Virtual Lease Services (VLS) the commercial finance and leasing specialist has been assigned an asset backed securities servicer rating of ABPS3- by Fitch.

Jointly owned by IT company, Netsol Technologies, and Investec Bank Ltd, VLS provides vendor services and consultancy services to the asset finance market.

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The rating awarded by Fitch is just two above the lowest classification and reflects the secondary role of the company as a manager of credit driven portfolios, according to Fitch.

The ratings agency criticised VLS for its lack of internal audit and quality control. It noted that the two owners were currently improving their audit of the company, but was critical that there was no formal internal structure within VLS.

Also coming under criticism was a limited staff training programme. It described the current offering as ‘on-the-job’ with only one annual formal training course offered in Anti-money laundering. It did acknowledge that VLS had plans to change this and introduce an annual training scheme and Fitch said that this move would be ‘viewed positively’ in future.

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More positive was Fitch’s opinion on the cash management controls within VLS. These were considered strong with an ‘excellent’ reporting process.

Also praised was the technology platform which, provided by co-owner Netsol, was highly supported and undergoing a significant upgrade.

Louise Ikonomides, VLS’s recently appointed managing director, said: "Fitch are integral to our growth strategy and I am delighted with our first rating award; I look forward to building on our current services and strengthening our rating over the next 12 months."

Currently VLS has a credit portfolio of £201m (€237m) in assets under management which comprised of: 66.37% finance leases, 22.89% commercial loans, 7.90% small ticket services agreements, 2.39% hire purchases, 0.26%operating leases, 0.17% consumer loans and 0.02%sales ledgers.