

Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]

Net income (loss)

69,477

Other comprehensive gain, net of tax:

Unrealized gain/loss on derivative instruments

194

Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes

(1,122)

(1,127)

Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes, Shares

534,000

Repurchase of common stock

(49,270)

(18)

(49,252)

Repurchase of common stock, Shares

(1,863,000)

Stock-based compensation

8,794

3,926

Issuance of convertible notes, net

13,923

Convertible hedge transactions

(11,641)

Balance at Dec. 31, 2012

405,816

232

88,029

319,329

(1,774)

Balance, Shares at Dec. 31, 2012

23,191,000

Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]

Net income (loss)

^[1]

74,907

75,299

(392)

Other comprehensive gain, net of tax:

Unrealized gain/loss on derivative instruments

(817)

Unrealized (loss) gain on foreign currency translation

^[2]

8,137

7,786

351

Initial noncontrolling interests related to business combinations

4,051

Change in fair value of redeemable noncontrolling interests

(1,167)

Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes

(4,967)

(4,973)

Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes, Shares

618,000

Repurchase of common stock

(729)

Repurchase of common stock, Shares

(24,000)

Issuance of common stock

62,352

62,335

Issuance of common stock, Shares

1,672,000

Stock-based compensation

12,649

5,420

Issuance of convertible notes, net

31,024

Convertible hedge transactions

(20,769)

Balance at Dec. 31, 2013

575,907

255

171,819

394,628

5,195

4,010

Balance, Shares at Dec. 31, 2013

25,457,000

Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]

Net income (loss)

^[3]

102,791

103,726

(935)

Other comprehensive gain, net of tax:

Unrealized gain/loss on derivative instruments

2,340

Unrealized (loss) gain on foreign currency translation

^[4]

(8,443)

(8,457)

Initial noncontrolling interests related to business combinations

892

Change in fair value of redeemable noncontrolling interests

(5,730)

Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes

(15,489)

(15,496)

Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes, Shares

737,000

Repurchase of common stock

(16,815)

(4)

(16,811)

Repurchase of common stock, Shares

(400,000)

Stock-based compensation

17,181

11,580

Issuance of convertible notes, net

(2,891)

Convertible hedge transactions

(25,269)

Reclassification of redeemable equity component of convertible senior notes

(9,073)

Balance at Dec. 31, 2014

$ 626,981

$ 258

$ 125,310

$ 498,354

$ (922)

$ 3,981

Balance, Shares at Dec. 31, 2014

25,794,000

[1]	Excluding $1,167 of loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests
[2]	Excluding $1,047 gain attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests
[3]	Excluding $4,513 of loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests
[4]	Excluding $3,893 loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Operating activities:
Net income	$ 98,278	$ 73,740	$ 69,477
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	27,949	13,547	5,840
Impairment charge for goodwill and identifiable intangible assets	0	0	10,400
Non-cash interest expense	29,380	18,136	3,268
Stock-based compensation expense	17,181	12,649	8,794
Recognized loss on termination of derivative contract	0	3,630	0
Deferred income taxes	(48,078)	(28,188)	(7,474)
Excess tax benefit from stock-based payment arrangements	(11,928)	(5,609)	(4,123)
Loss on sale of discontinued operations	0	0	2,416
Reversal of allowances on receivable portfolios, net	(17,407)	(12,193)	(4,221)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
Deferred court costs and other assets	(15,532)	(11,697)	2,893
Prepaid income tax and income taxes payable	22,180	(468)	7,060
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other liabilities	9,521	11,228	4,190
Net cash provided by operating activities	111,544	74,775	98,520
Investing activities:
Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired	(495,838)	(449,024)	(186,731)
Purchases of receivable portfolios, net of put-backs	(862,997)	(249,562)	(559,259)
Collections applied to investment in receivable portfolios, net	633,960	546,366	406,815
Originations and purchases of receivables secured by tax liens	(124,533)	(116,960)	(34,036)
Collections applied to receivables secured by tax liens	122,638	70,573	35,706
Purchases of property and equipment	(23,238)	(13,423)	(6,265)
Other	(5,189)	(5,210)	0
Net cash used in investing activities	(755,197)	(217,240)	(343,770)
Financing activities:
Payment of loan costs	(20,101)	(17,207)	(12,359)
Proceeds from credit facilities	1,343,417	659,940	508,399
Repayment of credit facilities	(1,184,244)	(630,163)	(289,673)
Proceeds from senior secured notes	288,645	151,670	0
Repayment of senior secured notes	(15,000)	(13,750)	(2,500)
Proceeds from issuance of convertible senior notes	161,000	172,500	115,000
Proceeds from issuance of securitized notes	134,000	0	0
Repayment of securitized notes	(29,753)	0	0
Repayment of preferred equity certificates, net	(693)	(39,743)	0
Purchases of convertible hedge instruments	(33,576)	(32,008)	(22,669)
Proceeds from sale of warrants	0	0	11,028
Repurchase of common stock	(16,815)	(729)	(49,270)
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards	(20,324)	(9,591)	(2,969)
Excess tax benefit from stock-based payment arrangements	11,928	5,609	4,123
Other, net	(7,839)	548	4,397
Net cash provided by financing activities	626,323	245,980	254,713
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents	(17,330)	103,515	9,463
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	15,280	5,188	0
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	126,213	17,510	8,047
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	124,163	126,213	17,510
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest	95,034	50,181	25,218
Cash paid for income taxes	69,948	66,759	46,297
Supplemental schedule of non-cash investing and financing activities:
Fixed assets acquired through capital lease	$ 8,341	$ 5,011	$ 5,287

Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (“Encore”), through its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”), is an international specialty finance company providing debt recovery solutions for consumers and property owners 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 partnering 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, commercial retailers, and telecommunication companies. Defaulted receivables may also include receivables subject to bankruptcy proceedings. Encore, through certain subsidiaries, is a market leader in portfolio purchasing and recovery in the United States. Encore’s subsidiary, Janus Holdings Luxembourg S.a.r.l. (“Janus Holdings”), through its indirectly held United Kingdom-based subsidiary Cabot Credit Management Limited (“Cabot”), is a market leader in debt management in the United Kingdom, specializing in higher balance, semi-performing accounts. Cabot’s acquisition of Marlin Financial Group Limited (“Marlin”) provides Cabot with substantial litigation-enhanced collections capabilities for non-performing accounts. Encore’s majority-owned subsidiary, Grove Holdings (“Grove”), through its subsidiaries, is a leading specialty investment firm focused on consumer non-performing loans, including insolvencies (in particular, individual voluntary arrangements, or “IVAs”) in the United Kingdom and bank and non-bank receivables in Spain. Encore’s majority-owned subsidiary in Latin America, Refinancia S.A. (“Refinancia”), through its subsidiaries, is one of the market leaders in debt collection and management in Colombia and Peru. To date, operating results from Grove and Latin America have been immaterial to the Company’s total consolidated operating results. In addition, through Encore’s subsidiary, Propel Financial Services, LLC (“Propel”), the Company assists property owners who are delinquent on their property taxes by structuring affordable monthly payment plans and purchases delinquent tax liens directly from selected taxing authorities.

Portfolio Purchasing and Recovery

United States. The Company purchases receivable portfolios based on robust, account-level valuation methods and employs a suite of proprietary statistical and behavioral models across the full extent of its operations. These investments allow the Company to value portfolios accurately (and limit the risk of overpaying), avoid buying portfolios that are incompatible with its methods or goals and precisely align the accounts it purchases with its operational channels to maximize future collections. As a result, the Company has been able to realize significant returns from the receivables it acquires. The Company maintains strong relationships with many of the largest credit and telecommunication providers, and possesses one of the industry’s best collection staff retention rates.

The Company uses insights discovered during its purchasing process to build account collection strategies. The Company’s proprietary consumer-level collectability analysis is the primary determinant of whether an account will be actively serviced post-purchase. The Company continuously refines this analysis to determine the most effective collection strategy to pursue for each account it owns. After the Company’s preliminary analysis, it seeks to collect on only a fraction of the accounts it purchases, through one or more of its collection channels. The channel identification process is analogous to a funneling system, where the Company first differentiates those consumers who it believes are not able to pay from those who are able to pay. Consumers who the Company believes are financially incapable of making any payments, facing extenuating circumstances or hardships (such as medical issues), serving in the military, or currently receiving social security as their only source of income are excluded from the next step of its collection process and are designated as inactive. The remaining pool of accounts in the funnel then receives further evaluation. At that point, the Company analyzes and determines a consumer’s perceived willingness to pay. Based on that analysis, the Company will pursue collections through letters and/or phone calls to its consumers. Despite its efforts to reach consumers and work out a settlement option, only a small number of consumers who are contacted choose to engage with the Company. Those who do are often offered deep discounts on their obligations, or are presented with payment plans that are better suited to meet their daily cash flow needs. The majority of contacted consumers, however, do not respond to both the Company’s calls and letters, and therefore the Company must then make the difficult decision whether or not to pursue collections through legal means.

The Company continually monitors applicable changes to laws governing statutes of limitations and disclosures to consumers. The Company maintains policies, system controls, and processes designed to ensure that accounts past the applicable statute of limitations do not get placed into legal collections. Additionally, in written and verbal communications with consumers, the Company provides disclosures to the consumer that the account is past its applicable statute of limitations and, therefore, the Company will not pursue collections through legal means.

Europe. Through Cabot, portfolio receivables are purchased using a proprietary pricing model. This model allows Cabot to value portfolios with a high degree of accuracy and quantify portfolio performance in order to maximize future collections. As a result, Cabot has been able to realize significant returns from the assets it has acquired. Cabot maintains strong relationships with many of the largest financial service providers in the United Kingdom.

Cabot also uses insights discovered during its purchasing process to build account-level collection strategies. Cabot’s proprietary consumer-level collectability analysis is a determinant of how an account will be serviced post-purchase. Cabot continuously refines this analysis to determine the most effective customer engagement strategy to pursue for each account it owns to ensure that customers are treated fairly and the most suitable engagement and collection strategy for each individual customer is deployed. In recent years, Cabot has concentrated on buying portfolios that are defined as semi-performing, in which over 50% of the accounts have received a payment in three of the last four months immediately prior to the portfolio purchase. Cabot will try to establish contact with these consumers, in order to convey payment arrangements and gauge the willingness of these consumers to pay. Consumers who Cabot believes are financially incapable of making any payments, those having negative disposable income, or those experiencing hardships, are managed outside of normal collection routines.

The remaining pool of accounts then receives further evaluation. Cabot analyzes and estimates a consumer’s perceived willingness to pay. Based on that analysis, Cabot tries to engage with customers through letters and/or phone calls. Where contact is made and consumers indicate a willingness to pay, a patient approach of forbearance is applied using regulatory protocols within the United Kingdom to assess affordability and ensure that plans are fair and balanced and therefore, sustainable. Where consumers are not locatable or refuse to engage in a constructive dialogue, Cabot will pass these accounts through a litigation scorecard and rule set in order to assess suitability for legal action. Through Cabot’s newly acquired subsidiary, Marlin, a leading acquirer of non-performing consumer debt in the United Kingdom, Cabot has a competitive advantage in the use of litigation-enhanced collections for non-paying financial services receivables.

Latin America. Refinancia is one of the market leaders in the management of non-performing loans in Colombia and Peru. In addition to purchasing defaulted receivables, Refinancia offers portfolio management services to banks for non-performing loans. Refinancia also specializes in non-traditional niches in Colombia, including providing financial solutions to individuals with defaulted credit records, payment plan guarantee and factoring services through merchants and loan guarantee services to financial institutions. In addition to operations in Colombia and Peru, the Company evaluates the purchase of non-performing loans in other countries in Latin America from time to time.

Tax Lien Business

Propel’s principal activities are the acquisition and servicing of residential and commercial tax liens on real property. These liens take priority over most other liens. By funding tax liens, Propel provides state and local taxing authorities and governments with much needed tax revenue. To the extent permitted by local law, Propel works with property owners to structure affordable payment plans designed to allow them to keep their property while paying their property tax obligation over time. Propel maintains a foreclosure rate of less than one-half of one percent.

Propel’s receivables secured by property tax liens include Texas tax liens, Nevada tax liens, and tax lien certificates in various other states (collectively, “Tax Liens”). With Texas and Nevada Tax Liens, Texas or Nevada property owners choose to have the taxing authority transfer their tax lien to Propel. Propel pays their tax lien obligation to the taxing authority and the property owner pays Propel over time at a lower interest rate than they would be assessed by the taxing authority. Propel’s arrangements with Texas and Nevada property owners provide them with repayment plans that are both affordable and flexible when compared with other payment options. Propel also purchases Tax Liens in various other states directly from taxing authorities, securing rights to outstanding property tax payments, interest and penalties. In most cases, such Tax Liens continue to be serviced by the taxing authority. When the taxing authority is paid, it repays Propel the outstanding balance of the lien plus interest, which is established by statute or negotiated at the time of the purchase.

Basis of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“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 VIEs, 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 11, “Variable Interest Entities,” for further details. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. The consolidated financial statements include the results of operations of subsidiaries from mergers and acquisitions, since the date of respective acquisitions. Refer to Note 3, “Business Combinations,” for further details.

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 are translated as of the balance sheet date and revenue and expenses are translated at an average rate over the period. 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. Currency translation adjustments are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income. Transaction gains and losses are included in other income or expense.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the consolidated financial statements to conform to the current year’s presentation.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In April 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-08, “Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360) — Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity.” ASU No. 2014-08 limits discontinued operations reporting to disposals of components of an entity that represent strategic shifts that have (or will have) a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. The ASU requires expanded disclosures for discontinued operations and disposals of individually significant components of an entity that do not qualify for discontinued operations reporting. The ASU is effective for disposals and components classified as held for sale that occur within annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014, and interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company early adopted ASU No. 2014-08 in 2014 and adoption did not materially affect the firm’s financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

In May 2014, the FASB issued a comprehensive new revenue recognition standard “Revenue from Contracts with Customers.” This new standard supersedes the existing revenue recognition guidance under GAAP, and requires entities to recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The new standard, which does not apply to financial instruments, is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early adoption is not permitted. This standard is not expected to have a significant impact to the Company’s financial statements since it does not apply to financial instruments.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with GAAP, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase. The Company invests its excess cash in bank deposits and money market instruments, which are afforded the highest ratings by nationally recognized rating firms. The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated statements of financial condition for cash and cash equivalents approximate their fair value.

Investment in Receivable Portfolios

In accordance with the authoritative guidance for loans and debt securities acquired with deteriorated credit quality, discrete receivable portfolio purchases during a quarter are aggregated into pools based on common risk characteristics. Once a static pool is established, the portfolios are permanently assigned to the pool. The discount (i.e., the difference between the cost of each static pool and the related aggregate contractual receivable balance) is not recorded because the Company expects to collect a relatively small percentage of each static pool’s contractual receivable balance. As a result, receivable portfolios are recorded at cost at the time of acquisition. The purchase cost of the portfolios includes certain fees paid to third parties incurred in connection with the direct acquisition of the receivable portfolios.

In compliance with the authoritative guidance, the Company accounts for its investments in consumer receivable portfolios using either the interest method or the cost recovery method. The interest method applies an internal rate of return (“IRR”) to the cost basis of the pool, which remains unchanged throughout the life of the pool, unless there is an increase in subsequent expected cash flows. Subsequent increases in expected cash flows are generally recognized prospectively through an upward adjustment of the pool’s IRR over its remaining life. Subsequent decreases in expected cash flows do not change the IRR, but are recognized as an allowance to the cost basis of the pool, and are reflected in the consolidated statements of income as a reduction in revenue, with a corresponding valuation allowance, offsetting the investment in receivable portfolios in the consolidated statements of financial condition.

The Company accounts for each static pool as a unit for the economic life of the pool (similar to one loan) for recognition of revenue from receivable portfolios, for collections applied to the cost basis of receivable portfolios and for provision for loss or allowance. Revenue from receivable portfolios is accrued based on each pool’s IRR applied to each pool’s adjusted cost basis. The cost basis of each pool is increased by revenue earned and decreased by gross collections and portfolio allowances.

If the amount and timing of future cash collections on a pool of receivables are not reasonably estimable, the Company accounts for such portfolios on the cost recovery method (“Cost Recovery Portfolios”). The accounts in these portfolios have different risk characteristics than those included in other portfolios acquired during the same quarter, or the necessary information was not available to estimate future cash flows and, accordingly, they were not aggregated with other portfolios. See Note 6 “Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net” for further discussion of investment in receivable portfolios.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over the value assigned to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets, liabilities assumed, and noncontrolling interests of businesses acquired. Acquired intangible assets other than goodwill are amortized over their useful lives unless the lives are determined to be indefinite. In accordance with authoritative guidance on goodwill and other intangible assets, goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested at the reporting unit level annually for impairment and in interim periods if certain events occur indicating the fair value of a reporting unit may be below its carrying value. See Note 16 “Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets” for further discussion of the Company’s goodwill and other intangible assets.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are recorded at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. The provision for depreciation and amortization is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:



Fixed Asset Category		Estimated Useful Life
Leasehold improvements		Lesser of lease term, including periods covered by renewal options, or useful life
Furniture, fixtures and equipment		5 to 10 years
Computer hardware and software		3 to 5 years

Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense in the year incurred. Expenditures for major renewals that extend the useful lives of fixed assets are capitalized and depreciated over the useful lives of such assets.

Deferred Court Costs

The Company pursues legal collection using a network of attorneys that specialize in collection matters and through its internal legal channel. The Company generally pursues collections through legal means only when it believes a consumer has sufficient assets to repay their indebtedness but has, to date, been unwilling to pay. In order to pursue legal collections the Company is required to pay certain upfront costs to the applicable courts which are recoverable from the consumer (“Deferred Court Costs”). The Company capitalizes Deferred Court Costs in its consolidated financial statements and provides a reserve for those costs that it believes will ultimately be uncollectible. The Company determines the reserve based on its analysis of court costs that have been advanced and those that have been recovered. The Company writes off any Deferred Court Cost not recovered within five years of placement. Collections received from debtors are first applied to related court costs with the balance applied to the debtors’ account. See Note 7 “Deferred Court Costs, Net” for further discussion.

Receivables Secured by Property Tax Liens, Net

Propel’s receivables are secured by property tax liens. Repayment of the property tax liens is generally dependent on the property owner but can also come through payments from other lien holders or, in less than one half of one percent of cases, from foreclosure on the properties. Propel records receivables secured by property tax liens at their outstanding principal balances, adjusted for, if any, charge-offs, allowance for losses, deferred fees or costs, and unamortized premiums or discounts. Interest income is reported on the interest method and includes amortization of net deferred fees and costs over the term of the agreements. Propel accrues interest on all past due receivables secured by tax liens as the receivables are collateralized by tax liens that are in a priority position over most other liens on the properties. If there is doubt about the ultimate collection of the accrued interest on a specific portfolio, it would be placed on non-accrual basis and, at that time, all accrued interest would be reversed. No receivables secured by property tax liens have been placed on a non-accrual basis. The typical redemption period for receivables secured by property tax liens is less than 84 months.

On May 6, 2014, Propel, through its subsidiaries, completed the securitization of a pool of approximately $141.5 million in receivables secured by property tax liens on real property located in the State of Texas. In connection with the securitization, investors purchased approximately $134.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 1.44% notes collateralized by these property tax liens. The special purpose entity that is used for the securitization is consolidated by the Company as a VIE. The receivables recognized as a result of consolidating this VIE do not represent assets that can be used to satisfy claims against the Company’s general assets. At December 31, 2014, the Company had approximately $259.4 million in receivables secured by property tax liens, of which $108.5 million was carried at the VIE. See Note 11 “Variable Interest Entity” for further discussion.

Income Taxes

The Company uses the liability method of accounting for income taxes in accordance with the authoritative guidance for Income Taxes. When the Company prepares its consolidated financial statements, it estimates income taxes based on the various jurisdictions and countries where it conducts business. This requires the Company to estimate current tax exposure and to assess temporary differences that result from differing treatments of certain items for tax and accounting purposes. Deferred income taxes are recognized based on the differences between the financial statement and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company then assesses the likelihood that deferred tax assets will be realized. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. When the Company establishes a valuation allowance or increases this allowance in an accounting period, it records a corresponding tax expense in the consolidated statement of operations. The Company includes interest and penalties related to income taxes within its provision for income taxes. The Company uses the income forecasting methodology to recognize the income and expenses of the portfolios with the exception of Atlantic, which uses the cost recovery methodology. See Note 13 “Income Taxes” for further discussion.

Management must make significant judgments to determine the provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and any valuation allowance to be recorded against deferred tax assets.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company determines stock-based compensation expense for all share-based payment awards based on the measurement date fair value. The Company recognizes compensation cost only for those awards expected to meet the service and performance vesting conditions over the requisite service period of the award. Forfeiture rates are estimated based on the Company’s historical experience. See Note 12 “Stock-Based Compensation” for further discussion.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

The Company recognizes all derivative financial instruments in its consolidated financial statements at fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivative instruments are recorded in earnings unless hedge accounting criteria are met. The Company designates its interest rate swap and foreign currency exchange contracts as cash flow hedges. The effective portion of the changes in fair value of these cash flow hedges is recorded each period, net of tax, in accumulated other comprehensive income or loss until the related hedged transaction occurs. Any ineffective portion of the changes in fair value of these cash flow hedges is recorded in earnings. In the event the hedged cash flow does not occur, or it becomes probable that it will not occur, the Company would reclassify the amount of any gain or loss on the related cash flow hedge to income or expense at that time. See Note 5 “Derivatives and Hedging Instruments” for further discussion.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests

Some minority shareholders in certain subsidiaries of the Company have the right, at certain times, to require the Company to acquire their ownership interest in those entities at fair value, while others have the right to force a sale of the subsidiary if the Company chooses not to purchase their interests at fair value. The noncontrolling interests subject to these arrangements are included in temporary equity as redeemable noncontrolling interests, and are adjusted to their estimated redemption amounts each reporting period with a corresponding adjustment to additional paid-in capital. Future reductions in the carrying amounts are subject to a “floor” amount that is equal to the fair value of the redeemable noncontrolling interests at the time they were originally recorded. The recorded value of the redeemable noncontrolling interests cannot go below the floor level. These adjustments do not affect the calculation of earnings per share.

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 on the basis of the weighted average number of shares of common stock plus the effect of dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method. Dilutive potential common shares include outstanding stock options, restricted stock, and the dilutive effect of the convertible senior notes.

On April 24, 2014, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a $50.0 million share repurchase program. 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 solicited or unsolicited privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. 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. In May 2014, under this program, the Company repurchased 400,000 shares of its common stock for approximately $16.8 million.

A reconciliation of shares used in calculating earnings per basic and diluted shares follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014	2013	2012
Weighted average common shares outstanding—basic	25,853	24,659	24,855
Dilutive effect of stock-based awards	556	950	981
Dilutive effect of convertible senior notes	1,082	595	—
Dilutive effect of warrants	4	—	—
Weighted average common shares outstanding—diluted	27,495	26,204	25,836

No anti-dilutive employee stock options were outstanding during the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. Employee stock options to purchase approximately 352,000 shares of common stock as of December 31, 2012, were outstanding but not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share because the effect on diluted earnings per share would be anti-dilutive.

The Company has the following convertible senior notes outstanding: $115.0 million convertible senior notes due 2017 at a conversion price equivalent to approximately $31.56 per share of the Company’s common stock (the “2017 Convertible Notes”), $172.5 million convertible senior notes due 2020 at a conversion price equivalent to approximately $45.72 per share of the Company’s common stock (the “2020 Convertible Notes”), and $161.0 million convertible senior notes due 2021 at a conversion price equivalent to approximately $59.39 per share of the Company’s common stock (the “2021 Convertible Notes”).

In the event of conversion, the 2017 Convertible Notes are convertible into cash up to the aggregate principal amount and permit the excess conversion premium to be settled in cash or shares of the Company’s common stock. For the 2020 Convertible Notes and 2021 Convertible Notes, the Company has the option to pay cash, issue shares of common stock or any combination thereof for the aggregate amount due upon conversion. The Company’s intent is to settle the principal amount of the 2020 and 2021 Convertible Notes in cash upon conversion. As a result, upon conversion of all the convertible senior notes, only the amounts payable in excess of the principal amounts are considered in diluted earnings per share under the treasury stock method. For the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, diluted earnings per share include the effect of the common shares issuable upon conversion of the 2017 Convertible Notes because the average stock price exceeded the conversion price of these notes. However, as described in Note 10, “Debt-Encore Convertible Senior Notes,” the Company entered into certain hedge transactions that have the effect of increasing the effective conversion price of the 2017 Convertible Notes to $60.00. On January 2, 2014, the 2017 Convertible Notes became convertible as certain conditions for conversion were met in the immediately preceding calendar quarter as defined in the applicable indenture. However, none of the 2017 Convertible Notes were converted during the year ended December 31, 2014.

In conjunction with the issuance of the 2017 Convertible Notes, the Company entered into privately negotiated transactions with certain counterparties and sold warrants to purchase approximately 3.6 million shares of its common stock. The warrants had an exercise price of $44.19. On December 16, 2013, the Company entered into amendments with the same counterparties to exchange the original warrants with new warrants with an exercise price of $60.00. All other terms and settlement provisions remain unchanged. The warrant restrike transaction was completed on February 6, 2014. Diluted earnings per share includes the effect of these warrants for the year ended December 31, 2014.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for organization, consolidation and basis of presentation of financial statements disclosure.

+ References+ Details

Discontinued Operations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]

Discontinued Operations

On May 16, 2012, the Company completed the sale of substantially all of the assets and certain of the liabilities of its bankruptcy servicing subsidiary Ascension Capital Group, Inc. (“Ascension”), to a subsidiary of American InfoSource, L.P. (“AIS”). As part of the sale, the Company agreed to fund certain, agreed-upon operating losses in the first year of AIS’ ownership of the Ascension business, not to exceed $4.0 million. If the Ascension business becomes profitable under AIS’ ownership, the Company will be paid an earn-out equal to 40% of Ascension’s EBITDA, for the first five years commencing May 16, 2012. The Company received no proceeds from the sale and recognized the entire $4.0 million loss contingency during the second quarter of 2012.

During the year ended December 31, 2013, the Company recognized a loss of $2.2 million incurred to resolve legacy contractual claims against Ascension by a former customer. Additionally, during 2013, the Company accrued a loss of $0.7 million related to the Ascension lease which remains an obligation of the Company. In December 2014, the Company reached an agreement with the lessor to terminate the lease on a portion of the Ascension lease for a fee of approximately $0.6 million. Additionally, the Company recorded a charge of approximately $2.2 million which represented the Company’s best estimate of its total remaining lease obligation for Ascension. As a result, the Company recognized a total loss of $2.8 million related to the Ascension lease during the year ended December 31, 2014. Ascension’s operations are presented as discontinued operations in the Company’s consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income. The following table presents the revenue and components of discontinued operations (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Revenue	$	—		$	—		$	5,704
Loss from discontinued operations before income taxes	$	(2,750	)	$	(2,900	)	$	(11,942	)
Income tax benefit	1,138			1,160			4,678
Loss from discontinued operations	(1,612		)	(1,740		)	(7,264		)
Loss on sale of discontinued operations, before income taxes	—			—			(2,416		)
Income tax benefit	—			—			586
Loss on sale of discontinued operations	—			—			(1,830		)
Total loss from discontinued operations	$	(1,612	)	$	(1,740	)	$	(9,094	)

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the facts and circumstances leading to the completed or expected disposal, manner and timing of disposal, the gain (loss) recognized in the income statement and the income statement caption that includes that gain (loss), amounts of revenues and pretax profit or loss reported in discontinued operations, the segment in which the disposal group was reported, and the classification (whether sold or classified as held for sale) and carrying value of the assets and liabilities comprising the disposal group. Includes all disposal groups, including those classified as components of the entity (discontinued operations).

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+ Details

Business Combinations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Business Combinations

Atlantic Acquisition

On August 6, 2014, the Company, pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement dated August 1, 2014 by and among the Company, Atlantic Credit & Finance, Inc. (“Atlantic”) and the sellers, acquired all of the outstanding equity interests of Atlantic (the “Atlantic Acquisition”). The purchase price consisted of approximately $196.1 million in cash consideration, of which $126.1 million was used to retire certain indebtedness and obligations of Atlantic. Atlantic acquires and liquidates consumer finance receivables originated and charged off by U.S. financial institutions. The Company financed the acquisition through borrowings under its Restated Credit Agreement (as defined in Note 10, “Debt”) and cash on hand.

The Atlantic Acquisition was accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting and, accordingly, the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed were recorded at their estimated fair values as of the date of the acquisition. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company is in the process of finalizing the valuations of certain intangible assets, investment in receivable portfolios, deferred court costs, deferred income taxes, and other assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The initial purchase price allocation presented below was based on the preliminary assessment of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. These provisional measurements are subject to change based on the final valuation study that is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.

The components of the preliminary purchase price allocation for the Atlantic Acquisition were as follows (in thousands):



Purchase price:
Cash paid at acquisition	$	196,104
Allocation of purchase price:
Cash	$	16,743
Investment in receivable portfolios	105,399
Deferred court costs	995
Property and equipment	1,331
Other assets	15,049
Liabilities assumed	(23,550		)
Identifiable intangible assets	2,595
Goodwill	77,542
Total net assets acquired	$	196,104

The goodwill recognized is primarily attributable to (i) the ability to utilize Atlantic’s proven competitive advantage in the collection of freshly charged-off receivable portfolios and (ii) synergies that are expected to arise after the acquisition. The goodwill related to the Atlantic Acquisition is not deductible for income tax purposes.

Total acquisition and integration costs related to the Atlantic Acquisition were approximately $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, and have been expensed in the accompanying consolidated statements of income within general and administrative expenses. The amount of revenue and net income included in the Company’s consolidated statement of income for the year ended December 31, 2014 related to Atlantic since the date of acquisition was $26.5 million and $4.6 million, respectively.

Marlin Acquisition

On February 7, 2014, Cabot, through its subsidiary Cabot Financial Holdings Group Limited (“Cabot Financial Holdings”), entered into a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (the “Marlin Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which Cabot acquired (a) the entire issued share capital of Marlin and (b) certain subordinated fixed rate loan notes of Marlin Financial Intermediate Limited, which is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Marlin (the “Marlin Acquisition”), from funds managed by Duke Street LLP and certain individuals, including certain executive management of Marlin (collectively, the “Sellers”). Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Marlin Purchase Agreement and certain ancillary agreements, Cabot Financial Holdings also assumed substantially all of the outstanding debt of Marlin Intermediate Holdings plc, a subsidiary of Marlin.

The purchase price consisted of £166.8 million (approximately $274.1 million) in cash consideration, of which £44.8 million (approximately $73.7 million) was used to pay off Marlin’s fixed rate loan notes. In addition, Cabot assumed £150.0 million (approximately $246.5 million) of Marlin Intermediate Holdings plc’s outstanding senior secured notes. The Marlin Acquisition was financed with borrowings under Cabot’s existing revolving credit facility and under Cabot’s senior secured bridge facilities. Refer to Note 10, “Debt” for further details of Cabot’s revolving credit facility and senior secured bridge facilities.

The Marlin Acquisition was accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting and, accordingly, the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed were recorded at their estimated fair values as of the date of the acquisition. Fair value measurements have been applied based on assumptions that market participants would use in the pricing of the respective assets and liabilities.

The components of the purchase price allocation for the Marlin Acquisition were as follows (in thousands):



Purchase price:
Cash paid at acquisition	$	274,068
Allocation of purchase price:
Cash	$	16,342
Investment in receivable portfolios	208,450
Deferred court costs	914
Property and equipment	1,335
Other assets	18,091
Liabilities assumed	(299,699		)
Identifiable intangible assets	1,819
Goodwill	326,816
Total net assets acquired	$	274,068

The goodwill recognized is primarily attributable to (i) the ability to utilize Marlin’s proven competitive advantage in the use of litigation-enhanced collections for non-paying financial services receivables and (ii) synergies that are expected to be achieved by applying Cabot’s scoring model to Marlin’s portfolio. The Company is still finalizing its analysis of the effects of these synergies which, when finalized, will be incorporated into Marlin and Cabot’s estimated remaining collections. The entire goodwill of $326.8 million related to the Marlin Acquisition is not deductible for income tax purposes.

Total acquisition and integration costs related to the Marlin Acquisition were approximately $10.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, and have been expensed in the accompanying consolidated statements of income within general and administrative expenses. The amount of revenue and net loss included in the Company’s consolidated statement of income for the year ended December 31, 2014 related to Marlin since the date of acquisition was $67.9 million and $2.5 million, respectively.

Other Acquisitions

In addition to the business combination transactions discussed above, the Company completed certain other acquisitions in 2014. These acquisitions were immaterial to the Company’s financial statements individually and in the aggregate during their respective reporting periods.

Pro Forma Results of Operations

The following summary presents unaudited pro forma consolidated results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, as if the Atlantic Acquisition had occurred on January 1, 2013. The following unaudited pro forma financial information does not necessarily reflect the actual results that would have occurred had Encore and Atlantic been combined during the periods presented, nor is it necessarily indicative of the future results of operations of the combined companies (in thousands):



	(Unaudited) Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013
Consolidated pro forma revenue	$	1,110,872	$	837,878
Consolidated pro forma income from continuing operations attributable to Encore	110,016		81,140

Pro forma financial information for the Marlin Acquisition has not been included as the computation of such information is impracticable and too onerous due to the complexities of a hypothetical calculation because Marlin’s revenue recognition methodology prior to the Marlin Acquisition was significantly different from GAAP.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for a business combination (or series of individually immaterial business combinations) completed during the period, including background, timing, and recognized assets and liabilities. The disclosure may include leverage buyout transactions (as applicable).

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+ Details

Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Measurements

The authoritative guidance for fair value measurements defines fair value 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 guidance utilizes 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.


•	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 December 31, 2014
	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3			Total
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$	—	$	768		$	—		$	768
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	—		(1,037		)	—			(1,037		)
Temporary Equity
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	—		—			(28,885		)	(28,885		)



	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2013
	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3			Total
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$	—	$	46		$	—		$	46
Interest rate cap contracts	—		202			—			202
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	—		(4,123		)	—			(4,123		)
Temporary Equity
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	—		—			(26,564		)	(26,564		)

Derivative Contracts:

The Company uses derivative instruments to minimize its exposure to fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. The Company’s derivative instruments primarily include interest rate swap agreements, interest rate cap contracts, and foreign currency exchange contracts. 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.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests:

Some minority shareholders in certain subsidiaries of the Company, have the right, at certain times, to require the Company to acquire their ownership interest in those entities at fair value, while others have the right to force a sale of the subsidiary if the Company chooses not to purchase their interests at fair value. The noncontrolling interests subject to these arrangements are included in temporary equity as redeemable noncontrolling interests, and are adjusted to their estimated redemption amounts each reporting period with a corresponding adjustment to additional paid-in capital. Future reductions in the carrying amounts are subject to a “floor” amount that is equal to the fair value of the redeemable noncontrolling interests at the time they were originally recorded. The recorded value of the redeemable noncontrolling interests cannot go below the floor level. These adjustments do not affect the calculation of earnings per share.

The components of the change in the redeemable noncontrolling interests for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 are presented in the following table (in thousands):



	Amount
Balance at December 31, 2012	$	—
Initial redeemable noncontrolling interest related to business combinations	25,517
Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	(1,167		)
Adjustment of the redeemable noncontrolling interests to fair value	1,167
Effect of foreign currency translation attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	1,047
Balance at December 31, 2013	26,564
Initial redeemable noncontrolling interest related to business combinations	4,997
Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	(4,513		)
Adjustment of the redeemable noncontrolling interests to fair value	5,730
Effect of foreign currency translation attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	(3,893		)
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	28,885

Financial instruments not required to be carried at fair value

Investment in Receivable Portfolios:

The Company records its investment in receivable portfolios at cost, which represents a significant discount from the contractual receivable balances due. The Company computes the fair value of its investment in receivable portfolios by discounting the estimated future cash flows generated by its proprietary forecasting models. The key inputs include the estimated future gross cash flow, average cost to collect, and discount rate. In accordance with authoritative guidance related to fair value measurements, the Company estimates the average cost to collect and discount rates based on its estimate of what a market participant might use in valuing these portfolios. The determination of such inputs requires significant judgment, including assessing the assumed buyer’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.

In the Company’s current analysis, the estimated blended market participant cost to collect and discount rate is approximately 50.3% and 12.0%, respectively, for United States portfolios and approximately 30.1% and 12.9%, respectively, for United Kingdom portfolios. Using this method, the fair value of investment in receivable portfolios approximates the carrying value as of December 31, 2014 and 2013. A 100 basis point fluctuation in the cost to collect and discount rate used would result in an increase or decrease in the fair value of United States and Europe portfolios by approximately $37.4 million and $41.3 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2014. This fair value calculation does not represent, and should not be construed to represent, the underlying value of the Company or the amount which could be realized if its investment in receivable portfolios were sold. The carrying value of the investment in receivable portfolios was $2.1 billion and $1.6 billion as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Deferred Court Costs:

The Company capitalizes deferred court costs and provides a reserve for those costs that it believes will ultimately be uncollectible. The carrying value of net deferred court costs approximates fair value.

Receivables Secured By Property Tax Liens:

The fair value of receivables secured by property tax liens is estimated by discounting the future cash flows of the portfolio using a discount rate equivalent to the current rate at which similar portfolios would be originated. For tax liens purchased directly from taxing authorities, the fair value is estimated by discounting the expected future cash flows of the portfolio using a discount rate equivalent to the interest rate expected when acquiring these tax liens. The carrying value of receivables secured by property tax liens approximates fair value. Additionally, the carrying value of the related interest receivable also approximates fair value.

Debt:

Encore’s senior secured notes and borrowings under its revolving credit and term loan facilities are carried at historical amounts, adjusted for additional borrowings less principal repayments, which approximate fair value.

Encore’s convertible senior notes are carried at historical cost, adjusted for debt discount. The carrying value of the convertible senior notes was $448.5 million, net of debt discount of $51.2 million, and $287.5 million, net of debt discount of $42.2 million as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The fair value estimate for these convertible senior notes incorporates quoted market prices, which was approximately $507.4 million and $412.4 million as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Propel’s borrowings under its revolving credit facilities, term loan facility, and securitized notes are carried at historical amounts, adjusted for additional borrowings less principal repayments, which approximate fair value.

The carrying value of the Cabot and Marlin senior secured notes was $1.1 billion, including debt premium of $67.3 million and $646.9 million, including debt premium of $43.6 million, as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The fair value estimate for these senior notes incorporates quoted market prices, and was approximately $1.1 billion and $680.7 million as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The Company’s preferred equity certificates are legal obligations to the noncontrolling shareholders at its Janus Holdings and Cabot Holdings subsidiaries. They are carried at the face amount, plus any accrued interest. The Company determined, at the time of the acquisition of a controlling interest in Cabot (the “Cabot Acquisition”) and at December 31, 2014, that the carrying value of these preferred equity certificates approximates fair value.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References+ Details

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments

The Company may periodically enter into derivative financial instruments to manage risks related to interest rates and foreign currency. Most of the Company’s derivative financial instruments qualify for hedge accounting treatment under the authoritative guidance for derivatives and hedging. The Company’s Cabot subsidiary has entered into several interest rate cap contracts to manage its risk related to interest rate fluctuations. As of December 31, 2014, Cabot had one outstanding interest rate cap contract with a notional amount of £100.0 million. The Company does not apply hedge accounting on the interest rate cap contracts. The impact of the interest rate cap contracts to the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 was immaterial.

Interest Rate Swaps

As of December 31, 2014, the Company had no outstanding interest rate swap agreements. During the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, the Company utilized interest rate swap contracts to manage risks related to interest rate fluctuation. These derivatives were designated as cash flow hedges in accordance with authoritative accounting guidance. The hedging instruments had been highly effective since the inception of the hedge program, therefore no gains or losses were reclassified from other comprehensive income (“OCI”) into earnings as a result of hedge ineffectiveness.

Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts

The Company has operations in foreign countries, which exposes the Company to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations due to transactions denominated in foreign currencies. To mitigate this risk, the Company enters into derivative financial instruments, principally Indian rupee forward contracts, which are designated as cash flow hedges, to mitigate fluctuations in the cash payments of future forecasted transactions. 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.

Gains and losses on cash flow hedges are recorded in OCI until the hedged transaction is recorded in the consolidated financial statements. Once the underlying transaction is recorded in the consolidated financial statements, the Company reclassifies the OCI on the derivative into earnings. If all or a portion of the forecasted transaction is cancelled, this would render all or a portion of the cash flow hedge ineffective and the Company would reclassify the ineffective portion of the hedge into earnings. The Company generally does not experience ineffectiveness of the hedge relationship and the accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any such gains or losses.

As of December 31, 2014, the total notional amount of the forward contracts to buy Indian rupees in exchange for United States dollars was $47.0 million. All of these outstanding contracts qualified for hedge accounting treatment. The Company estimates that approximately $0.8 million of net derivative loss included in OCI will be reclassified into earnings within the next 12 months. No gains or losses were reclassified from OCI into earnings as a result of forecasted transactions that failed to occur during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012.

The Company does not enter into derivative instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

The following table summarizes the fair value of derivative instruments as recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014				December 31, 2013
	Balance Sheet Location	Fair Value			Balance Sheet Location	Fair Value
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:
Foreign currency exchange contracts	Other liabilities	$	(1,037	)	Other liabilities	$	(4,123	)
Foreign currency exchange contracts	Other assets	768			Other assets	46
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:
Interest rate cap	Other assets	—			Other assets	202

The following table summarizes the effects of derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships on the Company’s statements of income for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):



	Gain or (Loss) Recognized in OCI- Effective Portion					Location of Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income - Effective Portion	Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income - Effective Portion						Location of Gain or (Loss) Recognized - Ineffective Portion and Amount Excluded from Effectiveness Testing	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized - Ineffective Portion and Amount Excluded from Effectiveness Testing
	2014		2013				2014			2013				2014		2013
Interest rate swaps	$	—	$	645		Interest expense	$	—		$	—		Other (expense) income	$	—	$	—
Foreign currency exchange contracts	2,281		(3,031		)	Salaries and employee benefits	(1,084		)	(1,362		)	Other (expense) income	—		—
Foreign currency exchange contracts	249		(658		)	General and administrative expenses	(195		)	(260		)	Other (expense) income	—		—

- Definition

The entire disclosure for derivative instruments and hedging activities including, but not limited to, risk management strategies, non-hedging derivative instruments, assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and methodologies and assumptions used in determining the amounts.

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+ Details

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Receivables [Abstract]

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net

In compliance with the authoritative guidance, the Company accounts for its investments in receivable portfolios using either the interest method or the cost recovery method. The interest method applies an IRR to the cost basis of the pool, which remains unchanged throughout the life of the pool, unless there is an increase in subsequent expected cash flows. Subsequent increases in expected cash flows are recognized prospectively through an upward adjustment of the pool’s IRR over its remaining life. Subsequent decreases in expected cash flows do not change the IRR, but are recognized as an allowance to the cost basis of the pool, and are reflected in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income as a reduction in revenue, with a corresponding valuation allowance, offsetting the investment in receivable portfolios in the consolidated statements of financial condition.

The Company utilizes its proprietary forecasting models to continuously evaluate the economic life of each pool. During the quarter ended September 30, 2014, the Company revised the forecasting methodology it uses to value and calculate IRRs on its portfolios in the United States by extending the collection forecasts from 84 or 96 months to 120 months. This change was made as a result of the Company experiencing collections beyond 84 or 96 months and an increased confidence in its ability to forecast future cash collections to 120 months. Extending the collection forecast did not result in a material increase to any quarterly pool group’s IRR or revenue for the quarter. The Company has historically included collections to 120 months in its estimated remaining collection disclosures and when evaluating the economic returns of its portfolio purchases.

The Company accounts for each static pool as a unit for the economic life of the pool (similar to one loan) for recognition of revenue from receivable portfolios, for collections applied to the cost basis of receivable portfolios, and for provision for loss or allowance. Revenue from receivable portfolios is accrued based on each pool’s IRR applied to each pool’s adjusted cost basis. The cost basis of each pool is increased by revenue earned and portfolio allowance reversals and is decreased by gross collections and portfolio allowances.

If the amount and timing of future cash collections on a pool of receivables are not reasonably estimable, the Company accounts for such portfolios on the cost recovery method as Cost Recovery Portfolios. The accounts in these portfolios have different risk characteristics than those included in other portfolios acquired during the same quarter, or the necessary information was not available to estimate future cash flows and, accordingly, they were not aggregated with other portfolios. Under the cost recovery method of accounting, no revenue is recognized until the purchase price of a Cost Recovery Portfolio has been fully recovered.

Accretable yield represents the amount of revenue the Company expects to generate over the remaining life of its existing investment in receivable portfolios based on estimated future cash flows. Total accretable yield is the difference between future estimated collections and the current carrying value of a portfolio. All estimated cash flows on portfolios where the cost basis has been fully recovered are classified as zero basis cash flows.

The following table summarizes the Company’s accretable yield and an estimate of zero basis future cash flows at the beginning and end of the period presented (in thousands):



	Accretable Yield			Estimate of Zero Basis Cash Flows			Total
Balance at December 31, 2012	$	984,944		$	17,366		$	1,002,310
Revenue recognized, net	(717,733		)	(27,119		)	(744,852		)
Net additions on existing portfolios	357,189			18,218			375,407
Additions for current purchases⁽¹⁾	1,767,071			—			1,767,071
Balance at December 31, 2013	2,391,471			8,465			2,399,936
Revenue recognized, net	(958,332		)	(34,500		)	(992,832		)
Net additions on existing portfolios	282,279			92,427			374,706
Additions for current purchases⁽²⁾	1,277,903			—			1,277,903
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	2,993,321		$	66,392		$	3,059,713

________________________


(1)	Includes $383.4 million of portfolios acquired in connection with the merger with Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (the “AACC Merger”) and $559.0 million of portfolios acquired in connection with the Cabot Acquisition.


(2)	Includes $208.5 million of portfolios acquired in connection with the Marlin Acquisition and $105.4 million of portfolios acquired in connection with the Atlantic Acquisition, discussed in Note 3, “Business Combinations.”

During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company purchased receivable portfolios with a face value of $13.8 billion for $1.3 billion, or a purchase cost of 9.1% of face value. Purchases of charged-off credit card portfolios include $105.4 million of portfolio acquired in connection with the Atlantic Acquisition and $208.5 million of portfolios acquired in conjunction with the Marlin Acquisition. The estimated future collections at acquisition for all portfolios purchased during the year amounted to $2.8 billion.

During the year ended December 31, 2013, the Company purchased receivable portfolios with a face value of $84.9 billion for $1.2 billion, or a purchase cost of 1.4% of face value. Purchases of charged-off credit card, telecom and consumer bankruptcy portfolios include $559.0 million of portfolios acquired in conjunction with the Cabot Acquisition and $383.4 million acquired in conjunction with the AACC Merger. Included in this amount is the purchase of receivables related to AACC of $383.4 million with a face value of $68.2 billion or a purchase cost of 0.6% of face value. The lower purchase rate for the AACC portfolio is due to the Company’s purchase of AACC which included all portfolios owned, including accounts where we ascribed no value and where we did not attempt to collect. Accounts with no perceived value would typically not be included in a portfolio purchase transaction, as the sellers would remove them from the accounts being sold to the Company prior to sale. The estimated future collections at acquisition for all portfolios amounted to $1.3 billion.

All collections realized after the net book value of a portfolio has been fully recovered (“Zero Basis Portfolios”) are recorded as revenue (“Zero Basis Revenue”). During the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, Zero Basis Revenue was approximately $22.3 million, $17.2 million, and $22.6 million, respectively.

The following tables summarize the changes in the balance of the investment in receivable portfolios during the following periods (in thousands, except percentages):



	Year Ended December 31, 2014
	Accrual Basis Portfolios			Cost Recovery Portfolios			Zero Basis Portfolios			Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	1,585,587		$	4,662		$	—		$	1,590,249
Purchases of receivable portfolios⁽¹⁾	1,249,651			1,709			—			1,251,360
Transfer of portfolios	(18,682		)	18,682			—			—
Gross collections⁽²⁾	(1,563,996		)	(9,010		)	(34,491		)	(1,607,497		)
Put-backs and Recalls⁽³⁾	(15,162		)	(536		)	(9		)	(15,707		)
Foreign currency adjustments	(64,646		)	(3,031		)	—			(67,677		)
Revenue recognized	953,154			—			22,271			975,425
Portfolio allowance reversals, net	5,178			—			12,229			17,407
Balance, end of period	$	2,131,084		$	12,476		$	—		$	2,143,560
Revenue as a percentage of collections⁽⁴⁾	60.9		%	0.0		%	64.6		%	60.7		%



	Year Ended December 31, 2013
	Accrual Basis Portfolios			Cost Recovery Portfolios			Zero Basis Portfolios			Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	873,119		$	—		$	—		$	873,119
Purchases of receivable portfolios⁽⁵⁾	1,203,706			1,073			—			1,204,779
Transfer of portfolios	(6,649		)	6,649			—			—
Gross collections⁽²⁾	(1,249,625		)	(2,764		)	(27,117		)	(1,279,506		)
Put-backs and Recalls⁽³⁾	(2,331		)	(296		)	(2		)	(2,629		)
Foreign currency adjustments	49,634			—			—			49,634
Revenue recognized	715,458			—			17,201			732,659
Portfolio allowance reversals, net	2,275			—			9,918			12,193
Balance, end of period	$	1,585,587		$	4,662		$	—		$	1,590,249
Revenue as a percentage of collections⁽⁴⁾	57.3		%	0.0		%	63.4		%	57.3		%



	Year Ended December 31, 2012
	Accrual Basis Portfolios			Cost Recovery Portfolios			Zero Basis Portfolios			Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	716,454		$	—		$	—		$	716,454
Purchases of receivable portfolios	562,335			—			—			562,335
Gross collections⁽²⁾	(921,730		)	—			(26,276		)	(948,006		)
Put-backs and Recalls⁽³⁾	(3,076		)	—			—			(3,076		)
Revenue recognized	518,617			—			22,574			541,191
Portfolio allowance reversals, net	519			—			3,702			4,221
Balance, end of period	$	873,119		$	—		$	—		$	873,119
Revenue as a percentage of collections⁽⁴⁾	56.3		%	0.0		%	85.9		%	57.1		%

________________________


(1)	Purchases of portfolio receivables include $208.5 million acquired in connection with the Marlin Acquisition in February 2014 and $105.4 million acquired in connection with the Atlantic Acquisition in August 2014, discussed in Note 3, “Business Combinations.”


(2)	Does not include amounts collected on behalf of others.


(3)	Revenue as a percentage of collections excludes the effects of net portfolio allowances or net portfolio allowance reversals.


(4)	Put-backs represent accounts that are returned to the seller in accordance with the respective purchase agreement (“Put-Backs”). Recalls represent accounts that are recalled by the seller in accordance with the respective purchase agreement (“Recalls”).


(5)	Purchases of portfolio receivables include $383.4 million acquired in connection with the merger with AACC in June 2013 and $559.0 million acquired in connection with the Cabot Acquisition in July 2013.

The following table summarizes the change in the valuation allowance for investment in receivable portfolios during the periods presented (in thousands):



	Valuation Allowance
Balance at December 31, 2011	$	109,494
Provision for portfolio allowances	6,745
Reversal of prior allowances	(10,966		)
Balance at December 31, 2012	105,273
Provision for portfolio allowances	479
Reversal of prior allowances	(12,672		)
Balance at December 31, 2013	93,080
Provision for portfolio allowances	—
Reversal of prior allowances	(17,407		)
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	75,673

- Definition

The entire disclosure for claims held for amounts due a entity, excluding financing receivables. Examples include, but are not limited to, trade accounts receivables, notes receivables, loans receivables. Includes disclosure for allowance for credit losses.

+ References+ Details

Deferred Court Costs, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Deferred Court Costs, Net

The Company capitalizes Deferred Court Costs in its consolidated financial statements and provides a reserve for those costs that it believes will ultimately be uncollectible. The Company determines the reserve based on its analysis of court costs that have been advanced and those that have been recovered. The Company writes off any Deferred Court Cost not recovered within five years of placement. Collections received from debtors are first applied against related court costs with the balance applied to the debtors’ account balance.

Deferred Court Costs for the five-year deferral period consist of the following as of the dates presented (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Court costs advanced	$	546,271		$	399,274
Court costs recovered	(206,287		)	(147,166		)
Court costs reserve	(279,572		)	(210,889		)
	$	60,412		$	41,219

A roll forward of the Company’s court cost reserve is as follows (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013			December 31, 2012
Balance at beginning of period	$	(210,889	)	$	(149,080	)	$	(130,454	)
Provision for court costs	(68,683		)	(61,809		)	(53,946		)
Write-off of reserve	—			—			35,320
Balance at end of period	$	(279,572	)	$	(210,889	)	$	(149,080	)

Property and Equipment, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment consist of the following, as of the dates presented (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	$	18,472		$	15,955
Computer equipment and software	101,721			79,765
Telecommunications equipment	3,956			3,589
Leasehold improvements	17,964			15,145
Other	2,178			1,086
	144,291			115,540
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	(77,322		)	(59,757		)
	$	66,969		$	55,783

Depreciation and amortization expense for continuing operations was $24.4 million, $12.7 million, and $5.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for long-lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale. Includes, but is not limited to, accounting policies and methodology, roll forwards, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, including composite depreciation, accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, useful lives and method used, income statement disclosures, assets held for sale and public utility disclosures.

+ References+ Details

Debt

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Debt

The Company is in compliance with all covenants under its financing arrangements. The components of the Company’s consolidated debt and capital lease obligations were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Encore revolving credit facility	$	505,000		$	356,000
Encore term loan facility	146,023			140,625
Encore senior secured notes	43,750			58,750
Encore convertible notes	448,500			287,500
Less: Debt discount	(51,202		)	(42,240		)
Propel facilities	84,229			170,630
Propel securitized notes	104,247			—
Cabot senior secured notes	1,076,952			603,272
Add: Debt premium	67,259			43,583
Cabot senior revolving credit facility	86,368			—
Preferred equity certificates	208,312			199,821
Capital lease obligations	15,331			12,219
Other	38,785			20,271
	$	2,773,554		$	1,850,431

Encore Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility

On February 25, 2014, Encore amended its revolving credit facility and term loan facility (the “Credit Facility”) pursuant to a Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. On August 1, 2014, Encore further amended the Credit Facility pursuant to Amendment No. 1 to the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (as amended, the “Restated Credit Agreement”). The Restated Credit Agreement includes a revolving credit facility tranche of $692.6 million, a term loan facility tranche of $153.8 million, and an accordion feature that allows the Company to increase the revolving credit facility by an additional $250.0 million. Including the accordion feature, the maximum amount that can be borrowed under the Credit Facility is $1.1 billion. The Restated Credit Agreement has a five-year maturity, expiring in February 2019, except with respect to two subtranches of the term loan facility of $60.0 million and $6.3 million, maturing in February 2017 and November 2017, respectively.

Provisions of the Restated Credit Agreement include, but are not limited to:

•

A revolving loan of $692.6 million, with interest at a floating rate equal to, at the Company’s option, either: (1) reserve adjusted London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), plus a spread that ranges from 250 to 300 basis points depending on the Company’s cash flow leverage ratio; or (2) alternate base rate, plus a spread that ranges from 150 to 200 basis points, depending on the Company’s cash flow leverage ratio. “alternate base rate,” as defined in the agreement, means the highest of (i) the per annum rate which the administrative agent publicly announces from time to time as its prime lending rate, (ii) the federal funds effective rate from time to time, plus 0.5% per annum or (iii) reserved adjusted LIBOR determined on a daily basis for a one month interest period, plus 1.0% per annum;

•

An $87.5 million five-year term loan, with interest at a floating rate equal to, at the Company’s option, either: (1) reserve adjusted LIBOR, plus a spread that ranges from 250 to 300 basis points, depending on the Company’s cash flow leverage ratio; or (2) Alternate Base Rate, plus a spread that ranges from 150 to 200 basis points, depending on the Company’s cash flow leverage ratio. Principal amortizes $4.4 million in 2015, $6.6 million in 2016, $8.8 million in 2017, and $8.8 million in 2018 with the remaining principal due at the end of the term;

•

A $60.0 million term loan maturing on February 28, 2017, with interest at a floating rate equal to, at the Company’s option, either: (1) reserve adjusted LIBOR, plus a spread that ranges from 200 to 250 basis points, depending on the Company’s cash flow leverage ratio; or (2) alternate base rate, plus a spread that ranges from 100 to 150 basis points, depending on the Company’s cash flow leverage ratio. Principal amortizes $3.0 million in 2015, and $4.5 million in 2016 with the remaining principal due at the end of the term;

•

A $6.3 million term loan maturing on November 3, 2017, with interest at a floating rate equal to, at the Company’s option, either: (1) reserve adjusted LIBOR, plus a spread that ranges from 250 to 300 basis points, depending on the Company’s cash flow leverage ratio; or (2) alternate base rate, plus a spread that ranges from 150 to 200 basis points, depending on the Company’s cash flow leverage ratio. Principal amortizes $0.5 million in 2015, $0.6 million in 2016 and $0.5 million in 2017 with the remaining principal due at the end of the term;

•

A borrowing base equal to (1) the lesser of (i) 30%—35% (depending on the Company’s trailing 12-month cost per dollar collected) of all eligible non-bankruptcy estimated remaining collections, currently 33%, plus 55% of eligible estimated remaining collections for consumer receivables subject to bankruptcy, and (ii) the product of the net book value of all receivable portfolios acquired on or after January 1, 2005 multiplied by 95%, minus (2) the sum of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of Encore’s Senior Secured Notes (as defined below) plus the aggregate principal amount outstanding under the term loans;


•	The allowance of additional unsecured or subordinated indebtedness not to exceed $750.0 million;


•	Restrictions and covenants, which limit the payment of dividends and the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens, among other limitations;


•	Repurchases of up to $50.0 million of Encore’s common stock after February 25, 2014, subject to compliance with certain covenants and available borrowing capacity;


•	A change of control definition, which excludes acquisitions of stock by Red Mountain Capital Partners LLC, JCF FPK LLP and their respective affiliates of up to 50% of the outstanding shares of Encore’s voting stock;


•	Events of default which, upon occurrence, may permit the lenders to terminate the facility and declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable;


•	A pre-approved acquisition limit of $225.0 million in the aggregate for acquisitions after August 1, 2014;


•	A basket to allow for investments in unrestricted subsidiaries of $250.0 million;


•	A basket to allow for investments in certain subsidiaries of Propel of $200.0 million;


•	An annual foreign portfolio and loan investment basket of $150.0 million; and


•	Collateralization by all assets of the Company, other than the assets of the Propel entities or any foreign or unrestricted subsidiaries as defined in the Restated Credit Agreement.

At December 31, 2014, the outstanding balance under the Restated Credit Agreement was $651.0 million, which bore a weighted average interest rate of 2.93% and 3.11% for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Encore Senior Secured Notes

In 2010 and 2011 Encore entered into an aggregate of $75.0 million in senior secured notes with certain affiliates of Prudential Capital Group (the “Senior Secured Notes”). $25.0 million of the Senior Secured Notes bear an annual interest rate of 7.375%, mature in 2018 and require quarterly principal payments of $1.3 million. Prior to May 2013, these notes required quarterly payments of interest only. The remaining $50.0 million of Senior Secured Notes bear an annual interest rate of 7.75%, mature in 2017 and require quarterly principal payments of $2.5 million. Prior to December 2012 these notes required quarterly interest only payments. As of December 31, 2014, $43.8 million was outstanding under these obligations.

The Senior Secured Notes are guaranteed in full by certain of Encore’s subsidiaries. Similar to, and pari passu with, Encore’s credit facility, the Senior Secured Notes are also collateralized by all of the assets of the Company other than the assets of the unrestricted subsidiaries as defined in the Restated Credit Agreement. The Senior Secured Notes may be accelerated and become automatically and immediately due and payable upon certain events of default, including certain events related to insolvency, bankruptcy, or liquidation. Additionally, the Senior Secured Notes may be accelerated at the election of the holder or holders of a majority in principal amount of the Senior Secured Notes upon certain events of default by Encore, including the breach of affirmative covenants regarding guarantors, collateral, most favored lender treatment, minimum revolving credit facility commitment or the breach of any negative covenant. If Encore prepays the Senior Secured Notes at any time for any reason, payment will be at the higher of par or the present value of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the portion being prepaid. The discount rate used to determine the present value is 50 basis points over the then current Treasury Rate corresponding to the remaining average life of the senior secured notes. The covenants are substantially similar to those in the Restated Credit Agreement. Prudential Capital Group and the administrative agent for the lenders of the Restated Credit Agreement have an intercreditor agreement related to their pro rata rights to the collateral, actionable default, powers and duties and remedies, among other topics. The terms of the Senior Secured Notes were amended in connection with the Restated Credit Agreement in order to properly align certain provisions between the two agreements.

Encore Convertible Notes

In November and December 2012, Encore sold $115.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.0% 2017 Convertible Notes that mature on November 27, 2017 in private placement transactions. In June and July 2013, Encore sold $172.5 million aggregate principal amount of 3.0% 2020 Convertible Notes that mature on July 1, 2020 in private placement transactions. In March 2014, Encore sold $161.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2.875% 2021 Convertible Notes that mature on March 15, 2021 in private placement transactions. The interest on these unsecured convertible senior notes (collectively, the “Convertible Notes”), is payable semi-annually.

Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding their respective conversion date (listed below), holders may convert their Convertible Notes under certain circumstances set forth in the applicable Convertible Notes indentures. On or after their respective conversion dates until the close of business on the scheduled trading day immediately preceding their respective maturity date, holders may convert their Convertible Notes at any time. Certain key terms related to the convertible features for each of the Convertible Notes as of year ended December 31, 2014 are listed below.



	2017 Convertible Notes		2020 Convertible Notes		2021 Convertible Notes
Initial conversion price	$	31.56	$	45.72	$	59.39
Closing stock price at date of issuance	$	25.66	$	33.35	$	47.51
Closing stock price date	November 27, 2012		June 24, 2013		March 5, 2014
Conversion rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)	31.6832		21.8718		16.8386
Conversion date⁽¹⁾	May 27, 2017		January 1, 2020		September 15, 2020

_______________________


(1)	2017 Convertible Notes became convertible on January 2, 2014, as certain early conversion events were satisfied. Refer to “Conversion and EPS impact” section below for further details.

In the event of conversion, the 2017 Convertible Notes are convertible into cash up to the aggregate principal amount of the notes. The excess conversion premium may be settled in cash or shares of the Company’s common stock at the discretion of the Company. In the event of conversion, holders of the Company’s 2020 and 2021 Convertible Notes will receive cash, shares of the Company’s common stock or a combination of cash and shares of the Company’s common stock, at the Company’s election. The Company’s current intent is to settle conversions through combination settlement (i.e., convertible into cash up to the aggregate principal amount, and shares of the Company’s common stock or a combination of cash and shares of the Company’s common stock, at the Company’s election, for the remainder). As a result, and in accordance with authoritative guidance related to derivatives and hedging and earnings per share, only the conversion spread is included in the diluted earnings per share calculation, if dilutive. Under such method, the settlement of the conversion spread has a dilutive effect when, during any quarter, the average share price of the Company’s common stock exceeds the initial conversion prices listed in the above table.

Authoritative guidance related to debt with conversion and other options requires that issuers of convertible debt instruments that, upon conversion, may be settled fully or partially in cash, must separately account for the liability and equity components in a manner that will reflect the entity’s nonconvertible debt borrowing rate when interest cost is recognized in subsequent periods. Additionally, debt issuance costs are required to be allocated in proportion to the allocation of the liability and equity components and accounted for as debt issuance costs and equity issuance costs, respectively.

The debt and equity components, the issuance costs related to the equity component, the stated interest rate, and the effective interest rate for each of the Convertible Notes are listed below (in thousands, except percentages):



	2017 Convertible Notes			2020 Convertible Notes			2021 Convertible Notes
Debt component	$	100,298		$	140,271		$	143,604
Equity component	$	14,702		$	32,229		$	17,396
Equity issuance cost	$	788		$	1,113		$	575
Stated interest rate	3.000		%	3.000		%	2.875		%
Effective interest rate	6.000		%	6.350		%	4.700		%

The balances of the liability and equity components of all of the Convertible Notes outstanding were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Liability component—principal amount	$	448,500		$	287,500
Unamortized debt discount	(51,202		)	(42,240		)
Liability component—net carrying amount	$	397,298		$	245,260
Equity component	$	55,236		$	46,954

The debt discount is being amortized into interest expense over the remaining life of the convertible notes using the effective interest rates. Interest expense related to the convertible notes was as follows (in thousands):



	Year ended December 31,
	2014		2013
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	$	12,418	$	6,108
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount	8,423		4,492
Total interest expense—convertible notes	$	20,841	$	10,600

Convertible Notes Hedge Transactions

In order to reduce the risk related to the potential dilution and/or the potential cash payments the Company is required to make in the event that the market price of the Company’s common stock becomes greater than the conversion price of the Convertible Notes, the Company maintains a hedge program that increases the effective conversion price for each of the Convertible Notes. All of the hedge instruments related to the Convertible Notes have been determined to be indexed to the Company’s own stock and meet the criteria for equity classification. In accordance with authoritative guidance, the Company recorded the cost of the hedge instruments as a reduction in additional paid-in capital, and will not recognize subsequent changes in fair value of these financial instruments in its consolidated financial statements.

The initial hedge instruments the Company entered into in connection with its issuance of the 2017 Convertible Notes had an effective conversion price of $44.19. On December 16, 2013, the Company entered into amendments to the hedge instruments to further increase the effective conversion price from $44.19 to $60.00. All other terms and settlement provisions of the hedge instruments remained unchanged. The transaction was completed in February 2014. The Company paid approximately $27.9 million in total consideration for amending the hedge instruments. The Company recorded the payment as a reduction of equity in the consolidated statements of financial condition. The costs for the amendments in 2013 and 2014 were approximately $2.7 million and $25.2 million, respectively.

The details of the hedge program for each of the Convertible Notes are listed below (in thousands, except conversion price):



	2017 Convertible Notes		2020 Convertible Notes		2021 Convertible Notes
Cost of the hedge transaction(s)	$	50,595	$	18,113	$	19,545
Initial conversion price	$	31.56	$	45.72	$	59.39
Effective conversion price	$	60.00	$	61.55	$	83.14

Conversion and Earnings Per Share Impact

During the quarter ending December 31, 2013, the closing price of the Company’s common stock exceeded 130% of the conversion price of the 2017 Convertible Notes for more than 20 trading days during a 30 consecutive trading day period, thereby satisfying one of the early conversion events. As a result, the 2017 Convertible Notes became convertible on demand effective January 2, 2014, and the holders were notified that they could elect to submit their 2017 Convertible Notes for conversion. The carrying value of the 2017 Convertible Notes continues to be reported as debt as the Company intends to draw on the Credit Facility or use cash on hand to settle the principal amount of any such conversions in cash. No gain or loss was recognized when the debt became convertible. The estimated fair value of the 2017 Convertible Notes was approximately $163.1 million as of December 31, 2014. In addition, upon becoming convertible, a portion of the equity component that was recorded at the time of the issuance of the 2017 Convertible Notes was considered redeemable and that portion of the equity was reclassified to temporary equity in the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition. Such amount was determined based on the cash consideration to be paid upon conversion and the carrying amount of the debt. Upon conversion, the holders of the 2017 Convertible Notes will be paid in cash for the principal amount and issued shares or a combination of cash and shares for the remaining value of the 2017 Convertible Notes. As a result, the Company reclassified $9.1 million of the equity component to temporary equity as of December 31, 2014. If a conversion event takes place, this temporary equity balance will be recalculated based on the difference between the 2017 Convertible Notes principal and the debt carrying value. If the 2017 Convertible Notes are settled, an amount equal to the fair value of the liability component, immediately prior to the settlement, will be deducted from the fair value of the total settlement consideration transferred and allocated to the liability component. Any difference between the amount allocated to the liability and the net carrying amount of the 2017 Convertible Notes (including any unamortized debt issue costs and discount) will be recognized in earnings as a gain or loss on debt extinguishment. Any remaining consideration is allocated to the reacquisition of the equity component and will be recognized as a reduction in stockholders’ equity.

None of the 2017 Convertible Notes were converted during the year ended December 31, 2014.

In accordance with authoritative guidance related to derivatives and hedging and earnings per share calculation, only the conversion spread of the Convertible Notes is included in the diluted earnings per share calculation, if dilutive. Under such method, the settlement of the conversion spread has a dilutive effect when the average share price of the Company’s common stock during any quarter exceeds the respective conversion price of each of the Convertible Notes. The average share price of the Company’s common stock for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 exceeded the initial conversion price of the 2017 Convertible Notes. The dilutive effect from the 2017 Convertible Notes was approximately 1.1 million and 0.6 million shares for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. See Note 1, “Earnings Per Share” for additional information.

Propel Facilities

Propel Facility I

Propel has a $200.0 million syndicated loan facility (the “Propel Facility I”). The Propel Facility I is used to originate or purchase tax lien assets related to properties in Texas and Arizona.

The Propel Facility I expires in May 2015 and includes the following key provisions:

•

Interest at Propel’s option, at either: (1) LIBOR, plus a spread that ranges from 300 to 375 basis points, depending on Propel’s cash flow leverage ratio; or (2) Prime Rate, which is defined in the agreement as the rate of interest per annum equal to the sum of (a) the interest rate quoted in the “Money Rates” section of The Wall Street Journal from time to time and designated as the “Prime Rate” plus (b) the Prime Rate Margin, which is a spread that ranges from 0 to 75 basis points, depending on Propel’s cash flow leverage ratio;


•	A borrowing base of 90% of the face value of the tax lien collateralized payment arrangements;


•	Interest payable monthly; principal and interest due at maturity;


•	Restrictions and covenants, which limit, among other things, the payment of dividends and the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens; and


•	Events of default which, upon occurrence, may permit the lender to terminate the Propel Facility I and declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable.

The Propel Facility I is primarily collateralized by the Tax Liens in Texas and requires Propel to maintain various financial covenants, including a minimum interest coverage ratio and a maximum cash flow leverage ratio.

At December 31, 2014, the outstanding balance on the Propel Facility I was $33.5 million. The weighted average interest rate was 3.33% and 3.37% for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Propel Facility II

On May 15, 2013, the Company, through affiliates of Propel, entered into a $100.0 million revolving credit facility (the “Propel Facility II”). On May 6, 2014, the Propel Facility II was amended by the parties. The amended Propel Facility II is used to purchase tax liens from taxing authorities in various states, expires on May 10, 2019, and includes the following key provisions:


•	Propel could draw up to $190.0 million at any time during the period from July 1, 2014, up to and including September 30, 2014, and can draw up to $150.0 million through May 15, 2017;

•

The committed amount can be drawn on a revolving basis until May 15, 2017 (unless terminated earlier in accordance with the terms of the facility). During the following two years, until the May 10, 2019 expiration date, no additional draws are permitted, and all proceeds from the tax liens are used to repay any amounts outstanding under the facility. So long as no events or default have occurred, Propel may extend the expiration date for additional one year periods.


•	Prior to the expiration of the facility, interest at a per annum floating rate equal to LIBOR plus 3.25%, other than for advances related to tax liens in Texas, for which interest is LIBOR plus 2.50%;

•

Following the expiration of the facility, or upon the occurrence of an event of default, interest at 400 basis points plus the greater of (i) a per annum floating rate equal to LIBOR plus 3.25% (or 2.50% for advances related to tax liens in Texas), or (ii) Prime Rate, which is defined in the agreement as the rate most recently announced by the lender at its branch in San Francisco, California, from time to time as its prime commercial rate for United States dollar-denominated loans made in the United States;


•	Proceeds from the tax liens are applied to pay interest, principal and other obligations incurred in connection with the Propel Facility II on a monthly basis as defined in the agreement;


•	Special purpose entity covenants designed to protect the bankruptcy-remoteness of the borrowers and additional restrictions and covenants, which limit, among other things, the payment of certain dividends, the occurrence of additional indebtedness and liens and use of the collections proceeds from the certain Tax Liens; and


•	Events of default which, upon occurrence, may permit the lender to terminate the Propel Facility II and declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable.

The Propel Facility II is collateralized by the Tax Liens acquired under the Propel Facility II. At December 31, 2014, the outstanding balance on the Propel Facility II was $31.5 million. The weighted average interest rate was 3.85% and 3.73% for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Propel Term Loan Facility

On May 2, 2014, the Company, through affiliates of Propel, entered into a $31.9 million term loan facility (the “Propel Term Loan Facility”). The Propel Term Loan Facility was entered into to fund the acquisition of a portfolio of tax liens and other assets in a transaction valued at approximately $43.0 million. The Propel Term Loan Facility has a fixed 5.5% interest rate and matures in October 2016.

At December 31, 2014, the outstanding balance on the Propel Term Loan Facility was $19.2 million.

Propel Securitized Notes

On May 6, 2014, Propel, through its affiliates, completed the securitization of a pool of approximately $141.5 million in payment agreements and contracts relating to unpaid real property taxes, assessments, and other charges secured by liens on real property located in the State of Texas (the “Securitized Texas Tax Liens”). In connection with the securitization, investors purchased, in a private placement, approximately $134.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 1.44% notes collateralized by the Securitized Texas Tax Liens (the “Propel Securitized Notes”), due May 15, 2029. The payment agreements and contracts will continue to be serviced by Propel.

The Propel Securitized Notes are payable solely from the collateral and represent non-recourse obligations of the consolidated securitization entity PFS Tax Lien Trust 2014-1, a Delaware statutory trust and an affiliate of Propel. Interest accrues monthly at the rate of 1.44% per annum. Principal and interest on the Propel Securitized Notes are payable on the 15^th day of each calendar month. Propel used the net proceeds to pay down borrowings under the Propel Facility I, pay certain expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of the Propel Securitized Notes and fund certain reserves.

At December 31, 2014, the outstanding balance on the Propel Securitized Notes was $104.2 million and the balance of the collateral was $108.5 million.

Cabot Senior Secured Notes

On September 20, 2012, Cabot Financial (Luxembourg) S.A. (“Cabot Financial”), an indirect subsidiary of Janus Holdings, issued £265.0 million (approximately $438.4 million) in aggregate principal amount of 10.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2019 (the “Cabot 2019 Notes”). Interest on the Cabot 2019 Notes is payable semi-annually, in arrears, on April 1 and October 1 of each year.

On August 2, 2013, Cabot Financial issued £100 million (approximately $151.7 million) in aggregate principal amount of 8.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2020 (the “Cabot 2020 Notes”). Interest on the Cabot 2020 Notes is payable semi-annually, in arrears, on February 1 and August 1 of each year.

Of the proceeds from the issuance of the Cabot 2020 Notes, approximately £75.0 million (approximately $113.8 million) was used to repay all amounts outstanding under the senior credit facilities of Cabot Financial (UK) Limited (“Cabot Financial UK”), an indirect subsidiary of Janus Holdings, and £25.0 million (approximately $37.9 million) was used to partially repay a portion of the J Bridge preferred equity certificates (the “J Bridge PECs”) to an affiliate of J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC (“J.C. Flowers”), discussed in further detail below.

On March 27, 2014, Cabot Financial issued £175.0 million (approximately $291.8 million) in aggregate principal amount of 6.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2021 (the “Cabot 2021 Notes” and, together with the Cabot 2019 Notes and the Cabot 2020 Notes, the “Cabot Notes”). Interest on the Cabot 2021 Notes is payable semi-annually, in arrears, on April 1 and October 1 of each year, beginning on October 1, 2014. The total debt issuance cost associated with the Cabot 2021 Notes was approximately $7.5 million.

Approximately £105.0 million (approximately $174.8 million) of the proceeds from the issuance of the Cabot 2021 Notes was used to repay all amounts outstanding under the Senior Secured Bridge Facilities described below.

The Cabot Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior secured basis by the following indirect subsidiaries of the Company: Cabot, Cabot Financial Limited, and all material subsidiaries of Cabot Financial Limited (other than Cabot Financial and Marlin Intermediate Holdings plc). The Cabot Notes are secured by a first ranking security interest in all the outstanding shares of Cabot Financial and the guarantors (other than Cabot and Marlin Midway Limited) and substantially all the assets of Cabot Financial and the guarantors (other than Cabot). The guarantees provided in respect of the Cabot Notes are pari passu with each such guarantee given in respect of the Marlin Bonds and the Cabot Credit Facility described below.

On July 25, 2013, Marlin Intermediate Holdings plc, a subsidiary of Marlin, issued £150.0 million (approximately $246.5 million) in aggregate principal amount of 10.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2020 (the “Marlin Bonds”). Interest on the Marlin Bonds is payable semi-annually, in arrears, on February 1 and August 1 of each year. Cabot assumed the Marlin Bonds as a result of the Marlin Acquisition. The carrying value of the Marlin Bonds was adjusted to approximately $284.2 million to reflect the fair value of the Marlin Bonds at the time of acquisition.

The Marlin Bonds are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior secured basis by Cabot Financial Limited and each of Cabot Financial Limited’s material subsidiaries other than Marlin Intermediate Holdings plc, each of which is an indirect subsidiary of the Company. The guarantees provided in respect of the Marlin Bonds are pari passu with each such guarantee given in respect of the Cabot Notes and the Cabot Credit Facility.

Interest expense related to the Cabot Notes and Marlin Bonds was as follows (in thousands):



	Year ended December 31,
	2014			2013
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	$	97,028		$	27,496
Interest income—accretion of debt premium	(10,233		)	(2,826		)
Total interest expense—Cabot Notes	$	86,795		$	24,670

At December 31, 2014, the outstanding balance on the Cabot Senior Secured Notes was $1.1 billion.

Cabot Senior Revolving Credit Facility

On September 20, 2012, Cabot Financial UK entered into an agreement for a senior committed revolving credit facility of £50.0 million (approximately $82.7 million) (the “Cabot Credit Agreement”). This agreement was amended and restated on June 28, 2013 to increase the size of the revolving credit facility to £85.0 million (approximately $140.6 million) and again on February 5, 2015 to increase the size of the revolving credit facility to £195.0 million (approximately $298.1 million) (the “Cabot Credit Facility”). The Cabot Credit Facility also includes an uncommitted accordion provision which will allow the facility to be increased by an additional £55.0 million, subject to obtaining the requisite commitments and compliance with the terms of Cabot Financial UK’s other indebtedness, among other conditions precedent. Loan fees associated with the amendment to the Cabot Credit Facility were approximately £2.5 million (approximately $3.8 million) and capitalized as debt issuance costs.

The Cabot Credit Facility has a five-year term expiring in September 2017, and includes the following key provisions:


•	Interest at LIBOR (or EURIBOR for any loan drawn in euro) plus 3.5%;


•	A restrictive covenant that limits the loan to value ratio to 0.75;


•	Additional restrictions and covenants which limit, among other things, the payment of dividends and the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens; and


•	Events of default which, upon occurrence, may permit the lenders to terminate the Cabot Credit Facility and declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable.

The Cabot Credit Facility is unconditionally guaranteed by the following indirect subsidiaries of the Company: Cabot, Cabot Financial Limited, and all material subsidiaries of Cabot Financial Limited. The Cabot Credit Facility is secured by first ranking security interests in all the outstanding shares of Cabot Financial UK and the guarantors (other than Cabot) and substantially all the assets of Cabot Financial UK and the guarantors (other than Cabot). Pursuant to the terms of intercreditor agreements entered into with respect to the relative positions of the Cabot Notes, the Marlin Bonds and the Cabot Credit Facility, any liabilities in respect of obligations under the Cabot Credit Facility that are secured by assets that also secure the Cabot Notes and the Marlin Bonds will receive priority with respect to any proceeds received upon any enforcement action over any such assets.

At December 31, 2014, the outstanding borrowings under the Cabot Credit Facility were approximately $86.4 million. The weighted average interest rate was 4.34% and 4.24% for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Senior Secured Bridge Facilities

The Marlin Acquisition was financed with borrowings under the existing Cabot Credit Facility and under senior secured bridge facilities (the “Senior Secured Bridge Facilities”) that Cabot Financial Limited entered into on February 7, 2014 pursuant to a Senior Secured Bridge Facilities Agreement. The Senior Secured Bridge Facilities were paid off in full by using proceeds from borrowings under the £175.0 million (approximately $291.8 million) Cabot 2021 Notes.

The Senior Secured Bridge Facilities Agreement provided for (a) a senior secured bridge facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to £105.0 million (“Bridge Facility A”) and (b) a senior secured bridge facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to £151.5 million (“Bridge Facility B,” and together with Bridge Facility A, the “Bridge Facilities”). The purpose of Bridge Facility A was to provide funding for the financing, in full or in part, of the purchase price for the Marlin Acquisition and the payment of costs, fees and expenses in connection with the Marlin Acquisition, and was fully drawn on as of the closing of the Marlin Acquisition. The purpose of Bridge Facility B was to finance, in full or in part, the repurchase of any bonds tendered in any change of control offer required to be made to the holders of the Marlin Bonds and the premium payable thereon. Bridge Facility B was intended to be utilized only to the extent that any holders of the Marlin Bonds elected to tender their Marlin Bonds within a defined period. No Marlin Bonds were tendered during the defined period and Bridge Facility B expired without drawdown. The Senior Secured Bridge Facilities Agreement also provided for uncommitted incremental facilities in an amount of up to £80.0 million for the purposes of financing future debt portfolio acquisitions. The Senior Secured Bridge Facilities had an initial term of one year and an extended term of 6.5 years if they were not repaid during the first year of issuance.

Prior to their initial maturity date, the rate of interest payable under the Senior Secured Bridge Facilities was the aggregate, per annum, of (i) LIBOR, plus (ii) an initial spread of 6.00% per annum (such spread stepping up by 50 basis points for each three-month period that the Senior Secured Bridge Facilities remained outstanding), not to exceed total caps set forth in the Senior Secured Bridge Facilities Agreement.

Loan fees associated with the Senior Secured Bridge Facilities were approximately $2.0 million. These fees were originally recorded as debt issuance costs and were written off at the time of repayment and termination of the agreement. This $2.0 million was charged to interest expense in the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Preferred Equity Certificates

On July 1, 2013, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Encore Europe Holdings, S.a.r.l. (“Encore Europe”), completed the Cabot Acquisition by acquiring 50.1% of the equity interest in Janus Holdings. Encore Europe purchased from J.C. Flowers: (i) E Bridge preferred equity certificates issued by Janus Holdings, with a face value of £10,218,574 (approximately $15.5 million) (and any accrued interest thereof) (the “E Bridge PECs”), (ii) E preferred equity certificates issued by Janus Holdings with a face value of £96,729,661 (approximately $147.1 million) (and any accrued interest thereof) (the “E PECs”), (iii) 3,498,563 E shares of Janus Holdings (the “E Shares”), and (iv) 100 A shares of Cabot Holdings S.a.r.l. (“Cabot Holdings”), the direct subsidiary of Janus Holdings, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately £115.1 million (approximately $175.0 million). The E Bridge PECs, E PECs, and E Shares represent 50.1% of all of the issued and outstanding equity and debt securities of Janus Holdings. The remaining 49.9% of Janus Holdings’ equity and debt securities are owned by J.C. Flowers and include: (a) J Bridge PECs with a face value of £10,177,781 (approximately $15.5 million), (b) J preferred equity certificates with a face value of £96,343,515 (approximately $146.5 million) (the “J PECs”), (c) 3,484,597 J shares of Janus Holdings (the “J Shares”), and (d) 100 A shares of Cabot Holdings. All of the PECs accrue interest at 12% per annum. Since PECs are legal form debt, the J Bridge PECs, J PECs and any accrued interests thereof are classified as liabilities and are included in debt in the Company’s accompanying consolidated statements of financial condition. In addition, certain other minority owners hold PECs at the Cabot Holdings level (the “Management PECs”). These PECs are also included in debt in the Company’s accompanying consolidated statements of financial condition. The E Bridge PECs and E PECs held by the Company, and their related interest eliminate in consolidation and therefore are not included in debt in the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition. The J Bridge PECs, J PECs, and the Management PECs do not require the payment of cash interest expense as they have characteristics similar to equity with a preferred return. The ultimate payment of the accumulated interest would be satisfied only in connection with the disposition of the noncontrolling interests of J.C. Flowers and management.

On June 20, 2014, Encore Europe converted all of its E Bridge PECs into E Shares and E PECs, and J.C. Flowers converted all of its J Bridge PECs into J Shares and J PECs, respectively, in proportion to the number of E Shares and E PECs, or J Shares and J PECs, as applicable, outstanding on the closing date of the Cabot Acquisition.

As of December 31, 2014, the outstanding balance of the PECs and their accrued interest was approximately $208.3 million.

Capital Lease Obligations

The Company has capital lease obligations primarily for computer equipment. As of December 31, 2014, the Company’s combined obligations for these equipment leases were approximately $15.3 million. These lease obligations require monthly or quarterly payments through 2019 and have implicit interest rates that range from zero to approximately 11.1%.

Maturity Schedule

The aggregate amounts of the Company’s debt, including PECs, accrued interests on PECs, and capital lease obligations, maturing in each of the next five years and thereafter are as follows (in thousands):



2015	$	86,536
2016	56,380
2017	283,346
2018	118,566
2019	1,007,516
Thereafter	1,205,153
Total	$	2,757,497

- Definition

The entire disclosure for information about short-term and long-term debt arrangements, which includes amounts of borrowings under each line of credit, note payable, commercial paper issue, bonds indenture, debenture issue, own-share lending arrangements and any other contractual agreement to repay funds, and about the underlying arrangements, rationale for a classification as long-term, including repayment terms, interest rates, collateral provided, restrictions on use of assets and activities, whether or not in compliance with debt covenants, and other matters important to users of the financial statements, such as the effects of refinancing and noncompliance with debt covenants.

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Variable Interest Entities	12 Months Ended
Variable Interest Entities	Dec. 31, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Variable Interest Entities	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 losses, or the right to receive the 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’s VIEs include its subsidiary Janus Holdings and its special purpose entity used for the Propel securitization. Janus Holdings is the immediate parent company of Cabot. The Company has determined that Janus Holdings is a VIE and the Company is the primary beneficiary of the VIE. The key activities that affect Cabot’s economic performance include, but are not limited to, operational budgets and purchasing decisions. Through its control of the board of directors of Janus Holdings, the Company controls the key operating activities at Cabot. Propel used a special purpose entity to issue asset-backed securities to investors. The Company has determined that it is a VIE and Propel is the primary beneficiary of the VIE. Propel has the power to direct the activities of the VIE because it has the ability to exercise discretion in the servicing of the financial assets and to add assets to revolving structures. 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 consolidated VIEs. The Company evaluates its relationships with the VIEs on an ongoing basis to ensure that it continues to be the primary beneficiary.

Stock-Based Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Stock-Based Compensation

In April 2013, Encore’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) approved the Encore Capital Group, Inc. 2013 Incentive Compensation Plan (as amended, the “2013 Plan”), which was then approved by the Company’s stockholders on June 5, 2013. The 2013 Plan superseded the Company’s 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (“2005 Plan”). Board members, employees, and consultants of Encore and its subsidiaries and affiliates are eligible to receive awards under the 2013 Plan. Subject to certain adjustments, the Company may grant awards for an aggregate of 2,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock under the 2013 Plan. Any shares subject to awards made under the 2013 Plan that terminate by expiration, forfeiture, cancellation, payment of exercise price, payment of withholding tax obligation or otherwise without the issuance of such shares shall again be available for issuance or payment of awards under the 2013 Plan. The 2013 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, dividend equivalent rights, cash awards, performance-based awards and any other types of awards not inconsistent with the 2013 Plan. The awards under the 2013 Plan consist of compensation subject to authoritative guidance for stock-based compensation.

In accordance with authoritative guidance for stock-based compensation, compensation expense is recognized only for those shares expected to vest, based on the Company’s historical experience and future expectations. Total compensation expense during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2011 was $17.2 million, $12.6 million, and $8.8 million, respectively.

The Company’s stock-based compensation arrangements are described below:

Stock Options

The 2013 Plan permits the granting of stock options. No options have been awarded under the 2013 Plan. Under the 2005 Plan, option awards were generally granted with an exercise price equal to the market price of the Company’s stock at the date of issuance. They generally vest over three to five years of continuous service, and have ten-year contractual terms.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair-value of stock-based awards. All options are amortized ratably over the requisite service periods of the awards, which are generally the vesting periods.

The fair value for options granted was estimated at the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions (there were no options granted during the years ended December 31, 2014 or 2013):



	Year Ended December 31, 2012
Weighted average fair value of options granted	$	11.77
Risk free interest rate	0.9		%
Dividend yield	0.0		%
Volatility factors of the expected market price of the Company’s common stock	63.0		%
Weighted-average expected life of options	5 Years

Unrecognized compensation cost related to stock options as of December 31, 2014, was $0.1 million. The weighted-average remaining expense period, based on the unamortized value of these outstanding stock options was less than one year.

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity as of December 31, 2014, and changes during the year then ended, is presented below:



	Number of Shares		Option Price Per Share	Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)
Outstanding at December 31, 2013	1,133,172		$2.89 –$24.65	$	14.84
Cancelled/forfeited	(10,000	)	22.17	22.17
Exercised	(952,357	)	10.60 –24.65	14.38
Outstanding at December 31, 2014	170,815		$2.89 –$24.65	$	16.98	$	4,683
Exercisable at December 31, 2014	136,318		$2.89 –$24.65	$	15.67	$	3,917

The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 was $29.6 million, $16.9 million, and $9.1 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2014, the weighted-average remaining contractual life of options outstanding and options exercisable was 4.5 years and 3.8 years, respectively.

Non-Vested Shares

The Company’s 2013 Plan (and previously, the 2005 Plan), permits restricted stock units, restricted stock awards, and performance share awards. The fair value of non-vested shares with service condition and/or performance condition that affect vesting is equal to the closing sale price of the Company’s common stock on the date of issuance. Compensation cost is recognized only for the awards that ultimately vest. The Company has certain share awards that include market conditions that affect vesting, the fair value of these shares is estimated using a lattice model. Compensation cost is not adjusted if the market condition is not met, as long as the requisite service is provided. For the majority of non-vested shares, shares are issued on the vesting dates net of the amount of shares needed to satisfy minimal statutory tax withholding requirements. The tax obligations are then paid by the Company on behalf of the employees.

A summary of the status of the Company’s restricted stock units and restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2014, and changes during the year then ended, is presented below:



	Non-Vested Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested at December 31, 2013	985,735		$	31.07
Awarded	618,724		$	28.88
Vested	(426,720	)	$	29.47
Cancelled/forfeited	(75,458	)	$	38.01
Non-vested at December 31, 2014	1,102,281		$	35.60

Unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested shares as of December 31, 2014, was $23.0 million. The weighted-average remaining expense period, based on the unamortized value of these outstanding non-vested shares, was approximately 2.4 years. The fair value of restricted stock units and restricted stock awards vested for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 was $20.2 million, $11.5 million, and $7.0 million, respectively.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for compensation-related costs for equity-based compensation, which may include disclosure of policies, compensation plan details, allocation of equity compensation, incentive distributions, equity-based arrangements to obtain goods and services, deferred compensation arrangements, employee stock ownership plan details and employee stock purchase plan details.

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Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

The Company recorded income tax provisions for continuing operations of $52.7 million, $45.4 million, and $51.8 million, during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

The effective tax rates for the respective periods are shown below:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Federal provision	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State provision	8.2	%	5.8	%	6.6	%
State benefit	(2.9	)%	(2.0	)%	(2.3	)%
Changes in state apportionment⁽¹⁾	0.0	%	(0.2	)%	0.0	%
Tax reserves⁽²⁾	0.0	%	0.0	%	0.1	%
International benefit⁽³⁾	(3.6	)%	(2.2	)%	(0.4	)%
Permanent items⁽⁴⁾	4.3	%	2.4	%	0.5	%
Other⁽⁵⁾	(6.4	)%	(1.2	)%	0.2	%
Effective rate	34.6	%	37.6	%	39.7	%

________________________


(1)	Represents changes in state apportionment methodologies.


(2)	Represents reserves taken for certain tax position adopted by the Company.


(3)	Relates primarily to the lower tax rate on the income attributable to international operations.


(4)	Represents a provision for nondeductible items.


(5)	Includes the effect of discrete items. The decrease of effective tax rate in 2014 was primarily related to the recognition of a tax benefit as a result of a favorable tax settlement with taxing authorities.

The pretax income from continuing operations consisted of the following (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Domestic	$	131,434	$	105,009	$	122,423
Foreign	21,181		15,859		7,902
	$	152,615	$	120,868	$	130,325

The provision for income taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Current expense:
Federal	$	71,002		$	50,304		$	48,025
State	7,741			7,196			9,537
Foreign	3,752			4,052			2,765
	82,495			61,552			60,327
Deferred (benefit) expense:
Federal	(33,398		)	(13,134		)	(6,801		)
State	2,710			(2,369		)	(1,301		)
Foreign	918			(661		)	(471		)
	(29,770		)	(16,164		)	(8,573		)
	$	52,725		$	45,388		$	51,754

The components of deferred tax assets and liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Deferred tax assets:
State taxes	$	—		$	2,758
Stock-based compensation expense	7,143			7,250
Accrued expenses	6,701			5,015
Non-qualified plan	273			97
Differences in income recognition related to receivable portfolios	31,799			38,529
Cash flow hedge instruments	103			1,588
State and international operating losses	12,917			6,490
Difference in basis of depreciable assets	2,077			86
Capitalized legal fees—International	4,365			1,609
Cumulative translation adjustment	4,036			1,509
Tax benefit of uncertain tax positions	1,247			4,237
Difference in basis of bond and loan costs	10,455			—
Valuation allowance	(10,047		)	(3,595		)
	71,069			65,573
Deferred tax liabilities:
State taxes	(1,643		)	—
Deferred court costs	(19,550		)	(15,445		)
Difference in basis of amortizable assets	(10,682		)	(12,200		)
Difference in basis of depreciable assets	(7,868		)	(6,834		)
Differences in income recognition related to receivable portfolios	(16,308		)	(20,773		)
Deferred debt cancellation income	(2,602		)	(1,222		)
Other	(3,533		)	(2,289		)
	(62,186		)	(58,763		)
Net deferred tax asset	$	8,883		$	6,810

The differences between the total income tax expense and the income tax expense computed using the applicable federal income tax rate of 35.0% per annum were as follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Computed “expected” Federal income tax expense	$	53,415		$	42,304		$	45,614
Increase (decrease) in income taxes resulting from:
State income taxes, net	8,118			3,138			5,551
Foreign non-taxed income, rate differential	(5,453		)	(2,647		)	(481		)
Other adjustments, net	(3,355		)	2,593			1,070
	$	52,725		$	45,388		$	51,754

The Company has not provided for United States income taxes or foreign withholding taxes on the undistributed earnings from continuing operations of its subsidiaries operating outside of the United States. Undistributed net income of these subsidiaries as of December 31, 2014, were approximately $46.3 million. Such undistributed earnings are considered permanently reinvested. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred tax liability related to these earnings is not practicable due the complexities of a hypothetical calculation.

The Company’s subsidiary in Costa Rica is operating under a 100% tax holiday through December 31, 2018 and a 50% tax holiday for the subsequent four years. The impact of the tax holiday in Costa Rica for the year ended December 31, 2014 was immaterial.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of the Company’s unrecognized tax benefit is as follows (in thousands):



	Amount
Balance at December 31, 2011	$	1,230
Decreases related to prior year tax positions	(361		)
Increases related to current and prior year tax positions	915
Balance at December 31, 2012	1,784
Decreases related to prior year tax positions	(712		)
Increases related to prior year tax positions	70,201
Balance at December 31, 2013	71,273
Increases related to prior year tax positions	33,027
Increases related to current year tax positions	1,329
Decreases related to settlements with taxing authorities	(67,204		)
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	38,425

The Company had gross unrecognized tax benefits, inclusive of penalties and interest, of $44.4 million, $83.0 million and $2.6 million at December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 respectively. At December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, there are $12.7 million, $13.5 million and $1.8 million of unrecognized tax benefits that if recognized, would result in a net tax benefit. During the year ended December 31, 2014, the decrease in total gross unrecognized tax benefits was due to a favorable tax settlement in November 2014 with taxing authorities related to a previously uncertain tax position associated with AACC’s pre-merger tax revenue recognition policy. The result of the settlement was a reduction in the unrecognized tax benefit offset by an increase in current taxes payable and deferred tax liabilities. Additionally, the Company recorded a net tax benefit as a result of the settlement of approximately $6.6 million. During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company increased its gross unrecognized tax benefit by approximately $34.4 million, of which $30.3 million was associated with certain business combinations. The uncertain tax benefit is included in “Other liabilities” in the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in its tax expense. The Company recognized benefit of approximately $7.5 million and expenses of approximately $1.3 million in interest and penalties during the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The Company files U.S. federal, state, and foreign income tax returns in jurisdictions with varying statutes of limitations. The 2011 through 2014 tax years remain subject to examination by federal taxing authorities for Encore while tax years from 2008 forward remain open to adjustment for AACC. The 2009 through 2014 tax years generally remain subject to examination by state tax authorities, and the 2011 through 2014 tax years remain subject to examination by foreign tax authorities.

Certain of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries have net operating loss carry forwards in the amount of approximately $65.0 million, which can be carried forward indefinitely. One of the Company’s domestic subsidiaries has a net operating loss carry forward in the approximate amount of $1.6 million which will begin to expire in 2024 unless previously utilized.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for income taxes. Disclosures may include net deferred tax liability or asset recognized in an enterprise's statement of financial position, net change during the year in the total valuation allowance, approximate tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward that gives rise to a significant portion of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, utilization of a tax carryback, and tax uncertainties information.

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Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

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.

On May 19, 2008, an action captioned Brent v. Midland Credit Management, Inc. et. al was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Western Division, in which the plaintiff filed a class action counter-claim against two of the Company’s subsidiaries (the “Midland Defendants”). The complaint alleged that the Midland Defendants’ business practices violated consumers’ rights under the FDCPA and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. The Company has vigorously denied the claims asserted against it in these matters, but has agreed to a proposed settlement to avoid the burden and expense of continued litigation. Subject to court approval, settlement awards to eligible class members, as well as fees and costs, will be paid from a settlement fund of approximately $5.2 million, which has already been paid by the Company and its insurer. If the number of class members who make claims exceeds a certain level, the total settlement could increase to an amount not to exceed $5.7 million. On October 14, 2014, the district court issued an order granting final approval of the parties’ revised agreed upon settlement of this lawsuit. That order has been appealed by an objector to the settlement, which appeal remains pending.

On November 2, 2010 and December 17, 2010, two national class actions entitled Robinson v. Midland Funding LLC and Tovar v. Midland Credit Management, respectively, were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. The complaints allege that certain of the Company’s subsidiaries violated the TCPA by calling consumers’ cellular phones without their prior express consent. The complaints seek monetary damages under the TCPA, injunctive relief, and other relief, including attorney fees. On May 10, 2011 and May 11, 2011 two class actions entitled Scardina v. Midland Credit Management, Inc., Midland Funding LLC and Encore Capital Group, Inc. and Martin v. Midland Funding, LLC, respectively, were filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The complaints allege on behalf of a putative class of Illinois consumers that certain of the Company’s subsidiaries violated the TCPA by calling consumers’ cellular phones without their prior express consent. The complaints seek monetary damages under the TCPA, injunctive relief, and other relief, including attorney fees. On July 28, 2011, the Company filed a motion to transfer the Scardina and Martin cases to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California to be consolidated with the Tovar and Robinson cases. On October 11, 2011, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted the Company’s motion to transfer. All four of these cases are now pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in a multidistrict litigation titled In re Midland Credit Management Inc. Telephone Consumer Protection Act Litigation. The lead plaintiffs filed an amended consolidated complaint on July 11, 2012. On October 17, 2012, a national class action titled Hartman v. Midland Credit Management, Inc. was filed in the Middle District of Florida. The complaint in Hartman alleged that the Company’s subsidiary violated the TCPA by calling consumers’ cellular phones without their prior express consent. On November 20, 2012, the Hartman case was transferred to the Southern District of California to be consolidated with the multidistrict litigation. There have been, and may continue to be from time to time, similar claims filed against the Company alleging violations of the TCPA.

The CFPB is currently examining the collection practices of participants in the consumer debt buying industry. The Company is currently engaged in discussions with the staff of the CFPB regarding practices and controls relating to its engagement with consumers. In these discussions, the staff has taken certain positions with respect to the interpretation of existing legal requirements and the retroactive application of potential requirements from future rulemaking. The Company agrees with the staff on some items under discussion, and disagrees with the staff on others. As the Company seeks to resolve those areas of disagreement, it intends to vigorously defend its interpretation of the law and, consequently, may ultimately reach a negotiated settlement or become engaged in litigation. If the parties reach a negotiated agreement, it is reasonably possible that the Company could agree to pay penalties or restitution and could recognize pre-tax charges of in excess of $35 million and could agree to additional terms that may materially impact its future operations, collections or financial results. If the Company becomes involved in litigation, it is unable to estimate a possible range of loss, if any. These discussions and other supervisory or regulatory actions that may be taken by the CFPB in the future may have an adverse impact on the Company’s business, financial condition and operating results.

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. In accordance with authoritative guidance, 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. As of December 31, 2014, the Company has no material reserves for legal matters. Additionally, based on the current status of litigation and regulatory matters, either the estimate of exposure is immaterial to the Company’s financial statements or an estimate cannot yet be determined. The Company’s legal costs are recorded to expense as incurred.

Leases

The Company leases office facilities in the United States, India, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Peru. The leases are structured as operating leases, and the Company incurred related rent expense in the amounts of $23.0 million, $12.0 million, and $6.9 million during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively.

The Company has capital lease obligations primarily for certain computer equipment. Refer to Note 10 “Debt—Capital Lease Obligations” for additional information on the Company’s capital leases. Amortization of assets under capital leases is included in depreciation and amortization expense.

Future minimum lease payments under lease obligations consist of the following for the years ending December 31, (in thousands):



	Capital Leases			Operating Leases		Total
2015	$	7,523		$	17,026	$	24,549
2016	5,559			14,138		19,697
2017	2,200			12,230		14,430
2018	690			8,265		8,955
2019	193			4,374		4,567
Thereafter	—			7,383		7,383
Total minimal leases payments	16,165			$	63,416	$	79,581
Less: Interest	(834		)
Present value of minimal lease payments	$	15,331

Purchase Commitments

In the normal course of business, the Company enters into forward flow purchase agreements and other purchase commitment agreements. As of December 31, 2014, the Company has entered into agreements to purchase receivable portfolios with a face value of approximately $0.7 billion for a purchase price of approximately $88.9 million. The Company has no purchase commitments extending past one year.

Guarantees

Encore’s Certificate of Incorporation and indemnification agreements between the Company and its officers and directors provide that the Company will indemnify and hold harmless its officers and directors for certain events or occurrences arising as a result of the officer or director serving in such capacity. The Company has also agreed to indemnify certain third parties under certain circumstances pursuant to the terms of certain underwriting agreements, registration rights agreements, credit facilities, portfolio purchase and sale agreements, and other agreements entered into by the Company in the ordinary course of business. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited. The Company believes the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements is minimal and, as of December 31, 2014, has no liabilities recorded for these agreements.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies.

+ References+ Details

Segment Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Information

The Company conducts business through several operating segments that meet the aggregation criteria under the authoritative guidance related to segment reporting. The Company has determined that it has two reportable segments: portfolio purchasing and recovery, and tax lien business. The Company’s management relies on internal management reporting processes that provide segment revenue, segment operating income, and segment asset information in order to make financial decisions and allocate resources. The operating results from the Company’s tax lien business segment are immaterial to the Company’s total consolidated operating results. However, total assets from the tax lien business segment are significant as compared to the Company’s total consolidated assets. As a result, in accordance with authoritative guidance on segment reporting, the Company’s tax lien business segment is determined to be a reportable segment.

Segment operating income includes income from operations before depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, and stock-based compensation expense. The following table provides a reconciliation of revenue and segment operating income by reportable segment to consolidated results and was derived from the segments’ internal financial information as used for corporate management purposes (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Revenues:
Portfolio purchasing and recovery	$	1,043,429		$	756,277		$	545,419
Tax lien business	29,360			17,087			11,358
	$	1,072,789		$	773,364		$	556,777
Operating income:
Portfolio purchasing and recovery	$	352,754		$	219,510		$	164,038
Tax lien business	11,820			5,045			5,677
	364,574			224,555			169,715
Depreciation and amortization	(27,949		)	(13,547		)	(5,840		)
Stock-based compensation	(17,181		)	(12,649		)	(8,794		)
Other expense	(166,829		)	(77,491		)	(24,756		)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	$	152,615		$	120,868		$	130,325

Additionally, assets are allocated to operating segments for management review. As of December 31, 2014, total segment assets were $3.4 billion and $369.2 million for the portfolio purchasing and recovery segment and tax lien business segment, respectively.

The following presents information about geographic areas in which the Company operates (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Revenues⁽¹⁾ :
Domestic	$	757,847	$	677,873	$	556,777
International	314,942		95,491		—
	$	1,072,789	$	773,364	$	556,777

________________________


(1)	Revenues are attributed to countries based on location of customer.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for reporting segments including data and tables. Reportable segments include those that meet any of the following quantitative thresholds a) it's reported revenue, including sales to external customers and intersegment sales or transfers is 10 percent or more of the combined revenue, internal and external, of all operating segments b) the absolute amount of its reported profit or loss is 10 percent or more of the greater, in absolute amount of 1) the combined reported profit of all operating segments that did not report a loss or 2) the combined reported loss of all operating segments that did report a loss c) its assets are 10 percent or more of the combined assets of all operating segments.

+ References

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+ Details

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets

In accordance with authoritative guidance, goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level annually for impairment and in interim periods if certain events occur that indicate the fair value of a reporting unit may be below its carrying value. Goodwill was allocable to reporting units included in the Company’s reportable segments, as follows (in thousands):



	Portfolio Purchasing and Recovery			Tax Lien Business		Total
Balance, December 31, 2013	$	454,936		$	49,277	$	504,213
Goodwill acquired	430,545			—		430,545
Effect of foreign currency translation	(36,825		)	—		(36,825		)
Balance, December 31, 2014	$	848,656		$	49,277	$	897,933

The Company’s acquired intangible assets are summarized as follows (in thousands):



	As of December 31, 2014							As of December 31, 2013
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount
Customer relationships	$	5,437	$	(743	)	$	4,694	$	1,975	$	(74	)	$	1,901
Developed technologies	8,353		(2,194		)	6,159		4,909		(468		)	4,441
Trade name and other	10,458		(1,709		)	8,749		15,631		(386		)	15,245
Other intangibles—indefinite lived	1,962		—			1,962		1,962		—			1,962
Total intangible assets	$	26,210	$	(4,646	)	$	21,564	$	24,477	$	(928	)	$	23,549

The weighted-average useful lives of intangible assets at the time of acquisition were as follows:




	Weighted-Average Useful Lives
Customer relationships	11
Developed technologies	5
Trade name and other	6

The amortization expense for intangible assets that are subject to amortization was $3.6 million, $0.8 million, and less than $0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively. Estimated future amortization expense related to finite-lived intangible assets at December 31, 2014 is as follows (in thousands):



2015	$	4,750
2016	4,226
2017	3,846
2018	2,292
2019	966
Thereafter	3,522
Total	$	19,602

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

+ References+ Details

Quarterly Information (Unaudited)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Quarterly Information (Unaudited)

The following table summarizes quarterly financial data for the periods presented (in thousands, except per share amounts):



	Three Months Ended
	March 31		June 30		September 30		December 31
2014
Gross collections	$	396,674	$	409,280	$	407,220	$	394,323
Revenues	253,741		269,195		273,282		276,571
Total operating expenses	185,472		190,689		188,960		188,224
Income from continuing operations	18,830		21,353		30,138		29,569
Net income	18,830		21,353		30,138		27,957
Amounts attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
Income from continuing operations	23,180		23,561		30,335		28,262
Net income	23,180		23,561		30,335		26,650
Earnings per share attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
From continuing operations:
Basic	$	0.90	$	0.91	$	1.17	$	1.09
Diluted	0.82		0.86		1.11		1.04
From net income:
Basic	$	0.90	$	0.91	$	1.17	$	1.03
Diluted	0.82		0.86		1.11		0.98
2013
Gross collections	$	270,170	$	278,388	$	379,670	$	351,278
Revenues	144,586		156,121		235,558		237,099
Total operating expenses	105,872		126,238		174,429		168,466
Income from continuing operations	19,448		11,012		21,372		23,648
Net income	19,448		11,012		21,064		22,216
Amounts attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
Income from continuing operations	19,448		11,012		22,194		24,385
Net income	19,448		11,012		21,886		22,953
Earnings per share attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
From continuing operations:
Basic	$	0.83	$	0.46	$	0.87	$	0.95
Diluted	0.80		0.44		0.82		0.87
From net income:
Basic	$	0.83	$	0.46	$	0.86	$	0.90
Diluted	0.80		0.44		0.81		0.82

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the quarterly financial data in the annual financial statements. The disclosure may include a tabular presentation of financial information for each fiscal quarter for the current and previous year, including revenues, gross profit, income or loss before extraordinary items and earnings per share data. It also includes an indication if the information in the note is unaudited, comments on the aggregate effect of year-end adjustments, and an explanation of matters or transactions that affect comparability or are pertinent to an understanding of the information furnished.

+ References+ Details

Subsequent Event	12 Months Ended
Subsequent Event	Dec. 31, 2014
Subsequent Events [Abstract]
Subsequent Event	Subsequent Event On February 5, 2015, Cabot Financial UK amended and restated its existing senior secured revolving credit facility agreement to, among other things, increase the size of the committed revolving credit facility from £85.0 million (approximately $140.6 million) to £195.0 million (approximately $298.1 million). The amended and restated facility agreement also includes an uncommitted accordion provision which will allow the facility to be increased by an additional £55.0 million, subject to obtaining the requisite commitments and compliance with the terms of Cabot Financial UK’s other indebtedness, among other conditions precedent. The margin on the facility was also amended from a variable rate with a maximum of 4.0% to a flat rate of 3.5% per annum over LIBOR (or EURIBOR, for any loan drawn in euro) and the commitment fee on the facility reduced from 1.6% to 1.2%.

Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Portfolio Purchasing and Recovery

Tax Lien Business

Basis of Consolidation

Translation of Foreign Currencies

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the consolidated financial statements to conform to the current year’s presentation.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Use of Estimates

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Investment in Receivable Portfolios

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Property and Equipment



Fixed Asset Category		Estimated Useful Life
Leasehold improvements		Lesser of lease term, including periods covered by renewal options, or useful life
Furniture, fixtures and equipment		5 to 10 years
Computer hardware and software		3 to 5 years

Deferred Court Costs

Receivables Secured by Property Tax Liens, Net

Income Taxes

Management must make significant judgments to determine the provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and any valuation allowance to be recorded against deferred tax assets.

Stock-Based Compensation

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests

Earnings Per Share

Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Estimated Useful Lives of Property and Equipment

The provision for depreciation and amortization is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:



Fixed Asset Category		Estimated Useful Life
Leasehold improvements		Lesser of lease term, including periods covered by renewal options, or useful life
Furniture, fixtures and equipment		5 to 10 years
Computer hardware and software		3 to 5 years

Reconciliation of Shares Used in Calculating Earnings Per Basic and Diluted Shares

A reconciliation of shares used in calculating earnings per basic and diluted shares follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014	2013	2012
Weighted average common shares outstanding—basic	25,853	24,659	24,855
Dilutive effect of stock-based awards	556	950	981
Dilutive effect of convertible senior notes	1,082	595	—
Dilutive effect of warrants	4	—	—
Weighted average common shares outstanding—diluted	27,495	26,204	25,836

Discontinued Operations (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]

Revenue and Components of Discontinued Operations

The following table presents the revenue and components of discontinued operations (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Revenue	$	—		$	—		$	5,704
Loss from discontinued operations before income taxes	$	(2,750	)	$	(2,900	)	$	(11,942	)
Income tax benefit	1,138			1,160			4,678
Loss from discontinued operations	(1,612		)	(1,740		)	(7,264		)
Loss on sale of discontinued operations, before income taxes	—			—			(2,416		)
Income tax benefit	—			—			586
Loss on sale of discontinued operations	—			—			(1,830		)
Total loss from discontinued operations	$	(1,612	)	$	(1,740	)	$	(9,094	)

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of disposal groups, which may include the gain (loss) recognized in the income statement and the income statement caption that includes that gain (loss), amounts of revenues and pretax profit or loss reported in discontinued operations, the classification and carrying value of the assets and liabilities comprising the disposal group, and the segment in which the disposal group was reported. Also may include the amount of adjustments to amounts previously reported in discontinued operations such as resolution of contingencies arising from the disposal transaction or the operations of the component prior to disposal.

+ References+ Details

Business Combinations (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Business Acquisition [Line Items]

Pro Forma Consolidated Results of Operations



	(Unaudited) Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013
Consolidated pro forma revenue	$	1,110,872	$	837,878
Consolidated pro forma income from continuing operations attributable to Encore	110,016		81,140

Atlantic Acquisition [Member]

Business Acquisition [Line Items]

Schedule of Business Acquisitions

The components of the preliminary purchase price allocation for the Atlantic Acquisition were as follows (in thousands):



Purchase price:
Cash paid at acquisition	$	196,104
Allocation of purchase price:
Cash	$	16,743
Investment in receivable portfolios	105,399
Deferred court costs	995
Property and equipment	1,331
Other assets	15,049
Liabilities assumed	(23,550		)
Identifiable intangible assets	2,595
Goodwill	77,542
Total net assets acquired	$	196,104

Marlin Acquisition [Member]

Business Acquisition [Line Items]

Schedule of Business Acquisitions

The components of the purchase price allocation for the Marlin Acquisition were as follows (in thousands):



Purchase price:
Cash paid at acquisition	$	274,068
Allocation of purchase price:
Cash	$	16,342
Investment in receivable portfolios	208,450
Deferred court costs	914
Property and equipment	1,335
Other assets	18,091
Liabilities assumed	(299,699		)
Identifiable intangible assets	1,819
Goodwill	326,816
Total net assets acquired	$	274,068

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Summary of Financial Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on Recurring Basis

Financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized below (in thousands):



	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2014
	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3			Total
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$	—	$	768		$	—		$	768
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	—		(1,037		)	—			(1,037		)
Temporary Equity
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	—		—			(28,885		)	(28,885		)



	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2013
	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3			Total
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$	—	$	46		$	—		$	46
Interest rate cap contracts	—		202			—			202
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	—		(4,123		)	—			(4,123		)
Temporary Equity
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	—		—			(26,564		)	(26,564		)

Change in Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests

The components of the change in the redeemable noncontrolling interests for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 are presented in the following table (in thousands):



	Amount
Balance at December 31, 2012	$	—
Initial redeemable noncontrolling interest related to business combinations	25,517
Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	(1,167		)
Adjustment of the redeemable noncontrolling interests to fair value	1,167
Effect of foreign currency translation attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	1,047
Balance at December 31, 2013	26,564
Initial redeemable noncontrolling interest related to business combinations	4,997
Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	(4,513		)
Adjustment of the redeemable noncontrolling interests to fair value	5,730
Effect of foreign currency translation attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	(3,893		)
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	28,885

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Summary of Fair Value of Derivative Instruments as Recorded on Company's Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition

The following table summarizes the fair value of derivative instruments as recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014				December 31, 2013
	Balance Sheet Location	Fair Value			Balance Sheet Location	Fair Value
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:
Foreign currency exchange contracts	Other liabilities	$	(1,037	)	Other liabilities	$	(4,123	)
Foreign currency exchange contracts	Other assets	768			Other assets	46
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:
Interest rate cap	Other assets	—			Other assets	202

Summary of Effects of Derivatives in Cash Flow Hedging Relationships in Company's Statements of Income

The following table summarizes the effects of derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships on the Company’s statements of income for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):



	Gain or (Loss) Recognized in OCI- Effective Portion					Location of Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income - Effective Portion	Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income - Effective Portion						Location of Gain or (Loss) Recognized - Ineffective Portion and Amount Excluded from Effectiveness Testing	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized - Ineffective Portion and Amount Excluded from Effectiveness Testing
	2014		2013				2014			2013				2014		2013
Interest rate swaps	$	—	$	645		Interest expense	$	—		$	—		Other (expense) income	$	—	$	—
Foreign currency exchange contracts	2,281		(3,031		)	Salaries and employee benefits	(1,084		)	(1,362		)	Other (expense) income	—		—
Foreign currency exchange contracts	249		(658		)	General and administrative expenses	(195		)	(260		)	Other (expense) income	—		—

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Receivables [Abstract]

Summary of Accretable Yield and an Estimate of Zero Basis Future Cash Flows

The following table summarizes the Company’s accretable yield and an estimate of zero basis future cash flows at the beginning and end of the period presented (in thousands):



	Accretable Yield			Estimate of Zero Basis Cash Flows			Total
Balance at December 31, 2012	$	984,944		$	17,366		$	1,002,310
Revenue recognized, net	(717,733		)	(27,119		)	(744,852		)
Net additions on existing portfolios	357,189			18,218			375,407
Additions for current purchases⁽¹⁾	1,767,071			—			1,767,071
Balance at December 31, 2013	2,391,471			8,465			2,399,936
Revenue recognized, net	(958,332		)	(34,500		)	(992,832		)
Net additions on existing portfolios	282,279			92,427			374,706
Additions for current purchases⁽²⁾	1,277,903			—			1,277,903
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	2,993,321		$	66,392		$	3,059,713

________________________


(1)	Includes $383.4 million of portfolios acquired in connection with the merger with Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (the “AACC Merger”) and $559.0 million of portfolios acquired in connection with the Cabot Acquisition.


(2)	Includes $208.5 million of portfolios acquired in connection with the Marlin Acquisition and $105.4 million of portfolios acquired in connection with the Atlantic Acquisition, discussed in Note 3, “Business Combinations.”

Summary of Changes in Balance of the Investment in Receivable Portfolios

The following tables summarize the changes in the balance of the investment in receivable portfolios during the following periods (in thousands, except percentages):



	Year Ended December 31, 2014
	Accrual Basis Portfolios			Cost Recovery Portfolios			Zero Basis Portfolios			Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	1,585,587		$	4,662		$	—		$	1,590,249
Purchases of receivable portfolios⁽¹⁾	1,249,651			1,709			—			1,251,360
Transfer of portfolios	(18,682		)	18,682			—			—
Gross collections⁽²⁾	(1,563,996		)	(9,010		)	(34,491		)	(1,607,497		)
Put-backs and Recalls⁽³⁾	(15,162		)	(536		)	(9		)	(15,707		)
Foreign currency adjustments	(64,646		)	(3,031		)	—			(67,677		)
Revenue recognized	953,154			—			22,271			975,425
Portfolio allowance reversals, net	5,178			—			12,229			17,407
Balance, end of period	$	2,131,084		$	12,476		$	—		$	2,143,560
Revenue as a percentage of collections⁽⁴⁾	60.9		%	0.0		%	64.6		%	60.7		%



	Year Ended December 31, 2013
	Accrual Basis Portfolios			Cost Recovery Portfolios			Zero Basis Portfolios			Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	873,119		$	—		$	—		$	873,119
Purchases of receivable portfolios⁽⁵⁾	1,203,706			1,073			—			1,204,779
Transfer of portfolios	(6,649		)	6,649			—			—
Gross collections⁽²⁾	(1,249,625		)	(2,764		)	(27,117		)	(1,279,506		)
Put-backs and Recalls⁽³⁾	(2,331		)	(296		)	(2		)	(2,629		)
Foreign currency adjustments	49,634			—			—			49,634
Revenue recognized	715,458			—			17,201			732,659
Portfolio allowance reversals, net	2,275			—			9,918			12,193
Balance, end of period	$	1,585,587		$	4,662		$	—		$	1,590,249
Revenue as a percentage of collections⁽⁴⁾	57.3		%	0.0		%	63.4		%	57.3		%



	Year Ended December 31, 2012
	Accrual Basis Portfolios			Cost Recovery Portfolios			Zero Basis Portfolios			Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	716,454		$	—		$	—		$	716,454
Purchases of receivable portfolios	562,335			—			—			562,335
Gross collections⁽²⁾	(921,730		)	—			(26,276		)	(948,006		)
Put-backs and Recalls⁽³⁾	(3,076		)	—			—			(3,076		)
Revenue recognized	518,617			—			22,574			541,191
Portfolio allowance reversals, net	519			—			3,702			4,221
Balance, end of period	$	873,119		$	—		$	—		$	873,119
Revenue as a percentage of collections⁽⁴⁾	56.3		%	0.0		%	85.9		%	57.1		%

________________________


(1)	Purchases of portfolio receivables include $208.5 million acquired in connection with the Marlin Acquisition in February 2014 and $105.4 million acquired in connection with the Atlantic Acquisition in August 2014, discussed in Note 3, “Business Combinations.”


(2)	Does not include amounts collected on behalf of others.


(3)	Revenue as a percentage of collections excludes the effects of net portfolio allowances or net portfolio allowance reversals.


(4)	Put-backs represent accounts that are returned to the seller in accordance with the respective purchase agreement (“Put-Backs”). Recalls represent accounts that are recalled by the seller in accordance with the respective purchase agreement (“Recalls”).


(5)	Purchases of portfolio receivables include $383.4 million acquired in connection with the merger with AACC in June 2013 and $559.0 million acquired in connection with the Cabot Acquisition in July 2013.

Summary of Change in the Valuation Allowance for Investment in Receivable Portfolios

The following table summarizes the change in the valuation allowance for investment in receivable portfolios during the periods presented (in thousands):



	Valuation Allowance
Balance at December 31, 2011	$	109,494
Provision for portfolio allowances	6,745
Reversal of prior allowances	(10,966		)
Balance at December 31, 2012	105,273
Provision for portfolio allowances	479
Reversal of prior allowances	(12,672		)
Balance at December 31, 2013	93,080
Provision for portfolio allowances	—
Reversal of prior allowances	(17,407		)
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	75,673

Property and Equipment, Net (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment consist of the following, as of the dates presented (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	$	18,472		$	15,955
Computer equipment and software	101,721			79,765
Telecommunications equipment	3,956			3,589
Leasehold improvements	17,964			15,145
Other	2,178			1,086
	144,291			115,540
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	(77,322		)	(59,757		)
	$	66,969		$	55,783

Debt (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Schedule of Obligation Under Borrowings

The components of the Company’s consolidated debt and capital lease obligations were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Encore revolving credit facility	$	505,000		$	356,000
Encore term loan facility	146,023			140,625
Encore senior secured notes	43,750			58,750
Encore convertible notes	448,500			287,500
Less: Debt discount	(51,202		)	(42,240		)
Propel facilities	84,229			170,630
Propel securitized notes	104,247			—
Cabot senior secured notes	1,076,952			603,272
Add: Debt premium	67,259			43,583
Cabot senior revolving credit facility	86,368			—
Preferred equity certificates	208,312			199,821
Capital lease obligations	15,331			12,219
Other	38,785			20,271
	$	2,773,554		$	1,850,431

Balances of the Liability and Equity Components



	2017 Convertible Notes			2020 Convertible Notes			2021 Convertible Notes
Debt component	$	100,298		$	140,271		$	143,604
Equity component	$	14,702		$	32,229		$	17,396
Equity issuance cost	$	788		$	1,113		$	575
Stated interest rate	3.000		%	3.000		%	2.875		%
Effective interest rate	6.000		%	6.350		%	4.700		%

The balances of the liability and equity components of all of the Convertible Notes outstanding were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Liability component—principal amount	$	448,500		$	287,500
Unamortized debt discount	(51,202		)	(42,240		)
Liability component—net carrying amount	$	397,298		$	245,260
Equity component	$	55,236		$	46,954

Convertible Debt, Features and Hedging

The details of the hedge program for each of the Convertible Notes are listed below (in thousands, except conversion price):



	2017 Convertible Notes		2020 Convertible Notes		2021 Convertible Notes
Cost of the hedge transaction(s)	$	50,595	$	18,113	$	19,545
Initial conversion price	$	31.56	$	45.72	$	59.39
Effective conversion price	$	60.00	$	61.55	$	83.14



	2017 Convertible Notes		2020 Convertible Notes		2021 Convertible Notes
Initial conversion price	$	31.56	$	45.72	$	59.39
Closing stock price at date of issuance	$	25.66	$	33.35	$	47.51
Closing stock price date	November 27, 2012		June 24, 2013		March 5, 2014
Conversion rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)	31.6832		21.8718		16.8386
Conversion date⁽¹⁾	May 27, 2017		January 1, 2020		September 15, 2020

Summary of Debt Including Capital Lease Obligations Maturities



2015	$	86,536
2016	56,380
2017	283,346
2018	118,566
2019	1,007,516
Thereafter	1,205,153
Total	$	2,757,497

Cabot Senior Secured Notes [Member]

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Interest Expense

Interest expense related to the Cabot Notes and Marlin Bonds was as follows (in thousands):



	Year ended December 31,
	2014			2013
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	$	97,028		$	27,496
Interest income—accretion of debt premium	(10,233		)	(2,826		)
Total interest expense—Cabot Notes	$	86,795		$	24,670

Convertible Notes [Member]

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Interest Expense



	Year ended December 31,
	2014		2013
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	$	12,418	$	6,108
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount	8,423		4,492
Total interest expense—convertible notes	$	20,841	$	10,600

Stock-Based Compensation (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Weighted-Average Assumptions



	Year Ended December 31, 2012
Weighted average fair value of options granted	$	11.77
Risk free interest rate	0.9		%
Dividend yield	0.0		%
Volatility factors of the expected market price of the Company’s common stock	63.0		%
Weighted-average expected life of options	5 Years

Summary of Stock Option Activity

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity as of December 31, 2014, and changes during the year then ended, is presented below:



	Number of Shares		Option Price Per Share	Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)
Outstanding at December 31, 2013	1,133,172		$2.89 –$24.65	$	14.84
Cancelled/forfeited	(10,000	)	22.17	22.17
Exercised	(952,357	)	10.60 –24.65	14.38
Outstanding at December 31, 2014	170,815		$2.89 –$24.65	$	16.98	$	4,683
Exercisable at December 31, 2014	136,318		$2.89 –$24.65	$	15.67	$	3,917

Summary of Restricted Stock Units

A summary of the status of the Company’s restricted stock units and restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2014, and changes during the year then ended, is presented below:



	Non-Vested Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested at December 31, 2013	985,735		$	31.07
Awarded	618,724		$	28.88
Vested	(426,720	)	$	29.47
Cancelled/forfeited	(75,458	)	$	38.01
Non-vested at December 31, 2014	1,102,281		$	35.60

Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Effective Tax Rates

The effective tax rates for the respective periods are shown below:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Federal provision	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State provision	8.2	%	5.8	%	6.6	%
State benefit	(2.9	)%	(2.0	)%	(2.3	)%
Changes in state apportionment⁽¹⁾	0.0	%	(0.2	)%	0.0	%
Tax reserves⁽²⁾	0.0	%	0.0	%	0.1	%
International benefit⁽³⁾	(3.6	)%	(2.2	)%	(0.4	)%
Permanent items⁽⁴⁾	4.3	%	2.4	%	0.5	%
Other⁽⁵⁾	(6.4	)%	(1.2	)%	0.2	%
Effective rate	34.6	%	37.6	%	39.7	%

________________________


(1)	Represents changes in state apportionment methodologies.


(2)	Represents reserves taken for certain tax position adopted by the Company.


(3)	Relates primarily to the lower tax rate on the income attributable to international operations.


(4)	Represents a provision for nondeductible items.


(5)	Includes the effect of discrete items. The decrease of effective tax rate in 2014 was primarily related to the recognition of a tax benefit as a result of a favorable tax settlement with taxing authorities.

Components of Pretax Income

The pretax income from continuing operations consisted of the following (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Domestic	$	131,434	$	105,009	$	122,423
Foreign	21,181		15,859		7,902
	$	152,615	$	120,868	$	130,325

Components of Provision for Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Current expense:
Federal	$	71,002		$	50,304		$	48,025
State	7,741			7,196			9,537
Foreign	3,752			4,052			2,765
	82,495			61,552			60,327
Deferred (benefit) expense:
Federal	(33,398		)	(13,134		)	(6,801		)
State	2,710			(2,369		)	(1,301		)
Foreign	918			(661		)	(471		)
	(29,770		)	(16,164		)	(8,573		)
	$	52,725		$	45,388		$	51,754

Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The components of deferred tax assets and liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):



	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Deferred tax assets:
State taxes	$	—		$	2,758
Stock-based compensation expense	7,143			7,250
Accrued expenses	6,701			5,015
Non-qualified plan	273			97
Differences in income recognition related to receivable portfolios	31,799			38,529
Cash flow hedge instruments	103			1,588
State and international operating losses	12,917			6,490
Difference in basis of depreciable assets	2,077			86
Capitalized legal fees—International	4,365			1,609
Cumulative translation adjustment	4,036			1,509
Tax benefit of uncertain tax positions	1,247			4,237
Difference in basis of bond and loan costs	10,455			—
Valuation allowance	(10,047		)	(3,595		)
	71,069			65,573
Deferred tax liabilities:
State taxes	(1,643		)	—
Deferred court costs	(19,550		)	(15,445		)
Difference in basis of amortizable assets	(10,682		)	(12,200		)
Difference in basis of depreciable assets	(7,868		)	(6,834		)
Differences in income recognition related to receivable portfolios	(16,308		)	(20,773		)
Deferred debt cancellation income	(2,602		)	(1,222		)
Other	(3,533		)	(2,289		)
	(62,186		)	(58,763		)
Net deferred tax asset	$	8,883		$	6,810

Differences between Total Income Tax Expense and Income Tax Expense

The differences between the total income tax expense and the income tax expense computed using the applicable federal income tax rate of 35.0% per annum were as follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Computed “expected” Federal income tax expense	$	53,415		$	42,304		$	45,614
Increase (decrease) in income taxes resulting from:
State income taxes, net	8,118			3,138			5,551
Foreign non-taxed income, rate differential	(5,453		)	(2,647		)	(481		)
Other adjustments, net	(3,355		)	2,593			1,070
	$	52,725		$	45,388		$	51,754

Unrecognized Tax Benefit

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of the Company’s unrecognized tax benefit is as follows (in thousands):



	Amount
Balance at December 31, 2011	$	1,230
Decreases related to prior year tax positions	(361		)
Increases related to current and prior year tax positions	915
Balance at December 31, 2012	1,784
Decreases related to prior year tax positions	(712		)
Increases related to prior year tax positions	70,201
Balance at December 31, 2013	71,273
Increases related to prior year tax positions	33,027
Increases related to current year tax positions	1,329
Decreases related to settlements with taxing authorities	(67,204		)
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	38,425

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Future Minimum Lease Payments for Capital Leases

Future minimum lease payments under lease obligations consist of the following for the years ending December 31, (in thousands):



	Capital Leases			Operating Leases		Total
2015	$	7,523		$	17,026	$	24,549
2016	5,559			14,138		19,697
2017	2,200			12,230		14,430
2018	690			8,265		8,955
2019	193			4,374		4,567
Thereafter	—			7,383		7,383
Total minimal leases payments	16,165			$	63,416	$	79,581
Less: Interest	(834		)
Present value of minimal lease payments	$	15,331

Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases

Future minimum lease payments under lease obligations consist of the following for the years ending December 31, (in thousands):



	Capital Leases			Operating Leases		Total
2015	$	7,523		$	17,026	$	24,549
2016	5,559			14,138		19,697
2017	2,200			12,230		14,430
2018	690			8,265		8,955
2019	193			4,374		4,567
Thereafter	—			7,383		7,383
Total minimal leases payments	16,165			$	63,416	$	79,581
Less: Interest	(834		)
Present value of minimal lease payments	$	15,331

Segment Information (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Reconciliation of Revenue and Operating Income from Segments to Consolidated

The following table provides a reconciliation of revenue and segment operating income by reportable segment to consolidated results and was derived from the segments’ internal financial information as used for corporate management purposes (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Revenues:
Portfolio purchasing and recovery	$	1,043,429		$	756,277		$	545,419
Tax lien business	29,360			17,087			11,358
	$	1,072,789		$	773,364		$	556,777
Operating income:
Portfolio purchasing and recovery	$	352,754		$	219,510		$	164,038
Tax lien business	11,820			5,045			5,677
	364,574			224,555			169,715
Depreciation and amortization	(27,949		)	(13,547		)	(5,840		)
Stock-based compensation	(17,181		)	(12,649		)	(8,794		)
Other expense	(166,829		)	(77,491		)	(24,756		)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	$	152,615		$	120,868		$	130,325

Schedule of Geographical Areas of Which Company Operates

The following presents information about geographic areas in which the Company operates (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Revenues⁽¹⁾ :
Domestic	$	757,847	$	677,873	$	556,777
International	314,942		95,491		—
	$	1,072,789	$	773,364	$	556,777

________________________


(1)	Revenues are attributed to countries based on location of customer.

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Reportable Segments by Reporting Units

Goodwill was allocable to reporting units included in the Company’s reportable segments, as follows (in thousands):



	Portfolio Purchasing and Recovery			Tax Lien Business		Total
Balance, December 31, 2013	$	454,936		$	49,277	$	504,213
Goodwill acquired	430,545			—		430,545
Effect of foreign currency translation	(36,825		)	—		(36,825		)
Balance, December 31, 2014	$	848,656		$	49,277	$	897,933

Summary of Acquired Intangible Assets

The Company’s acquired intangible assets are summarized as follows (in thousands):



	As of December 31, 2014							As of December 31, 2013
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount
Customer relationships	$	5,437	$	(743	)	$	4,694	$	1,975	$	(74	)	$	1,901
Developed technologies	8,353		(2,194		)	6,159		4,909		(468		)	4,441
Trade name and other	10,458		(1,709		)	8,749		15,631		(386		)	15,245
Other intangibles—indefinite lived	1,962		—			1,962		1,962		—			1,962
Total intangible assets	$	26,210	$	(4,646	)	$	21,564	$	24,477	$	(928	)	$	23,549

Weighted-Average Useful Lives of Intangible Assets

The weighted-average useful lives of intangible assets at the time of acquisition were as follows:




	Weighted-Average Useful Lives
Customer relationships	11
Developed technologies	5
Trade name and other	6

Estimated Future Amortization Expense

Estimated future amortization expense related to finite-lived intangible assets at December 31, 2014 is as follows (in thousands):



2015	$	4,750
2016	4,226
2017	3,846
2018	2,292
2019	966
Thereafter	3,522
Total	$	19,602

Quarterly Information (Unaudited) (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Summary of Quarterly Financial Data

The following table summarizes quarterly financial data for the periods presented (in thousands, except per share amounts):



	Three Months Ended
	March 31		June 30		September 30		December 31
2014
Gross collections	$	396,674	$	409,280	$	407,220	$	394,323
Revenues	253,741		269,195		273,282		276,571
Total operating expenses	185,472		190,689		188,960		188,224
Income from continuing operations	18,830		21,353		30,138		29,569
Net income	18,830		21,353		30,138		27,957
Amounts attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
Income from continuing operations	23,180		23,561		30,335		28,262
Net income	23,180		23,561		30,335		26,650
Earnings per share attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
From continuing operations:
Basic	$	0.90	$	0.91	$	1.17	$	1.09
Diluted	0.82		0.86		1.11		1.04
From net income:
Basic	$	0.90	$	0.91	$	1.17	$	1.03
Diluted	0.82		0.86		1.11		0.98
2013
Gross collections	$	270,170	$	278,388	$	379,670	$	351,278
Revenues	144,586		156,121		235,558		237,099
Total operating expenses	105,872		126,238		174,429		168,466
Income from continuing operations	19,448		11,012		21,372		23,648
Net income	19,448		11,012		21,064		22,216
Amounts attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
Income from continuing operations	19,448		11,012		22,194		24,385
Net income	19,448		11,012		21,886		22,953
Earnings per share attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
From continuing operations:
Basic	$	0.83	$	0.46	$	0.87	$	0.95
Diluted	0.80		0.44		0.82		0.87
From net income:
Basic	$	0.83	$	0.46	$	0.86	$	0.90
Diluted	0.80		0.44		0.81		0.82

Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended													12 Months Ended
	May 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Apr. 24, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 16, 2013 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Nov. 27, 2012 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member] Adjusted Debt Conversion Rate Following Hedge Transactions [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 2020 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Jun. 24, 2013 2020 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 2021 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Mar. 05, 2014 2021 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	May 06, 2014 Texas [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Maximum [Member]
Basis Of Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of payment made for portfolios purchase		50.00%
Foreclosure rate (less than)															0.50%
Deferred Court Costs not recovered, years		5 years
Receivables secured by tax lien, redemption period (less than)		84 months
Receivables secured by property tax liens, net		$ 259,432,000	$ 212,814,000											$ 141,500,000
Receivables secured by property tax liens, principal balance														134,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate						3.00%				3.00%		2.875%		1.44%
Stock repurchase program, authorized amount					50,000,000.0
Stock repurchased during period (shares)	400,000
Stock repurchased during period (amount)	16,800,000	16,815,000	729,000	49,270,000
Employee stock options to purchase common shares, excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share		0	0	352,000
Convertible debt						$ 115,000,000				$ 172,500,000		$ 161,000,000
Initial conversion price (in dollars per share)						$ 31.56		$ 31.56	$ 60.00	$ 45.72	$ 45.72	$ 59.39	$ 59.39
Warrants sold to purchase common stock						3,600,000
Warrants exercise price						$ 44.19	$ 60.00

Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Estimated Useful Lives of Property and Equipment (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014
Leasehold improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Leasehold improvements	Lesser of lease term, including periods covered by renewal options, or useful life
Minimum [Member] \| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Life	5 years
Minimum [Member] \| Computer Hardware and Software [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Life	3 years
Maximum [Member] \| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Life	10 years
Maximum [Member] \| Computer Hardware and Software [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Life	5 years

Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Reconciliation of Shares Used in Calculating Earnings Per Basic and Diluted Shares (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	0	0	352,000
Weighted average common shares outstanding-basic (in shares)	25,853,000	24,659,000	24,855,000
Dilutive effect of stock-based awards (in shares)	556,000	950,000	981,000
Dilutive effect of convertible senior notes (in shares)	1,082,000	595,000	0
Dilutive effect of warrants (in shares)	4,000	0	0
Weighted average common shares outstanding-diluted (in shares)	27,495,000	26,204,000	25,836,000

- Definition

Securities (including those issuable pursuant to contingent stock agreements) that could potentially dilute basic earnings per share (EPS) or earnings per unit (EPU) in the future that were not included in the computation of diluted EPS or EPU because to do so would increase EPS or EPU amounts or decrease loss per share or unit amounts for the period presented.

+ References+ Details

- Definition

Additional shares included in the calculation of diluted EPS as a result of the potentially dilutive effect of call options and warrants using the treasury stock method.

+ References+ Details

Discontinued Operations - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	May 16, 2012 Ascension Capital Group, Inc. [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Ascension Capital Group, Inc. [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Ascension Capital Group, Inc. [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Ascension Capital Group, Inc. [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Additional recognition of loss contingency				$ 4,000,000
Earn-out on profitability following sale of discontinued operations				40.00%
Earn-out on profitability following sale of discontinued operations, term				5 years
Recognized loss contingency					4,000,000
Gain (loss) incurred to resolve legacy contractual claims						(2,800,000)	(2,200,000)
Additional loss incurred							700,000
Loss on lease termination	0	3,630,000	0			600,000
Loss on discontinued operations	$ 0	$ 0	$ (1,830,000)			$ (2,200,000)

Discontinued Operations - Revenue and Components of Discontinued Operations (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 0	$ 0	$ 5,704
Loss from discontinued operations before income taxes	(2,750)	(2,900)	(11,942)
Income tax benefit	1,138	1,160	4,678
Loss from discontinued operations	(1,612)	(1,740)	(7,264)
Loss on sale of discontinued operations, before income taxes	0	0	(2,416)
Income tax benefit	0	0	586
Loss on sale of discontinued operations	0	0	(1,830)
Total loss from discontinued operations	$ (1,612)	$ (1,740)	$ (9,094)

- Definition

Amount of income (loss) from a disposal group, net of income tax before extraordinary items allocable to noncontrolling interests. Includes, net of tax, income (loss) from operations during the phase-out period, gain (loss) on disposal, provision (or any reversals of earlier provisions) for loss on disposal, and adjustments of a prior period gain (loss) on disposal.

+ References+ Details

Business Combinations - Additional Information (Detail)			0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
Business Combinations - Additional Information (Detail)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Aug. 06, 2014 Atlantic Credit and Finance, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Atlantic Credit and Finance, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin [Member] GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2014 Marlin [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 06, 2014 Atlantic Acquisition [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 06, 2014 Atlantic Acquisition [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin Acquisition [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin Acquisition [Member] USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business acquisition, cash paid						£ 166,800,000		$ 196,104,000		$ 274,068,000
Business acquisition, debt paid off on closing date			126,100,000
Acquisition and integration costs				700,000			10,300,000
Revenue included in condensed consolidated statement of income				26,500,000			67,900,000
Net income included in condensed consolidated statement of income				4,600,000			(2,500,000)
Repayments of loans payable					73,700,000	44,800,000
Business acquisition, liabilities incurred					246,500,000	150,000,000
Goodwill	$ 897,933,000	$ 504,213,000							$ 77,542,000		$ 326,816,000

Business Combinations - Components of Purchase Price Allocation for Acquisition/Merger (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified			0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Aug. 06, 2014 Atlantic Acquisition [Member]	Aug. 06, 2014 Atlantic Acquisition [Member]	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin Acquisition [Member]	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin Acquisition [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash paid at acquisition			$ 196,104		$ 274,068
Allocation of purchase price:
Cash				16,743		16,342
Investment in receivable portfolios				105,399		208,450
Deferred court costs				995		914
Property and equipment				1,331		1,335
Other assets				15,049		18,091
Liabilities assumed				(23,550)		(299,699)
Identifiable intangible assets				2,595		1,819
Goodwill	897,933	504,213		77,542		326,816
Total net assets acquired				$ 196,104		$ 274,068

Business Combinations - Pro Forma Consolidated Results of Operations (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Business Combinations [Abstract]
Consolidated pro forma revenue	$ 1,110,872	$ 837,878
Consolidated pro forma income from continuing operations attributable to Encore	$ 110,016	$ 81,140

Fair Value Measurements - Summary of Financial Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on Recurring Basis (Detail) (Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$ 768	$ 46
Interest rate cap contracts		202
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	(1,037)	(4,123)
Temporary Equity
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	(28,885)	(26,564)
Level 1 [Member]
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	0	0
Interest rate cap contracts		0
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	0	0
Temporary Equity
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	0	0
Level 2 [Member]
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	768	46
Interest rate cap contracts		202
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	(1,037)	(4,123)
Temporary Equity
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	0	0
Level 3 [Member]
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	0	0
Interest rate cap contracts		0
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	0	0
Temporary Equity
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	$ (28,885)	$ (26,564)

- Definition

The aggregate fair value as of the reporting date of all noncontrolling interests which are redeemable by the (parent) entity (1) at a fixed or determinable price on a fixed or determinable date, (2) at the option of the holder of the noncontrolling interest, or (3) upon occurrence of an event that is not solely within the control of the (parent) entity. This item includes noncontrolling interest holder's ownership (or holders' ownership) regardless of the type of equity interest (common, preferred, other) including all potential organizational (legal) forms of the investee entity.

+ References+ Details

Fair Value Measurements - Change in Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Change in Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	$ 26,564	$ 0
Initial redeemable noncontrolling interest related to business combinations	4,997	25,517
Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	(4,513)	(1,167)
Adjustment of the redeemable noncontrolling interests to fair value	5,730	1,167
Effect of foreign currency translation attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	(3,893)	1,047
Balance, end of period	$ 28,885	$ 26,564

- Definition

As of the reporting date, the aggregate carrying amount of all noncontrolling interests which are redeemable by the (parent) entity (1) at a fixed or determinable price on a fixed or determinable date, (2) at the option of the holder of the noncontrolling interest, or (3) upon occurrence of an event that is not solely within the control of the (parent) entity. This item includes noncontrolling interest holder's ownership (or holders' ownership) regardless of the type of equity interest (common, preferred, other) including all potential organizational (legal) forms of the investee entity.

+ References+ Details

Fair Value Measurements - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)							12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2014 Cabot Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Cost to collect [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Discount rate [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 United States [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 United Kingdom [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Estimated market participant cost to collect									50.30%	30.10%
Discount rate									12.00%	12.90%
Fluctuation in discount rate	1.00%
Increase or decrease of the fair value							$ 37,400,000	$ 41,300,000
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	2,143,560,000	1,590,249,000	873,119,000	716,454,000
Convertible senior notes, carrying value	448,500,000	287,500,000
Unamortized debt discount	51,202,000	42,240,000
Fair value estimate of convertible senior notes incorporates quoted market prices	507,400,000	412,400,000				680,700,000
Senior secured notes, carrying value	43,750,000	58,750,000			1,100,000,000	646,900,000
Senior secured notes, debt premium	$ 67,259,000	$ 43,583,000			$ 67,300,000	$ 43,600,000

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 Forward Contracts [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Forward Contracts [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Forward Contracts [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Cabot Acquisition [Member] GBP (£)
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivative instrument, Notional amount	$ 47,000,000			£ 100,000,000
Net derivative loss included in OCI will be reclassified into earnings	800,000
Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income - Effective Portion	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments - Summary of Fair Value of Derivative Instruments as Recorded in Company's Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Other Liabilities [Member] \| Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments	$ (1,037)	$ (4,123)
Other Assets [Member] \| Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments	768	46
Other Assets [Member] \| Interest Rate Cap [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments	$ 0	$ 202

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments - Summary of Effects of Derivatives on Cash Flow Hedging Relationships in Company's Statements of Income (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Interest Rate Swaps [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain or (Loss) Recognized in OCI- Effective Portion	$ 0	$ 645,000
Interest Rate Swaps [Member] \| Interest expense [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income - Effective Portion	0	0
Interest Rate Swaps [Member] \| Other (expense) income [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized - Ineffective Portion and Amount Excluded from Effectiveness Testing	0	0
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts 1 [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain or (Loss) Recognized in OCI- Effective Portion	2,281,000	(3,031,000)
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts 1 [Member] \| Salaries and employee benefits [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income - Effective Portion	(1,084,000)	(1,362,000)
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts 1 [Member] \| Other (expense) income [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized - Ineffective Portion and Amount Excluded from Effectiveness Testing	0	0
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts 2 [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain or (Loss) Recognized in OCI- Effective Portion	249,000	(658,000)
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts 2 [Member] \| General and administrative expenses [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income - Effective Portion	(195,000)	(260,000)
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts 2 [Member] \| Other (expense) income [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized - Ineffective Portion and Amount Excluded from Effectiveness Testing	$ 0	$ 0

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013 Investment Receivables AACC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Investment Receivables AACC [Member]	Jul. 31, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member]	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin Acquisition [Member]	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin Acquisition [Member]	Aug. 06, 2014 Atlantic Acquisition [Member]	Aug. 06, 2014 Atlantic Acquisition [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 Minimum [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 Maximum [Member]
Certain Loans Acquired In Transfer Not Accounted For As Debt Securities Carrying Amount Net [Line Items]
Collection forecast estimated on receivable portfolios	120 months	120 months										84 months	96 months
Income recognized under cost recovery method		$ 0
Purchase price of receivable portfolios		1,251,360,000	1,204,779,000	562,335,000	383,400,000		559,000,000	208,500,000		105,400,000
Investment in receivable portfolios									208,450,000		105,399,000
Face value of receivable portfolios		13,800,000,000	84,900,000,000			68,200,000,000
Purchase cost as a percentage of face value		9.10%	1.40%			0.60%
Estimated future collections at acquisition for receivable portfolios		2,800,000,000	1,300,000,000
Zero Basis Revenue		$ 22,300,000	$ 17,200,000	$ 22,600,000

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net - Summary of Accretable Yield and an Estimate of Zero Basis Future Cash Flows (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Jul. 31, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member]	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin Acquisition [Member]	Feb. 07, 2014 Marlin Acquisition [Member]	Aug. 06, 2014 Atlantic Acquisition [Member]	Aug. 06, 2014 Atlantic Acquisition [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Investment Receivables AACC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Accretable Yield [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Accretable Yield [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Estimate of Zero Basis Cash Flows [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Estimate of Zero Basis Cash Flows [Member]
Certain Loans Acquired in Transfer Not Accounted for as Debt Securities, Accretable Yield and Estimate of Zero Basis Future Cash Flows Movement Schedule [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	$ 2,399,936	$ 1,002,310								$ 2,391,471	$ 984,944	$ 8,465	$ 17,366
Revenue recognized, net	(992,832)	(744,852)								(958,332)	(717,733)	(34,500)	(27,119)
Net additions on existing portfolios	374,706	375,407								282,279	357,189	92,427	18,218
Additions for current purchases	1,277,903	1,767,071								1,277,903	1,767,071	0	0
Ending Balance	3,059,713	2,399,936	1,002,310							2,993,321	2,391,471	66,392	8,465
Purchase price of receivable portfolios	1,251,360	1,204,779	562,335	559,000	208,500		105,400		383,400
Investment in receivable portfolios						$ 208,450		$ 105,399

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net - Summary of Changes in Balance of Investment in Receivable Portfolios (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Investment in Receivables Portfolio [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period				$ 1,590,249				$ 873,119	$ 1,590,249	$ 873,119	$ 716,454
Purchases of receivable portfolios									1,251,360	1,204,779	562,335
Transfer of portfolios									0	0
Gross collections	(394,323)	(407,220)	(409,280)	(396,674)	(351,278)	(379,670)	(278,388)	(270,170)	(1,607,497)	(1,279,506)	(948,006)
Put-backs and Recalls									(15,707)	(2,629)	(3,076)
Foreign currency adjustments									(67,677)	49,634
Revenue recognized									975,425	732,659	541,191
Portfolio allowance reversals, net									17,407	12,193	4,221
Balance, end of period	2,143,560				1,590,249				2,143,560	1,590,249	873,119
Revenue as a percentage of collections									60.70%	57.30%	57.10%
Accrual Basis Portfolios [Member]
Investment in Receivables Portfolio [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period				1,585,587				873,119	1,585,587	873,119	716,454
Purchases of receivable portfolios									1,249,651	1,203,706	562,335
Transfer of portfolios									(18,682)	(6,649)
Gross collections									(1,563,996)	(1,249,625)	(921,730)
Put-backs and Recalls									(15,162)	(2,331)	(3,076)
Foreign currency adjustments									(64,646)	49,634
Revenue recognized									953,154	715,458	518,617
Portfolio allowance reversals, net									5,178	2,275	519
Balance, end of period	2,131,084				1,585,587				2,131,084	1,585,587	873,119
Revenue as a percentage of collections									60.90%	57.30%	56.30%
Cost Recovery Portfolios [Member]
Investment in Receivables Portfolio [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period				4,662				0	4,662	0	0
Purchases of receivable portfolios									1,709	1,073	0
Transfer of portfolios									18,682	6,649
Gross collections									(9,010)	(2,764)	0
Put-backs and Recalls									(536)	(296)	0
Foreign currency adjustments									(3,031)	0
Revenue recognized									0	0	0
Portfolio allowance reversals, net									0	0	0
Balance, end of period	12,476				4,662				12,476	4,662	0
Revenue as a percentage of collections									0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Zero Basis Portfolios [Member]
Investment in Receivables Portfolio [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period				0				0	0	0	0
Purchases of receivable portfolios									0	0	0
Transfer of portfolios									0	0
Gross collections									(34,491)	(27,117)	(26,276)
Put-backs and Recalls									(9)	(2)	0
Foreign currency adjustments									0	0
Revenue recognized									22,271	17,201	22,574
Portfolio allowance reversals, net									12,229	9,918	3,702
Balance, end of period	$ 0				$ 0				$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Revenue as a percentage of collections									64.60%	63.40%	85.90%

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net - Summary of Change in Valuation Allowance for Investment in Receivable Portfolios (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Receivable Portfolio, Valuation Allowance [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period	$ 93,080	$ 105,273	$ 109,494
Provision for portfolio allowances	0	479	6,745
Reversal of prior allowances	(17,407)	(12,672)	(10,966)
Balance at end of period	$ 75,673	$ 93,080	$ 105,273

Deferred Court Costs, Net - Schedule of Deferred Court Costs (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Deferred Court Costs not recovered, years	5 years
Court costs advanced	$ 546,271	$ 399,274
Court costs recovered	(206,287)	(147,166)
Court costs reserve	(279,572)	(210,889)	(149,080)	(130,454)
Deferred court costs, net	$ 60,412	$ 41,219

Property and Equipment, Net - Property and Equipment (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 144,291	$ 115,540
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	(77,322)	(59,757)
Property and equipment, net	66,969	55,783
Furniture, fixtures and equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	18,472	15,955
Computer equipment and software [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	101,721	79,765
Telecommunications equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	3,956	3,589
Leasehold improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	17,964	15,145
Other [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 2,178	$ 1,086

Other Assets - Components of Other Assets (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Debt issuance costs, net of amortization	$ 38,504	$ 28,066
Deferred tax assets	33,716	13,974
Identifiable intangible assets, net	21,564	23,549
Prepaid expenses	21,427	23,487
Funds held in escrow	16,889	0
Interest receivable	12,187	7,956
Service fee receivables	7,864	8,954
Other financial receivables	7,467	7,962
Receivable from seller	7,357	0
Security deposits	3,617	2,500
Recoverable legal fees	2,905	3,049
Prepaid income taxes	0	5,009
Other	24,169	30,277
Total other assets	$ 197,666	$ 154,783

Debt - Components of Debt (Detail) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2014	Feb. 25, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility	$ 505,000,000		$ 356,000,000
Other	38,785,000		20,271,000
Encore senior secured notes	43,750,000		58,750,000
Encore convertible notes	448,500,000		287,500,000
Less: Debt discount	(51,202,000)		(42,240,000)
Add: Debt premium	67,259,000		43,583,000
Preferred equity certificates	208,312,000		199,821,000
Capital lease obligations	15,331,000		12,219,000
Debt and capital lease obligations, total	2,773,554,000		1,850,431,000
Cabot Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility	86,368,000		0
Propel Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility	33,500,000
Other	84,229,000		170,630,000
Cabot Senior Secured Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Encore senior secured notes	1,076,952,000		603,272,000
Term Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Other	146,023,000	153,800,000	140,625,000
Securitized Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Other	$ 104,247,000		$ 0

Debt - Encore Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended
	Feb. 25, 2014 subtranche	Dec. 31, 2014	Aug. 01, 2014	Feb. 25, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Term loan facility		$ 38,785,000			$ 20,271,000
Number of subtranches, term loan facility	2
Percentage to be added to base rate for alternate base rate	0.50%
Percentage to be added to adjusted base rate for alternate base rate	1.00%
Principal amount amortized, 2015		86,536,000
Principal amount amortized, 2016		56,380,000
Principal amount amortized, 2017		283,346,000
Principal amount amortized, 2018		118,566,000
Principal amount amortized, 2019		1,007,516,000
Borrowing base as percentage of eligible estimated collection range start	30.00%
Borrowing base as percentage of eligible estimated collection range end	35.00%
Percentage of eligible estimated remaining collections	33.00%
Eligible estimated remaining collections for consumer receivables	55.00%
Percentage of multiplying factor	95.00%
Allowance of additional unsecured indebtedness				750,000,000
Company's repurchases, common stock	50,000,000.0
Percentage of acquisitions excluded	50.00%
Acquisition limit				225,000,000.0
Investments in unrestricted subsidiaries			250,000,000
Amount outstanding		651,000,000
Weighted average interest rate		2.93%			3.11%
Propel [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Investments in unrestricted subsidiaries			200,000,000
Term Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Term loan facility	153,800,000	146,023,000		153,800,000	140,625,000
Term Loan Subtranche One [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Term loan facility				60,000,000
Line of credit facility expiry date	Feb. 28, 2017
Principal amount amortized, 2016				3,000,000
Principal amount amortized, 2017				4,500,000
Term Loan Subtranche One [Member] \| LIBOR [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	2.00%
Term Loan Subtranche One [Member] \| LIBOR [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	2.50%
Term Loan Subtranche One [Member] \| Base Rate [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.00%
Term Loan Subtranche One [Member] \| Base Rate [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.50%
Term loan Subtranche Two [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Term loan facility				6,300,000
Line of credit facility expiry date	Nov. 03, 2017
Principal amount amortized, 2016				500,000
Principal amount amortized, 2017				600,000
Principal amount amortized, 2018				500,000
Term loan Subtranche Two [Member] \| LIBOR [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	2.50%
Term loan Subtranche Two [Member] \| LIBOR [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.00%
Term loan Subtranche Two [Member] \| Base Rate [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.50%
Term loan Subtranche Two [Member] \| Base Rate [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	2.00%
Term Loan One [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Term loan facility				87,500,000
Debt instrument, term	5 years
Principal amount amortized, 2016				4,400,000
Principal amount amortized, 2017				6,600,000
Principal amount amortized, 2018				8,800,000
Principal amount amortized, 2019				8,800,000
Term Loan One [Member] \| LIBOR [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	2.50%
Term Loan One [Member] \| LIBOR [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.00%
Term Loan One [Member] \| Base Rate [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.50%
Term Loan One [Member] \| Base Rate [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	2.00%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility	692,600,000.0			692,600,000.0
Additional line of revolving credit facility	250,000,000			250,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| LIBOR [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	2.50%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| LIBOR [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.00%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Base Rate [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.50%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Base Rate [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	2.00%
Restated Credit Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity including accordion agreement after amendment				1,100,000,000.0
Debt instrument, term	5 years
Line of credit facility expiry date	Feb. 28, 2019
Foreign Portfolio Investment Basket [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Acquisition limit per acquisition			$ 150,000,000

Debt - Encore Senior Secured Notes (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
Debt - Encore Senior Secured Notes (Detail) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012 2011 Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 2010 Senior Secured Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior Secured Notes, aggregate amount			$ 75,000,000	$ 25,000,000	$ 50,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate				7.375%	7.75%
Debt instrument maturity date				2018	2017
Senior Secured Notes, periodic principal repayment				1,300,000	2,500,000
Senior secured notes	$ 43,750,000	$ 58,750,000
Basis spread over the current Treasury Rate (percent)	0.50%

Debt - Encore Convertible Notes (Detail) (USD $)			12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Debt - Encore Convertible Notes (Detail) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014 Convertible Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Convertible Notes [Member]	Nov. 27, 2012 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member] Convertible Notes [Member]	Jun. 24, 2013 2020 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 2020 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Jun. 24, 2013 2020 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Jul. 31, 2013 2020 Convertible Senior Notes [Member] Convertible Notes [Member]	Mar. 05, 2014 2021 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 2021 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 2021 Convertible Senior Notes [Member] Convertible Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Convertible senior notes sold							$ 115,000,000				$ 172,500,000			$ 161,000,000
Initial conversion price (in dollars per share)					$ 31.56	$ 31.56			$ 45.72	$ 45.72		$ 59.39	$ 59.39
Closing stock price at date of issuance (in dollars per share)					$ 25.66					$ 33.35		$ 47.51
Conversion rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)					31.6832			21.8718				16.8386
Debt component						100,298,000			140,271,000				143,604,000
Equity component	55,236,000	46,954,000				14,702,000			32,229,000				17,396,000
Equity issuance cost						788,000			1,113,000				575,000
Stated interest rate						3.00%	3.00%		3.00%		3.00%		2.875%	2.875%
Effective interest rate						6.00%			6.35%				4.70%
Liability component—principal amount	448,500,000	287,500,000
Unamortized debt discount	(51,202,000)	(42,240,000)
Liability component—net carrying amount	397,298,000	245,260,000
Interest expense—stated coupon rate			12,418,000	6,108,000
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount			8,423,000	4,492,000
Total interest expense—convertible notes			$ 20,841,000	$ 10,600,000

Debt - Convertible Notes Hedge Transactions (Details) (USD $)			12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Nov. 27, 2012 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 2020 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Jun. 24, 2013 2020 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 2021 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Mar. 05, 2014 2021 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Feb. 28, 2014 Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument [Member] 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument [Member] 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument [Member] 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 16, 2013 Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument [Member] 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Nov. 27, 2012 Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument [Member] 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument [Member] 2020 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument [Member] 2021 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes	$ 43,750,000	$ 58,750,000
Cost of the hedge transaction(s)			$ 50,595,000		$ 18,113,000		$ 19,545,000		$ 27,900,000	$ 25,200,000	$ 2,700,000
Conversion price (in dollars per share)			$ 31.56	$ 31.56	$ 45.72	$ 45.72	$ 59.39	$ 59.39		$ 60.00		$ 60.00	$ 44.19	$ 61.55	$ 83.14

Debt - Conversion and Earnings Per Share Impact (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data in Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member] D	Dec. 31, 2014 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 2017 Convertible Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Convertible debt, threshold percentage of stock price trigger (exceeded)				130.00%
Convertible debt, threshold trading days (more than)				20
Convertible debt, threshold consecutive trading days				30 days
Convertible notes, fair value					$ 163.1
Reclassifications of permanent to temporary equity, debt conversion	$ 9.1
Dilutive effect of convertible senior notes (in shares)	1,082	595	0		1,100	600

Debt - Propel (Details) (USD $)										12 Months Ended										0 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
Debt - Propel (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Term Loan Facility [Member]	May 02, 2014 Propel Term Loan Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Secured Debt [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Secured Debt [Member]	May 06, 2014 Texas [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Propel Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility [Member] LIBOR [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility [Member] LIBOR [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility [Member] Prime Rate [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility [Member] Prime Rate [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Propel Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Wells Fargo Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility II, Amended [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Propel Facility II, Amended [Member]	May 15, 2013 Propel Facility II, Amended [Member]	May 06, 2014 Propel Facility II, Amended [Member] LIBOR [Member] Funding of Tax Liens [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility II [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Propel Facility II [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility II [Member] LIBOR [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility II [Member] LIBOR [Member] Following Expiration Date [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Propel Facility II [Member] LIBOR [Member] Following Expiration Date [Member] Texas [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity								$ 200,000,000.0									$ 150,000,000.0	$ 190,000,000.0	$ 100,000,000.0
Basis spread on variable rate										3.00%	3.75%	0.00%	0.75%							2.50%			3.25%	3.25%	2.50%
Borrowing base of the face value of the tax lien collateralized notes								90.00%						90.00%
Credit facility, outstanding amount	505,000,000	356,000,000												33,500,000		31,500,000
Weighted average interest rate	2.93%	3.11%						3.33%	3.37%					3.33%	3.37%						3.85%	3.73%
Debt instrument, interest rate				5.50%			1.44%																	4.00%
Term loan, face amount				31,900,000.0
Receivables secured by property tax liens, net	259,432,000	212,814,000		43,000,000			141,500,000
Term loan facility	38,785,000	20,271,000	19,200,000		104,247,000	0								84,229,000	170,630,000
Receivables secured by property tax liens, principal balance							134,000,000
Securitized notes, collateral amount					$ 108,500,000

Debt - Cabot Senior Debt (Details)	12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended				0 Months Ended				12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
Debt - Cabot Senior Debt (Details)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 20, 2012 Cabot Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 20, 2012 Cabot Credit Agreement [Member] GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2014 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 28, 2013 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 28, 2013 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] GBP (£)	Feb. 05, 2015 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] Subsequent Event [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 05, 2015 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] Subsequent Event [Member] GBP (£)	Feb. 05, 2015 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] Subsequent Event [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 05, 2015 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] Subsequent Event [Member] GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2014 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR [Member]	Feb. 05, 2015 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR [Member] Subsequent Event [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Cabot Senior Secured Notes [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Cabot Senior Secured Notes [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Cabot Corporation [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Cabot Corporation [Member] GBP (£)	Sep. 20, 2012 Cabot 2019 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 20, 2012 Cabot 2019 Notes [Member] GBP (£)	Aug. 02, 2013 Cabot 2020 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 02, 2013 Cabot 2020 Notes [Member] GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2014 J Bridge PECs [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 J Bridge PECs [Member] GBP (£)	Mar. 27, 2014 Cabot 2021 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 27, 2014 Cabot 2021 Notes [Member] GBP (£)	Mar. 27, 2014 Cabot 2021 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 27, 2014 Cabot 2021 Notes [Member] GBP (£)	Jul. 25, 2013 Ten Point Five Percent Senior Secured Notes Due Two Thousand Twenty [Member] Marlin Acquisition [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 25, 2013 Ten Point Five Percent Senior Secured Notes Due Two Thousand Twenty [Member] Marlin Acquisition [Member] GBP (£)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes	$ 43,750,000	$ 58,750,000																		$ 438,400,000	£ 265,000,000	$ 151,700,000	£ 100,000,000					$ 291,800,000	£ 175,000,000.0	$ 246,500,000	£ 150,000,000.0
Debt instrument, interest rate																				10.375%	10.375%	8.375%	8.375%					6.50%	6.50%	10.50%	10.50%
Repayment of senior credit facility	1,184,244,000	630,163,000	289,673,000															113,800,000	75,000,000							174,800,000	105,000,000
Repayment of J Bridge PECs																								37,900,000	25,000,000
Debt issuance costs										3,800,000	2,500,000															7,500,000
Long-term debt, fair value																														284,200,000
Interest expense—stated coupon rate																97,028,000	27,496,000
Interest income—accretion of debt premium																(10,233,000)	(2,826,000)
Total interest expense—Cabot Notes																86,795,000	24,670,000
Revolving credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity				82,700,000	50,000,000.0			140,600,000	85,000,000.0			298,100,000	195,000,000
Revolving credit facility, increase to maximum borrowing capacity, accordion provision													55,000,000
Debt instrument, term						5 years
Line of credit facility expiry date						Sep. 01, 2017
Basis spread on variable rate														3.50%	3.50%
LTV ratio						0.75%
Credit facility, outstanding amount	$ 505,000,000	$ 356,000,000				$ 86,368,000	$ 0
Weighted average interest rate	2.93%	3.11%				4.34%	4.24%

Debt - Senior Secured Bridge Facilities (Details)	12 Months Ended				0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
Debt - Senior Secured Bridge Facilities (Details)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Feb. 07, 2014 Bridge Facility A [Member] GBP (£)	Feb. 07, 2014 Bridge Facility B [Member] GBP (£)	Feb. 07, 2014 Senior Secured Bridge Facilities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Senior Secured Bridge Facilities [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 07, 2014 Senior Secured Bridge Facilities [Member] GBP (£)	Mar. 27, 2014 Cabot 2021 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 27, 2014 Cabot 2021 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 27, 2014 Cabot 2021 Notes [Member] GBP (£)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes	$ 43,750,000	$ 58,750,000							$ 291,800,000	£ 175,000,000.0
Credit facility			105,000,000.0	151,500,000.0
Credit facility, incremental facilities							80,000,000.0
Debt instrument, term					1 year
Debt instrument, extended term					6 years 6 months
Debt instrument, initial spread percentage					6.00%
Basis spread on senior secured loan interest rate (percent)	0.50%				0.50%
Basis spread rate increase interval period					3 months
Debt issuance costs						$ 2,000,000		$ 7,500,000

Debt - Preferred Equity Certificates (Details)				0 Months Ended								0 Months Ended
Debt - Preferred Equity Certificates (Details)	Dec. 31, 2014 Preferred Equity Certificate [Member]	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member]	Jul. 01, 2013 Janus Holdings [Member]	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member] Common Class A [Member]	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] GBP (£)	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] Common Class E [Member]	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member] E Bridge Preferred Equity Certificates [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member] E Bridge Preferred Equity Certificates [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] GBP (£)	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member] E Preferred Equity Certificates [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Acquisition [Member] E Preferred Equity Certificates [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] GBP (£)	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Holdings [Member] Common Class A [Member] J C Flowers And Company Limited Liability Company [Member]	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Holdings [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] Common Class J [Member] J C Flowers And Company Limited Liability Company [Member]	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Holdings [Member] J Bridge PECs [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] J C Flowers And Company Limited Liability Company [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Holdings [Member] J Bridge PECs [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] J C Flowers And Company Limited Liability Company [Member] GBP (£)	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Holdings [Member] J Preferred Equity Certificates [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] J C Flowers And Company Limited Liability Company [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2013 Cabot Holdings [Member] J Preferred Equity Certificates [Member] Janus Holdings [Member] J C Flowers And Company Limited Liability Company [Member] GBP (£)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Percentage of equity interest acquired		50.10%
Business combination, preferred equity certificates acquired (amount)								$ 15,500,000	£ 10,218,574	$ 147,100,000	£ 96,729,661			$ 15,500,000	£ 10,177,781
Business combination, number of shares acquired							3,498,563					100
Business combination, aggregate purchase price					175,000,000	115,100,000
Minority interest percentage			49.90%
Business combination, financial liabilities still held by minority interest (amount)																$ 146,500,000	£ 96,343,515
Business combination, number of shares still held by minority interest				100									3,484,597
Debt instrument, interest rate	12.00%

Debt - Capital Lease Obligations (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Capital lease obligations	$ 15,331	$ 12,219
Capital lease obligations, minimum percentage	0.00%
Capital lease obligations, maximum percentage	11.10%

Debt - Summary of Debt and Capital Lease Obligations Maturities (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014
Maturities of Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations [Abstract]
2015	$ 86,536
2016	56,380
2017	283,346
2018	118,566
2019	1,007,516
Thereafter	1,205,153
Total	$ 2,757,497

Stock-Based Compensation - Narrative (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
Stock-Based Compensation - Narrative (Detail) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2014 Stock Options [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Non-Vested Shares [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Minimum [Member] Stock Options [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 Maximum [Member] Stock Options [Member]	Jun. 05, 2013 2013 Incentive Compensation Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares authorized for grant								2,500,000
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 17,200,000	$ 12,600,000	$ 8,800,000
Stock-based compensation, vesting period						3 years	5 years
Share-based compensation, contractual term				10 years
Unrecognized compensation cost, stock options	100,000
Weighted-average period in years, unrecognized compensation cost	1 year				2 years 4 months 24 days
Stock options intrinsic value	29,600,000	16,900,000	9,100,000
Weighted-average remaining contractual life, options outstanding	4 years 6 months
Weighted-average remaining contractual life, options exercisable	3 years 9 months 18 days
Unrecognized compensation cost, non vested shares	23,000,000
Fair value of restricted stock units and restricted stock awards vested	$ 20,200,000	$ 11,500,000	$ 7,000,000

Stock-Based Compensation - Weighted-Average Assumptions (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]
Weighted average fair value of options granted	$ 11.77
Risk free interest rate	0.90%
Dividend yield	0.00%
Volatility factors of the expected market price of the Company’s common stock	63.00%
Weighted-average expected life of options	5 years

Stock-Based Compensation - Summary of Stock Option Activity (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Beginning Balance	1,133,172
Number of Shares, Cancelled/forfeited	(10,000)
Number of Shares, Exercised	(952,357)
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Ending Balance	170,815
Number of Shares, Exercisable, Ending Balance	136,318
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Roll Forward]
Option Price Per Share, Cancelled/forfeited (in dollars per share)	$ 22.17
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Weighted Average Exercise Price [Abstract]
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Beginning Balance	$ 14.84
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Cancelled/forfeited	$ 22.17
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercised	$ 14.38
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Ending Balance	$ 16.98
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercisable, Ending Balance	$ 15.67
Minimum [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Roll Forward]
Option Price Per Share, Outstanding, Beginning Balance (in dollars per share)	$ 2.89
Option Price Per Share, Exercised (in dollars per share)	$ 10.60
Option Price Per Share, Outstanding, Ending Balance (in dollars per share)	$ 2.89
Option Price Per Share, Exercisable, Ending Balance (in dollars per share)	$ 2.89
Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Roll Forward]
Option Price Per Share, Outstanding, Beginning Balance (in dollars per share)	$ 24.65
Option Price Per Share, Exercised (in dollars per share)	$ 24.65
Option Price Per Share, Outstanding, Ending Balance (in dollars per share)	$ 24.65
Option Price Per Share, Exercisable, Ending Balance (in dollars per share)	$ 24.65

Stock-Based Compensation - Summary of Restricted Stock Units (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Nonvested, Number of Shares [Roll Forward]
Non-Vested Shares, Beginning Balance	985,735
Non-Vested Shares, Awarded	618,724
Non-Vested Shares, Vested	(426,720)
Non-Vested Shares, Cancelled/forfeited	(75,458)
Non-Vested Shares, Ending Balance	1,102,281
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Nonvested, Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value [Abstract]
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Beginning Balance (in dollars per share)	$ 31.07
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Awarded (in dollars per share)	$ 28.88
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Vested (in dollars per share)	$ 29.47
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Cancelled/forfeited (in dollars per share)	$ 38.01
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Ending Balance (in dollars per share)	$ 35.60
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Additional Disclosures [Abstract]
Aggregate Intrinsic Value, Outstanding at December 31, 2014	$ 4,683
Aggregate Intrinsic Value, Exercisable at December 31, 2014	$ 3,917

Income Taxes - Narrative (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
Income Taxes - Narrative (Detail) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Provision for income taxes	$ 52,725,000	$ 45,388,000	$ 51,754,000
Effective tax rate (percent)	34.60%	37.60%	39.70%
Net benefit for state taxes rate (percent)	2.90%	2.00%	2.30%
Provision for state taxes rate (percent)	8.20%	5.80%	6.60%
Net benefit (percent)	(6.40%)	(1.20%)	0.20%
Federal income tax rate (percent)	35.00%	35.00%	35.00%
Undistributed earnings	46,300,000
Unrecognized tax benefit	38,425,000	71,273,000	1,784,000	1,230,000
Unrecognized tax benefits, including penalties and interest		83,000,000	2,600,000
Net tax benefit from unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized	12,700,000	13,500,000	1,800,000
Increase (decrease) in gross unrecognized tax benefit	34,400,000
Unrecognized tax benefits, income tax penalties and interest expense	7,500,000	1,300,000
Foreign Subsidiaries [Member]
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Net operating loss carry forward	65,000,000
Domestic Subsidiaries [Member]
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Net operating loss carry forward	1,600,000
Settlement with Taxing Authority [Member]
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Provision for income taxes	6,600,000
AACC Merger [Member]
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Unrecognized tax benefits, including penalties and interest	44,400,000
Other Business Combinations [Member]
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Increase in gross unrecognized tax benefit, resulting from business combination	$ 30,300,000
Tax Holiday Through December 31, 2018 [Member] \| Costa Rica [Member]
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Holiday tax rate	100.00%
Subsequent Four Years [Member] \| Costa Rica [Member]
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Holiday tax rate	50.00%
Income tax holiday, term	4 years

Income Taxes - Schedule of Effective Tax Rates (Detail)	12 Months Ended
Income Taxes - Schedule of Effective Tax Rates (Detail)	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Federal provision	35.00%	35.00%	35.00%
State provision	8.20%	5.80%	6.60%
State benefit	(2.90%)	(2.00%)	(2.30%)
Changes in state apportionment	0.00%	(0.20%)	0.00%
Tax reserves	0.00%	0.00%	0.10%
International benefit	(3.60%)	(2.20%)	(0.40%)
Permanent items	4.30%	2.40%	0.50%
Other	(6.40%)	(1.20%)	0.20%
Effective rate	34.60%	37.60%	39.70%

Income Taxes - Components of Pretax Income (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Domestic	$ 131,434	$ 105,009	$ 122,423
Foreign	21,181	15,859	7,902
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	$ 152,615	$ 120,868	$ 130,325

Income Taxes - Components of Provision for Income Taxes (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Current expense:
Federal	$ 71,002	$ 50,304	$ 48,025
State	7,741	7,196	9,537
Foreign	3,752	4,052	2,765
Total current income tax expense	82,495	61,552	60,327
Deferred (benefit) expense:
Federal	(33,398)	(13,134)	(6,801)
State	2,710	(2,369)	(1,301)
Foreign	918	(661)	(471)
Total deferred income tax expense	(29,770)	(16,164)	(8,573)
Total income tax expense (benefit)	$ 52,725	$ 45,388	$ 51,754

Income Taxes - Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Deferred tax assets:
State taxes	$ 0	$ 2,758
Stock-based compensation expense	7,143	7,250
Accrued expenses	6,701	5,015
Non-qualified plan	273	97
Differences in income recognition related to receivable portfolios	31,799	38,529
Cash flow hedge instruments	103	1,588
State and international operating losses	12,917	6,490
Difference in basis of depreciable assets	2,077	86
Capitalized legal fees—International	4,365	1,609
Cumulative translation adjustment	4,036	1,509
Tax benefit of uncertain tax positions	1,247	4,237
Difference in basis of bond and loan costs	10,455	0
Valuation allowance	(10,047)	(3,595)
Net deferred tax assets	71,069	65,573
Deferred tax liabilities:
State taxes	(1,643)	0
Deferred court costs	(19,550)	(15,445)
Difference in basis of amortizable assets	(10,682)	(12,200)
Difference in basis of depreciable assets	(7,868)	(6,834)
Differences in income recognition related to receivable portfolios	(16,308)	(20,773)
Deferred debt cancellation income	(2,602)	(1,222)
Other	(3,533)	(2,289)
Deferred tax liabilities gross	(62,186)	(58,763)
Net deferred tax asset	$ 8,883	$ 6,810

Income Taxes - Differences between Total Income Tax Expense and Income Tax Expense (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Computed “expected” Federal income tax expense	$ 53,415	$ 42,304	$ 45,614
Increase (decrease) in income taxes resulting from:
State income taxes, net	8,118	3,138	5,551
Foreign non-taxed income, rate differential	(5,453)	(2,647)	(481)
Other adjustments, net	(3,355)	2,593	1,070
Total income tax expense (benefit)	$ 52,725	$ 45,388	$ 51,754

Income Taxes - Unrecognized Tax Benefit (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	$ 71,273	$ 1,784	$ 1,230
Decreases related to prior year tax positions		(712)	(361)
Increases related to current and prior year tax positions			915
Increases related to prior year tax positions	33,027	70,201
Increases related to current year tax positions	1,329
Decreases related to settlements with taxing authorities	(67,204)
Ending Balance	$ 38,425	$ 71,273	$ 1,784

Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 class_action	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	May 11, 2011 class_action	Dec. 17, 2010 class_action	May 19, 2008 Brent v Midland Credit Management [Member] subsidiary	Nov. 27, 2013 Brent v Midland Credit Management [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of defendant subsidiaries						2
Class action, damages paid							$ 5,200,000
Class action, damages awarded, maximum							5,700,000
Number of class actions	4			2	2
Loss contingency, reasonably possible, minimum settlement	35,000,000
Reserves for legal matters (immaterial)	0
Rent expense	23,000,000	12,000,000	6,900,000
Purchase price of receivable portfolios	700,000,000
Purchase price	88,900,000
Purchase commitments in past one year	0
Estimated fair value, liability	$ 0

Commitments and Contingencies - Future Minimum Lease Payments under Lease Obligations (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due, Fiscal Year Maturity [Abstract]
Capital lease obligation, 2015	$ 7,523
Capital lease obligation, 2016	5,559
Capital lease obligation, 2017	2,200
Capital lease obligation, 2018	690
Capital lease obligation, 2019	193
Capital lease obligation, Thereafter	0
Total minimal leases payments, Capital Leases	16,165
Less: Interest	(834)
Present value of minimal lease payments	15,331
Operating Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due, Fiscal Year Maturity [Abstract]
Operating lease obligation, 2015	17,026
Operating lease obligation, 2016	14,138
Operating lease obligation, 2017	12,230
Operating lease obligation, 2018	8,265
Operating lease obligation, 2019	4,374
Operating lease obligation, Thereafter	7,383
Total minimal leases payments, Operating Leases	63,416
Schedule of Total Future Minimum Lease Payments [Abstract]
Total lease, 2015	24,549
Total lease, 2016	19,697
Total lease, 2017	14,430
Total lease, 2018	8,955
Total lease, 2019	4,567
Total lease, Thereafter	7,383
Total minimal leases payments	$ 79,581

Segment Information - Narrative (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 Segment	Dec. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments	2
Assets	$ 3,750,135	$ 2,685,274
Portfolio Purchasing and Recovery [Member]
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Assets	3,400,000
Tax Lien Transfer [Member]
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Assets	$ 369,200

Segment Information - Reconciliation of Revenue and Operating Income from Segments to Consolidated (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 276,571	$ 273,282	$ 269,195	$ 253,741	$ 237,099	$ 235,558	$ 156,121	$ 144,586	$ 1,072,789	$ 773,364	$ 556,777
Depreciation and amortization									(27,949)	(13,547)	(5,840)
Stock-based compensation									(17,200)	(12,600)	(8,800)
Other expense									(166,829)	(77,491)	(24,756)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes									152,615	120,868	130,325
Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]
Revenues									1,072,789	773,364	556,777
Operating income loss before depreciation and amortization									364,574	224,555	169,715
Operating Segments [Member] \| Portfolio Purchasing and Recovery [Member]
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]
Revenues									1,043,429	756,277	545,419
Operating income loss before depreciation and amortization									352,754	219,510	164,038
Operating Segments [Member] \| Tax Lien Transfer [Member]
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]
Revenues									29,360	17,087	11,358
Operating income loss before depreciation and amortization									11,820	5,045	5,677
Segment Reconciling Items [Member]
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]
Depreciation and amortization									(27,949)	(13,547)	(5,840)
Stock-based compensation									(17,181)	(12,649)	(8,794)
Other expense									$ (166,829)	$ (77,491)	$ (24,756)

Segment Information - Schedule of Geographical Areas of Which Company Operates (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 276,571	$ 273,282	$ 269,195	$ 253,741	$ 237,099	$ 235,558	$ 156,121	$ 144,586	$ 1,072,789	$ 773,364	$ 556,777
Domestic [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									757,847	677,873	556,777
International [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									$ 314,942	$ 95,491	$ 0

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets - Narrative (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Amortization expense (less than in 2012)	$ 3.6	$ 0.8	$ 0.1

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets - Schedule of Reportable Segments by Reporting Units (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	$ 504,213
Goodwill acquired	430,545
Effect of foreign currency translation	(36,825)
Ending Balance	897,933
Portfolio Purchasing and Recovery [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	454,936
Goodwill acquired	430,545
Effect of foreign currency translation	(36,825)
Ending Balance	848,656
Tax Lien Transfer [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	49,277
Goodwill acquired	0
Effect of foreign currency translation	0
Ending Balance	$ 49,277

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets - Summary of Acquired Intangible Assets (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Accumulated Amortization	$ (4,646)	$ (928)
Net Carrying Amount	19,602
Other intangibles—indefinite lived	1,962	1,962
Total intangible assets, Gross Carrying Amount	26,210	24,477
Total intangible assets, Net Carrying Amount	21,564	23,549
Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross Carrying Amount	5,437	1,975
Accumulated Amortization	(743)	(74)
Net Carrying Amount	4,694	1,901
Developed Technologies [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross Carrying Amount	8,353	4,909
Accumulated Amortization	(2,194)	(468)
Net Carrying Amount	6,159	4,441
Trade Name and Other [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross Carrying Amount	10,458	15,631
Accumulated Amortization	(1,709)	(386)
Net Carrying Amount	$ 8,749	$ 15,245

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets - Estimated Future Amortization Expense (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
2015	$ 4,750
2016	4,226
2017	3,846
2018	2,292
2019	966
Thereafter	3,522
Net Carrying Amount	$ 19,602

Quarterly Information (Unaudited) - Summary of Quarterly Financial Data for Periods (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Gross collections	$ 394,323	$ 407,220	$ 409,280	$ 396,674	$ 351,278	$ 379,670	$ 278,388	$ 270,170	$ 1,607,497	$ 1,279,506	$ 948,006
Revenues	276,571	273,282	269,195	253,741	237,099	235,558	156,121	144,586	1,072,789	773,364	556,777
Total operating expenses	188,224	188,960	190,689	185,472	168,466	174,429	126,238	105,872	753,345	575,005	401,696
Income from continuing operations	29,569	30,138	21,353	18,830	23,648	21,372	11,012	19,448	99,890	75,480	78,571
Net income	27,957	30,138	21,353	18,830	22,216	21,064	11,012	19,448	98,278	73,740	69,477
Amounts attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
Income from continuing operations	28,262	30,335	23,561	23,180	24,385	22,194	11,012	19,448	105,338	77,039	78,571
Net income	$ 26,650	$ 30,335	$ 23,561	$ 23,180	$ 22,953	$ 21,886	$ 11,012	$ 19,448	$ 103,726	$ 75,299	$ 69,477
From continuing operations:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.09	$ 1.17	$ 0.91	$ 0.90	$ 0.95	$ 0.87	$ 0.46	$ 0.83	$ 4.07	$ 3.12	$ 3.16
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 1.04	$ 1.11	$ 0.86	$ 0.82	$ 0.87	$ 0.82	$ 0.44	$ 0.80	$ 3.83	$ 2.94	$ 3.04
From net income:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.03	$ 1.17	$ 0.91	$ 0.90	$ 0.90	$ 0.86	$ 0.46	$ 0.83	$ 4.01	$ 3.05	$ 2.80
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.98	$ 1.11	$ 0.86	$ 0.82	$ 0.82	$ 0.81	$ 0.44	$ 0.80	$ 3.77	$ 2.87	$ 2.69

Subsequent Event - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
Subsequent Event - Additional Information (Detail)	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014 Cabot Credit Facility [Member]	Jun. 28, 2013 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 28, 2013 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2014 Cabot Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR [Member]	Feb. 05, 2015 Subsequent Event [Member] Cabot Credit Facility [Member]	Feb. 05, 2015 Subsequent Event [Member] Cabot Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 05, 2015 Subsequent Event [Member] Cabot Credit Facility [Member] GBP (£)	Feb. 05, 2015 Subsequent Event [Member] Cabot Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR [Member]
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity			$ 140,600,000	£ 85,000,000.0			$ 298,100,000	£ 195,000,000
Uncommitted provision for additional increase to borrowing capacity								£ 55,000,000
Credit facility, interest rate, maximum (percent)	11.10%	4.00%
Basis spread on variable rate					3.50%				3.50%
Revolving credit facility, commitment fee (percent)		1.60%				1.20%

Consolidated Statements of Equity (Parenthetical) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	$ (4,513)	$ (1,167)
Unrealized (loss) gain on foreign currency translation attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	$ (3,893)	$ 1,047

Deferred Court Costs, Net - Schedule of Court Cost Reserve (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period	$ (210,889)	$ (149,080)	$ (130,454)
Provision for court costs	(68,683)	(61,809)	(53,946)
Write-off of reserve	0	0	35,320
Balance at end of period	$ (279,572)	$ (210,889)	$ (149,080)

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets - Weighted-Average Useful Lives of Intangible Assets (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014
Customer Relationships [Member]
Acquired Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful lives	11 years
Developed Technologies [Member]
Acquired Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful lives	5 years
Trade Name and Other [Member]
Acquired Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful lives	6 years