IN THE FIRST IN A MONTHLY SLOT ON LEASING ASSOCIATIONS, MARGARET
WALDRON INTERVIEWS THE HEADS OF THE AUSTRIAN AND FINNISH
ASSOCIATIONS
With growing credit portfolios and small levels of loan losses,
Finland remains a healthy place for leasing businesses
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New lending in Finland expanded significantly in 2007,
especially leasing of vehicles and IT equipment. The products of
the finance house members of the Federation of Finnish Financial
Services (FFFS) were in demand across the board and members’
aggregate credit portfolio rose to €11.5bn, up by nearly 10 per
cent on 2006.
New lending was driven by leasing of passenger cars (up 17 per
cent) and transport vehicles (up 21 per cent). Much of the growth
was explained by the increased demand for vehicles for professional
purposes. Service leasing also gained popularity, while another
significant contributor was IT equipment and other office machinery
(up 19 per cent), prompted by companies’ increased propensity to
invest.
The proportion of loan losses and non- performing assets has
remained very low in recent years, despite the strong growth in new
lending. This, together with the healthy performance of member
companies, leads to the conclusion that lending’s growth has not
been achieved at the expense of risk taking.
Vesa Kantee, chairman of the FFFS’ finance houses executive
committee, believes finance house products will continue to account
for an increasing percentage of not only business and consumer
finance, but all types of finance. The increased demand for new
cars, propelled by the change in automobile tax in early 2008, is
likely to result in continued hire-purchase growth.
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By GlobalDataThe FFFS was formed at the beginning of 2007, when the Finnish
Bankers’ Association, the Finnish Finance Houses Association, the
Federation of Finnish Insurance Companies and the Employers’
Association of Finnish Financial Institutions joined
forces.
