Regulatory Advocacy Needed: Keep Capitalized Operating Leases “Capital Free”

The industry has a new issue in need of advocacy. The capital requirements of banks and other regulated financial institutions are at stake as regulators may treat newly capitalized right of use asset and operating lease liability as any other asset and debt. Bill Bosco provides background on the situation, discusses the ELFA’s advocacy efforts and initiates a call to action.... read more

November/December 2016

All Hands on Deck: AED’s Year of Political Engagement

Associated Equipment Distributors’ Christian Klein details the association’s strategy of increasing engagement between members and lawmakers in 2016 as a means to bolster the industry’s workforce and economic opportunities. He also hints at issues facing AED in 2017.... read more

November/December 2016

Not the Best or the Worst of Times: Trucking Industry Holds Steady

Like many markets in 2016, the transportation finance industry has faced its share of highs and lows. Navistar’s Gary Kempinski examines the overall picture, including excess capacity, economic uncertainty, regulatory pressure and healthy replacement demand. Although he expects to see some contraction in the first half of 2017, a return to growth mode is on the horizon.... read more

November/December 2016

Local, Federal & Global: The Broad Scope of Business Aviation

Although indicators in the business aviation industry have pointed in different directions this year, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen remains optimistic. In an interview with Monitor, he shares his reasons why and outlines the issues that are top of mind for the association, including keeping air space public and minimizing the industry’s environmental impact.... read more

November/December 2016

So Long IT Equipment: Digital Alternatives Are Here to Stay

The forecast for worldwide IT spending in 2016 looks grim, but John Lovelock, Gartner’s chief forecaster, says there’s more to the story than the negative number. He shares the reasons behind the decline, a forecast for 2017 spending and discusses IT’s next big achievement — civilization infrastructure.... read more

November/December 2016

Just Getting Started: Ascentium Capital’s Private Equity Boost

As it celebrates five successful years in business, Ascentium Capital now has additional growth capital available thanks to a recent announcement that private equity firm Warburg Pincus will acquire the company. The investment will allow Ascentium to continue to focus on what it does best: making the financing process easy for small businesses.... read more

November/December 2016

Automatic Stay in Bankruptcy: What Chicora Life Means for Lenders

The recent Chicora Life case has provided additional law for debtors and guarantors to cite as authority when attempting to stay the lender from proceeding against a guarantor. Attorney Andrew Alper examines this case and the history of the automatic stay in bankruptcy proceedings.... read more

September/October 2016

Cold Calling Is Dead: Proactive Prospecting is Alive and Well

Thinking back to a door-to-door sales blitz she attended as a rookie sales person, Linda Kester discusses defunct sales strategies and compares them to activities that create credibility and actually generate volume.... read more

September/October 2016

Best-in-Class: Hill Evolves Key Equipment Finance to Stay Ahead of Industry Trends

Before joining Key Equipment Finance as senior vice president of Commercial Manufacturer and Vendor Sales in July, Loren Hill accumulated 30 years of industry experience spanning different players in different cities, including 15 years at IBM Global Financing. His experience with a client-focused approach and ability to provide highly customized solutions has enabled him to make a smooth transition into his new role.... read more

September/October 2016

Rough Waters Ahead: The ELFA Guides Industry in Wait-and-See Mode

The equipment finance industry has been growing, but a number of factors have slowed things down in 2016. ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta and Bill Stephenson, chairman of the ELFA and CEO and chairman of the executive board of DLL, provide insights on the industry’s health, the coming elections and what the ELFA is focused on in a year of political and economic uncertainty.... read more

September/October 2016

The Alta Group: Global Consulting Firm’s Evolution Mirrors the Industry

When The Alta Group was launched in 1992, the internet was in its infancy. Over the last 24 years, the consultancy firm has grown and evolved alongside the equipment finance industry as the rapid pace of technological innovation has transformed all aspects of the business.... read more

September/October 2016

The New Rules: Differences Between FASB & IASB

Although the initial goal of the lease accounting project was to create a global set of rules, the FASB and IASB could not agree on everything, which resulted in some disparity. Bill Bosco discusses the key differences between the two sets of rules and the resulting implications.... read more

September/October 2016

Measuring Vital Signs: Metrics That Matter for Equipment Finance Companies

Hospitals use data collected by a slew of monitoring equipment to track a patient’s vital signs, often sounding an alarm when something goes wrong. Samuel Oliva of ECS Financial suggests taking a similar approach to track the health of an equipment finance company by measuring the metrics that matter.... read more

September/October 2016

Making Money Personal: BMO Focuses on Customer Relationships

In four short years, BMO Financial Group has risen up the ranks of the equipment finance industry. While a large part of this ascent is due to the bank’s strategic acquisitions, there is more to the story. Jud Snyder and Dan Clark, leaders of BMO’s Equipment Finance and Transportation Finance businesses, respectively, also attribute this success to the company’s culture, which puts the customer first.... read more

September/October 2016

Presidential Election 2016: A Challenging Assignment

In January, Dexter Van Dango predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 Presidential election. In the last issue of Monitor before Election Day, he examines what’s happened in the race so far and discusses what a Hillary Clinton administration will mean for the economy and the equipment finance industry.... read more

September/October 2016