european news > IN BRIEF
NEW LEASE SECURITISATION TOOL BayernLB is reported to be introducing a new receivables securitisation programme to its SME and corporate clients with which they can finance their receivables portfolios. According to BayernLB,
demand is
particularly high among retail and industrial companies,
and also among leasing
companies who discount their rental streams. The sale of receivables portfolios is a tried-and-tested instrument of corporate financing. By purchasing receivables from leasing companies, banks in Germany finance much of the capital needs of SMEs. The new purchase and refinancing platform, known as Corelux, helps customers to manage liquidity, risk and equity capital. The minimum size of transaction is 25 million euros. Because it takes into account the new, more stringent regulatory requirements for securitisations, the programme is a market leader in this segment.
EGYPTAIR TO LEASE OUT PLANES Embattled national carrier EgyptAir is offering to lease 25 of its newest aircraft to other carriers, in a bid to offset staggering losses linked to the unrest that led more than 200,000 tourists to flee the country. The airline has canceled about 75 percent of its flights and seen little incoming traffic, and said that 40 percent of its fleet has been grounded
owned by the sub holding company UniCredit Leasing S.p.A. (Italy), is the leading market player in Croatia, regularly ranking in first place in terms of new business volume. UniCredit Leasing Croatia has its headquarters in Zagreb,
and nine offices including Split, Rijeka, Osijek, Pula, Zadar, Šibenik, Varaždin, Koprivnica and Požega, offering automobile, equipment and real estate leasing, as well as fleet management and insurance services.
ECB survey shows asset finance matches loans for SMEs T
he results of a European Central Bank (“ECB”) survey show that the use of leasing, hire-purchase and factoring increased noticeably in the 6 months between March and September 2010, continuing the increasing trend since the survey began. On the other hand, could it be that leasing has fallen less sharply than loan finance, but that both forms of finance have been in short supply? The ECB survey showed 34 percent of SMEs used leasing, hire purchase and factoring which is a significant increase on previous periods, and is now equal to the proportion of SMEs using bank loans. 55 percent of large firms surveyed used leasing, hire purchase and factoring which is substantially more than any other category of finance. In contrast, Leaseurope’s penetration rate, measured as the amount of new
leasing business as a percentage investment, dropped from 15.5 percent in 2008 to 12.2 percent in 2009. While 2009 was characterised by generally low levels of capital investment by businesses, this does not explain why the share of leasing in relation to total investment fell in Europe. It isn’t yet known if leasing’s penetration rate rebounded in the period of the ECB survey, but in the absence of hard data, one could assume that it did not.
The ECB surveys firms in the euro area regularly to understand developments in their access to finance in the aftermath of the crisis. The ECB and Gallup surveyed 5,320 firms in the largest countries of the euro area, of which 4,786 were firms with less than 250 employees (defined as SMEs). The survey was conducted between 30 August and 21 September 2010.
he EBRD has lent 7 million euros to IMPULS-Leasing Romania IFN SA (“ILRO”), the Romanian vehicle and equipment leasing company, to extend leasing services to SMEs in rural areas. The loan, which was extended under the European Union/EBRD SME Finance Facility is intended to help ILRO develop a more diverse product line. According to Claudia Pendred, EBRD Director for Romania, “This is the first leasing project targeting rural SMEs in Romania. It will facilitate the access to financing for Romanian entrepreneurs and will contribute to the strengthening of the leasing sector in the country.” ILRO was established in Romania in 2007 when the Swiss group IMPULS- Leasing International AG expanded its
28
IMPULS loan from EBRD T
operations to Eastern Europe. ILRO provides vehicle and equipment leasing services to small and medium-sized enterprises in Romania.
The EBRD SME Finance Facility was launched in 1999 by the European Commission and EBRD to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that operate in EU member countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The SME Finance Facility has invested 846 million euros to support SMEs through loans to banks and leasing companies and through investments in private equity funds. The average loan size to a bank or leasing facility is between 5 million and 15 million euros, while private equity fund investments range from 12 million to 20 million euros.
www.leasingworld.co.uk ■ March 2011
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