Latest data shows that French equipment
finance grew strongly in the first three quarters of 2008, although
the market saw a fall in the last quarter of 11.5 percent
year-on-year.

New figures from the French leasing
association, the Association Française des Sociétés Financières
(ASF), reveal that French lessors saw a 2.7 percent overall
increase in new business last year, worth some €24.7 billion.

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The ASF’s numbers show that the economic
turmoil hit France hardest in the last quarter, where the previous
three quarters’ strong 8.4 percent growth was hit by a “brutal
freeze in demand”, which brought growth down by nearly two-thirds
of what it was in 2007.

However, the ASF’s numbers show that finance
leasing still performed well, seeing a 7.1 percent rise in new
business, equivalent to €12.6 billion.

This segment had outperformed during the first
three quarters of the year, growing 13.5 percent, but was hit by a
strong 9.5 percent decline in the last quarter.

Factoring companies also recorded a solid
year, despite seeing a slowdown in new business. New factoring
business grew by €134.1 billion, or 14.4 percent (down from 21.6
percent in 2007).

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“A very good level of factoring was maintained
in 2008, despite a marked slowdown, which has progressively
accentuated itself since the start of the year,” said the ASF.

Cross-border factoring was also highlighted by
the ASF, which said that international deals grew by 29 percent,
accounting for 18.8 billion of the segment’s new business.

Other types of financing also reported
were:

• Hire-purchase: €1.9 billion in 2008, falling
5.7 percent year-on-year

• Operating leasing: €5.9 billion, -3.5
percent

• Long-term rental: €4.3 billion, +3.3
percent