All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
Hungarian leasing in free fall as recession takes firm hold on country
Hungarys leasing community is faced with an ever-worsening business outlook, as the Central European state struggles with an ailing currency and soaring delinquency rates. According to the Hungarian Leasing Association, January and February of 2009 saw construction equipment finance down by a crippling 82 percent compared to the same months in 2008, with the machinery sector taking a similar 62 percent hit.
KTM vendor finance arm looks to UK
Austrian sports motorbike manufacturer KTM has moved in earnest over recent months into the vendor finance sector, despite layoffs and production cuts at its core business. The company formed KTM Financial Services GmbH (KTMFS) at the end of 2008, in order to offer finance and leasing for dealerships and direct sales
Ukraine still a good market for cash
In many ways, the growth of Ukrainian leasing has presented a brilliant example of the potential for a developing European economy to adopt asset finance but has it proved so exemplary in its reaction to the international financial crisis?
CNH dealer network has eccentricities all of its own
With a worldwide network of over 11,500 dealer outlets in 160 countries, supplying goods from 39 factories, Case New Holland (CNH) has a vast presence in the machinery market to maintain. It also has a huge number of assets to finance, all of which it does through its leasing arm CNH Capital. According to retail finance manager for CNH Capital in the UK and Ireland, Bruce Atkinson, his company has first right of refusal from customers looking to underwrite CNH assets via the dealerships.
Plant remains a good option in troubled times
According to the FLA, Q408 saw 19 percent less asset finance offered to UK firms than Q407, with financing of lower value assets suffering the most, with a 33 percent crash.
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Volumes still strong – but for how long?
Resale of plant from the construction and industrial sectors is entering a whole new phase, as economic contraction in the UK means that auction houses are flooded with used assets, and question marks have been raised over foreign demand.
Volvo signs a salty deal worth £750,000
British Salt has signed a three year contract hire agreement worth £750,000 (841,000) with Volvo Financial Services, for the provision of 11 new Volvo FM-440 6×2 tractor units.
Johnson Reed launches new vendor scheme
A Quirky Kit scheme, launched this quarter by equipment finance introducer Johnson Reed, is building vendor finance business by targeting in its own words non-standard assets that traditional lenders, such as banks, dont like; in other words, quirky kit that has little value on day two.
Barclays still funding yachts despite market contraction
As reported previously in Leasing Life, it is not easy to gauge the health of the marine finance industry.
Green shoots
The head of HSBC Vehicle Finance tells Fred Crawley business will improve but expects a tough 2009.