All articles by Liz Bury
Liz Bury
Amstel renamed ABN Amro Lease
The Amstel Lease brand is to disappear from the market to be replaced by ABN Amro Lease as the lessor takes its parent banks name. The move reflects a strategy to grow leasing business with ABN Amros corporate banking customer base, and echoes similar steps among other bank owned lessors. ABN Amro has 350,000 business customers in the Netherlands, of which 80,000 to 100,000 are considered potential leasing clients
Leasing leaders discuss future
Cost of capital and a detachment from customers are among a string of challenges to face post-crisis leasing voiced by industry leaders at Leaseuropes annual get together. The heads of four of Europes largest leasing companies also pointed to the death of finance leases and an unhealthy focus on volume over profit, as potential threats for the future
Banks grow share of leasing
Banks in Europe increased their share of the leasing market during 2009 when their decline in new business was slower than the total market decline. John Howland-Jackson, ING Lease chairman said at the Leaseurope Convention 2010 in Hamburg that leasing would need to integrate more fully into general banking operations in future
Editor’s letter: An age of austerity is upon us
As Leasing Life went to press, a mass rally of union representatives from across Europe was convening in Brussels in protest against government cutbacks.
Lessors vie for awards crown
Some of Europes leading asset finance and leasing providers will go head to head in the Leasing Life Asset Finance Awards 2010, after judges whittled down entries to a list of finalists in each category. Finalists for the European Lessor of the Year Award are BNP Paribas Lease Group, SG Equipment Finance, and UniCredit Leasing. The awards, to be held in Milan, include the Italian Lessor of the Year Award, for which finalists are BNP Paribas Lease Group Italia, Sardaleasing, and UniCredit Leasing.
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Innervision signs up TDG
Lease portfolio management specialist Innervision has secured a new contract with TDG, a European logistics and supply chain management company with annual turnover of more than £660m (793m). Innervision is analysing TDGs UK lease agreements, and is in dialogue with banks and lessors with a view to securing future facilities for commercial vehicle leasing
Editor’s letter: Are happier times on the way?
The coalitions Green Paper signals a change in attitude toward leasing and lessors in the UK. Financing a Public Sector Recovery name-checked both leasing and factoring, and was positive about their benefits to business (see Green paper signals recovery role for asset finance)
Leesmith joins IAA-Advisory
Leasing expert Alan Leesmith has joined IAA-Advisory as director of international business, with a brief covering the Middle East, Asia and Australia Start ups and mergers and acquisitions are also on his agenda as the market gradually picks up. Leesmith said: When the industry takes a knock or there is consolidation, it gives an opportunity for new business to start up
Lessors hit out over IFRS on leasing
Lessors have reacted angrily to proposals for new lease accounting rules issued by the International Accounting Standing Board (IASB). Tanguy van de Werve, director general of Leaseeurope, called on the European Commission to carry out a robust impact assessment before integrating the proposals into law. We are disappointed the IASB and US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have not yet taken on board the feedback that we and many others have provided, de Werve said.
GE Capital provides finance to AEP
GE Capital will support the acquisition of Alcan Engineered Products (AEP) by providing the company with working capital facilities, underscoring the rise in popularity of invoice finance. The finance provided to AEP by GE Capital comprises a 300 million accounts receivable facility in France, Germany and Switzerland, and a $100 million asset-based lending arrangement in the US. The accounts receivable portion of the facility is split with two-thirds in France and a third in Germany and Switzerland, and has associated volumes of between $3bn and $4bn.