Rita E. Garwood,
Editor-in-Chief,
Monitor

The vendor channel continued its growth in 2022 with the top 40 companies reporting $51,264.1 million in vendor-dealer channel originations, an increase of $6,527.9 million (14.6%) from $44,736.2 million in 2021. DLL USA and Wells Fargo Equipment Finance retained their top two positions, while PNC Equipment Finance grew its vendor activity by 17.9% to ascend to No. 3 in the ranking.

Of the group, 36 companies reported increases totaling a combined $7,285.1 million in vendor channel originations, while four posted year-over-year declines equal to a combined $757.2 million, resulting in a net increase of $6,527.9 million for the top 40 vendor finance companies.

Top Five

DLL easily maintained its rank as the No. 1 vendor finance company with $14,663 million in vendor finance originations, up $1,200 million (8.9%) from $13,463 million in 2021. Wells Fargo also held its own at No. 2 with $7,010 million in vendor volume, an increase of $172 million (2.5%) from $6,838 million the previous year. PNC Equipment Finance rose two spots in the ranking from No. 5 to No. 3, reporting $3,249.3 million in vendor channel activity, up $492.7 million (17.9%) from $2,756.6 million in 2021. Dropping down a notch this year, Bank of America Global Leasing posted $2,730.8 million in vendor volume, down $411.7 million (13.1%) from $3,142.5 million the previous year. Finally, U.S. Bank Equipment Finance dropped to No. 5 with $2,514.7 million in vendor originations, down $303.5 million (10.8%) from $2,818.2 million in 2021.

Top Dollar Gainers

DLL achieved the largest dollar increase in vendor channel volume, adding $1,200 million to its total originations in 2022. After acquiring Bank of the West, BMO Financial Group entered the ranking for the first time at No. 17 with $715.5 million in vendor originations after having no vendor activity the previous year. No. 6-ranked First Citizens Bank Equipment Finance, formerly reporting as CIT, scored the third highest dollar increase of $657.2 million, bringing its total 2022 vendor originations to $2,011.3 million. Auxilior Capital Partners, which catapulted from No. 40 to No. 14, increased its vendor originations by $596 million, bringing its 2022 total to $901 million. As previously noted, PNC’s year-over-year increase of $492.7 million pushed the company to No. 3 in the ranking.

Highest Percentage Increases

Auxilior Capital Partners accomplished the highest percentage increase of the group, growing its vendor volume by 195.4%. No. 34-ranked Dext Capital charted the second highest percentage gain of 118.8%, bringing its 2022 vendor originations to $178.3 million, a $96.8 million gain from $81.5 million in 2021. Newcomer Reliant Capital, ranked No. 40, achieved the third largest gain of 97.6%, raising its vendor channel activity to $148.2 million in 2022, an increase of $73.2 million year over year. No. 27-ranked Signature Financial reported an annual uptick of 87.4% in its vendor originations in 2022, which raised its total to $301.3 million, up $140.5 million from $160.8 million the previous year. Finally, recognition for the fifth highest percentage gain is due to Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing, which recorded $807 million in vendor originations, a 71% ($335 million) increase from $472 million in 2021.

Segment Composition

Once again, the U.S. Bank Affiliates, as a group, commanded the vendor channel, with 23 banks contributing $28,282.9 million (55.2%) of the total vendor volume reported by the top 40 players. Three Foreign Affiliates — including front runner DLL — provided 32.9% of the group total, while 13 Independents originated $5,785 million (11.3%) and one Captive was responsible for the remaining $316 million (0.6%).

New Arrivals

Rejoining the ranking this year is No. 13-ranked Ascentium Capital with $1,019.4 million in vendor originations. New to the vendor top 40 are No. 17-ranked BMO Financial Group, which acquired Bank of the West and reported $715.5 million in vendor volume; No. 32-ranked Continental Bank with $185.7 million; No. 37-ranked Eastern Funding with $160.4 million; No. 38-ranked Stearns Bank with $154.5 million; and No. 40-ranked Reliant Capital with $148.2 million in vendor channel originations.

Departures

People’s United Equipment Brands was acquired by M&T Bank and the combined entity, M&T Equipment Finance Group, ranked No. 7 after reporting $1,904.5 million in the vendor channel. ENGS Commercial Finance, ranked No. 13 last year, is now reporting with No. 8-ranked Mitsubishi HC Capital America, and Marlin Business Services is now reporting as No. 23-ranked PEAC Solutions. Departing from the ranking this year are TD Equipment Finance, Farm Credit Leasing, MMP Capital and FNB Equipment Finance.

Conclusions

The vendor channel continued its upward trajectory in 2022, achieving a year-overyear percentage gain of 14.6% — the highest recorded in the history of the ranking. The majority of the top 40 (87.5%) achieved growth in their vendor channel originations, while 12.5% reported declines. The vendor channel continued to shift due to various mergers and acquisitions within the space. We thank the companies that participated in this year’s vendor ranking, as this annual event would not be possible without their cooperation. We also remind our readers that this is the last issue before our annual Monitor 100 list, which will be coming up next month.

Basis for Rankings

The rankings and data in this report were derived from equipment finance companies, which provided information on funded 2022 volume from vendor- and/or dealer-related relationships to qualify for inclusion in the vendor channel rankings. Many Monitor 100 participants originate new business volume from more than one source, but this aspect of our annual rankings is unique to the vendor channel.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rita E. Garwood is editor in chief of Monitor.