News — International
Alta Group to Host Latin American Legal Forum on Leasing
The Alta Group Latin American Region said it is hosting the Fifth Latin American Legal Forum on Leasing May 17-18 in Miami. The forum will explore, among other topics, how courts are enforcing lessor and lessee rights in Latin America.
Read more...Date Posted April 20, 2012
Cassiopae Software Supports Islamic Finance
Cassiopae, a global asset finance software provider, said its V4 software now supports Islamic Finance, a key requirement for finance companies doing business in Islamic countries.
Read more...Date Posted April 18, 2012
CIT Examines Equipment Leasing Opportunities in Asia
Over the last decade, the leasing market in Asia has evolved and businesses have become more sophisticated as they recognize the benefits of using operating leases, according to Adrian Pang, managing director, CIT Vendor Finance, Asia.
Read more...Date Posted April 11, 2012
NetSol Announces Contract With Captive Arm of Auto Maker
NetSol Technologies said it has signed an agreement valued at $4 million to implement its entire Netsol Financial Suite solution with the captive arm of a major Japanese auto manufacturer.
Read more...Date Posted April 11, 2012
BRD Sogelease Adds Cassiopae Front Office Leasing Software
Cassiopae, a global asset finance software provider, announced that BRD Sogelease has implemented Cassiopae Front Office Leasing software in Romania. BRD Sogelease offers financing for cars, commercial vehicles and industrial and construction equipment.
Read more...Date Posted April 3, 2012
Leaseurope: New Equipment Leasing Grows 8.4% in 2011
Lesaeurope, the trade association representing the European leasing and auto rental industry, notes in a report based on a preliminary survey that new leasing business for equipment “showed strong growth in 2011 of 8.4%.”
Read more...Date Posted March 5, 2012
CHP Consulting Opens Paris Office
CHP Consulting, supplier of ALFA Systems, a software platform for asset finance companies, has announced the opening of a new Paris office.
Read more...Date Posted February 7, 2012
Alta Expands Equipment Finance Services in Latin America
The Alta Group Latin American Region said it has appointed three new consultants to expand capabilities where business growth is occurring for equipment leasing and finance operations in Latin America.
Read more...Date Posted January 26, 2012
IMF Marks Down Global Growth Forecast, Sees Risk on Rise
With intensifying strains in the euro area weighing on the global outlook, the International Monetary Fund has sharply cut its forecast for world growth this year, saying prospects have dimmed and risks to financial stability have increased.
Read more...Date Posted January 26, 2012
Reuters: Fujifilm Considers Supporting Olympus
Reuters reported that Japan’s Fujifilm said on it is considering supporting scandal-hit endoscope maker Olympus, although neither side looks likely to move quickly on an equity alliance that Olympus needs to shore up its finances.
Read more...Date Posted January 18, 2012
TPG Capital Seeking Partners to Invest in Olympus
Reuters reported that private equity firm TPG Capital is exploring a joint investment with a series of technology firms in providing capital and expertise to help revive Olympus.
Read more...Date Posted January 13, 2012
World’s Biggest Economies Face $7.6 Trillion Debt
Bloomberg reported that governments of the world’s leading economies have more than $7.6 trillion of debt maturing this year, with most facing a rise in borrowing costs.
Read more...Date Posted January 3, 2012
CNH Expands Farm Machinery Plant in China
CNH Global said it will build a new manufacturing plant in China that will produce high horsepower tractors, combine harvestors and other machinery featuring advanced technology.
Read more...Date Posted December 28, 2011
Olympus Accounting Fraud Threatens Company’s Survival
The Yorkshire Post reported that prosecutors raided offices of medical equipment maker Olympus and the home of a former executive in a probe into a $1.6 billion accounting fraud that has threatened the company’s survival.
Read more...Date Posted December 21, 2011
Bank of Ireland to Sell Burdale to Wells Fargo
The Bank of Ireland announced it has agreed to sell Burdale to Wells Fargo Bank. Headquartered in London, Burdale is a provider of asset-based lending to the UK market.
Read more...Date Posted December 19, 2011
Cat Financial to Provide Debt in Wolf Mineral Project
Wolf Minerals, a specialty metal exploration company, said it has appointed UniCredit Bank, ING Bank and Caterpillar Financial SARL to provide $85.5 million in senior debt finance facilities to fund a project in Southwest England.
Read more...Date Posted December 19, 2011
Caterpillar to Sell Part of Bucyrus Distribution Business
Caterpillar said the industrial division of Sime Darby Berhad has acquired a portion of the former Bucyrus distribution business, which was included in Caterpillar’s purchase of Bucyrus.
Read more...Date Posted December 14, 2011
BNP Paribas Lease Group, LiuGong Partner for Financing Program
LiuGong Machinery, a global construction equipment manufacturer, said it is expanding its customer leasing and financing program to Europe and that it has selected BNP Paribas Lease Group as its financing partner.
Read more...Date Posted December 14, 2011
CIT Appoints Green President of CIT Europe
CIT said it appointed Richard Green as president of CIT Europe. He is responsible for overseeing the European operations of CIT Corporate Finance and CIT Vendor Finance. Prior to this appointment, Green served as managing director of CIT Vendor Finance, Europe.
Read more...Date Posted December 13, 2011
Bloomberg: French Banks’ Ratings Cut By Moody’s
Bloomberg reported that BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Groupe Credit Agricole had their credit ratings cut by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited funding constraints and deteriorating economic conditions amid Europe’s debt crisis.
Read more...Date Posted December 9, 2011
Macquarie Consortium Said to Drop Bid for RBS Aviation Capital
According to a Bloomberg report, a consortium led by Macquarie Group is no longer bidding for Royal Bank of Scotland Group’s aircraft leasing division after its offer was deemed too low.
Read more...Date Posted December 8, 2011
Macquarie Leasing Wins CAFBA Financier of the Year Award
Macquarie Leasing was awarded the CAFBA Financier of the Year Award, a back-to-back win for Macquarie and third CAFBA award win since 2003. Westpac Equipment Finance was this year’s runner-up.
Read more...Date Posted December 1, 2011
Leaseurope Q3 Index Shows Y/Y Improvement
Leaseurope released it latest quarterly index report for Q3, which showed continuous improvement in a vast majority of key indicators compared to prior periods. Leaseurope noted that the total value of new business was up 13.2% compared to Q3 2010.
Read more...Date Posted November 29, 2011
Siemens Financial Obtains License to Do Business in India
Siemens Financial (SFS) said it has obtained a non-banking financial company license from the Reserve Bank of India and expects to expand its presence in the Indian market as part of its strategic growth plans.
Read more...Date Posted November 22, 2011
GreatAmerica Leasing’s Walker Passes
The NAELB said that GreatAmerica Leasing’s Chris Walker has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Walker had served in various sales and business development positions with GreatAmerica since 1997.
Read more...Date Posted November 21, 2011
GE Capital Provides Dealer Financing Program to Kverneland
GE Capital said it provided distribution finance facilities for agricultural machinery manufacturer Kverneland, a provider of seeding and harvesting machines and plows. The program will support the Kverneland dealer network in Sweden and Denmark.
Read more...Date Posted November 16, 2011
Societe Generale EF ‘Vendor Finance Provider of the Year’
Societe Generale Equipment Finance announced that for the second year in a row it received the “Vendor Finance Provider of the Year” award at the Leasing Life Awards Ceremony.
Read more...Date Posted November 11, 2011
SocGen to Reduce Aircraft Financing ‘Very Significantly’
Reuters reported that Societe Generale will reduce aircraft financing “very significantly” and confine itself to a mainly intermediary role. The news comes after France’s second largest bank report Q3 profit fell 31% primarily as a result of a writedown of Greek sovereign debt.
Read more...Date Posted November 8, 2011
Latin American Equipment Leasing/Finance Industry Declines 6%
According to annual research by The Alta Group Latin American Region, although some Latin American countries and companies in the equipment leasing and finance industry witnessed growth, the region’s overall leasing portfolio declined 6% in 2010 as measured in U.S. dollars.
Read more...Date Posted November 3, 2011
GE Capital Expands Leasing in India
GE Capital said it is expanding its leasing business in India and aiming for an exponential increase in leasing business volume in 2012, expanding its existing presence in automotive and equipment leasing for corporate organizations.
Read more...Date Posted November 3, 2011
Societe Generale Equipment Finance Names Ducholet CEO
Societe Generale Equipment Finance said it named Marie-Christine Ducholet chief executive officer effective October, 1 2011. She succeeds Jean-Marc Mignerey, who led SGEF since its creation in 2001.
Read more...Date Posted October 7, 2011
PayNet’s Canadian Business Lending Index Shows Solid Increase
PayNet said its Q2/11 Canadian Business Lending Index indicates the first solid increase on both a year over year and quarter over quarter since 2007.
Read more...Date Posted September 22, 2011
ICBC Leasing to More Than Triple Fleet Size by 2013
The China Daily reported that ICBC Financial Leasing, a subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, will expand its fleet of aircraft from its current 68 aircraft to 250 by 2013.
Read more...Date Posted September 21, 2011
Nexcap Finance Closes $50MM Equipment Lease Facility
Nexcap Finance said it closed a $50M equipment lease facility under the Vehicle and Equipment Financing Partnership, which is managed and funded by the private-public partnership between Business Development Bank of Canada and TAO Asset Management.
Read more...Date Posted September 19, 2011
BNP Paribas to Boost Capital, Cut U.S. Assets
Bloomberg reported that BNP Paribas is planning to scale back its U.S. dollar corporate and investment banking business. The bank was said to also be seeking to reduce lending at its equipment solutions unit.
Read more...Date Posted September 14, 2011
BNP Gets EU Approval to Acquire Fortis Commercial Finance
BNP Paribas won European Union approval to acquire the non-Dutch assets of Fortis Commercial Finance, a factoring business of ABN AMRO. The bank said the Dutch assets of FCF are not part of the transaction and will remain with ABN AMRO.
Read more...Date Posted September 6, 2011
Leaseurope: European Lessors Q2 Volume & Profitability Improve
In its latest report on the key performance indicators of a sample of European leasing companies, Leaseurope notes that new business written and profitability of the reporting companies improved in Q2 2011.
Read more...Date Posted August 18, 2011
Stearns Bank EF Completes Eighth Portfolio Purchase in 2011
Stearns Bank Equipment Finance Division recently purchased another portfolio of performing small ticket leases, its eighth portfolio purchase in 2011.
Read more...Date Posted August 15, 2011
Bloomberg: GE Capital Acquires $1B RBS Loan Portfolio
Bloomberg reported that GE Capital has acquired about $1 billion of European leveraged loans from Royal Bank of Scotland, citing people with knowledge of the transaction.
Read more...Date Posted July 28, 2011
Hitachi Capital, NBL Form Vendor Leasing Alliance
Hitachi Capital and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ agreed that 40% of the stock of NBL Co., held by BTMU, will be transferred to Hitachi Capital to form a capital alliance to grow their vendor leasing business in Japan.
Read more...Date Posted July 28, 2011
Leaseurope Survey: Recovery in European Leasing Market
Leaseurope, the federation representing the European leasing and automotive rental industry, has released the final results of its Annual Statistical Survey of the European leasing market for 2010. The survey indicates that new leasing business in Europe increased by 4.6% in 2010.
Read more...Date Posted June 20, 2011
CIT Closes $275 Million Vendor Finance China Funding Facility
CIT Group announced it has closed a new US$275 million committed Vendor Finance China funding facility that will allow CIT Vendor Finance to fund new originations in China.
Read more...Date Posted June 13, 2011
Bloomberg: Leasing Company Waha Capital Obtains $505MM Facility
Bloomberg reports that Waha Capital, a leasing company based in Abu Dhabi, obtained a three-year $505 million term and revolving credit facility from 11 regional and international banks.
Read more...Date Posted June 13, 2011
Equipment Dealer Rocky Mountain Announces $160MM Facility
Agriculture and construction equipment dealer Rocky Mountain Dealerships said it entered into a $160 million credit agreement to finance future acquisitions and growth initiatives.
Read more...Date Posted June 2, 2011
De Lage Landen CEO Slaats Appointed to Leaseurope Board
De Lage Landen’s CEO Ronald Slaats has been appointed to the board of directors of Leaseurope, succeeding retiring board member Alain Vervaet of ING Lease Holding.
Read more...Date Posted June 2, 2011
Wabtec Forms JV to Manufacture, Service Brake Equipment
Wabtec said it has formed a joint venture in China to manufacture and service brake equipment for the Chinese transit market.
Read more...Date Posted June 2, 2011
Kubota Tractors Partners With SG Equipment Finance in UK
Kubota Tractors said it has partnered with SG Equipment Finance to provide a range of low interest finance options for customers of its agricultural tractors in the UK.
Read more...Date Posted May 27, 2011
GE Capital Sells $5.2 Billion Mortgage Book in Australia
GE Capital Australia has agreed to sell mortgages worth about $5.2 billion to non-bank Australian lender Pepper Homeloans for an undisclosed amount.
Read more...Date Posted May 25, 2011
EBRD Supports Deere’s Russian Leasing Venture
According to a Reuters report, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has provided U.S. farm equipment maker Deere & Co. a loan of $168 million to support its newly launched leasing venture in Russia.
Read more...Date Posted May 20, 2011
Major Global Bank Goes Live with ALFA v5 from CHP Consulting
CHP Consulting said a major international bank is in successful live operation with ALFA v5, CHP’s browser-based asset finance software platform as a single solution for its European asset finance operations.
Read more...Date Posted May 16, 2011
Lenovo, CIT JV To Provide Zero-Percent Financing in the UK
Lenovo said it has established the Lenovo Financial Services program, supported by JV partner CIT, to provide zero-percent financing to its business partners in the UK.
Read more...Date Posted May 11, 2011
Boeing, Sberbank Form Alliance to Develop Aviation Financing
Boeing and Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, jointly announced an agreement to develop aviation financing and leasing services in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Read more...Date Posted May 11, 2011
Volvo Financial, BNP Paribas Launch Private Label Program in India
Volvo India and Srei BNP Paribas announced the formation of an alliance to launch a private label retail-financing program branded as Volvo Financial Services in India.
Read more...Date Posted May 11, 2011
Alta: China’s Leasing Industry Attracts Regulatory Attention
Jonathan L. Fales of the Alta Group and chairman of the upcoming China Leasing Summit 2011, notes in a letter to summit participants that Chinese regulatory authorities hope to make leasing more accessible to SMEs.
Read more...Date Posted April 27, 2011
GE Capital, Pfenning Logistics Sign $11MM Leasing Deals
GE Capital has signed equipment leasing contracts worth a combined $11.1 million with Pfenning Logistics, one of Germany’s leading providers of logistic services.
Read more...Date Posted April 19, 2011
GATX Rail Europe Enters Turkish Marketplace
GATX Rail Europe announced its entry into the Turkish marketplace with the deployment of newly-manufactured railway tank wagons designed to carry a variety of petroleum products.
Read more...Date Posted April 19, 2011
M&I To Be Renamed BMO Harris Bank After Acquisition
Bank of Montreal said it will rename its U.S. consumer lending business BMO Harris Bank, from Harris Bank, after it completes its $4.1 billion takeover of Marshall & Ilsley.
Read more...Date Posted April 6, 2011
Embraer in Agreement With China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing
Embraer and Minsheng Financial Leasing jointly announced a strategic cooperation agreement between the two parties to create financing opportunities for selling Embraer executive jets in China and the international market.
Read more...Date Posted April 5, 2011
Report: Canadian Businesses Will Up Investments in New Equipment
According to a report from CIBC World Markets, Canadian businesses are set to ramp up investments in new plant and equipment with a focus on expanding export opportunities.
Read more...Date Posted March 30, 2011
CFO: Tweedie Pushes for IFRS Decision This Year
According to an article posted by CFO.com, procrastination by the SEC could cause the current global consensus on financial reporting to disintegrate, warns IASB chairman Sir David Tweedie.
Read more...Date Posted March 14, 2011
John Deere Financial to Launch Leasing Company in Russia
Deere & Co. said its John Deere Financial Services unit will establish a leasing company in Russia to bolster retail financing for its farm implement and construction equipment customers in the country.
Read more...Date Posted March 11, 2011
De Lage Landen, Microsoft NZ Ease Customer Finance Rules
De Lage Landen and partner Microsoft New Zealand have loosened their financing program’s rules by reducing the minimum Microsoft software requirement from 35% to 15% for loans under $5 million.
Read more...Date Posted March 9, 2011
BNP Paribas, Syneron Expand U.S. Vendor Program to Encompass Europe
BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions and Syneron Medical, a global aesthetic device company, announced that the companies have signed a European framework agreement for vendor financing in the medical sector. Following the successful implementation of vendor finance programs throughout the United States and Canada, Syneron has chosen to develop a similar program throughout Europe and has [...]
Read more...Date Posted February 25, 2011
Cat Financial Provides Mining Fleet Financing for Copper Project
Discovery Metals said Caterpillar Financial SARL has joined a debt facility syndicate as a joint lead arranger. The facility, which includes $75 million in mobile mining fleet financing provided by Cat, will fund the completion of a copper mining project in Botswana.
Read more...Date Posted February 23, 2011
HP Financial Launches Capabilities in Dubai
HP Middle East said it will be launching its HP Financial Services capabilities in the Dubai International Financial Center. “With the launch of financial services capabilities we are adding a new, and significant, link in the value chain for our top customers”, said Eyad Shihabi, managing director and enterprise business lead for the Middle East [...]
Read more...Date Posted February 15, 2011
