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Cover Page - shares	3 Months Ended
Cover Page - shares	Mar. 31, 2020	May 04, 2020
Cover [Abstract]
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2020
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Entity Central Index Key	0001084961
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Type	10-Q
Document Quarterly Report	true
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2020
Document Transition Report	false
Entity File Number	000-26489
Entity Registrant Name	ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	48-1090909
Entity Address, Address Line One	350 Camino De La Reina
Entity Address, Address Line Two	Suite 100
Entity Address, City or Town	San Diego
Entity Address, State or Province	CA
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	92108
City Area Code	877
Local Phone Number	445 - 4581
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value Per Share
Trading Symbol	ECPG
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Small Business	false
Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		31,234,420

Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 188,199	$ 192,335
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	3,166,018	3,283,984
Deferred court costs, net	0	100,172
Property and equipment, net	119,417	120,051
Other assets	302,019	329,223
Goodwill	839,301	884,185
Total assets	4,614,954	4,909,950
Liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	168,481	223,911
Borrowings	3,404,427	3,513,197
Other liabilities	136,235	147,436
Total liabilities	3,709,143	3,884,544
Commitments and Contingencies
Equity:
Convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value, 5,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding	0	0
Common stock, $0.01 par value, 75,000 shares authorized, 31,234 and 31,097 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively	312	311
Additional paid-in capital	222,403	222,590
Accumulated earnings	833,366	888,058
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(153,355)	(88,766)
Total Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders’ equity	902,726	1,022,193
Noncontrolling interest	3,085	3,213
Total equity	905,811	1,025,406
Total liabilities and equity	4,614,954	4,909,950
Variable Interest Entity
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	90	34
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	478,613	539,596
Other assets	4,645	4,759
Liabilities:
Borrowings	$ 435,099	$ 464,092

Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Convertible preferred stock, par value (USD per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Convertible preferred stock authorized (shares)	5,000,000	5,000,000
Convertible preferred stock issued (shares)	0	0
Convertible preferred stock outstanding (shares)	0	0
Common stock, par value (USD per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock authorized (shares)	75,000,000	75,000,000
Common stock issued (shares)	31,234,000	31,097,000
Common stock outstanding (shares)	31,234,000	31,097,000

Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Revenues
Revenue from receivable portfolios	$ 357,365	$ 311,158
Changes in expected current and future recoveries	(98,661)	0
Servicing revenue	28,680	34,023
Other revenues	1,697	529
Total revenues	289,081	345,710
Allowance reversals on receivable portfolios, net	0	1,367
Total revenues, adjusted by net allowances	289,081	347,077
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits	93,098	91,834
Cost of legal collections	66,279	49,027
Other operating expenses	27,164	29,614
Collection agency commissions	13,176	16,002
General and administrative expenses	31,877	39,547
Depreciation and amortization	10,285	9,995
Total operating expenses	241,879	236,019
Income from operations	47,202	111,058
Other (expense) income
Interest expense	(54,662)	(54,967)
Other income (expense)	1,439	(2,976)
Total other expense	(53,223)	(57,943)
(Loss) income before income taxes	(6,021)	53,115
Provision for income taxes	(4,558)	(3,673)
Net (loss) income	(10,579)	49,442
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interest	125	(188)
Net (loss) income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders	$ (10,454)	$ 49,254
(Loss) earnings per share attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
Basic (USD per share)	$ (0.33)	$ 1.58
Diluted (USD per share)	$ (0.33)	$ 1.57
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (shares)	31,308	31,201
Diluted (shares)	31,308	31,359

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net (loss) income	$ (10,579)	$ 49,442
Change in unrealized gains/losses on derivative instruments:
Unrealized loss on derivative instruments	(5,051)	(2,202)
Income tax effect	1,497	172
Unrealized loss on derivative instruments, net of tax	(3,554)	(2,030)
Change in foreign currency translation:
Unrealized (loss) gain on foreign currency translation	(61,038)	7,580
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax	(64,592)	5,550
Comprehensive (loss) income	(75,171)	54,992
Comprehensive loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interest:
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interest	125	(188)
Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign currency translation	3	(427)
Comprehensive loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interest	128	(615)
Comprehensive (loss) income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders	$ (75,043)	$ 54,377

Consolidated Statements of Equity - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	Total	Common Stock	Additional Paid-In Capital	Accumulated Earnings	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	Noncontrolling Interest
Balance at beginning of period (shares) at Dec. 31, 2018		30,884
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2018	$ 819,688	$ 309	$ 208,498	$ 720,189	$ (110,987)	$ 1,679
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income (loss)	49,442			49,254		188
Other comprehensive (loss) gain, net of tax	5,550				5,123	427
Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes (shares)		83
Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes	(1,949)	$ 1	(1,950)
Stock-based compensation	1,826		1,826
Balance at end of period (shares) at Mar. 31, 2019		30,967
Balance at end of period at Mar. 31, 2019	874,557	$ 310	208,374	769,443	(105,864)	2,294
Balance at beginning of period (shares) at Dec. 31, 2019		31,097
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2019	1,025,406	$ 311	222,590	888,058	(88,766)	3,213
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income (loss)	(10,579)			(10,454)		(125)
Other comprehensive (loss) gain, net of tax	(64,592)				(64,589)	(3)
Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes (shares)		137
Exercise of stock options and issuance of share-based awards, net of shares withheld for employee taxes	(4,713)	$ 1	(4,714)
Stock-based compensation	4,527		4,527
Balance at end of period (shares) at Mar. 31, 2020		31,234
Balance at end of period at Mar. 31, 2020	$ 905,811	$ 312	$ 222,403	$ 833,366	$ (153,355)	$ 3,085

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Operating activities:
Net (loss) income	$ (10,579)	$ 49,442
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	10,285	9,995
Other non-cash interest expense, net	5,909	6,629
Stock-based compensation expense	4,527	1,826
Deferred income taxes	(12,030)	19,682
Changes in expected current and future recoveries	98,661	0
Allowance reversals on receivable portfolios, net	0	(1,367)
Other, net	2,161	4,081
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
Deferred court costs and other assets	3,377	18,725
Prepaid income tax and income taxes payable	14,970	(30,247)
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other liabilities	(46,476)	(67,775)
Net cash provided by operating activities	70,805	10,991
Investing activities:
Purchases of receivable portfolios, net of put-backs	(209,045)	(258,635)
Collections applied to investment in receivable portfolios, net	169,914	202,695
Purchases of property and equipment	(7,538)	(10,227)
Other, net	3,414	(3,347)
Net cash used in investing activities	(43,255)	(69,514)
Financing activities:
Proceeds from credit facilities	171,880	196,263
Repayment of credit facilities	(167,221)	(119,854)
Repayment of senior secured notes	(16,250)	0
Other, net	(10,171)	(4,862)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	(21,762)	71,547
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents	5,788	13,024
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	(9,924)	(3,346)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	192,335	157,418
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	188,199	167,096
Supplemental disclosure of cash information:
Cash paid for interest	60,495	62,135
Cash paid for taxes, net of refunds	$ 766	$ 15,003

Variable Interest Entities	3 Months Ended
Variable Interest Entities	Mar. 31, 2020
Variable Interest Entity, Measure of Activity [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 expected losses, or the right to receive 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 consolidates VIEs when it is the primary beneficiary. The Company evaluates its relationships with its VIEs on an ongoing basis to ensure that it continues to be the primary beneficiary. A reconsideration event is significant if it changes the design of the entity or the entity’s equity investment at risk. Prior to the purchase of all of the outstanding equity of CCM not owned by the Company, CCM’s indirect holding Company Janus Holdings S.a r.l. (“Janus Holdings”) was a VIE. Upon completion of the Cabot Transaction on July 24, 2018 and the subsequent change in organizational structure, Janus Holdings no longer qualified as a VIE and CCM is consolidated via the voting interest model. As of March 31, 2020, the Company’s VIEs include certain securitized financing vehicles and other immaterial special purpose entities that were created to purchase receivable portfolios in certain geographies. The Company is the primary beneficiary of these VIEs. The Company has the power to direct the activities of the VIEs which includes but is not limited to the ability to exercise discretion in the servicing of the financial assets. Most 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 VIE.

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

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

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

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (“Encore”), through its subsidiaries (collectively with Encore, the “Company”), is an international specialty finance company providing debt recovery solutions and other related services for consumers 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 working 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 and commercial retailers. Defaulted receivables may also include receivables subject to bankruptcy proceedings. The Company also provides debt servicing and other portfolio management services to credit originators for non-performing loans.

Through Midland Credit Management, Inc. and its domestic affiliates (collectively, “MCM”), the Company is a market leader in portfolio purchasing and recovery in the United States. Through Cabot Credit Management Limited (“CCM”) and its subsidiaries and European affiliates (collectively, “Cabot”), the Company is one of the largest credit management services providers in Europe and a market leader in the United Kingdom and Ireland. These are the Company’s primary operations.

The Company also has investments and operations in Latin America and Asia-Pacific, which the Company refers to as “LAAP.” In August 2019, the Company completed the sale of Baycorp, which represented the Company’s investments and operations in Australia and New Zealand and was a component of LAAP.

COVID-19

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) as a global pandemic, which continues to spread throughout the United States and around the world. The COVID-19 outbreak and resulting containment measures implemented by governments around the world, as well as increased business uncertainty, are having an adverse impact on the Company’s ability to collect and are expected to delay a portion of its near-term expected cash collections on purchased receivable portfolios. The resulting impact on expected recoveries has impacted our financial results. We may also incur increased costs or other adverse changes to our business, but such potential impacts are unknown at this time.

Financial Statement Preparation and Presentation

The accompanying interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company, without audit, in accordance with the instructions to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and, therefore, do not include all information and footnotes necessary for a fair presentation of its consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”).

In the opinion of management, the unaudited financial information for the interim periods presented reflects all adjustments, consisting of only normal and recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements. These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of operating results for an entire fiscal year.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and the disclosure of contingent amounts in the Company’s financial statements and the accompanying notes. The inputs into the judgments and estimates consider the economic implications of COVID-19 on the Company’s critical and significant accounting estimates. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

Basis of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with 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 variable interest entities for which it is the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary has both (1) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly affect the entity’s economic performance, and (2) either the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits. Refer to “Note 9: Variable Interest Entities”, for further details. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

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 of foreign operations are translated into U.S. dollars using period-end exchange rates, and revenues and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars using average exchange rates in effect during each period. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income or loss. 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. Intercompany transaction gains or losses at each period end arising from subsequent measurement of balances for which settlement is not planned or anticipated in the foreseeable future are included as translation adjustments and recorded within other comprehensive income or loss. Translation gains or losses are the material components of accumulated other comprehensive income or loss and are reclassified to earnings upon the substantial sale or liquidation of investments in foreign operations.

Reclassifications

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

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncement

On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted the new accounting standard for Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (“CECL”). CECL introduces a new impairment approach for credit loss recognition based on current expected lifetime losses rather than incurred losses. CECL applies to all financial assets carried at amortized costs, including the Company’s investment in receivable portfolios, which are defined as purchased credit deteriorated (“PCD”) financial assets under CECL. The adoption of CECL represents a significant change from the previous U.S. GAAP guidance relating to purchased credit impaired assets and resulted in changes to the Company’s accounting for its investment in receivable portfolios and the related income from the receivable portfolios.

As part of the adoption of CECL, the Company changed its accounting methodology for its court costs spent in its legal collection channel effective January 1, 2020. Previously, the Company capitalized its upfront court costs spent in its consolidated financial statements (“Deferred Court Costs”) and provided a reserve for those costs that it believed would ultimately be uncollectible. Effective January 1, 2020, the Company expenses all of its court costs as incurred. All expected cash flows, including all the expected collections from the legal channel, are included in the measurement of the negative allowance, or investment in receivable portfolios, at a discounted value. Upon transition, an adjustment was made to retained earnings to reflect the net change from an undiscounted to discounted value prior to writing-off uncollectible receivables and establishing a balance for discounted value of future recoveries of amounts expected to be collected.

The Company has not adjusted prior period comparative information and will continue to disclose prior period financial information in accordance with the previous accounting guidance. The following table summarizes the cumulative effects of adopting the CECL guidance on the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition at January 1, 2020 (in thousands):


	Balance as of December 31, 2019		Adjustment		Opening Balance as of January 1, 2020
Assets
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	$	3,283,984	$	44,166	$	3,328,150
Deferred court costs, net	100,172		(100,172)		—
Liabilities
Other liabilities (for deferred tax liabilities)	147,436		(11,768)		135,668
Equity
Accumulated earnings	888,058		(44,238)		843,820

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Effective

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-04, Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (Topic 848). The ASU provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to transactions affected by reference rate (e.g., LIBOR) reform if certain criteria are met, for a limited period of time to ease the potential burden in accounting for (or recognizing the effects of) reference rate reform on financial reporting. The ASU is effective as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. We will evaluate transactions or contract modifications occurring as a result of reference rate reform and determine whether to apply the optional

guidance on an ongoing basis. The ASU is currently not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

With the exception of the updated standard discussed above, there have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the three months ended March 31, 2020, as compared to the recent accounting pronouncements described in our Annual Report, that have significance, or potential significance, to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Policy Update

As a result of the adoption of CECL, the Company revised its following accounting policies effective January 1, 2020:

Investment in Receivable Portfolios

The Company purchases portfolios of loans that have experienced significant deterioration of credit quality since origination from banks and other financial institutions. These financial assets are defined as PCD assets under CECL. Under the PCD accounting model, the purchased assets are grossed-up to their face value with an offsetting allowance and noncredit discount allocated to the individual receivables as the unit of account is at the individual loan level. Since each loan is deeply delinquent and deemed uncollectible at the individual loan level, the Company applies its charge-off policy and fully writes-off the amortized costs (i.e., face value net of noncredit discount) of the individual receivables immediately after purchasing the portfolio. The Company then records a negative allowance that represents the present value of all expected future recoveries for pools of receivables that share similar risk characteristics using a discounted cash flow approach, which ultimately equals the amount paid for a portfolio purchase and presented as “Investment in receivable portfolios, net” in the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition. The discount rate is an effective interest rate (or “purchase EIR”) based on the purchase price of the portfolio and the expected future cash flows at the time of purchase. The amount of the negative allowance (i.e., investment in receivable portfolios) will not exceed the total amortized cost basis of the loans written-off.

Receivable portfolio purchases are aggregated into pools based on similar risk characteristics. Examples of risk characteristics include financial asset type, collateral type, size, interest rate, date of origination, term, and geographic location. The Company’s static pools are typically grouped into credit card, purchased consumer bankruptcy, and mortgage portfolios. The Company further groups these static pools by geographic location. Once a pool is established, the portfolios will remain in the designated pool unless the underlying risk characteristics change. The purchase EIR of a pool will not change over the life of the pool even if expected future cash flows change.

Revenue is recognized for each static pool over the economic life of the pool. The Company continues to evaluate the reasonable economic life of a pool in each reporting period. Revenue primarily includes two components: (1) accretion of the discount on the negative allowance due to the passage of time, and (2) changes in expected cash flows, which includes (a) the current period variances between actual cash collected and expected cash recoveries and (b) the present value change of expected future recoveries.

The Company elected not to maintain its previously formed pool groups with amortized costs at transition. Certain pools already fully recovered their cost basis and became zero basis portfolios (“ZBA”) prior to the transition. The Company did not establish a negative allowance from ZBA pools as the Company elected the Transition Resource Group for Credit Losses’ practical expedient to retain the integrity of its legacy pools. All subsequent collections to the ZBA pools are recognized as ZBA revenue, which is included in revenue from receivable portfolios in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. See “Note 5: Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net” for further discussion of investment in receivable portfolios.

Deferred Court Costs

The Company pursues legal collections 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 that are recoverable from the consumer. Effective January 1, 2020, the Company expenses all of its court costs as incurred and no longer capitalizes such costs as Deferred Court Costs. All expected cash flows, including all the expected collections from the legal channel, are included in the measurement of the negative allowance, or investment in receivable portfolios, at a discounted value.

(Loss) Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

(Loss) Earnings Per Share

Basic (loss) 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 (loss) earnings per share is calculated based on 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 and exchangeable senior notes, if applicable. In computing the diluted net loss per share for the three months ended March 31, 2020, dilutive potential common shares are excluded from the diluted loss per share calculation because of their anti-dilutive effect.

A reconciliation of shares used in calculating (loss) earnings per basic and diluted shares follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Net (loss) income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders	$	(10,454)	$	49,254

Total weighted-average basic shares outstanding	31,308		31,201
Dilutive effect of stock-based awards	—		158


Total weighted-average dilutive shares outstanding	31,308		31,359

Basic (loss) earnings per share	$	(0.33)	$	1.58
Diluted (loss) earnings per share	$	(0.33)	$	1.57

Anti-dilutive employee stock options outstanding were approximately 13,000 and 217,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined 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 Company uses 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 March 31, 2020
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets


Interest rate cap contracts	$	—	$	2,150	$	—	$	2,150
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	—		(2,177)		—		(2,177)
Interest rate swap agreements	—		(14,735)		—		(14,735)
Contingent consideration	—		—		(27)		(27)


	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2019
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$	—	$	1,473	$	—	$	1,473
Interest rate cap contracts	—		2,460		—		2,460
Liabilities

Interest rate swap agreements	—		(9,116)		—		(9,116)
Contingent consideration	—		—		(66)		(66)

Derivative Contracts:

The Company uses derivative instruments to manage its exposure to fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. 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.

Contingent Consideration:

The Company carries certain contingent liabilities resulting from its mergers and acquisition activities. Certain sellers of the Company’s acquired entities could earn additional earn-out payments in cash based on the entities’ subsequent operating performance. The Company recorded the acquisition date fair values of these contingent liabilities, based on the likelihood of contingent earn-out payments, as part of the consideration transferred. The earn-out payments are subsequently remeasured to fair value at each reporting date based on actual and forecasted operating performance.

The following table provides a roll-forward of the fair value of contingent consideration for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and year ended December 31, 2019 (in thousands):


	Amount
Balance as of December 31, 2018	$	6,198
Change in fair value of contingent consideration	(2,300)
Payment of contingent consideration	(3,686)
Effect of foreign currency translation	(146)
Balance as of December 31, 2019	66

Payment of contingent consideration	(35)
Effect of foreign currency translation	(4)
Balance as of March 31, 2020	$	27

Non-Recurring Fair Value Measurement:

Certain assets are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis. These assets include real estate-owned assets classified as held for sale at the lower of their carrying value or fair value less cost to sell. The fair value of the assets held for sale and estimated selling expenses were determined at the time of initial recognition using Level 3 measurements. The fair value estimate of the assets held for sale was approximately $42.9 million and $46.7 million as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively.

Financial Instruments Not Required To Be Carried At Fair Value

The table below summarizes fair value estimates for the Company's financial instruments that are not required to be carried at fair value. The total of the fair value calculations presented does not represent, and should not be construed to represent, the underlying value of the Company.

The carrying amounts in the following table are included in the consolidated statements of financial condition as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 (in thousands):


	March 31, 2020						December 31, 2019
	Carrying Amount		Estimated Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Estimated Fair Value
Financial Assets
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	$	3,166,018	$	3,547,965	$	3,283,984	$	3,464,050
Deferred court costs	—		—		100,172		100,172
Financial Liabilities
Encore convertible notes and exchangeable notes⁽¹⁾	645,591		567,691		642,547		693,708
Cabot senior secured notes⁽²⁾	1,077,548		996,060		1,127,435		1,170,945

_______________________

(1)Carrying amount represents the portion of the convertible and exchangeable notes classified as debt, while estimated fair value pertains to the face amount of the notes.

(2)Carrying amount represents historical cost, adjusted for any related debt discount or debt premium.

Investment in Receivable Portfolios:

The fair value of investment in receivable portfolios is measured using Level 3 inputs 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. The determination of such inputs requires significant judgment, including assessing the assumed market participant’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.

Deferred Court Costs:

Effective January 1, 2020, the Company no longer carries Deferred Court Costs as a result of its change in accounting policy. The fair value estimate for Deferred Court Costs as of December 31, 2019 involved Level 3 inputs as there was little observable market data available and management was required to use significant judgment in its estimates.

Borrowings:

The majority of the Company’s borrowings are carried at historical amounts, adjusted for additional borrowings less principal repayments, which approximate fair value. These borrowings include Encore’s senior secured notes and borrowings under its revolving credit and term loan facilities and Cabot’s borrowings under its revolving credit facility. The carrying value of the Company’s revolving credit and term loan facilities approximates fair value due to the short-term nature of the interest rate periods. The fair value of the Company’s senior secured notes was estimated using widely accepted valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow analyses using available market information on discount and borrowing rates with similar terms, maturities, and credit ratings. Accordingly, the Company used Level 2 inputs for these debt instrument fair value estimates. The Company’s borrowings also include finance lease liabilities for which the carrying value approximates fair value.

Encore’s convertible notes and exchangeable notes and Cabot’s senior secured notes are carried at historical cost, adjusted for the debt discount. The fair value estimate for these convertible and exchangeable notes incorporates quoted market prices using Level 2 inputs.

- 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

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments

Derivatives and Hedging InstrumentsThe Company may periodically enter into derivative financial instruments to manage risks related to interest rates and foreign currency. Certain of the Company’s derivative financial instruments qualify for hedge accounting treatment under the authoritative guidance for derivatives and hedging.

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

March 31, 2020

December 31, 2019

Balance Sheet
Location

Fair Value

Balance Sheet
Location

Fair Value

Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:

Interest rate cap contracts

Other assets

2,150

Other assets

2,460

Foreign currency exchange contracts

Other liabilities

(134)

Other assets

443

Interest rate swap agreements

Other liabilities

(14,735)

Other liabilities

(9,116)

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:

Foreign currency exchange contracts

Other liabilities

(2,043)

Other assets

1,030

Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments

The Company has operations in foreign countries which expose the Company to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations due to transactions denominated in foreign currencies. To mitigate a portion of this risk, the Company enters into derivative financial instruments, principally foreign currency forward contracts with financial counterparties. 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.

Certain of the Company’s foreign currency forward contracts are designated as cash flow hedging instruments and qualify for hedge accounting treatment. Gains and losses arising from such contracts are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (“OCI”) as gains and losses on derivative instruments, net of income taxes. The hedging gains and losses in OCI are subsequently reclassified into earnings in the same period in which the underlying transactions affect the Company’s earnings. If all or a portion of the forecasted transaction is cancelled, the accumulated gains or losses in OCI would be reclassified into earnings.

As of March 31, 2020, the total notional amount of the forward contracts that were designated as cash flow hedging instruments was $6.3 million. The Company estimates that approximately $0.1 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 three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019.

The Company may periodically enter into interest rate swap agreements to reduce its exposure to fluctuations in interest rates on variable interest rate debt and their impact on earnings and cash flows. Under the swap agreements, the Company receives floating interest rate payments and makes interest payments based on fixed interest rates. In accordance with authoritative guidance relating to derivatives and hedging transactions, the Company designates its interest rate swap instruments as cash flow hedges. As of March 31, 2020, there were four interest rate swap agreements outstanding with a total notional amount of $327.9 million.

Previously, the Company held two interest rate cap contracts that matured in 2021 (the “2018 Caps”) which hedged the risk of GBP-LIBOR interest rate fluctuations for interest payments of Cabot Securitisation’s senior facility agreement. As part of the amended and restated senior facility agreement as described in “Note 8: Borrowings”, the Company settled the 2018 Caps and ceased the hedge relationship which resulted in the reclassification of the associated other comprehensive loss balance to interest expense for approximately $2.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020.

As of March 31, 2020, the Company held two interest rate cap contracts with a notional amount of approximately $876.4 million that are used to manage its risk related to interest rate fluctuations on the Company’s variable interest rate bearing debt. The interest rate cap hedging the fluctuations in three-month EURIBOR for the Cabot 2024 Floating Rate Notes (“2019 Cap”) has a notional amount of €400.0 million (approximately $435.1 million) and matures in 2024. The interest rate cap hedging the fluctuations in sterling overnight index average (“SONIA”) for the Cabot Securitisation UK Ltd senior facility agreement (“2020 Cap”) has a notional amount of £350.0 million (approximately $441.3 million) and matures in 2023. The 2019 Cap is structured as a series of European call options (“Caplets”) such that if exercised, the Company will receive a payment equal to 3-months EURIBOR on a notional amount equal to the hedged notional amount net of a fixed strike price. The 2020 Cap is also structured as a series of Caplets such that if exercised, the Company will receive a payment equal to SONIA on a notional amount equal to the hedged notional amount net of a fixed strike price. Each interest rate reset date, the Company will elect to exercise the Caplet or let it expire. The potential cash flows from each Caplet are expected to offset any variability in the cash flows of the interest payments to the extent SONIA or EURIBOR exceeds the strike price of the Caplets. The Company expects the hedge relationships to be highly effective and designates the 2019 Cap and 2020 Cap as cash flow hedge instruments.

The following table summarizes the effects of derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships designated as hedging instruments in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations (in thousands):


Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments	Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI							Location of Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)		Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)
			Three Months Ended March 31,									Three Months Ended March 31,
			2020			2019				2020		2019
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$	(389)		$	935		Salaries and employee benefits	$	127	$	(95)
Foreign currency exchange contracts	(45)			(78)			General and administrative expenses	17		(84)
Interest rate swap agreements	(6,707)			(2,086)			Interest expense	(1,088)		(420)
Interest rate cap contracts	(1,396)			(1,572)			Interest expense	(2,542)		—

Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments

The Company enters into currency exchange forward contracts to reduce the effects of currency exchange rate fluctuations between the British Pound and Euro. These derivative contracts generally mature within one to three months and are not designated as hedge instruments for accounting purposes. The Company continues to monitor the level of exposure of the foreign currency exchange risk and may enter into additional short-term forward contracts on an ongoing basis. The gains or losses on these derivative contracts are recognized in other income or expense based on the changes in fair value.

The following table summarizes the effects of derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships not designated as hedging instruments in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations (in thousands):


		Amount of Gain Recognized in Income (Loss)
		Three Months Ended March 31,
Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments	Location of Gain Recognized in Income (Loss) on Derivative	2020		2019
Foreign currency exchange contracts	Other income (expense)	$	1,943	$	—

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Receivables [Abstract]

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net

As discussed in “Note 1: Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies”, effective January 1, 2020, the Company accounts for its investment in receivable portfolios as PCD assets under CECL and changed its accounting policy for reimbursable court costs. As a result, the Company wrote-off the previous Deferred Court Costs balance that represented an undiscounted value of recoverable historic spend as a result of a loss-rate methodology, and established a discounted value of expected future recoveries of these reimbursable court costs, which is included in the beginning balance of the investment in receivable portfolios.

The table below illustrates the Company’s transition approach for its investment in receivable portfolios as of January 1, 2020 (in thousands):


	Amount
Investment in receivable portfolios prior to transition	$	3,283,984
Initial transitioned deferred court costs	44,166
	3,328,150
Allowance for credit losses	79,028,043
Amortized cost	82,356,193
Noncredit discount	132,533,142
Face value	214,889,335
Write-off of amortized cost	(82,356,193)
Write-off of noncredit discount	(132,533,142)
Negative allowance	3,328,150
Initial negative allowance from transition	$	3,328,150

The table below provides the detail on the establishment of negative allowance for expected recoveries of portfolios purchased during the three months ended March 31, 2020 (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31, 2020
Purchase price	$	214,113
Allowance for credit losses	521,194
Amortized cost	735,307
Noncredit discount	967,715
Face value	1,703,022
Write-off of amortized cost	(735,307)
Write-off of noncredit discount	(967,715)
Negative allowance	214,113
Negative allowance for expected recoveries - current period purchases	$	214,113

The following table summarize the changes in the balance of the investment in receivable portfolios during the periods presented (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020			2019
Balance, beginning of period	$	3,328,150		$	3,137,893
Purchases of receivable portfolios	214,113			262,335
Put-backs and Recalls	(5,068)			(3,700)
Transfers to assets held for sale	(1,531)			(3,589)
Cash collections	(527,279)			(513,853)
Revenue from receivable portfolios	357,365			311,158
Changes to expected current period recoveries	10,315			—
Changes to expected future period recoveries	(108,976)			—
Portfolios allowance reversal, net	—			1,367
Foreign currency adjustments	(101,071)			19,976
Balance, end of period	$	3,166,018		$	3,211,587
Revenue as a percentage of collections	67.8		%	60.6		%

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company reassessed its future forecasts of expected recoveries of receivable portfolios based on its best estimate of the potential impact arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The updated forecasts changed the timing of future recoveries by reducing the forecasted cash flows in 2020. The majority of the shortfall in near-term cash flows is expected to be recovered in 2021 and most of the rest of the shortfall is expected to be recovered in subsequent periods. As a result, the change in the total amount of estimated remaining collections (“ERC”) was negligible. The delay in expected future cash flows, when discounted to present-value, resulted in a provision for credit loss adjustment of approximately $109.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020. The circumstances around this pandemic are evolving rapidly and will continue to impact the Company’s business and its estimation of expected recoveries in future periods. The Company will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and update its assumptions accordingly.

Accretable yield represented the amount of revenue on purchased receivable portfolios the Company expects to recognize over the remaining life of its existing portfolios. The following table summarizes the change in accretable yield under the previous accounting guidance during the three months ended March 31, 2019 (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019
Balance as of beginning of period	$	4,026,206
Revenue from receivable portfolios	(311,158)
Allowance reversals on receivable portfolios, net	(1,367)
Additions on existing portfolios, net	38,313
Additions for current purchases	285,637
Effect of foreign currency translation	26,461
Balance as of end of period	$	4,064,092

The following table summarizes the change in the valuation allowance for investment in receivable portfolios as accounted for under the previous accounting guidance during the three months ended March 31, 2019 (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019
Balance as of beginning of period	$	60,631
Provision for portfolio allowances	2,626
Reversal of prior allowances	(3,993)

Effect of foreign currency translation	164
Balance as of end of period	$	59,428

Deferred Court Costs, Net

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

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

Deferred Court Costs, Net

As discussed in “Note 1: Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies”, effective January 1, 2020 and as part of the adoption of CECL, the Company changed its method of accounting for court costs spent in its legal collection channel. The Company now expenses all of its court costs as incurred and includes all expected recoveries, including the recoveries from the legal channel, in the measurement of the investment in receivable portfolios at a discounted value. As a result, the Company no longer carries Deferred Court Costs.

Net deferred court costs under the previous accounting method consisted of the following as of the date presented (in thousands):


	December 31, 2019
Court costs advanced	$	891,207
Court costs recovered	(369,043)
Court costs reserve	(421,992)
Deferred court costs, net	$	100,172

A roll-forward of the Company’s court cost reserve as accounted for under the previous accounting method is as follows (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Balance at beginning of period	$	(396,460)
Provision for court costs	(15,713)
Charge-offs	13,779
Effect of foreign currency translation	(1,597)
Balance at end of period	$	(399,991)

Other Assets

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

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

Other Assets

Other assets consist of the following (in thousands):


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Operating lease right-of-use asset	$	74,113	$	75,254
Identifiable intangible assets, net	46,371		51,371
Assets held for sale	42,947		46,717
Deferred tax assets	26,291		24,134
Service fee receivables	22,786		27,705
Prepaid expenses	22,191		22,272
Other financial receivables	16,213		17,308
Other	51,107		64,462
Total	$	302,019	$	329,223

Borrowings

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Borrowings

The Company is in compliance in all material respects with all covenants under its financing arrangements as of March 31, 2020. The components of the Company’s consolidated borrowings were as follows (in thousands):


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Encore revolving credit facility	$	528,000	$	492,000
Encore term loan facility	167,855		171,677
Encore senior secured notes	292,500		308,750
Encore convertible notes and exchangeable notes	672,855		672,855
Less: debt discount	(27,264)		(30,308)
Cabot senior secured notes	1,078,965		1,129,039
Less: debt discount	(1,417)		(1,604)
Cabot senior revolving credit facility	241,170		285,749
Cabot securitisation senior facilities	435,099		464,092
Other	47,924		54,151
Finance lease liabilities	8,642		8,121
	3,444,329		3,554,522
Less: debt issuance costs, net of amortization	(39,902)		(41,325)
Total	$	3,404,427	$	3,513,197

Encore Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility

The Company has a revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) and term loan facility (the “Term Loan Facility,” and together with the Revolving Credit Facility, the “Senior Secured Credit Facilities”) pursuant to a Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated December 20, 2016 (as amended, the “Restated Credit Agreement”). The total commitment for the Revolving Credit Facility is $884.2 million that matures in December 2021. The Term Loan Facility matures in December 2021 and the principal amortizes $15.3 million in 2020 with the remaining principal due in 2021.

Provisions of the Restated Credit Agreement as of March 31, 2020 include, but are not limited to:

•A Revolving Credit Facility 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 cash flow leverage ratio of Encore and its restricted subsidiaries as defined in the Restated Credit Agreement; or (2) alternate base rate, plus a spread that ranges from 150 to 200 basis points, depending on the cash flow leverage ratio of Encore and its restricted subsidiaries. “Alternate base rate,” as defined in the Restated Credit Agreement, means the highest of (a) the per annum rate which the administrative agent publicly announces from time to time as its prime lending rate, (b) the federal funds effective rate from time to time, plus 0.5% per annum, (c) reserved adjusted LIBOR determined on a daily basis for a one month interest period, plus 1.0% per annum and (d) zero;

•A Term Loan Facility 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 cash flow leverage ratio of Encore and its restricted subsidiaries; or (2) alternate base rate, plus a spread that ranges from 150 to 200 basis points, depending on the cash flow leverage ratio of Encore and its restricted subsidiaries;

•A borrowing base under the Revolving Credit Facility equal to 35% of all eligible non-bankruptcy estimated remaining collections plus 55% of eligible estimated remaining collections for consumer receivables subject to bankruptcy;

•A maximum cash flow leverage ratio permitted of 3.00:1.00;

•A maximum cash flow first-lien leverage ratio of 2.00:1.00;

•A minimum interest coverage ratio of 1.75:1.00;

•The allowance of indebtedness in the form of senior secured notes not to exceed $350.0 million;

•The allowance of additional unsecured or subordinated indebtedness not to exceed $1.1 billion, including junior lien indebtedness not to exceed $400.0 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 $150.0 million of Encore’s common stock and permitted indebtedness after July 9, 2015, subject to compliance with certain covenants and available borrowing capacity;

•A pre-approved acquisition limit of $225.0 million per fiscal year;

•A basket to allow for investments not to exceed the greater of (1) 200% of the consolidated net worth of Encore and its restricted subsidiaries; and (2) an unlimited amount such that after giving effect to the making of any investment, the cash flow leverage ratio is less than 1.25:1:00;

•A basket to allow for investments in persons organized under the laws of Canada in the amount of $50.0 million;

•Collateralization by all assets of the Company, other than the assets of certain foreign subsidiaries and all unrestricted subsidiaries as defined in the Restated Credit Agreement.

As of March 31, 2020, the outstanding balance under the Revolving Credit Facility was $528.0 million, which bore a weighted average interest rate of 4.58% and 5.50% for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Available capacity under the Revolving Credit Facility, after taking into account borrowing base and applicable debt covenants, was $356.2 million as of March 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2020, the outstanding balance under the Term Loan Facility was $167.9 million.

Encore Senior Secured Notes

In August 2017, Encore entered into $325.0 million in senior secured notes with a group of insurance companies (the “Senior Secured Notes”). The Senior Secured Notes bear an annual interest rate of 5.625%, mature in 2024 and beginning in November 2019, require quarterly principal payments of $16.3 million. As of March 31, 2020, $292.5 million of the Senior Secured Notes remained outstanding.

The covenants and material terms in the purchase agreement for the Senior Secured Notes are substantially similar to those in the Restated Credit Agreement.

Encore Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes

The following table provides a summary of the principal balance, maturity date and interest rate for the Company’s convertible and exchangeable senior notes (the “Convertible Notes” or “Exchangeable Notes,” as applicable) ($ in thousands):


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019		Maturity date	Interest rate
2020 Convertible Notes	$	89,355	$	89,355	Jul 1, 2020	3.000	%
2021 Convertible Notes	161,000		161,000		Mar 15, 2021	2.875	%
2022 Convertible Notes	150,000		150,000		Mar 15, 2022	3.250	%
Exchangeable Notes	172,500		172,500		Sep 1, 2023	4.500	%
2025 Convertible Notes	100,000		100,000		Oct 1, 2025	3.250	%
	$	672,855	$	672,855

The Exchangeable Notes were issued by Encore Capital Europe Finance Limited (“Encore Finance”), a 100% owned finance subsidiary of Encore, and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Encore. Unless otherwise indicated in connection with a particular offering of debt securities, Encore will fully and unconditionally guarantee any debt securities issued by Encore Finance. Amounts related to Encore Finance are included in the consolidated financial statements of Encore subsequent to April 30, 2018, the date of the incorporation of Encore Finance.

Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding their respective conversion or exchange date (listed below), holders may convert or exchange their Convertible Notes or Exchangeable Notes under certain circumstances set forth in the applicable indentures. On or after their respective conversion or exchange dates until the close of business on the scheduled trading day immediately preceding their respective maturity date, holders may convert or exchange their notes at any time. Certain key terms related to the convertible and exchangeable features as of March 31, 2020 are listed below:


	2020 Convertible Notes		2021 Convertible Notes		2022 Convertible Notes		2023 Exchangeable Notes		2025 Convertible Notes
Initial conversion or exchange price	$	45.72	$	59.39	$	45.57	$	44.62	$	40.00
Closing stock price at date of issuance	$	33.35	$	47.51	$	35.05	$	36.45	$	32.00
Closing stock price date	Jun 24, 2013		Mar 5, 2014		Feb 27, 2017		Jul 20, 2018		Sep 4, 2019
Conversion or exchange rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)	21.8718		16.8386		21.9467		22.4090		25.0000
Conversion or exchange date	Jan 1, 2020		Sep 15, 2020		Sep 15, 2021		Mar 1, 2023		Jul 1, 2025

In the event of conversion or exchange, holders of the Company’s Convertible Notes or Exchangeable 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 and exchanges through combination settlement (i.e., convertible or exchangeable 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 and subject to certain restrictions contained in each of the indentures governing the Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes, for the remainder). As a result, and in accordance with authoritative guidance related to derivatives and hedging and earnings per share, only the conversion or exchange spread is included in the diluted earnings per share calculation, if dilutive. Under such method, the settlement of the conversion or exchange spread has a dilutive effect when, during any quarter, the average share price of the Company’s common stock exceeds the initial conversion or exchange prices listed in the above table.

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 and Exchangeable Notes at the time of the original offering are listed below (in thousands, except percentages):


	2020 Convertible Notes⁽¹⁾			2021 Convertible Notes			2022 Convertible Notes			2023 Exchangeable Notes			2025 Convertible Notes
Debt component	$	140,247		$	143,645		$	137,266		$	157,971		$	91,024
Equity component	$	32,253		$	17,355		$	12,734		$	14,009		$	8,976
Equity issuance cost	$	1,106		$	581		$	398		$	—		$	224
Stated interest rate	3.000		%	2.875		%	3.250		%	4.500		%	3.250		%
Effective interest rate	6.350		%	4.700		%	5.200		%	6.500		%	5.000		%

________________________

(1)The Company used a portion of the net proceeds from the issuance of the 2025 Convertible Notes to repurchase approximately $83.1 million aggregate principal amount of its 2020 Convertible Notes. As a result, the remaining principal amount of the 2020 Convertible Notes was $89.4 million as of March 31, 2020.

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


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Liability component—principal amount	$	672,855	$	672,855
Unamortized debt discount	(27,264)		(30,308)
Liability component—net carrying amount	$	645,591	$	642,547
Equity component	$	83,127	$	83,127

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


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	$	5,799	$	5,337
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount	3,044		3,121
Interest expense—Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes	$	8,843	$	8,458

Hedge Transactions

In order to reduce the risk related to the potential dilution and/or the potential cash payments the Company may be required to make in the event that the market price of the Company’s common stock becomes greater than the conversion or exchange prices of the Convertible Notes and the Exchangeable Notes, the Company maintains a hedge program that increases the effective conversion or exchange price for the 2020 Convertible Notes, the 2021 Convertible Notes and the Exchangeable Notes. The Company did not hedge the 2022 Convertible Notes or the 2025 Convertible Notes.

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


	2020 Convertible Notes		2021 Convertible Notes		2023 Exchangeable Notes
Cost of the hedge transaction(s)	$	18,113	$	19,545	$	17,785
Initial conversion or exchange price	$	45.72	$	59.39	$	44.62
Effective conversion or exchange price	$	61.55	$	83.14	$	62.48

Cabot Senior Secured Notes

The following table provides a summary of the Cabot senior secured notes ($ in thousands):


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019		Maturity date	Interest rate
Floating rate senior secured notes due 2024	$	441,336	$	448,921	Jun 1, 2024	EURIBOR +6.375%

Senior secured notes due 2023	637,629		680,118		Oct 1, 2023	7.500	%

	$	1,078,965	$	1,129,039

Interest expense related to the Cabot senior secured notes was as follows (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	$	19,417	$	19,394
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount	85		202
Interest expense—Cabot senior secured notes	$	19,502	$	19,596

Cabot Senior Revolving Credit Facility

Cabot Financial (UK) Limited (“Cabot Financial UK”) has an amended and restated senior secured revolving credit facility agreement (as amended and restated, the “Cabot Credit Facility”). As of March 31, 2020, the Cabot Credit Facility provided for a total committed facility of £375.0 million that expires in September 2023 and included the following key provisions:

•Interest at LIBOR (or EURIBOR for any loan drawn in euro) plus 3.00% per annum;

•A restrictive covenant that limits the loan to value ratio to 0.75 in the event that the Cabot Credit Facility is more than 20% utilized;

•A restrictive covenant that limits the super senior loan (i.e., the Cabot Credit Facility and any super priority hedging liabilities) to value ratio to 0.275; and

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

As of March 31, 2020, the outstanding borrowings under the Cabot Credit Facility were £194.0 million (approximately $241.2 million). The weighted average interest rate was 3.55% and 3.37% for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Available capacity under the Cabot Credit Facility, after taking into account borrowing base and applicable debt covenants, was £181.0 million (approximately $225.0 million) as of March 31, 2020.

Cabot Securitisation Senior Facility

Cabot’s wholly owned subsidiary Cabot Securitisation UK Ltd (“Cabot Securitisation”) entered into a senior facility agreement (the “Senior Facility Agreement”) for a committed amount of £300.0 million. In November 2018, Cabot’s wholly owned subsidiary Cabot Securitisation UK II Ltd (“Cabot Securitisation II”) entered into a non-recourse asset backed senior facility of £50.0 million.

On February 18, 2020, Cabot Securitisation amended and restated its Senior Facility Agreement. Pursuant to the amendment and restatement of the Senior Facility Agreement, the total commitment amount was increased by £50.0 million from £300.0 million to £350.0 million, the repayment date was extended from September 15, 2023 to March 15, 2025 and SONIA replaced LIBOR as the reference rate. Funds drawn under the amended and restated Senior Facility Agreement bear interest at a rate per annum equal to SONIA plus a margin of 3.06% plus, for periods after March 15, 2023, a step-up margin ranging from zero to 1.00%. Cabot Securitisation has drawn down the additional £50.0 million and used the proceeds to purchase receivables from Cabot Securitisation II in order to effect the termination of the £50.0 million senior facility of Cabot Securitisation II.

As of March 31, 2020, the outstanding borrowings under the Cabot Securitisation Senior Facility were £350.0 million (approximately $435.1 million). The obligations of Cabot Securitisation under the Senior Facility Agreement are secured by first ranking security interests over all of Cabot Securitisation’s property, assets and rights (including receivables purchased from Cabot Financial UK from time to time), the book value of which was approximately £377.6 million (approximately

$469.4 million) as of March 31, 2020. The weighted average interest rate was 3.52% and 3.76% for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 respectively.

Cabot Securitisation and Cabot Securitisation II are securitized financing vehicles and are VIEs for consolidation purposes. Refer to “Note 9: Variable Interest Entities”, for further details.

Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes The Company recorded income tax expense of $4.6 million on consolidated loss before income taxes of $6.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and income tax expense of $3.7 million on consolidated income before income taxes of $53.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2019. The income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was primarily attributable to the recording of valuation allowances in certain foreign jurisdictions that incurred pre-tax losses. The income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019 included a tax benefit of approximately $9.1 million related to a tax accounting method change for revenue reporting approved by the Internal Revenue Service during the period.

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


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Federal provision	21.0	%	21.0	%
State provision	(15.6)	%	2.5	%
Foreign income taxed at different rates⁽¹⁾	(3.2)	%	(0.9)	%
Change in valuation allowance⁽²⁾	(66.5)	%	1.9	%
Change in tax accounting method⁽³⁾	—	%	(17.1)	%
Foreign currency remeasurement	(6.4)	%	0.2	%
Permanent items⁽⁴⁾	(1.7)	%	0.1	%
Other	(3.3)	%	(0.8)	%
Effective tax rate	(75.7)	%	6.9	%

________________________

(1)Relates primarily to the lower tax rates on the income or loss attributable to international operations.

(2)Change in valuation allowance during 2020, recognized in the period under the discrete method, is attributable to losses incurred at certain foreign subsidiaries with cumulative operating losses for tax purposes.

(3)In 2019, includes tax benefit resulting from tax accounting method change.

(4)Represents a provision for nondeductible expenses

The Company utilized the discrete effective tax rate method (“discrete method”) for recording income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The Company believes the use of the discrete method is more appropriate than the application of the estimated annual effective tax rate (“AETR”) method due to uncertainty in estimating annual pre-tax earnings primarily due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Company will re-evaluate the use of the discrete method each quarter until it is deemed appropriate to return to the AETR method.

The Company’s subsidiary in Costa Rica is operating under a 100% tax holiday through December 31, 2026. The impact of the tax holiday in Costa Rica for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, was immaterial.

The Company had gross unrecognized tax benefits, inclusive of penalties and interest, of $8.2 million as of March 31, 2020. These unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized, would result in a net tax benefit of $7.6 million as of March 31, 2020. There was no material change in gross unrecognized tax benefits from December 31, 2019.

The Company has not provided for applicable income or withholding taxes on the undistributed earnings from continuing operations for certain of its subsidiaries operating outside of the United States. Undistributed net income of these subsidiaries as of March 31, 2020 was approximately $117.1 million. Such undistributed earnings are considered permanently reinvested. The Company does not provide deferred taxes on translation adjustments on unremitted earnings under the indefinite reversal exemption. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred tax liability related to these earnings is not practical due to the complexities of a hypothetical calculation. Subsidiaries operating outside of the United States for which the Company does not consider under the indefinite reversal exemption have no material undistributed earnings or outside basis differences and therefore no U.S. taxes have been provided.

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) was signed into law in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act contains several corporate income tax provisions, including modifications to the limitation on business interest expense and net operating loss regulations, and provides for a payment delay of employer payroll taxes and income taxes. The CARES Act did not have a material impact on the Company’s effective tax rate or income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

Commitments and Contingencies	3 Months Ended
Commitments and Contingencies	Mar. 31, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	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. As of March 31, 2020, there were no material developments in any of the legal proceedings disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. 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. 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. The Company’s legal costs are recorded to expense as incurred. As of March 31, 2020, the Company has no material reserves for legal matters. Purchase Commitments In the normal course of business, the Company enters into forward flow purchase agreements and other purchase commitment agreements. As of March 31, 2020, the Company had entered into agreements to purchase receivable portfolios with a face value of approximately $3.0 billion for a purchase price of approximately $378.4 million.

Segment and Geographic Information

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment and Geographic Information

The Company conducts business through several operating segments that have similar economic and other qualitative characteristics and have been aggregated in accordance with authoritative guidance into one reportable segment, portfolio purchasing and recovery. Since the Company operates in one reportable segment, all required segment information can be found in the consolidated financial statements.

The Company has operations in the United States, Europe and other foreign countries. The following table presents the Company’s total revenues by geographic area in which the Company operates (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Total revenues⁽¹⁾:
United States	$	208,218	$	189,372
International
Europe⁽²⁾	75,965		135,276
Other geographies	4,898		22,429
	80,863		157,705
Total	$	289,081	$	347,077

________________________

(1)Total revenues for periods in 2019 are adjusted by net allowances. Total revenues are attributed to countries based on consumer location.

(2)Based on the financial information that is used to produce the general-purpose financial statements, providing further geographic information is impracticable.

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets

The Company performs its annual goodwill impairment testing in the fourth quarter of each year. During the 2019 impairment testing, both of the two reporting units had fair values substantially in excess of their carrying values. In addition to the annual impairment test, the Company is required to assess whether a triggering event has occurred which would require interim impairment testing. The Company considered the current and expected future economic and market conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on each of the reporting units. Further, the Company assessed the current market capitalization, forecasts and the amount of headroom in the 2019 impairment test. The Company determined that it was

not more likely than not that the fair value of each of the reporting units was less than its respective carrying value as of March 31, 2020. Therefore, an interim quantitative impairment test was not performed.

Management continues to evaluate and monitor all key factors impacting the carrying value of the Company’s recorded goodwill and long-lived assets. Adverse changes in the Company’s actual or expected operating results, market capitalization, business climate, economic factors or other negative events that may be outside the control of management could result in a material non-cash impairment charge in the future.

The Company’s goodwill is attributable to reporting units included in its portfolio purchasing and recovery segment. The following table summarizes the activity in the Company’s goodwill balance (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Balance, beginning of period	$	884,185	$	868,126
Effect of foreign currency translation	(44,884)		14,758
Balance, end of period	$	839,301	$	882,884

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


	As of March 31, 2020										As of December 31, 2019
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount
Customer relationships	$	60,718	$	(15,565)	$	45,153	$	67,897	$	(18,191)	$	49,706
Developed technologies	4,257		(3,744)		513		4,734		(4,124)		610
Trade name and other	5,248		(4,543)		705		6,299		(5,244)		1,055
Total intangible assets	$	70,223	$	(23,852)	$	46,371	$	78,930	$	(27,559)	$	51,371

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

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Use of Estimates

Basis of Consolidation

Translation of Foreign Currencies

Reclassifications

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

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncement and Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Effective

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncement


	Balance as of December 31, 2019		Adjustment		Opening Balance as of January 1, 2020
Assets
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	$	3,283,984	$	44,166	$	3,328,150
Deferred court costs, net	100,172		(100,172)		—
Liabilities
Other liabilities (for deferred tax liabilities)	147,436		(11,768)		135,668
Equity
Accumulated earnings	888,058		(44,238)		843,820

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Effective

guidance on an ongoing basis. The ASU is currently not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. With the exception of the updated standard discussed above, there have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the three months ended March 31, 2020, as compared to the recent accounting pronouncements described in our Annual Report, that have significance, or potential significance, to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net

Investment in Receivable Portfolios

Deferred Court Costs

Earnings Per Share

Fair Value Measurements

•Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

•Level 3: Unobservable inputs, including inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions.

Derivatives

The Company may periodically enter into derivative financial instruments to manage risks related to interest rates and foreign currency. Certain of the Company’s derivative financial instruments qualify for hedge accounting treatment under the authoritative guidance for derivatives and hedging.The Company has operations in foreign countries which expose the Company to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations due to transactions denominated in foreign currencies. To mitigate a portion of this risk, the Company enters into derivative financial instruments, principally foreign currency forward contracts with financial counterparties. 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.Certain of the Company’s foreign currency forward contracts are designated as cash flow hedging instruments and qualify for hedge accounting treatment. Gains and losses arising from such contracts are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (“OCI”) as gains and losses on derivative instruments, net of income taxes. The hedging gains and losses in OCI are subsequently reclassified into earnings in the same period in which the underlying transactions affect the Company’s earnings. If all or a portion of the forecasted transaction is cancelled, the accumulated gains or losses in OCI would be reclassified into earnings.

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 expected losses, or the right to receive 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 consolidates VIEs when it is the primary beneficiary.

The Company evaluates its relationships with its VIEs on an ongoing basis to ensure that it continues to be the primary beneficiary. A reconsideration event is significant if it changes the design of the entity or the entity’s equity investment at risk. Prior to the purchase of all of the outstanding equity of CCM not owned by the Company, CCM’s indirect holding Company Janus Holdings S.a r.l. (“Janus Holdings”) was a VIE. Upon completion of the Cabot Transaction on July 24, 2018 and the subsequent change in organizational structure, Janus Holdings no longer qualified as a VIE and CCM is consolidated via the voting interest model.

As of March 31, 2020, the Company’s VIEs include certain securitized financing vehicles and other immaterial special purpose entities that were created to purchase receivable portfolios in certain geographies. The Company is the primary beneficiary of these VIEs. The Company has the power to direct the activities of the VIEs which includes but is not limited to the ability to exercise discretion in the servicing of the financial assets.

Most 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 VIE.

Segment Reporting

Goodwill

Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level annually and in interim periods if certain events occur that indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit may be below its carrying value. Determining the number of reporting units and the fair value of a reporting unit requires the Company to make judgments and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions.Management continues to evaluate and monitor all key factors impacting the carrying value of the Company’s recorded goodwill and long-lived assets. Adverse changes in the Company’s actual or expected operating results, market capitalization, business climate, economic factors or other negative events that may be outside the control of management could result in a material non-cash impairment charge in the future.

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

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Schedule of New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles

The following table summarizes the cumulative effects of adopting the CECL guidance on the Company’s consolidated statements of financial condition at January 1, 2020 (in thousands):


	Balance as of December 31, 2019		Adjustment		Opening Balance as of January 1, 2020
Assets
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	$	3,283,984	$	44,166	$	3,328,150
Deferred court costs, net	100,172		(100,172)		—
Liabilities
Other liabilities (for deferred tax liabilities)	147,436		(11,768)		135,668
Equity
Accumulated earnings	888,058		(44,238)		843,820

(Loss) Earnings Per Share (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

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

A reconciliation of shares used in calculating (loss) earnings per basic and diluted shares follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Net (loss) income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders	$	(10,454)	$	49,254

Total weighted-average basic shares outstanding	31,308		31,201
Dilutive effect of stock-based awards	—		158


Total weighted-average dilutive shares outstanding	31,308		31,359

Basic (loss) earnings per share	$	(0.33)	$	1.58
Diluted (loss) earnings per share	$	(0.33)	$	1.57

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Schedule 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 March 31, 2020
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets


Interest rate cap contracts	$	—	$	2,150	$	—	$	2,150
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	—		(2,177)		—		(2,177)
Interest rate swap agreements	—		(14,735)		—		(14,735)
Contingent consideration	—		—		(27)		(27)


	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2019
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$	—	$	1,473	$	—	$	1,473
Interest rate cap contracts	—		2,460		—		2,460
Liabilities

Interest rate swap agreements	—		(9,116)		—		(9,116)
Contingent consideration	—		—		(66)		(66)

Schedule of Roll Forward of the Fair Value of Contingent Consideration

The following table provides a roll-forward of the fair value of contingent consideration for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and year ended December 31, 2019 (in thousands):


	Amount
Balance as of December 31, 2018	$	6,198
Change in fair value of contingent consideration	(2,300)
Payment of contingent consideration	(3,686)
Effect of foreign currency translation	(146)
Balance as of December 31, 2019	66

Payment of contingent consideration	(35)
Effect of foreign currency translation	(4)
Balance as of March 31, 2020	$	27

Schedule of Financial Instruments Not Required to be Carried at Fair Value

The carrying amounts in the following table are included in the consolidated statements of financial condition as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 (in thousands):


	March 31, 2020						December 31, 2019
	Carrying Amount		Estimated Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Estimated Fair Value
Financial Assets
Investment in receivable portfolios, net	$	3,166,018	$	3,547,965	$	3,283,984	$	3,464,050
Deferred court costs	—		—		100,172		100,172
Financial Liabilities
Encore convertible notes and exchangeable notes⁽¹⁾	645,591		567,691		642,547		693,708
Cabot senior secured notes⁽²⁾	1,077,548		996,060		1,127,435		1,170,945

_______________________

(1)Carrying amount represents the portion of the convertible and exchangeable notes classified as debt, while estimated fair value pertains to the face amount of the notes.

(2)Carrying amount represents historical cost, adjusted for any related debt discount or debt premium.

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

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

March 31, 2020

December 31, 2019

Balance Sheet
Location

Fair Value

Balance Sheet
Location

Fair Value

Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:

Interest rate cap contracts

Other assets

2,150

Other assets

2,460

Foreign currency exchange contracts

Other liabilities

(134)

Other assets

443

Interest rate swap agreements

Other liabilities

(14,735)

Other liabilities

(9,116)

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:

Foreign currency exchange contracts

Other liabilities

(2,043)

Other assets

1,030

Effects of Derivatives in Cash Flow Hedging Relationships

The following table summarizes the effects of derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships designated as hedging instruments in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations (in thousands):


Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments	Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI							Location of Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)		Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)
			Three Months Ended March 31,									Three Months Ended March 31,
			2020			2019				2020		2019
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$	(389)		$	935		Salaries and employee benefits	$	127	$	(95)
Foreign currency exchange contracts	(45)			(78)			General and administrative expenses	17		(84)
Interest rate swap agreements	(6,707)			(2,086)			Interest expense	(1,088)		(420)
Interest rate cap contracts	(1,396)			(1,572)			Interest expense	(2,542)		—


		Amount of Gain Recognized in Income (Loss)
		Three Months Ended March 31,
Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments	Location of Gain Recognized in Income (Loss) on Derivative	2020		2019
Foreign currency exchange contracts	Other income (expense)	$	1,943	$	—

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Receivables [Abstract]

Receivable Portfolios

The table below illustrates the Company’s transition approach for its investment in receivable portfolios as of January 1, 2020 (in thousands):


	Amount
Investment in receivable portfolios prior to transition	$	3,283,984
Initial transitioned deferred court costs	44,166
	3,328,150
Allowance for credit losses	79,028,043
Amortized cost	82,356,193
Noncredit discount	132,533,142
Face value	214,889,335
Write-off of amortized cost	(82,356,193)
Write-off of noncredit discount	(132,533,142)
Negative allowance	3,328,150
Initial negative allowance from transition	$	3,328,150

The table below provides the detail on the establishment of negative allowance for expected recoveries of portfolios purchased during the three months ended March 31, 2020 (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31, 2020
Purchase price	$	214,113
Allowance for credit losses	521,194
Amortized cost	735,307
Noncredit discount	967,715
Face value	1,703,022
Write-off of amortized cost	(735,307)
Write-off of noncredit discount	(967,715)
Negative allowance	214,113
Negative allowance for expected recoveries - current period purchases	$	214,113

Schedule of Investment in Receivable Portfolios

The following table summarize the changes in the balance of the investment in receivable portfolios during the periods presented (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020			2019
Balance, beginning of period	$	3,328,150		$	3,137,893
Purchases of receivable portfolios	214,113			262,335
Put-backs and Recalls	(5,068)			(3,700)
Transfers to assets held for sale	(1,531)			(3,589)
Cash collections	(527,279)			(513,853)
Revenue from receivable portfolios	357,365			311,158
Changes to expected current period recoveries	10,315			—
Changes to expected future period recoveries	(108,976)			—
Portfolios allowance reversal, net	—			1,367
Foreign currency adjustments	(101,071)			19,976
Balance, end of period	$	3,166,018		$	3,211,587
Revenue as a percentage of collections	67.8		%	60.6		%

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

The following table summarizes the change in accretable yield under the previous accounting guidance during the three months ended March 31, 2019 (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019
Balance as of beginning of period	$	4,026,206
Revenue from receivable portfolios	(311,158)
Allowance reversals on receivable portfolios, net	(1,367)
Additions on existing portfolios, net	38,313
Additions for current purchases	285,637
Effect of foreign currency translation	26,461
Balance as of end of period	$	4,064,092

Schedule of Valuation Allowance for Investment in Receivable Portfolios


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019
Balance as of beginning of period	$	60,631
Provision for portfolio allowances	2,626
Reversal of prior allowances	(3,993)

Effect of foreign currency translation	164
Balance as of end of period	$	59,428

Deferred Court Costs, Net (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

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

Schedule of Deferred Court Costs

Net deferred court costs under the previous accounting method consisted of the following as of the date presented (in thousands):


	December 31, 2019
Court costs advanced	$	891,207
Court costs recovered	(369,043)
Court costs reserve	(421,992)
Deferred court costs, net	$	100,172

Schedule of Court Cost Reserve

A roll-forward of the Company’s court cost reserve as accounted for under the previous accounting method is as follows (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Balance at beginning of period	$	(396,460)
Provision for court costs	(15,713)
Charge-offs	13,779
Effect of foreign currency translation	(1,597)
Balance at end of period	$	(399,991)

Other Assets (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

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

Schedule of Components of Other Assets

Other assets consist of the following (in thousands):


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Operating lease right-of-use asset	$	74,113	$	75,254
Identifiable intangible assets, net	46,371		51,371
Assets held for sale	42,947		46,717
Deferred tax assets	26,291		24,134
Service fee receivables	22,786		27,705
Prepaid expenses	22,191		22,272
Other financial receivables	16,213		17,308
Other	51,107		64,462
Total	$	302,019	$	329,223

Borrowings (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Consolidated Debt and Capital Lease Obligations

The components of the Company’s consolidated borrowings were as follows (in thousands):


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Encore revolving credit facility	$	528,000	$	492,000
Encore term loan facility	167,855		171,677
Encore senior secured notes	292,500		308,750
Encore convertible notes and exchangeable notes	672,855		672,855
Less: debt discount	(27,264)		(30,308)
Cabot senior secured notes	1,078,965		1,129,039
Less: debt discount	(1,417)		(1,604)
Cabot senior revolving credit facility	241,170		285,749
Cabot securitisation senior facilities	435,099		464,092
Other	47,924		54,151
Finance lease liabilities	8,642		8,121
	3,444,329		3,554,522
Less: debt issuance costs, net of amortization	(39,902)		(41,325)
Total	$	3,404,427	$	3,513,197

Schedule of Notes


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019		Maturity date	Interest rate
2020 Convertible Notes	$	89,355	$	89,355	Jul 1, 2020	3.000	%
2021 Convertible Notes	161,000		161,000		Mar 15, 2021	2.875	%
2022 Convertible Notes	150,000		150,000		Mar 15, 2022	3.250	%
Exchangeable Notes	172,500		172,500		Sep 1, 2023	4.500	%
2025 Convertible Notes	100,000		100,000		Oct 1, 2025	3.250	%
	$	672,855	$	672,855

The following table provides a summary of the Cabot senior secured notes ($ in thousands):


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019		Maturity date	Interest rate
Floating rate senior secured notes due 2024	$	441,336	$	448,921	Jun 1, 2024	EURIBOR +6.375%

Senior secured notes due 2023	637,629		680,118		Oct 1, 2023	7.500	%

	$	1,078,965	$	1,129,039

Schedule of Hedge Program for Convertible Notes

Certain key terms related to the convertible and exchangeable features as of March 31, 2020 are listed below:


	2020 Convertible Notes		2021 Convertible Notes		2022 Convertible Notes		2023 Exchangeable Notes		2025 Convertible Notes
Initial conversion or exchange price	$	45.72	$	59.39	$	45.57	$	44.62	$	40.00
Closing stock price at date of issuance	$	33.35	$	47.51	$	35.05	$	36.45	$	32.00
Closing stock price date	Jun 24, 2013		Mar 5, 2014		Feb 27, 2017		Jul 20, 2018		Sep 4, 2019
Conversion or exchange rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)	21.8718		16.8386		21.9467		22.4090		25.0000
Conversion or exchange date	Jan 1, 2020		Sep 15, 2020		Sep 15, 2021		Mar 1, 2023		Jul 1, 2025

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


	2020 Convertible Notes		2021 Convertible Notes		2023 Exchangeable Notes
Cost of the hedge transaction(s)	$	18,113	$	19,545	$	17,785
Initial conversion or exchange price	$	45.72	$	59.39	$	44.62
Effective conversion or exchange price	$	61.55	$	83.14	$	62.48

Schedule of Balances of the Liability and Equity Components


	2020 Convertible Notes⁽¹⁾			2021 Convertible Notes			2022 Convertible Notes			2023 Exchangeable Notes			2025 Convertible Notes
Debt component	$	140,247		$	143,645		$	137,266		$	157,971		$	91,024
Equity component	$	32,253		$	17,355		$	12,734		$	14,009		$	8,976
Equity issuance cost	$	1,106		$	581		$	398		$	—		$	224
Stated interest rate	3.000		%	2.875		%	3.250		%	4.500		%	3.250		%
Effective interest rate	6.350		%	4.700		%	5.200		%	6.500		%	5.000		%

________________________

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


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Liability component—principal amount	$	672,855	$	672,855
Unamortized debt discount	(27,264)		(30,308)
Liability component—net carrying amount	$	645,591	$	642,547
Equity component	$	83,127	$	83,127

Schedule of Interest Expense

Interest expense related to the Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes was as follows (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	$	5,799	$	5,337
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount	3,044		3,121
Interest expense—Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes	$	8,843	$	8,458

Interest expense related to the Cabot senior secured notes was as follows (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	$	19,417	$	19,394
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount	85		202
Interest expense—Cabot senior secured notes	$	19,502	$	19,596

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of long-debt instruments or arrangements, including identification, terms, features, collateral requirements and other information necessary to a fair presentation. These are debt arrangements that originally required repayment more than twelve months after issuance or greater than the normal operating cycle of the entity, if longer.

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+ Details

Income Taxes (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Effective Tax Rates

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


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Federal provision	21.0	%	21.0	%
State provision	(15.6)	%	2.5	%
Foreign income taxed at different rates⁽¹⁾	(3.2)	%	(0.9)	%
Change in valuation allowance⁽²⁾	(66.5)	%	1.9	%
Change in tax accounting method⁽³⁾	—	%	(17.1)	%
Foreign currency remeasurement	(6.4)	%	0.2	%
Permanent items⁽⁴⁾	(1.7)	%	0.1	%
Other	(3.3)	%	(0.8)	%
Effective tax rate	(75.7)	%	6.9	%

________________________

(1)Relates primarily to the lower tax rates on the income or loss attributable to international operations.

(3)In 2019, includes tax benefit resulting from tax accounting method change.

(4)Represents a provision for nondeductible expenses

Segment and Geographic Information (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Schedule of Geographical Areas of Operations


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Total revenues⁽¹⁾:
United States	$	208,218	$	189,372
International
Europe⁽²⁾	75,965		135,276
Other geographies	4,898		22,429
	80,863		157,705
Total	$	289,081	$	347,077

________________________

(1)Total revenues for periods in 2019 are adjusted by net allowances. Total revenues are attributed to countries based on consumer location.

(2)Based on the financial information that is used to produce the general-purpose financial statements, providing further geographic information is impracticable.

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Activity in the Goodwill Balance


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Balance, beginning of period	$	884,185	$	868,126
Effect of foreign currency translation	(44,884)		14,758
Balance, end of period	$	839,301	$	882,884

Schedule of Acquired Intangible Assets

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


	As of March 31, 2020										As of December 31, 2019
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount
Customer relationships	$	60,718	$	(15,565)	$	45,153	$	67,897	$	(18,191)	$	49,706
Developed technologies	4,257		(3,744)		513		4,734		(4,124)		610
Trade name and other	5,248		(4,543)		705		6,299		(5,244)		1,055
Total intangible assets	$	70,223	$	(23,852)	$	46,371	$	78,930	$	(27,559)	$	51,371

Ownership, Description of Business, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Jan. 01, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Investment in receivable portfolios, carrying value	$ 3,166,018	$ 3,328,150	$ 3,283,984	$ 3,211,587	$ 3,137,893
Deferred court costs, net	0		100,172
Other liabilities	136,235		147,436
Accumulated earnings	$ 833,366		888,058
Cumulative Effect, Period Of Adoption, Adjusted Balance
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Investment in receivable portfolios, carrying value		3,328,150	$ 3,328,150
Deferred court costs, net		0
Other liabilities		135,668
Accumulated earnings		843,820
Accounting Standards Update 2016-13 \| Cumulative Effect, Period Of Adoption, Adjustment
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Investment in receivable portfolios, carrying value		44,166
Deferred court costs, net		(100,172)
Other liabilities		(11,768)
Accumulated earnings		$ (44,238)

(Loss) Earnings Per Share - Summary (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net (loss) income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders	$ (10,454)	$ 49,254
Total weighted-average basic shares outstanding (shares)	31,308	31,201
Dilutive effect of stock-based awards (shares)	0	158
Total weighted-average dilutive shares outstanding (shares)	31,308	31,359
Basic (loss) earnings per share (USD per share)	$ (0.33)	$ 1.58
Diluted (loss) earnings per share (USD per share)	$ (0.33)	$ 1.57
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (shares)	13	217

- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

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- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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+ Details

- Definition

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

+ References + Details

Fair Value Measurements - Financial Instruments Required to be Carried at Fair Value (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Liabilities
Contingent consideration	$ (27)	$ (66)
Interest rate cap contracts
Assets
Interest rate derivatives	2,150	2,460
Foreign currency exchange contracts
Assets
Interest rate derivatives		1,473
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	(2,177)
Interest rate swap agreements
Liabilities
Interest rate swap agreements	(14,735)	(9,116)
Level 1
Liabilities
Contingent consideration	0	0
Level 1 \| Interest rate cap contracts
Assets
Interest rate derivatives	0	0
Level 1 \| Foreign currency exchange contracts
Assets
Interest rate derivatives		0
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	0
Level 1 \| Interest rate swap agreements
Liabilities
Interest rate swap agreements	0	0
Level 2
Liabilities
Contingent consideration	0	0
Level 2 \| Interest rate cap contracts
Assets
Interest rate derivatives	2,150	2,460
Level 2 \| Foreign currency exchange contracts
Assets
Interest rate derivatives		1,473
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	(2,177)
Level 2 \| Interest rate swap agreements
Liabilities
Interest rate swap agreements	(14,735)	(9,116)
Level 3
Liabilities
Contingent consideration	(27)	(66)
Level 3 \| Interest rate cap contracts
Assets
Interest rate derivatives	0	0
Level 3 \| Foreign currency exchange contracts
Assets
Interest rate derivatives		0
Liabilities
Foreign currency exchange contracts	0
Level 3 \| Interest rate swap agreements
Liabilities
Interest rate swap agreements	$ 0	$ 0

Fair Value Measurements - Contingent Consideration Roll Forward (Details) - Contingent Consideration - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation, Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period	$ 66	$ 6,198
Change in fair value of contingent consideration		(2,300)
Payment of contingent consideration	(35)	(3,686)
Effect of foreign currency translation	(4)	(146)
Balance at end of period	$ 27	$ 66

Fair Value Measurements - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Assets held for sale	$ 42,947	$ 46,717

Fair Value Measurements - Financial Instruments Not Required to be Carried at Fair Value (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Jan. 01, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Financial Assets
Investment in receivable portfolios, carrying value	$ 3,166,018	$ 3,328,150	$ 3,283,984	$ 3,211,587	$ 3,137,893
Deferred court costs, net	0		100,172
Financial Liabilities
Convertible senior notes, carrying value	672,855		672,855
Senior secured notes, carrying value	292,500		308,750
Senior Notes
Financial Liabilities
Convertible senior notes, carrying value	645,591		642,547
Secured Debt
Financial Liabilities
Senior secured notes, carrying value	1,078,965		1,129,039
Cabot Senior Secured Notes \| Senior Notes
Financial Liabilities
Senior secured notes, carrying value	1,078,965		1,129,039
Cabot Senior Secured Notes \| Secured Debt
Financial Liabilities
Senior secured notes, carrying value	1,077,548		1,127,435
Fair Value
Financial Assets
Deferred court costs, net	0		100,172
Fair Value \| Senior Notes
Financial Liabilities
Convertible senior notes, fair value	567,691		693,708
Fair Value \| Cabot Senior Secured Notes \| Secured Debt
Financial Liabilities
Senior secured notes, fair value	996,060		1,170,945
Fair Value \| Certain Loans Acquired in Transfer Not Accounted for as Debt Securities
Financial Assets
Investment in receivable portfolios, fair value	$ 3,547,965		$ 3,464,050

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments - Fair Value of Derivative Instruments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Interest rate cap contracts
Derivative [Line Items]
Interest rate derivative - assets	$ 2,150	$ 2,460
Foreign currency exchange contracts
Derivative [Line Items]
Interest rate derivative - assets		1,473
Foreign currency exchange contracts - liabilities	(2,177)
Interest rate swap agreements
Derivative [Line Items]
Interest rate swap agreements - liabilities	(14,735)	(9,116)
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Interest rate cap contracts \| Other assets
Derivative [Line Items]
Interest rate derivative - assets	2,150	2,460
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Foreign currency exchange contracts \| Other assets
Derivative [Line Items]
Foreign currency exchange contracts - assets		443
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Foreign currency exchange contracts \| Other liabilities
Derivative [Line Items]
Foreign currency exchange contracts - liabilities	(134)
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Interest rate swap agreements \| Other liabilities
Derivative [Line Items]
Interest rate swap agreements - liabilities	(14,735)	(9,116)
Not Designated as Hedging Instrument \| Foreign currency exchange contracts \| Other assets
Derivative [Line Items]
Foreign currency exchange contracts - assets		$ 1,030
Not Designated as Hedging Instrument \| Foreign currency exchange contracts \| Other liabilities
Derivative [Line Items]
Foreign currency exchange contracts - liabilities	$ (2,043)

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments - Narrative (Details)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($) instrument	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2020 GBP (£) instrument
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
Derivative [Line Items]
Loss reclassified from OCI into income (loss)	$ 2,500,000
Forward contracts
Derivative [Line Items]
Net derivative gain (loss) included in OCI expected to be reclassified into earnings	(100,000)
Gains or losses were reclassified from OCI into earnings	0	$ 0
Forward contracts \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivative instrument, notional amount	6,300,000
Interest rate swap agreements \| Cash Flow Hedging
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivative instrument, notional amount	$ 327,900,000
Number of interest rate derivative held \| instrument	4		4
Interest rate cap contracts \| The 2019 Cap
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivative instrument, notional amount	$ 435,100,000		£ 400,000,000.0
Interest rate cap contracts \| Cash Flow Hedging
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivative instrument, notional amount	$ 876,400,000
Number of interest rate derivative held \| instrument	2		2
Interest rate cap contracts \| Cash Flow Hedging \| 2018 Caps
Derivative [Line Items]
Number of interest rate derivative held \| instrument	2		2
Interest rate cap contracts \| Cash Flow Hedging \| The 2020 Caps
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivative instrument, notional amount	$ 441,300,000		£ 350,000,000.0
Minimum \| Not Designated as Hedging Instrument \| Cash Flow Hedging
Derivative [Line Items]
Term of contract (years)	1 month
Maximum \| Not Designated as Hedging Instrument \| Cash Flow Hedging
Derivative [Line Items]
Term of contract (years)	3 months

Derivatives and Hedging Instruments - Effects of Derivatives (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI	$ (3,554)	$ (2,030)
Foreign currency exchange contracts \| Cash Flow Hedging \| Other income (expense)
Derivative [Line Items]
Amount of Gain Recognized in Income (Loss)	1,943	0
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Foreign currency exchange contracts \| Cash Flow Hedging \| Salaries and employee benefits
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI	(389)	935
Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)	127	(95)
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Foreign currency exchange contracts \| Cash Flow Hedging \| General and administrative expenses
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI	(45)	(78)
Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)	17	(84)
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Interest rate swap agreements \| Cash Flow Hedging \| Interest Expense
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI	(6,707)	(2,086)
Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)	(1,088)	(420)
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Interest rate cap contracts \| Cash Flow Hedging \| Interest Expense
Derivative [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI	(1,396)	(1,572)
Gain (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Loss)	$ (2,542)	$ 0

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net - Transition Approach (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Financing Receivable, Impaired [Line Items]
Investment in receivable portfolios, carrying value	$ 3,328,150	$ 3,166,018	$ 3,283,984	$ 3,211,587	$ 3,137,893
Allowance for credit losses	79,028,043	521,194
Amortized cost	82,356,193
Noncredit discount	132,533,142	967,715
Face value	214,889,335	1,703,022
Write-off of amortized cost	(82,356,193)	(735,307)
Write-off of noncredit discount	(132,533,142)	(967,715)
Negative allowance	(3,328,150)	$ (214,113)
Investment In Receivable Portfolios, Net
Financing Receivable, Impaired [Line Items]
Investment in receivable portfolios, carrying value	3,328,150
Accounting Standards Update 2016-13
Financing Receivable, Impaired [Line Items]
Initial transitioned deferred court costs	$ 44,166

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net - Establishment of Negative Allowance (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Receivables [Abstract]
Purchase price		$ 214,113
Allowance for credit losses	$ 79,028,043	521,194
Amortized cost		735,307
Noncredit discount	132,533,142	967,715
Face value	214,889,335	1,703,022
Write-off of amortized cost	(82,356,193)	(735,307)
Write-off of noncredit discount	(132,533,142)	(967,715)
Negative allowance	$ (3,328,150)	(214,113)
Negative allowance for expected recoveries - current period purchases		$ 214,113	$ 262,335

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net - Change in the Balance of the Investment in Receivable Portfolios (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Investment in Receivables Portfolio [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	$ 3,283,984	$ 3,137,893
Negative allowance for expected recoveries - current period purchases	214,113	262,335
Put-backs and Recalls	(5,068)	(3,700)
Transfers to assets held for sale	(1,531)	(3,589)
Cash collections	(527,279)	(513,853)
Revenue from receivable portfolios	357,365	311,158
Changes to expected current period recoveries	10,315	0
Changes to expected future period recoveries	(108,976)	0
Portfolios allowance reversal, net	0	1,367
Foreign currency adjustments	(101,071)	19,976
Balance, end of period	$ 3,166,018	$ 3,211,587
Revenue as a percentage of collections	67.80%	60.60%
Cumulative Effect, Period Of Adoption, Adjusted Balance
Investment in Receivables Portfolio [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	$ 3,328,150

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net - Accretable Yield and an Estimate of Zero Basis Future Cash Flows (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Investment in Receivables Portfolio [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period		$ 4,026,206
Revenue from receivable portfolios	$ (357,365)	(311,158)
Allowance reversals on receivable portfolios, net	$ 0	(1,367)
Additions on existing portfolios, net		38,313
Additions for current purchases		285,637
Effect of foreign currency translation		26,461
Balance at end of period		$ 4,064,092

Investment in Receivable Portfolios, Net - Change in the Valuation Allowance for Investment in Receivable Portfolios (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period	$ 60,631
Provision for portfolio allowances	2,626
Reversal of prior allowances	(3,993)
Effect of foreign currency translation	164
Balance as of end of period	$ 59,428

Deferred Court Costs, Net - Summary (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Court costs advanced		$ 891,207
Court costs recovered		(369,043)
Court costs reserve		(421,992)	$ (399,991)	$ (396,460)
Deferred court costs, net	$ 0	$ 100,172

Deferred Court Costs, Net - Court Cost Reserve (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period	$ (396,460)
Provision for court costs	(15,713)
Charge-offs	13,779
Effect of foreign currency translation	(1,597)
Balance at end of period	$ (399,991)

Other Assets - Summary (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Operating lease right-of-use asset	$ 74,113	$ 75,254
Identifiable intangible assets, net	46,371	51,371
Assets held for sale	42,947	46,717
Deferred tax assets	26,291	24,134
Service fee receivables	22,786	27,705
Prepaid expenses	22,191	22,272
Other financial receivables	16,213	17,308
Other	51,107	64,462
Total	$ 302,019	$ 329,223

Borrowings - Consolidated Debt and Capital Lease Obligations (Details) $ in Thousands, £ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2020 GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes	$ 292,500		$ 308,750
Encore convertible notes and exchangeable notes	672,855		672,855
Less: debt discount	(27,264)		(30,308)
Finance lease liabilities	8,642		8,121
Debt and capital lease obligations, gross	3,444,329		3,554,522
Less: debt issuance costs, net of amortization	(39,902)		(41,325)
Total	3,404,427		3,513,197
Other Debt Obligations
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Other	47,924		54,151
Cabot securitisation senior facilities
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility	435,100	£ 350.0	464,092
Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility	528,000		492,000
Cabot credit facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility	241,200	£ 194.0	285,749
Term Loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Encore term loan facility	167,855		171,677
Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Encore convertible notes and exchangeable notes	645,591		642,547
Less: debt discount	(27,264)		(30,308)
Senior Notes \| Cabot senior secured notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes	1,078,965		1,129,039
Less: debt discount	$ (1,417)		$ (1,604)

Borrowings - Encore Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility - Narrative (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2019
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal amortization, 2020			$ 15,300,000
Percentage to be added to base rate for alternate base rate (as a percent)	0.50%
Percentage to be added to adjusted base rate for alternate base rate (as a percent)	1.00%
Borrowing base as percentage of eligible estimated collection range end (as a percent)	35.00%
Eligible estimated remaining collections for consumer receivables (as a percent)	55.00%
Maximum cash flow leverage ratio	300.00%
Maximum cash flow secured leverage ratio	200.00%
Minimum interest coverage ratio	175.00%
Maximum senior secured notes	$ 350,000,000.0
Allowance of additional unsecured indebtedness (not to exceed)	1,100,000,000
Company's repurchases, common stock (up to)	150,000,000.0
Acquisition limit	$ 225,000,000.0
Credit facility, provision, investments not to exceed maximum percentage of consolidated net worth (as a percent)	200.00%
Basket allowed for investments under laws of Canada	$ 50,000,000.0
Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum cash flow leverage ratio	125.00%
Minimum \| Base Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	1.50%
Maximum \| Base Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	2.00%
Junior Lien Portion
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Allowance of additional unsecured indebtedness (not to exceed)	$ 400,000,000.0
Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility	$ 528,000,000		$ 492,000,000
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)	4.58%	5.50%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Restated Credit Agreement
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Current borrowing capacity	$ 356,200,000
Revolving Credit Facility \| Minimum \| LIBOR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	2.50%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Maximum \| LIBOR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	3.00%
Term Loan One \| Minimum \| LIBOR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	2.50%
Term Loan One \| Minimum \| Base Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	1.50%
Term Loan One \| Maximum \| LIBOR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	3.00%
Term Loan One \| Maximum \| Base Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	2.00%

Borrowings - Encore Senior Secured Notes - Narrative (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Aug. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issued	$ 672,855,000	$ 672,855,000
Senior secured notes	$ 292,500,000	$ 308,750,000
2017 Senior Secured Notes \| Term Loan Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issued			$ 325,000,000.0
Stated interest rate (as a percent)	5.625%
Senior secured notes, periodic principal repayment	$ 16,300,000

Borrowings - Encore Convertible Notes and Exchangeable Notes (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issued \| $		$ 672,855	$ 672,855
Convertible Notes \| 2020 Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issued \| $		$ 89,355	89,355
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		3.00%
Extinguishment of debt \| $	$ 83,100
Initial conversion price (USD per share)		$ 45.72
Closing stock price at date of issuance (in dollars per share)		$ 33.35
Conversion rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)		0.0218718
Convertible Notes \| 2021 Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issued \| $		$ 161,000	161,000
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		2.875%
Initial conversion price (USD per share)		$ 59.39
Closing stock price at date of issuance (in dollars per share)		$ 47.51
Conversion rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)		0.0168386
Convertible Notes \| 2022 Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issued \| $		$ 150,000	150,000
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		3.25%
Initial conversion price (USD per share)		$ 45.57
Closing stock price at date of issuance (in dollars per share)		$ 35.05
Conversion rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)		0.0219467
Convertible Notes \| 2023 Exchangeable Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Initial conversion price (USD per share)		$ 44.62
Closing stock price at date of issuance (in dollars per share)		$ 36.45
Conversion rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)		0.022409
Convertible Notes \| 2025 Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issued \| $		$ 100,000	100,000
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		3.25%
Initial conversion price (USD per share)		$ 40.00
Closing stock price at date of issuance (in dollars per share)		$ 32.00
Conversion rate (shares per $1,000 principal amount)		0.025
Term Loan Facility \| 2023 Exchangeable Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issued \| $		$ 172,500	$ 172,500
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		4.50%
Initial conversion price (USD per share)		$ 44.62

Borrowings - Debt and Equity Components and Issuance Costs of Convertible Notes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Equity component		$ 83,127	$ 83,127
Debt issued		672,855	672,855
2020 Convertible Notes \| Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt component		140,247
Equity component		32,253
Equity issuance cost		$ 1,106
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		3.00%
Effective interest rate (as a percent)		6.35%
Extinguishment of debt	$ 83,100
Debt issued		$ 89,355	89,355
2021 Convertible Notes \| Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt component		143,645
Equity component		17,355
Equity issuance cost		$ 581
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		2.875%
Effective interest rate (as a percent)		4.70%
Debt issued		$ 161,000	161,000
2022 Convertible Notes \| Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt component		137,266
Equity component		12,734
Equity issuance cost		$ 398
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		3.25%
Effective interest rate (as a percent)		5.20%
Debt issued		$ 150,000	150,000
2023 Exchangeable Notes \| Term Loan Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt component		157,971
Equity component		14,009
Equity issuance cost		$ 0
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		4.50%
Effective interest rate (as a percent)		6.50%
Debt issued		$ 172,500	172,500
2025 Convertible Notes \| Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt component		91,024
Equity component		8,976
Equity issuance cost		$ 224
Stated interest rate (as a percent)		3.25%
Effective interest rate (as a percent)		5.00%
Debt issued		$ 100,000	$ 100,000

Borrowings - Balances of Liability and Equity Components (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Liability component—principal amount	$ 672,855	$ 672,855
Unamortized debt discount	(27,264)	(30,308)
Liability component—net carrying amount	645,591	642,547
Equity component	$ 83,127	$ 83,127

Borrowings - Interest Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Convertible Notes And Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	$ 5,799	$ 5,337
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount	3,044	3,121
Total interest expense	8,843	8,458
Term Loan Facility \| Cabot senior secured notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total interest expense	19,502	19,596
Term Loan Facility \| Cabot senior secured notes \| Interest Expense
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest expense—stated coupon rate	19,417	19,394
Interest expense—amortization of debt discount	$ 85	$ 202

Borrowings - Conversion and EPS Impact of Convertible Notes Hedging Transactions (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($) $ / shares
2020 Convertible Notes \| Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Cost of the hedge transaction(s) \| $	$ 18,113
Conversion price (USD per share)	$ 45.72
2020 Convertible Notes \| Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument \| Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Conversion price (USD per share)	$ 61.55
2021 Convertible Notes \| Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Cost of the hedge transaction(s) \| $	$ 19,545
Conversion price (USD per share)	$ 59.39
2021 Convertible Notes \| Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument \| Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Conversion price (USD per share)	83.14
2023 Exchangeable Notes \| Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Conversion price (USD per share)	$ 44.62
2023 Exchangeable Notes \| Term Loan Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Cost of the hedge transaction(s) \| $	$ 17,785
Conversion price (USD per share)	$ 44.62
2023 Exchangeable Notes \| Hedging of Convertible Debt Instrument \| Term Loan Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Conversion price (USD per share)	$ 62.48

Borrowings - Cabot Senior Secured Notes - Table and Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes	$ 292,500	$ 308,750
Debt issued	672,855	672,855
Secured Debt
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes	1,078,965	1,129,039
Floating rate senior secured notes due 2024 \| Secured Debt
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes	441,336	448,921
Senior secured notes due 2023 \| Secured Debt
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes	$ 637,629	$ 680,118
Stated interest rate (as a percent)	7.50%
Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) \| Floating rate senior secured notes due 2024 \| Secured Debt
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	6.375%

Borrowings - Cabot Senior Revolving Credit Facility - Narrative (Details) - Cabot credit facility $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2020 GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility			£ 375,000,000.0
Maximum loan to value ratio	75.00%
Credit facility, outstanding amount	$ 241,200		194,000,000.0	$ 285,749
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)	3.55%	3.37%
Remaining borrowing capacity	$ 225,000		£ 181,000,000.0
Secured Debt \| Cabot Credit Agreement, Tranche with Expiration in September 2022 \| LIBOR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	3.00%
Senior Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum loan to value ratio	27.50%

Borrowings - Cabot Securitisation Senior Facility (Details) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
	Feb. 18, 2020 GBP (£)	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2020 GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 GBP (£)	Nov. 30, 2018 GBP (£)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Book value \| $		$ 4,614,954			$ 4,909,950
Cabot securitisation senior facilities
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Facility agreement, borrowing capacity	£ 350.0			£ 300,000,000.0		£ 300.0
Increase in borrowing capacity	50.0
Proceeds from borrowing	£ 50.0
Credit facility, outstanding amount		435,100		350,000,000.0	$ 464,092
Book value		$ 469,400		£ 377,600,000
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)		3.52%	3.76%
Cabot securitisation senior facilities \| Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) \| Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period One
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	3.06%
Cabot securitisation senior facilities \| Minimum \| Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) \| Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Two
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	0.00%
Cabot securitisation senior facilities \| Maximum \| Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) \| Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Two
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	1.00%
Cabot Securitisation Non-Recourse Asset-Backed Senior Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Facility agreement, borrowing capacity							£ 50,000,000.0
Repayment of borrowings	£ 50.0

Borrowings - Finance Lease Liabilities - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Finance lease liabilities	$ 8,642	$ 8,121

Income Taxes - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Income Taxes - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Provision for income taxes	$ (4,558)	$ (3,673)
(Loss) income before income taxes	(6,021)	53,115
Benefit (expense) of change in accounting method		$ 9,100
Unrecognized tax benefit	8,200
Net tax benefit from unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized	7,600
Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries	$ 117,100
Costa Rica \| Tax holiday through December 31, 2026
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Holiday tax rate	100.00%

Income Taxes - Effective Tax Rates (Details)	3 Months Ended
Income Taxes - Effective Tax Rates (Details)	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Federal provision (as a percent)	21.00%	21.00%
State provision (as a percent)	(15.60%)	2.50%
International provision (benefit) (as a percent)	(3.20%)	(0.90%)
Change in valuation allowance (as a percent)	(66.50%)	1.90%
Change in tax accounting method (as a percent)	0.00%	(17.10%)
Foreign currency remeasurement (as a percent)	(6.40%)	0.20%
Permanent items (as a percent)	(1.70%)	0.10%
Other (as a percent)	(3.30%)	(0.80%)
Effective rate (as a percent)	(75.70%)	6.90%

Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative (Details)	3 Months Ended
Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative (Details)	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($)
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Material reserves for litigation	$ 0
Purchase price of receivable portfolios	3,000,000,000.0
Purchase price	$ 378,400,000

Segment and Geographic Information - Summary (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($) Segment	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of reportable segments \| Segment	1
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 289,081	$ 347,077
United States
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	208,218	189,372
International
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	80,863	157,705
Europe
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	75,965	135,276
Other geographies
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 4,898	$ 22,429

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets - Activity in Goodwill Balance (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period	$ 884,185	$ 868,126
Effect of foreign currency translation	(44,884)	14,758
Balance at end of period	$ 839,301	$ 882,884

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets - Acquired Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross Carrying Amount	$ 70,223	$ 78,930
Accumulated Amortization	(23,852)	(27,559)
Net Carrying Amount	46,371	51,371
Customer relationships
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross Carrying Amount	60,718	67,897
Accumulated Amortization	(15,565)	(18,191)
Net Carrying Amount	45,153	49,706
Developed technologies
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross Carrying Amount	4,257	4,734
Accumulated Amortization	(3,744)	(4,124)
Net Carrying Amount	513	610
Trade name and other
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross Carrying Amount	5,248	6,299
Accumulated Amortization	(4,543)	(5,244)
Net Carrying Amount	$ 705	$ 1,055

Label	Element	Value
Stockholders' Equity, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest, Adjusted Balance	us-gaap_StockholdersEquityIncludingPortionAttributableToNoncontrollingInterestAdjustedBalance1	$ 981,168,000
Cumulative Effect of New Accounting Principle in Period of Adoption	us-gaap_CumulativeEffectOfNewAccountingPrincipleInPeriodOfAdoption	(44,238,000)
Noncontrolling Interest [Member]
Stockholders' Equity, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest, Adjusted Balance	us-gaap_StockholdersEquityIncludingPortionAttributableToNoncontrollingInterestAdjustedBalance1	3,213,000
Common Stock [Member]
Stockholders' Equity, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest, Adjusted Balance	us-gaap_StockholdersEquityIncludingPortionAttributableToNoncontrollingInterestAdjustedBalance1	$ 311,000
Shares, Issued	us-gaap_SharesIssued	31,097,000
Retained Earnings [Member]
Stockholders' Equity, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest, Adjusted Balance	us-gaap_StockholdersEquityIncludingPortionAttributableToNoncontrollingInterestAdjustedBalance1	$ 843,820,000
Cumulative Effect of New Accounting Principle in Period of Adoption	us-gaap_CumulativeEffectOfNewAccountingPrincipleInPeriodOfAdoption	(44,238,000)
AOCI Attributable to Parent [Member]
Stockholders' Equity, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest, Adjusted Balance	us-gaap_StockholdersEquityIncludingPortionAttributableToNoncontrollingInterestAdjustedBalance1	(88,766,000)
Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]
Stockholders' Equity, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest, Adjusted Balance	us-gaap_StockholdersEquityIncludingPortionAttributableToNoncontrollingInterestAdjustedBalance1	$ 222,590,000