New business volume for the US equipment
finance market in July increased $900m (€716m) year-on-year,
according to the country’s Equipment Leasing and Finance
Association.

Volume fell, however, month-on-month
from the June high of $8bn
. Total new business volume,
year-to-date, increased 14.7% compared to the first seven months of
2011.

Receivables over 30 days late were 2.2%, down
from 2.4% in June and down from 2.7% in July 2011. Charge-offs
stood at 0.4%, down from 0.6% in June and 0.7% in July 2011.

As with June, 65% of surveyed organisations
submitted more transactions for approval during July, though credit
approvals were down from 78.7% in June to 77.5% in July.

Staff numbers at equipment finance companies
also dropped slightly month-on-month and are down 2.8% compared to
July 2011.

Meanwhile, the Monthly Confidence Index
published by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation saw

uncertainty push industry confidence down to 50.2 in August
,
down from 51.5 in July but still up on June’s figure of 48.5.

richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com