Industry Related

Economic Growth: Is it Truth or Mirage?

In a Monitor interview, Steve Battreall, GE Capital’s chief commercial officer, offers his candid view on a variety of issues facing the equipment finance industry. Here Battreall speaks to topics ranging from the much-discussed accounting changes to suffering equipment sectors. While much has been said that’s gloomy in nature, Battreall sees things a tad bit differently.... read more

CIT’s Arrington on the Value-Add of Vendor Finance

As the economy improves, equipment manufacturers and resellers are gearing up to meet pent-up demand. Third-party lenders providing captive services offer a viable option for those sellers that want to improve control over customer relationships by offering a broad range of financing options and customer support — while avoiding the up front investment of building their own captive program. We spoke with Ron Arrington, global president of CIT Vendor Finance, to discuss the challenges of a changing economy, recent developments within the CIT vendor portfolio and what’s going on in the third-party captive market.... read more

Thin Margins, Aggressive Terms and Higher Asset Prices Make a Comeback

The way CapitalSource’s Laird Boulden sees it, the economic recovery story has more to do with psychology than statistical analysis. In equipment finance, while things are improving, the mood is far from celebratory. Unprecedented bank liquidity has spawned new market entrants and intense competition, resulting in thinner margins, increasingly more aggressive terms and higher asset prices. But, he, like many in the industry, are more than willing to play the hand that they have been dealt.... read more

America’s Manufacturing-Led Recovery

Manufacturing has played a pivotal role supporting economic growth in the U.S. over the past year and a half, and the stage is set for this to continue. Manufacturing’s outsized contribution to growth, however, has not come from some Herculean strength in the sector. Ultimately, according to TD Bank economists James Marple and Alistair Bentley, until the housing and service sectors become more engaged in the recovery, manufacturing will reign supreme in underpinning it.... read more

Today’s Vendor Finance Programs

Today as equipment manufacturers recognize the strategic importance of providing financing options to increase market penetration and maintain the control of their customer base, The Alta Group’s Paul Frechette notes an evolving mindset among these manufacturers. More than just an aid to closing sales, these manufacturers look to their financing partners to meet the needs of an ever-savvier customer base.... read more

Most Active Vendor Leasing Companies – 2010

The Monitor’s Most Active Vendor Leasing Companies enjoyed a turnaround year in 2010 with a majority reporting healthy gains in new business volume after two years of steady decline. ... read more

Equipment Leasing Reduces Business Risks

In August 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued a proposal that would require leases for equipment, corporate aircraft and real estate to be recognized on a lessee’s balance sheet. Although it is expected that the final standard won’t be released until later this year, it’s likely that companies’ financial performance metrics and ratios could be impacted. Nevertheless, the core benefits of leasing remain intact.... read more

An Independent Lessor’s View

The last few years of market and credit swings have been enough to make even the most seasoned observer a bit seasick. GreatAmerica Leasing’s David Pohlman offers his point of view on the most effective approach in navigating the often-choppy waters of vendor finance relationships.... read more

Four Top Providers Offer Insight Into the Vendor Finance Marketplace

As an alternative to the traditional roundtable discussion format, the Monitor approached the leaders of four top vendor finance providers to discuss relevant issues facing those institutions that participate in this specialized market as well as to share their individual outlooks for 2011. The methodology was simple: each industry leader got a crack at a randomly assigned question as well as the opportunity to provide his or her take on what the future holds.... read more

Vendors & Social Media

With the advent of social media, every customer is a potential reporter, and leasing companies need to stay current. Yet, most businesses are afraid of social media. They think that it’s just for consumers not for business-to-business transactions.... read more

De-Activating the B-Shield

In her inimitable way, Linda Kester correlates a lesson learned on a crowded flight to Philly to making effective sales calls to vendors. And from Kester’s point of view, her moment of self-actualization can lead to new ways of communicating and building relationships. But first, you have to find your own B-Shield…... read more

Are Things Looking Up for Small Business?

Chances are good that you have heard the economy is improving. Wall Street confirms this with a steadily improving stock market — or at least a steadily improving market as of mid-February when this article was being written. Public companies are showing balance sheet strength and improving income statements, albeit — while hoarding cash and holding back on capital spending.... read more

Changing Times Require New Funding Approaches

As the economy inches toward recovery, we asked four independent equipment finance leaders to comment on, among other things, the new realities and practices required in running a successful operation. Central to their success is their ability to create new approaches on the one hand and to adhere to strict, time-honored practices on the other.... read more

Feedback From The Buy Desk

While 2010 is a very recent memory, it’s still valuable to draw some inferences for where it took the leasing industry compared to 2009. How did both the quantity and the quality of deals crossing the buy desks of some of the leading leasing companies evolve to meet a changing leasing climate as the market continued to climb out of the recession? The Monitor invited some buy desk professionals to share their insight on how 2010 stacked up against 2009 — and where the capital markets might be headed in 2011 and beyond.... read more

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Terry Mulreany
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