This year the ground has shaken and leaders have fallen.
Earthquakes in New Zealand, Turkey and not least Japan caused
devastation while the uprisings of the Arab Spring toppled
seemingly immovable autocrats and US Special Forces finally caught
up with the world’s most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden.

2011 had a Royal wedding (in case you missed it), rioting and
strikes. It had (and still has) financial crises and
anti-capitalist protests and, somewhere under the Alps, the world
caught a glimpse of the foundation of all matter in the universe,
the Higgs boson.

It has been some year in leasing too; acquisitions, fraud, deals
struck and relationships ended. There have been regulations and
reports and success stories and disappointments. Throughout the
year Leasing Life has provided the news and analysis on all these
events to the European industry.

It is only fitting then we should look back on the stories our
readers found most compelling in the last 12 months. News of a
fraud investigation at Total Asset Finance broke early this year
and remained our top story, while Barclays Corporate’s decision to
cut SME leasing business in the UK and the subsequent follow-ups
also proved of interest and remained in the 2011 top 10.

Top ten stories of 2011 on
leasinglife.com

1. KBC
hit by faked contracts

KBC Group has outlined details of faked contracts at its UK leasing
arm which could result in losses before tax of up to €175m.

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2.  Fraud
investigation at Total
Deloitte has published
proposals for its administration of Total Asset Finance, outlining
concerns over the existence of certain contracts.

3. 30
under 40

The European leasing
industry has a wealth of up-and-coming talent. Profiled here are 30
of the brightest stars among these future leaders. With an average
age of 34 and an impressive array of achievements under their
belts, they are chosen for their potential to lead the industry in
exciting new directions.

4. GE
Capital refocuses UK business
GE Capital UK has
reshuffled its equipment finance team as it refocuses its
activities around healthcare, aircraft and structured equipment
finance.

5. Barclays
exits SME leasing


Barclays Business has changed its lending policy and will
no longer provide asset finance to companies with turnover less
than £5m a year.

6. BNP
leasing pulls Fortis UK over Basel
III

BNP Paribas Leasing
Solutions has begun the full withdrawal of its Fortis business from
the UK market as the bank begins adapting for Basel III
legislation.

7. Lease
accounting standard delay

The
release date for the controversial new lease accounting standard is
to be pushed back by ‘a few months’, it has been confirmed.

8. Tesco
to sell ex-lease cars
A new web site from Tesco
selling second-hand cars could provide leasing companies with a
cheaper alternative to auctions when selling old models, an expert
has claimed.

9. Brokers
take issue with ING and Barclays deal
Brokers
have expressed concern at the news ING Lease UK has entered into an
agreement to provide asset finance facilities for the Barclays
Business Banking customers, as reported in Leasing Life.

10. ING
Lease & Barclays join forces to fund SMEs
ING
Lease UK has signed a deal to provide asset finance for the
business customers of Barclays Bank.

Other stories which ranked highly in the Leasing Life most-read
table were the news
Alphabet bought ING Car Lease
,
GE Capital’s rumoured interest in Lombard Vehicle Management

and the continued
rise
and
rise
of
Aldermore
.