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Publisher Ron Caruso has been reporting on the equipment financing industry for more than 25 years. Pulse features his knowledgeable analysis of news, trends and current economic or regulatory issues having an impact on commercial financing.
Pulse also features people in the news, business opportunities and Ron's personal wine recommendations.
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Recent Editions
Business News Impacting the Leasing Industry
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COMPETITION, LIQUIDITY and NEW RULES |
| By: Ron Caruso |
| Question: If you could change one aspect of the financial arena you
compete in, what would it be? Answer: For most participants in the equipment financing arena the answer would be liquidity. The business world is awash in capital. Look at the balance sheets of the Fortune 500 or of financial institutions. They have liquidity that is burning a hole in their pockets or their vaults, looking for ways to invest it or lend it. This is the biggest concern voiced to me by executives I speak with in the leasing industry. “The spreads are terrible!” “How can they do transactions at those rates?” The individuals voicing these concerns are not fringe players. No, they are the large financial institutions, typically lessors who have been around the block a few times. They have seen lessors come and go. They have seen business and economic cycles repeat themselves. But this time is different. The liquidity crisis we are in has been around for several years. It shows no signs of abating. In fact, the mound of money just continues to build as profits pore into the corporate coffers. Fir financial institutions, benchmark yields may not be as comfortable as they would like, but make no mistake about it, a billion dollars is still a billion dollars. This is not an isolated situation-liquidity is all over Wall Street and Main Street, not just the leasing industry. Where will it end up? Currently, pricing in the leasing industry is being characterized as “very aggressive.” There is a fine line between this level of competition and insanity. That fine line is breeched when funding sources begin to see their portfolios running off and the volume of new business decreasing significantly. Fortunately, the economy has been strong, driven by consumer demand. However, recent indications of a slowdown in new building in the housing sector and blips on the radar screen of inflation may change this. Adding to the liquidity dilemma for CEOs is another concern-more rules and regs. Both FASB and IASB as an example are working in tandem to develop new standards for financial reporting. The new rules will seek to promote "standards that ensure that financial statements prepared in compliance with the standards will reflect the full economic effects of transactions and activities of the company," What does this mean? For the leasing industry, off-balance sheet financing may be in jeopardy. Even the dividing line between ownership and usage may be significantly changed, in terms of financial reporting. Think that’s enough to worry about? Well add concerns about SOX to your worry list, and its impact on parent companies of leasing subsidiaries. Okay, call me a worry wort. Sure, there are always issues and challenges. The point is these issues don’t seem to be diminishing. They must be addressed. Some companies are doing this in a very detached, objective fashion: they are looking at their competitive capabilities and options they have outside of leasing and opting to leave the industry. This could be the stark reality facing a number of less competitive companies as we enter the last quarter of the year. For the survivors, the competitive environment will demand new capabilities, the providing of new services. If you can’t do this, check the obituaries-your name may be there. Stay tuned. |
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Barloworld Sells US Lease Portfolio to Hyster Capital |
| South African industrial brand management company Barloworld (BAW)
recently concluded a deal to sell the materials handling equipment lease
and loan portfolio held by its industrial distribution division in the
United States at book value for R564m.
The buyer is Hyster Capital - a joint venture between General
Electric Capital Corporation and Nacco Materials Handling Group (Nacco).
This network makes Barloworld the largest independent lift truck dealer in the world. Announcing the sale of the US book, Barloworld CEO Tony Phillips said: "This is another move in our ongoing work to optimise our business and ensure that we unlock value where capital is tied up in unproductive assets. "Hyster Capital satisfied our prime consideration to provide a seamless service between us and our customers to continue what we considered to be a value added function," said Phillips. Phillips added that the leasing portfolios being sold did not generate sufficient returns and the stand alone financing business was not a strategic or core component of the industrial distribution division. "There are other people who are much better at running leasing books than we are and our approach for some time has been to partner with them rather than using our own balance sheet in this arena," he concluded. He added that Barloworld was negotiating with a partner in the UK to dispose of its UK portfolio to achieve the same objectives. "At R1.6bn it is considerably bigger than the US book. We expect this deal be concluded by the end of this calendar year." In 2003 Barloworld sold its R900m third party South African motor vehicle finance book to Wesbank, followed by the sale of its R1.3bn South African equipment finance book in 2004 to the same company. |
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Esanda sells fleet leasing arm |
| ESANDA, ANZ Bank's finance company, has agreed to sell its
FleetPartners vehicle fleet leasing and management business to private
equity group Nikko Principal Investments Australia for $379 million. The sale price is subject to adjustment. FleetPartners manages more than 50,000 vehicles. "The fleet management sector is currently undergoing considerable change," said Esanda managing director David Hisco. "The sale of FleetPartners allows Esanda to develop a sharper focus on traditional finance company activities and invest resources in our core auto-finance and equipment finance segments. "We believe there is a good growth potential based on a more integrated approach to servicing the ANZ customer base and using the Esanda brand to launch new products adjacent to existing ANZ products." FleetPartners has net tangible assets of $145 million and total assets of about $1.4 billion. The acquisition of FleetPartners is Nikko's first investment since opening in May 2006. Nikko is the Australian private equity arm of Japanese financial services group Nikko Cordial Corporation. Nikko Principal Investments Australia managing director Gene Lorenz said the company was pleased to have made its first transaction after only four months of operation. "The acquisition is in line with our strategy to build a significant private equity business in Australia, capitalising on our ability to fund transactions using Nikko Cordial Corporation's balance sheet," Mr. Lorenz said. |
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Graphic Savings Group Releases New Asset Mgmt. Software |
| Graphic Savings Group recently announced the release of its new
asset management initiative, REUSE, the Remarketing & Effective
Utilization of Surplus Equipment. The REUSE training program teaches
leasing professionals how to properly value equipment residuals and
manage the remarketing process on IT equipment, including digital
copiers and printers. “There is no formal training process for lessors and banks dealing with digital equipment. In order to effectively remarket assets, leasing professionals have to understand the true value of what they own,” says Andrew A. Bender, CEO of Graphic Savings Group. Under the REUSE program, which includes group seminars and individual consultations, Graphic Savings Group will look to teach leasing professionals the process from initialization to de-installation and resale. |
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Pitney Bowes Completes $1.1 Billion IRS Tax Settlement |
| Pitney Bowes announced that the company has completed a $1.1 billion
settlement with the Internal Revenue Service relating to the sale of its
leasing unit. Michael j. Critelli stated "We are quite pleased to reach
this resolution as it closes a chapter on a non-core business that we
have sold," The settlement included approximately $900 million in tax liability which resulted from the sale of its Capital Services leasing unit in July, representing tax amounts owed on transactions the company entered into over the past 15 years. However, the sale of the company accelerated the tax liability. The remainder of the tax liability includes taxes owed on various other transactions. The company indicated the settlement will be paid over the next six months |
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ProMOS in 200mm tool lease deal with Macquarie Electronics |
| Macquarie Electronics has completed what it believes is the largest
fab equipment leasing deal so far arranged in Taiwan. The $220 million
US dollar tool leasing contract covers semiconductor manufacturing
equipment located in ProMOS Technologies' FAB 1 facility in the Hsinchu
Science Park, Taiwan. "This is a landmark operating lease transaction for ProMOS and Macquarie Electronics," stated Coons, President of Macquarie Electronics USA Inc. "The global semiconductor industry as a whole is focusing more and more on maximizing their return on investment and is constantly seeking ways to obtain low cost financing and operational flexibility." Dr. M. L.
Chen, Chairman and President of ProMOS Technologies said, "ProMOS' core
competency is continuing to migrate to advanced DRAM process
technologies, and partnering with Macquarie has enabled us to allocate
our financial resources more effectively so we can keep investing and
upgrading our technology nodes to achieve cost reduction and
manufacturing efficiency. The creative operating lease structure was
clearly a win-win situation for both companies." |
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SAP Releases New Lease Management Solution |
| SAP announced the release of "Ready-to-Run" for Leasing, a
best-practices solution for the mid-market designed to help lessors
manage the leasing lifecycle. To assist equipment leasing companies with meeting the market challenges of increased consolidation, growing complexity in the lease origination process, and financial reconciliation, the SAP solution features robust analytics, contract lifecycle management, lease accounting and customer self-services. SAP Ready-to-Run for Leasing is designed to enable lessors to build their business on the preconfigured SAP platform, while setting the stage for future growth. With this enterprise-ready solution, lessors can use a single platform to write additional leases to increase their market share. SAP provides front-to-back automation to help leasing organizations cope with increasing volumes of transactions and enable faster turnaround on transactions. The solutions also allow companies to proactively assess the impact of changing accounting standards and enables compliance for regulations such as U.S. GAAP, FASB 13, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. |
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SIA Reports Semiconductor Sales Totalled $20.1 $20 Billion in July |
| The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) recently reported that
Worldwide sales of semiconductors totaled $20.1 billion in July, up over
11.5% from July 2005. This represented an increase of 1.8% from the
$19.8 billion in sales reported in June 2006. The SIA also projected that capital spending in 2006 is expected to amount to approximately 22% of semiconductor sales, which is in line with anticipated technology requirements and anticipated sales growth. Capacity utilization edged up slightly in the second quarter of the year, from 89% to 91%. |
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| Economic News
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Credit Manager's Index For August Indicates Momentum |
| The seasonally adjusted Combined Credit Manager’s Index (CMI) fell
in August from 57.6 to 57.3. The index continued to indicate an economy
with good momentum, but it also revealed some pockets of weakness. While
the manufacturing, services and combined indexes were all above the 50
mark, indicating economic expansion, both the manufacturing and combined
indexes fell from last month’s levels. All three of the indexes
experienced sharp drops in the sales and amount of credit extended
components. Drops in these top-line oriented measures bode poorly for
continued growth, and confirm other softening macroeconomic indicators
such as a weak job market, sluggish retail sales, an easing of
inflation, and a housing market that until recently had been widely
described as "cooling" and might now be better characterized as frigid. The manufacturing sector index dropped 1.2% in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, as five of the 10 components fell. A 7.7 % drop in sales led the fall, along with deterioration in the amount of credit extended, accounts placed for collections, and dollar amounts beyond terms. The services sector index rose by 0.5% in August on a seasonally adjusted basis. Despite the increase, the services sector experienced significant erosion in two of the same components as the manufacturing sector; sales fell 2.3% and the amount of credit extended fell 4.4%. The sales component in the service sector has fallen in six of the past eight months. On a year over year basis, the combined CMI rose 2.4%, while the manufacturing sector rose 3.2% and the services sector rose 1.7%. Overall, the indices reflect the cumulative effect of a strong economy over the past several quarters. The CMI, a monthly survey of the business economy from the standpoint of commercial credit and collections, was launched in January 2003 to provide financial analysts with another strong economic indicator. The CMI survey asks credit managers to rate favorable and unfavorable factors in their monthly business cycle. Favorable factors include sales, new credit applications, dollar collections and amount of credit extended. Unfavorable factors include rejections of credit applications, accounts placed for collections, dollar amounts of receivables beyond terms and filings for bankruptcies. A complete index including results from the manufacturing and service sectors, along with the methodology, is attached. A complete view of the index can be viewed online at www.nacm.org/resource/press_release/CMI_current.shtml . |
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ELA: Leasing Volume Down in July; Portfolio Quality Remains Strong |
| The Equipment Leasing Association released its Monthly Leasing Index
(MLI-25) of equipment leasing and finance activity for July. The new data shows portfolio quality strengthened with charge-offs as a percentage of net lease receivables at their lowest levels of the year. Charge-offs for July are .33%, down from .59% in the prior month. The MLI-25 is a monthly survey of commercial equipment lease and loan activity and performance as reported by 25 ELA member equipment finance companies. Overall volume for the period declined when compared to June originations, which spiked to their highest levels of the year. July business activity totaled $5.7 billion for new commercial equipment leases and loans. Receivables over 90 days remained at 1.0%. July's credit approval ratios remained relatively flat when compared to June. Total headcount rose, to 11,028 the seventh consecutive rise in employment for the MLI-25 companies. "Leasing and finance companies enjoyed strong performance in July, particularly with respect to credit quality," said ELA President Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. He added, "The numbers seem to suggest that equipment demand is solid, as are the balance sheets of businesses acquiring this equipment." |
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ISM Report for August Indicates Manufacturing Sector Continues Strong Growth |
| According to the latest Manufacturing Report On Business from the
Institute for Supply Management (ISM), economic activity in the
manufacturing sector grew in August for the 39th consecutive month,
while the overall economy grew for the 58th consecutive month "Manufacturing growth continued at a very strong pace in August," said Norbert J. Ore, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. "Though the rate of growth was slightly under that of July, the sector continues to enjoy strength in new orders and production. In August we also saw an up tick in manufacturing employment. The major concerns in manufacturing at this point are the continued upward pricing pressure that has existed for the past 13 months, and some industries are experiencing a degree of inventory buildup." The nine industries reporting growth in August - listed in order - are: electrical equipment, appliances & components; fabricated metal products; miscellaneous manufacturing; chemical products; computer & electronic products; primary metals; food, beverage & tobacco products; furniture & related products; and paper products. The performance of manufacturing index (PMI) indicates that the manufacturing economy grew in August for the 39th consecutive month as it registered 54.5%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point when compared to July's reading of 54.7%. A reading above 50% indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50% indicates that it is generally contracting. A PMI in excess of 42%, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. The August PMI indicates that both the overall economy and the manufacturing sector are growing. "The past relationship between the PMI and the overall economy indicates that the average PMI for January through August (55.2%) corresponds to a 4.5%increase in real gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, if the PMI for August (54.5%) is annualized, it corresponds to a 4.3%increase in real GDP annually," Ore said. ISM's New Orders Index registered 54.2% in August. The index is 1.9 percentage points lower than the 56.1% registered in July. August is the 40th consecutive month the index has exceeded 50%. ISM's Production Index registered 56.6% in August, 1 percentage point lower than the 57.6% reported in July. August is the 40th consecutive month of growth in the index. ISM's Backlog of Orders Index registered 51.5%, indicating manufacturers' backlogs in August are expanding at a faster rate when compared to July. The index is 1 percentage point higher than the 50.5% reported in July. Of the 83% of respondents who report their backlog of orders, 19% reported greater backlogs, 16% reported smaller backlogs, and 65% reported no change from July. |
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PRIVATE NONRESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION SHOWS ONGOING VIGOR |
| Simonson Notes Growth in August Employment, July Spending, Predicts More to Come |
| "Twin economic reports show how much vigor private nonresidential
construction has," Ken Simonson, Chief Economist for The Associated
General Contractors of America (AGC), said recently. Simonson was
referring to the September 1 reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) on construction employment in August and from the Census Bureau on
construction spending in July. "BLS reported that construction accounted for 17,000 of the 128,000 net new payroll jobs that the nonfarm economy added in August," Simonson observed. "Over the past 12 months, all five BLS construction categories have grown faster than the tepid 1.3 percent growth rate for overall employment. Nonresidential building and specialty trades were both four percent higher, residential building climbed three percent, and residential specialty trades and heavy and civil engineering both added two percent. In a favorable omen for future construction, employment in architectural and engineering services rose again, bringing the 12-month gain to a robust five percent. "The Census report on value of construction put in place showed a sharp 1.2 percent drop in the seasonally adjusted annual rate from June to July, but private nonresidential spending increased again," Simonson commented. "For the first seven months of 2006 compared to the same period of 2005, private nonresidential spending has risen an impressive 16 percent and public construction 10 percent. Even residential construction is still four percent ahead of last year's total for the first seven months, although I don't expect the final residential total for the year to be up. "Among major subcategories of private construction spending, the areas of greatest strength include lodging, up 46 percent year-to-date; multi-retail--general merchandise stores such as 'big-box' and discount retailers, shopping centers and malls--up 38 percent; hospitals, 27 percent; manufacturing, 24 percent; multi-family residential, 20 percent; and warehouses, other than mini-storage, 17 percent," Simonson added. "Office construction is also gaining momentum, with a 12 percent increase, and electric power construction is reviving, with an eight percent rise. "On the public side, highway and street construction has a 17 percent increase so far this year, while educational is up six percent," Simonson pointed out. "These sound positive but are actually about level with last year in inflation-adjusted terms, given the 15 percent jump in producer prices for highway and street materials and the eight percent rise in costs for nonresidential building materials." "In the next several months, I expect private nonresidential construction to maintain its strong pace," Simonson concluded. "Private residential construction will be a mix of increasing rental projects and sharply falling single-family and condo construction. Public agencies will spend somewhat more, but many agencies will have to defer or redesign projects for which materials costs outstrip their budgets." |
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U.S. Spending Grew in July as Inflation Fears Rise Again |
| The Commerce Department's most recent report on American earning and
spending indicated that personal income increased 0.5 percent in July.
However, it also indicated that personal consumption increased 0.8
percent, giving rise to a fear that inflation may be rising, especially
because June's spending growth was only half of the July rate. The report also indicated that core personal consumption rose 0.1 percent, or a 2.4 percent increase over last July's mark. Additionally, factory-goods orders saw a 0.6 percent decline, (less than economists had predicted), and durable-goods orders dropped by 2.5 percent which ran contrary to predictions that they would increase by nearly that much. The decline was attributed in large part to a 10.1 percent drop in transportation-related factory orders. In addition, jobless claims declined by 2,000 for the week ended Aug. 26. |
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| Airline / Aircraft News |
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BAE To Sell Stake in Airbus |
| Earlier this week, BAE Systems said that its board had decided to
exercise its option to sell its stake in Airbus to EADS (European
Aeronautic Defense & Space) for $3.5 billion, the price determined by an
independent arbitrator. BAE reported to the London Stock Exchange “The
board believes that Airbus is facing a challenging short to medium-term
outlook. The board therefore believes that is in the best interests of
the company to exit at the price determined by the independent expert.”
The sale is subject to the approval of BAE shareholders who will vote on
the deal at a special meeting. BAE holds the right to sell its 20 percent Airbus stake to EADS, which owns the remainder of the plane maker, under an agreement they signed in 2001. The value of its shares were determined by Rothschild Group, acting as arbitrator after the two companies failed to agree on a price. |
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DELTA AIR LINES SEEKS COURT PERMISSION TO ELIMINATE PILOTS’ PENSION PLAN |
| Delta Air Lines told a bankruptcy judge that it had no choice but to eliminate its pilots’ pension if it was to come out from bankruptcy and remain afloat. It asked the court for permission to end its pension plan for pilots, saying that keeping it in place would mean a “crippling” operational and financial crisis that would prevent it from emerging from Chapter 11 protection, as it hoped to do so by the middle of next year. |
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HIRING FREEZE AT AIRBUS ANNOUNCED |
| The recently appointed CEO of Airbus, Christian Streiff, has ordered
a worldwide hiring freeze at the company. An Airbus spokeswoman, Barbara
Kracht said “Recruitment is on hold until the situation has been
reviewed as happens regularly when a new boss arrive.” Airbus employs
57,000 people worldwide with the majority in France, Germany, Britain
and Spain. The parent of Airbus, EADS said in June that the A380 was not at least a year behind schedule and that the delays in getting the planes to airline customers would reduce operating profit about $2.55 billion, by 2010. |
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People in the News
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ATEL Capital Names Gonzalez as VP, Originations of Equipment Finance Group |
| ATEL Capital Group announced that Jay Gonzalez has joined the
company's Equipment Finance group as vice president of originations. In his new role, Gonzalez will be focused on new business development, working with companies within the Western United States with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion. Gonzalez, previously with GE Capital, JP Morgan and LENDX, has over 15 years of experience in corporate lending and leasing, focused primarily on origination and sales management throughout the Western U.S. |
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Boeing Names Senior Sales Exec to Lead Commercial Airplanes Business |
| Boeing Chairman, president and CEO Jim McNerney announced the
appointment of Scott E. Carson as the new president and CEO of Boeing
Commercial Airplanes. Carson, a 34-year Boeing veteran, moves to the leadership position from vice president of sales, for Commercial Airplanes. He replaces Alan Mulally, who left the company to join Ford Motor Company as chief executive. In his most recent position, Carson oversaw the sales of Boeing commercial airplanes and related services to airline customers and leasing companies around the world. He has also served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, where he led the finance and business strategy organizations, as well as information systems and services. He also held leadership positions in the company's defense business and was the first president of Connexion by Boeing. Carson will continue to lead the Commercial Airplanes sales team until a successor is named. Boeing also named James M. Jamieson to the new position of chief operating officer, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Jamieson currently serves as senior vice president, Engineering, Operations & Technology, at Boeing's corporate offices in Chicago. Jamieson will report to Carson and oversee airplane operations and product development. |
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CIT Communications, Media and Entertainment Appoints Gordon as Director |
| CIT Group has announced the appointment of Gretchen Gordon as
director in its Communications, Media and Entertainment group. In this capacity she will be responsible for providing senior and mezzanine debt facilities to middle-market companies in the security alarm monitoring, newspaper publishing and outdoor advertising industries. Prior to joining CIT, Gordon served as a business development officer in the Healthcare and Specialty Finance division of CapitalSource Finance LLC, responsible for originating senior secured and mezzanine financing for security companies throughout North America. Before this she held a variety of senior positions, including director of business development for Textron Financial Corporation's RFC Capital Division; senior vice president and group manager of Key PrivateBank; and senior vice president of Key Bank's Commercial Lending division. |
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ELA Appoints Manager of Government Relations |
| The Equipment Leasing Association (ELA) announced that Kelli Jones
Nienaber has joined the organization as manager of government relations.
Nienaber, who joins ELA's current government relations staff, will engage members in grassroots activities at both the federal and state level as well as operate the association's Political Action Committee (PAC). Nienaber has more than 10 years of experience managing legislative and political programs in both the public and private sector. "Kelli's appointment is another step toward boosting the association's advocacy efforts," said ELA president Ken Bentsen. "Her experience in managing grassroots campaigns and PAC activities coupled with her corporate, association and Hill background makes her an ideal addition to our policy and legislative team." Nienaber added, "I look forward to helping members effect positive change for the industry. While the association members are clearly experts in their field, I can help them communicate that expertise to elected officials in the most efficient and productive manner." Nienaber's background includes working for Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), serving as director of government affairs for the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA), and most recently managing government relations for Gateway, Inc. In her various capacities, Nienaber has successfully managed political and grassroots programs, developed and executed federal and state legislative strategy for issues, including tax and electronic waste, and organized events for a successful U.S. Senate campaign. "Kelli will primarily be involved in encouraging, motivating and engaging association members to be more involved in the political process," said David Fenig, ELA's vice president of Federal Government Relations. "We are fortunate to work with someone who knows our issues, how the Hill works, and is able to get members involved." Added Dennis Brown, the association's vice president of State Government Relations, "Her legislative experience in ELA's current issues, including equipment recycling and electronic waste issues, presents a terrific opportunity for the association. We are looking forward to making good use of that background." |
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GE Rail Services Names Gray EVP, Sales & Service |
| GE announced that Kareen Gray has been named executive vice
president - sales and service for GE Equipment Services, Rail Services.
In this capacity, she will be responsible for providing direct leadership of the commercial team as well as the successful execution of the commercial strategy in support of the services business, as well as ensuring customer relationships and expectations are met. Gray joined GE Capital Information Technology Solutions in Toronto in 1995 as an account executive, then re-locating to the U.S. in 1997 where she held the position of district sales director for GE ITS. There, she sold IT infrastructure and services to Fortune 500 companies. In 2002 she became vice president of sales for GE ITS, North America before joining GE Rail Services in 2003. Prior to joining GE, Gray worked in sales for Xerox Canada. |
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GE Global Sponsor Finance Hires Aria and Brensinger To Expand Healthcare Team |
| GE Commercial Finance - Global Sponsor Finance, announced the hiring
of Alan Aria as managing director and Melanie Brensinger as senior vice
president of Healthcare Financial Services. Both individuals will be based in New York. Aria will be responsible for generating and overseeing sponsor client relationships in the healthcare sector. He has more than 19 years of experience in investment banking and corporate finance starting with JPMorgan Private Bank and, beginning in 1993, with JPM Securities where he focused on capital markets debt, leveraged debt, and equity products, primarily for private equity sponsors. Most recently, he served as a team leader for JPMorgan Investment Banking/Mid Corporate Group, where his team originated capital markets and merger/acquisition assignments from healthcare and business service companies. Prior to joining the Healthcare team of GE Global Sponsor Finance, Brensinger was with Scotia Capital where she was a Director on the Private Equity Sponsor Coverage Team. Prior to Scotia, Brensinger was with CoreStates Bank, N.A./First Union National Bank in their Relationship Management Development Program. |
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GMAC Com. Fin. Names Shea Bus. Dev. Officer |
| GMAC Commercial Finance has announced that Jerry Shea joined the
company's Commercial Services Division (CSD) as business development
officer. In this capacity, he will service existing clients and expand
the company’s presence in the Charlotte metro and Georgia markets. Prior to joining GMAC CF, Shea served as account executive with CIT Group. He also held positions ranging from collector to credit officer to credit team leader with such companies as Heller Financial and SunTrust. |
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Key Equipment Finance Names Enoch VP, Director of C&I Vendor Leasing |
| Key Equipment Finance announced that Jeff Enoch has been named vice president and director for its construction and industrial vendor leasing segment. Prior to joining Key, Enoch was director of new business development at De Lage Landen Financial Services. He also spent more than 15 years with GE Capital and ten years with Deutsche Financial Services Corporation. |
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Ira Romoff Named President of OneWorld Leasing |
| OneWorld Leasing, a national business cooperative for independent
leasing and finance companies, announced that Ira Z. Romoff has joined
the group as its new president. Romoff brings decades of experience in
banking, equipment leasing, credit operations, and risk management to
his new position. Most recently, he worked as director of leasing for
Independence Community Bank/ICB Leasing Corporation and as chief credit
officer and risk manager for Bank Leumi. Romoff was also chief executive officer of leasing and executive vice president of bank for the European American Bank (now part of Citibank) and EAB Leasing. |
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Litt Resigns as President of Advantage Credit |
| Advantage Credit International recently announced the resignation of
Ron Litt, who served as the company’s president.
His resignation was effective September 1, 2006. Litt leaves
Advantage Credit to return to Texas. In his year as president, Litt introduced many changes including a
National Accounts Office to address the special needs of larger
customers and to focus on helping customers close more loans. |
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MeriCap Credit Appoints Landon Business Development Manager, C&I Division |
| MeriCap Credit recently announced the appointment of Bill Laundon as
business development manager in its Construction & Industrial Equipment
("C&I) division. In his new role, Laundon will be responsible for
soliciting C&I vendors in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Laundon joins MeriCap from ASC Construction Equipment USA Inc., a North Carolina based Volvo equipment distributorship, where he served as retail finance manager for locations in five states and branch manager for two of their North Carolina locations. Laundon has a 20-year history in his assigned territory working as a credit and/or finance manager for various equipment distributorships including Caterpillar, Komatsu and Volvo. |
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IN VINO VERITAS |
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UPCOMING WINE FESTIVALS |
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There are numerous wine festivals/auctions coming up that lend themselves to a great deal of fund and enjoyment. They include: Red Hook, NY Hudson Valley Wine Fest; Sept. 9-10; 845-658-7181; www.hudsonvalleywinefest.com San Antonio, TX. New World Wine & Food Festival; Nov. 7-12; 210-223-2881; www.nwwff.org |
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