All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
BVRLA boosts broker code
The broker committee of leasing and rental trade body the BVRLA has strengthened its code of conduct for introducers, with the aim of improving customer service across the sector The new code emphasises after-sales service, requiring all BVRLA leasing broker members to more actively engage with customer queries and complaints
Risk in 2010: reconciling national and local priorities
A recent survey of some 200 European leasing companies, conducted by consulting company Ineum, revealed that reconciling national-level risk priorities with group-wide strategy will be a major issue for leasing networks over the coming year. The study, directed by Eliana Boudet, head of risk services at Ineum and formerly of SG Equipment Finance, found that more than 50 percent of participants were actively engaged in creating new risk strategies, and that risk of client default was by far the greatest among lessors concerns for upcoming months
Break-up of Hypo Group Alpe Adria due to bad debt
Hypo Group Alpe Adria (HAA), the Austrian banking network owned by German public bank Bayerische Landesbank, has been nationalised thanks to a proliferation of bad debt in its international leasing business.
More public sector leasing on cards for 2010
Regardless of which government is elected to run the UK next year, unprecedented cuts in public spending lie ahead meaning potential business for public sector lessors. NHS chief executive David Nicholson has warned that the next four years could demand efficiency savings of more than £10 billion (11.2 billion). A traditional stumbling block to public sector leasing especially in the NHS has been inconsistency in decision making between different financial controllers
Materials handling: Hunt for market share intensifies
Competition is set to increase in the leasing of materials handling (MH) assets in 2010, as lenders with vendor-based growth ambitions make inroads on a surprisingly robust market. BNP Paribas Lease Group (BPLG), through its Equipment & Logistics Solutions (ELS) division, seems keen to hold on to its prominent role in the industry, where it trades as Albury Asset Rentals.
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FLA gives new directions on correct selling
The UK’s Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) is about to issue additional guidance to its members on how to follow its business finance code, including guidance on providing technology equipment customers with full information on services offered by members
Deutsche Leasing: new business down 8%
Deutsche Leasing achieved a new business volume of 8.3 billion for the year up to September 30, falling 8 percent short of last years record lending total We were one of the select few players in the leasing market that were still generating new business, says Hans-Michael Heitmller, Deutsche Leasings Chief Executive Officer.
2010: a ‘big year’ for materials handling at BPLG
Kevin Lofting, the long-standing manager of Albury Asset Rentals, retired last month after more than 12 years of service with the company Albury, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas Lease Group, will now be managed by UK country manager Benoit Dilly However, BPLG still has a definite appetite for expansion in materials handling
Hypo Group Alpe Adria nationalised
The Austrian state has nationalised Hypo Group Alpe Adria, the countrys sixth largest bank, after a weekend of intense shareholder negotiations.
CIT emerges from lightning bankruptcy
After just 38 days, New York headquartered SME lender CIT Group has emerged from bankruptcy. The company, founded in 1908, has shed more than $10 billion (6.9 billion) of debt as a result of its Chapter 11 filing, and will defer its debt maturities for three years. But the group will need a new leader CEO Jeffrey Peek is due to step down from his position at year end.