leave the Netherlands offices of Fortis Bank, the parent from which
they were severed by the unexpected BNP purchase, it was not hard
to imagine the reaction from perennial Dutch lessor ING
Lease.
The field of competition had already been thinned, with fellow
Dutch leasing firm Amstel Lease entangled in a government takeover
following the collapse of its year-long integration into Fortis
Lease.
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Now Fortis Lease – itself already reeling from the same deal –
had effectively been beached without any distribution network
through bank branches in ING’s home market, where ING Lease runs
€2.3 billion worth of a €22 billion loan book
With only De Lage Landen still standing in competition, and with
Fortis effectively out of play until BNP Paribas can find a way to
fit its new leasing business into its existing operations in the
Netherlands, it is clear that market opportunities may now abound
for ING Lease.
According to ING Lease’s Netherlands MD, Peter-Jan Bentein, ING
Lease’s market share is increasing noticeably already: “People who
were doing business with Fortis are now taking business directly to
us.”
But ING Lease’s strategy does not appear to be passive – it is,
in fact, poised on the brink of renewed European expansion.
Although the initiation of leasing activity in Turkey is proceeding
more slowly than expected, business is scheduled to begin in
earnest during Q109.
ING Lease plans to grow within its borders too: its e-lease
software system, which was designed to create a single transaction
process for all leasing activities, and which has strengthened
profit margins impressively in the Netherlands, is on the brink of
being fully implemented in Belgium (see page 59).
After this, if the success of e-lease in Belgium matches that of
the system in Netherlands, it will be implemented across all
countries where ING has retail banks, including Romania, Poland,
and the Ukraine.
Further ahead still, and contingent on continued international
success, ING Lease intends to run the system outside of the banks,
giving broker and vendor partners access to e-lease across ING’s
entire range.
ING Lease is also supported by – as far as the term can be
applied to any bank currently – a stable parent bank with a good
loan to deposit ratio.
Although October 19 saw ING injected with a €10 billion booster
shot by the Dutch government, finance minister Wouter Bos insisted
that the bank was strong, and that the move was a fortification
measure to ensure smooth business through the crisis.
From here, according to ING Lease Holdings CEO Alain Vervaet,
ING Lease will concentrate on maintaining rapid organic growth, but
will maintain the foresight and – more importantly – the liquidity
reserves to consider large purchases.
“Our appetite for big acquisitions is decreased at the moment,
but we would still consider any opportunities that came our way,”
he said.
Fred Crawley
