Ubi increases market
share
Ubi Leasing, Italy’s third-largest
leasing company, increased its market share in 2009, despite a fall
in volume and profit. The Brescia-headquartered lessor, which is
part of Ubi Banca, recorded a new business volume of almost €2.1bn,
25% down compared with the previous year. Net income was €11.6m,
down from €43.8m in 2008. But its market share increased around 1%
to 7.94%, the company said.
The number of contracts last year was 10,653 and the average value
€194,802. Real estate leasing still represented more than half of
Ubi Leasing’s business (with €1.2bn of new production). The lessor
said it saw a growth in renewable energy business, totalling
€148m.
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VR Factorem customers
increase
Germany’s VR Factorem increased its
customers last year despite the financial crisis.
The factoring business, a joint venture between VR Leasing (which
owns 74.9% of the company) and France’s Natixis Factor, said its
number of customers rose by 15.5%. The company’s turnover declined
by 3% in 2009 compared to the previous year, totalling €1.83bn –
better than the rest of the market, which fell more by than
7%.
VR Factorem CEO Hauke Kahlcke said the company has heavily focused
on the customers of the co-operative banking network under the DZ
Bank umbrella, which includes approximately 1,000 cooperative
banks.
The company continues to have an “optimistic outlook” for 2010.
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By GlobalDataBanco Sabadell launches new
product for Spanish SMEs
Banco Sabadell has launched a new
product for Spanish SME-sized companies.
Spain’s fourth-largest banking group said its BS Negocios is
“specifically designed for the needs of businesses”, and aims to
gain a leading position in the country’s SME sector. It said its
services will include leasing, rentals and loans under
“preferential conditions”, as well as discounts on business
protection insurance.
Banco Sabadell corporate banking director Carlos Ventura said: “In
just one month, we have managed to attract more than 6,000 new
clients, which demonstrates the excellent response that BS Negocios
is having among businesses, the self-employed and small
firms.”
BS Negocios’ goal is to achieve 40,000 clients by the end of 2010,
the bank said.
Grenkeleasing and NRW Bank
sign partnership
Grenkeleasing AG and NRW Bank, the
development banks for North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s richest
state, have signed an agreement to support local small and
medium-sized enterprises.
The agreement allows preferential financing to firms which intend
to lease IT and office equipment with Grenkeleasing, the two
companies have said.
Eligibility criteria include that firms are based in North
Rhine-Westphalia, and have an annual turnover of up to €500m.
The scheme, which runs until the end of August, is for leasing
contracts between one and seven years in length.
Deutsche Leasing posts €8.3bn
new business
Deutsche Leasing saw new business
volume fall 8% to €8.3bn in its 2008-2009 financial year ending 31
October. Domestic new business was 7% down to €5.2bn, while foreign
new business declined 11% to €1.4bn.
The group parent, Deutsche Sparkassen Leasing, reported net profit
at the prior year’s level with €32.5m.
Deutsche Leasing CEO Hans-Michael Heitmüller said: “Defaults and
crumbling resale values prevented us from matching the previous
year’s new business-based operating result.
“Considering the economic environment, however, we can still be
proud of our operating earnings.”
Germany’s largest lessor forecasts a “markedly lower new business
volume for the first half of its current financial”, having
implemented a number of risk policies which prevent higher new
business acquisition.
Europe’s CV registrations fall
12% in January
Europe’s CV registrations were 12.3%
down in January 2010 compared with one year before, according to
the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
Light commercial vehicles declined 5.2%, totalling 105,522 new
vans. LCV registrations increased in Italy by 21.8% and in France
by 7.5%.
They were 1.8% down in both Germany and the UK. Registrations of
trucks between 3.5 tonnes and 16 tonnes fell another 40% in January
to 15,756 units.
Almost all markets contracted, from a 13% drop recorded in Poland
to a 70% drop in Bulgaria. Heavier trucks dropped 43.5% to 10,961
units. Although Germany remained the largest market, HGV
registrations in the country fell by 40%.
SGEF, BPLG and DLL win
Microsoft’s vendor programme
SG Equipment Finance (SGEF) has
scooped a deal to provide finance to Microsoft’s customers in four
European countries.
The Paris-based lessor will provide financing solutions to major
clients of the Microsoft Enterprise and Partner Group in France,
Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
This follows news last month that BNP Paribas Lease Group (BPLG)
had won a deal to provide finance to Microsoft’s SME-sized
customers and resellers in these four European countries.
SGEF has also won Microsoft Financing’s Brazil contract, while De
Lage Landen, which originally bought the entire vendor programme
from CIT, announced earlier this month that it had won the contract
for the UK and Canada.
This followed earlier announcements that it had won Microsoft’s
vendor finance contracts in Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, as
well as in both Australia and New Zealand.
VUB Bank acquires 100% of
Slovak lessor
Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo
has strengthened its presence in the Slovak leasing market, after
its subsidiary VÚB Banka gained full control of VÚB Leasing.
Bratislava-based VÚB Banka, of which Intesa owns a 97% stake,
already owned 70% of the lessor. It recently completed the
acquisition of the remaining 30% stake from Prva Slovenska
Investicna Skupina, a Bratislava-based company.
The company’s new CEO, Miloš Bikár, said his goal was to “relaunch
VÚB Leasing so the company’s position is close to the market
position of VÚB Banka”.
VÚB Banka is ranked as one of the top-three banks by market share
in Slovakia.
