Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the $903-billion equipment finance sector, showed overall new business volume for March was $8.9 billion, up 25% from new business volume in March 2014.
March 2015 volume was up 46% from $6.1 billion in February 2015. Year to date, cumulative new business volume increased 17%, compared to 2014.
Receivables over 30 days were 1.2%, up from 1.1% the previous month and from 1.0% the same period in 2014. Charge-offs were at an all-time low of 0.2% for the 13th consecutive month.
Credit approvals totaled 78.7% in March, up from 78.1% in February. Total headcount for equipment finance companies was up 3.9%, year over year.
ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE, said: “Equipment finance companies in many industry sectors are reporting a robust first quarter of the year. The March new business volume is indicative of strong capital spending, influenced by businesses taking advantage of continued low interest rates, perhaps in anticipation of reported tightening of monetary policy by the Fed. Credit quality metrics are mixed, with delinquencies edging upward counterbalanced by monthly losses remaining at historic lows.”
Bradley R. Brolsma, President, Merchants Capital Resources, Inc., said, “While there is a general sense within our industry that deal flow is not where it could be, the 17% growth in first quarter new business certainly doesn’t seem to bear that out. Clearly, industry numbers are outpacing 2015 expectations of a 4 to 5% increase in annual expenditures for equipment and software and that’s nothing but good news for our industry. That said, the rather dismal global economic numbers still point to the need for cautiousness in assessments of overall credit conditions going forward. The marketplace doesn’t need any bad news or surprises right now.”
ELFA MLFI-25 Participants
BancorpSouth Equipment Finance
Bank of America
Bank of the West
BB&T Bank
BMO Harris Equipment Finance
Canon Financial Services
Caterpillar Financial Services
CIT
DLL
Dell Financial Services
Direct Capital Corporation
EverBank Commercial Finance
Fifth Third Equipment Finance
First American Equipment Finance, a City National Bank Company
GreatAmerica Financial Services
Hitachi Credit America
HP Financial Services
Huntington Equipment Finance
John Deere Financial
Key Equipment Finance
LEAF Commercial Capital
M&T Bank
Marlin Leasing
Merchants Capital
PNC Equipment Finance
RBS Asset Finance
SG Equipment Finance
Siemens Financial Services
Stearns Bank
SunTrust Equipment Finance Group
Susquehanna Commercial Finance
TCF Equipment Finance
US Bancorp Equipment Finance
Verizon Capital
Volvo Financial Services
Wells Fargo Equipment Finance
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