The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation released a new study, Equipment Finance Funding, Securitization & Syndication: Best Practices for Today and Tomorrow, which was designed to analyze and report on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the funding markets for the equipment leasing and finance industry.

Prepared for the ELFF by The Alta Group, the study reveals that the equipment finance industry has performed considerably better than expected through the pandemic due to factors such as the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, unanticipated dividends from supply chain issues and increased availability of capital.

The study draws on a series of surveys and interviews conducted with senior industry executives of independent, bank and captive finance companies as well as industry lenders, securitization issuers and ratings agencies. The details in the study include:

• How the pandemic’s impact has differed from the Great Recession of 2008-2009
• What funding tools are available to industry participants
• How the funding, securitization and syndications markets have performed since the start of the pandemic
• What to expect from emerging funding opportunities
• Which best practices industry peers have utilized to optimize funding models.

“Resiliency is a long-standing characteristic of the equipment finance industry, and the results of this study reinforce that reputation,” Tom Ware, research committee chair for the ELFF, said. “Readers will benefit from the experience of industry participants and insights about potential risks and opportunities to best position their organizations for the future.”

Two of the study authors, Gary LoMonaco and Patricia Voorhees of The Alta Group, will present highlights of the survey at the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s National Funding Conference on April 13.