Leaseurope: leasing drops
28%
New leasing volumes across Europe
dropped almost one-third in 2009, Leaseurope figures have shown.
The trade association for the European leasing industry said that
new production reached around €216bn last year, 28.4% down compared
with 2008. This is the sharpest fall since Leaseurope began
collecting data in 1994.
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According to Piero Biagi, chair of
Leaseurope’s statistics and marketing committee: “In terms of new
production, we have returned to the level of business that was
granted in Europe seven or eight years ago.”
The association recorded a better trend
during the second half of the year, with volumes up 5%.
Romania: repo
asset prices down 75%
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By GlobalDataRomanian lessors are selling repossessed
assets at a quarter of their original price, as continued
oversupply in the country keeps demand for new equipment at a
historic low. The country’s new business volume for 2009 dropped
73% year-on-year, while bad debt levels rose massively due to
business failures in sectors such as construction and transport. It
was reported that Raiffeisen Leasing International’s Romanian
subsidiary recently offered equipment for sale at €178,000, which
had initially been worth €670,000. As industries such as
construction and transport have contracted faster than their asset
bases, oversupply has become a major problem, continually driving
down the price of repossessed goods.
GRENKE expands international
business
Germany’s GRENKE Group reported a 26.6%
increase (to €150m) in new business in the first quarter of 2010,
with a “significant volume growth” in its international segment.
The IT lessor said international business contributed almost 59%,
or €88m, to the overall business. The lessor’s main international
business was France, with volumes of €35m. In percentage terms, the
countries with the most significant growth were Italy and the UK.
In 2010, GRENKE plans to resume its expansion strategy in Europe,
with projects already in place for Italy starting from April
following the opening of a new office in Belfast in January 2010
and a contract with a franchise partner in Luxembourg.
CV registrations up
8.8%
Commercial vehicle registrations across
Europe rose 8.8% in March 2010 compared to a year ago, according to
the latest ACEA statistics. The LCV segment posted a 12.4% growth,
with increases across all major markets. Truck registrations,
however, were down. The middle segment was 10% down, with a
significant contraction in Italy, France and the Netherlands.
Demand for trucks remained stable in Germany and the UK, and
increased in Poland and Spain. New registrations of heavier trucks
(over 16 tonnes) were 19% down.
CA Leasing, Eurofactor
merge
Crédit Agricole Leasing and Eurofactor
have officially merged to form Crédit Agricole Leasing &
Factoring, completing a process that started last year. The parent
company said that the purpose of the merger is to make the two
business lines “more powerful and responsive to better meet their
clients’ needs”.
Olivier Toussaint, who has been
confirmed as CEO of the merged business, said: “With the Crédit
Agricole Leasing and Eurofactor merger we are reinforcing the
Crédit Agricole group’s intention to be a front runner in raising
finance for businesses and professionals over the long-term.”
CIT releases Q1
results
CIT Group announced first-quarter
results for 2010, with reported net income for the three months
ending 31 March standing at $97million (€73million).
Its total assets declined by almost $2bn
from year-end 2009, dropping to $58.1billion, caused by a reduction
in finance and leasing assets. Excluding factoring, new loan and
lease volumes declined from the previous quarter to $900m. Vendor
finance programmes began to expand, with volume totalling $500m,
and the delivery of four aeroplanes valued at $200m. New vendor
relationships were signed and the vendor finance arm of the group
successfully returned to the capital markets by executing term and
conduit asset-backed financings.
VR Leasing expects return to
profitability
Germany’s VR Leasing expects to go back
to profitability this year, after recording a loss from ordinary
activities totalling €18.8m in 2009. In February, the company said
that new business volume was almost unchanged at €2.24bn.
Presenting the full 2009 results at VR Leasing’s annual conference
in Frankfurt, the lessor’s CEO, Reinhard Goedel, said that the loss
was “not a surprise”, due to a hike in loan loss provisions, which
increased from €70m in 2008 to €96.7m last year. However, the
leasing company expects to go back to profitability in 2010. Goedel
said that a €20m profit figure for this year would be
“realistic”.
Centro Leasing gives up bank
status in Italy
Italy’s Centro Leasing Banca has
relinquished its bank status and has become a financial broker
again. Now operating under the name Centro Leasing Spa, the
decision was made on 12 April by the company’s special assembly
along with the incorporation of its subsidiary Centro Leasing Rete
Spa. According to a recent statement, the operation is part of “a
reorganisation of the leasing unit of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group”.
This is “aimed at the creation of a leasing centre formed by
Leasint Spa and Centro Leasing, each with their own operations”, it
added.
Sardaleasing increases market
share in core market
Despite a 12% fall in new business,
Italy’s Sardaleasing increased the number of contracts it signed by
6% last year and almost doubled its market share in the Sardinian
leasing market. The lessor said that new business totalled €461m,
down from the €523m recorded in 2008, but still above the overall
Italian market. Net profit totalled €2m, while bad debt was in line
with 2008 at 0.9%. The Sardinia-based company said half of its new
business generation was via Banco di Sardegna, its immediate
parent, part of the Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna (BPER)
group.
