THE LEASING INDUSTRY BRIEFING
The latest news, views and numbers you need to know this month
News in Numbers
75%
Is the size of the bounce back at the end of 2020 for new equipment lease volumes across Europe, compared to pre-Covid levels, according to year-on-year data by Acquis Insurance Finance.
£2.39bn
Is the total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) written for November 2020, this represents a 10% year-on-year fall, according to the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).
61%
Almost two-thirds of EU businesses expect IT budgets to rise in 2021 to manage the Covid-19 pandemic and enable employees to work from home, according to research by 3stepIT.
34.2%
Is the percentage by which fleet and business new car registrations fell in the first 10 months of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
28.3%
Represents the increase in UK businesses that grew their online presence during the second lockdown (Nov-Dec 2020), according to a survey of 900 SMEs by Close Brothers Asset Finance, who surveyed 900 SMEs. The survey included SMEs in non-consumer-facing sectors.
People Moves
BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions makes key appointments
Béatrice Belorgey has been appointed chairwoman of the board of directors of BNP Paribas Lease Group and BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions. Also, joining the two boards, as new members, are Mine Volle and Laurent Jansen.
Source: BNP Paribas Leasing Solution
Carmen Ene appointed CEO of BNP Paribas 3 Step IT
BNP Paribas 3 Step IT has announced that Carmen Ene has been appointed CEO of BNP Paribas 3 Step IT, a post she will hold in addition to her role as CEO of 3stepIT.
Source: BNP Paribas 3StepIT
New board of directors takes up reins at Leaseurope
Leaseurope, the European federation of leasing company associations, has appointed its new board of directors for a two-year term.
Source: Leaseurope
Bibby unveils senior team charged with driving growth strategy
Global asset finance provider Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has announced three senior hires. Axel Scholz, former chief executive (Asia Pacific) for Siemens Financial Services Commercial Finance has joined BFS as chief revenue officer. Richard Olver joins BFS as chief operations & information technology officer and Lucile Knight has been appointed as chief strategic development officer.
Source: Bibby Financial Services
The 12 members of the Leaseurope board are:
- Tim Albertsen, group chief executive, ALD Automotive
- Marcin Balicki, president of the management board, Millennium Leasing / Banco Comercial Português Group
- Patrick Beselaere, global head, ING Lease – Europe
- José Coronel de Palma y Martínez-Agulló, president & managing director, Caterpillar Financial
- Christine Delamarre, chief executive, Auxifip & Unifergie, Credit Agricole Leasing & Factoring
- Peter Hupfeld, chief executive, Nordea Finance
- Massimo Macciocchi, business leader for leasing, Banca Ifis
- Philippe Mellier, chief executive, Fraikin Group
- John Phillipou, managing director, SME lending, Paragon Bank
- Khaled Shahbo, senior vice-president, MD UK & Ireland, Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- Alexander Schmidecker, chief executive, Raiffeisen Leasing
- Hubert Spechtenhauser, member of the management board, UniCredit Leasing Germany
British Ports Association chief executive Richard Ballantyne, following UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement that the Freeports selection process will see the first sites in England set up by the end of 2021:
“This is a welcome development and by being more inclusive in terms of the number of freeports there might be, the government can now explore how to better deliver on its levelling up agenda without picking regions over each other. Coastal communities are often in areas of high deprivation and have also experienced challenges resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown so this potentially transformative policy will be welcomed across a range of suitable locations.”