All articles by Peter Johnstone
Peter Johnstone
Lloyds launches Funding for Lending asset finance offer
The offer, which aims to reduce borrowing costs for SMEs and mid-market companies, follows Lloyds participation in the National Loan Guarantee Scheme (NLGS) where the bank allocated £1.4bn of government cash to SMEs. The scheme, available to businesses operating in any sector, will offer a one percent reduction in the interest rate for new business loans and hire purchase deals for the full term of the lend, and will be available on a minimum loan amount of £1,000 with no maximum.
Leaseurope survey finds sector cautiously confident
There is guarded optimism in the European leasing sector, with a positive outlook for the rest of the year, according to the latest Business Confidence Survey from Leaseurope and Invigors EMEA.
Leaseurope initiates research project for Basel 3 evidence
Leaseurope has launched a Europe-wide research project, funded by the trade bodys Research Fund, to aid its advocacy work on Basel 3 implementation.
Hart takes over as Lombard interim MD
UK asset finance firm Lombard has appointed Andy Hart as interim managing director following the departure of Alexander Baldock at the end of August. Baldock announced his departure after four years in the top job to take up the chief executive position at online retailer Shop Direct Group in June.
DLL profit up 23% thanks to global vendor business
De Lage Landen (DLL) saw its first half net profit rise by almost a quarter from last year, continuing an 18-month positive trend. The Dutch asset finance company reported 190m profit, a 23% improvement on the 154m reported in the first half of 2011.
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Leasing Foundation expands board of governors
The Leasing Foundation has added a further five members to its board, bringing the total number of governors to 20.
ELFA may withdraw support from accounting project
US leasing trade body the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) is considering withdrawing its support for the imminent lease accounting changes.
Finance keeps pace despite Olympic dip
Research from technology consultancy Portal shows that financial services firms constituted the highest-performing sector in London during the Olympic period.
KPIs continue decline – Leaseurope Index
The latest edition of the Leaseurope Index has shown deterioration in six out of seven key performance indicators during the second quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year. However this was not enough to balance a 2.1% drop in operating income, to 1.9bn; which drove the average costincome ratio up by 0.4% to 46%, although that was still a marked improvement on the 52.5% average for 2011.
Confidence high among finance brokers
Confidence is at an encouraging high among leasing brokers, with around three quarters of respondents to a recent survey believing their business volumes will increase in the next year. In a six month survey of 64 of its brokers, Investec Asset Finance found 49.1% believed that their business volumes would grow between 5-15% in the next year, with a further 28.1% saying theirs could grow by more than 15% The remaining 22.8% said that their business would stay at current levels, meaning that no brokers thought their business would decline in the near future.