Editor's note

A report of a leaked document in February from the European Commission that paints a bleak picture for European banks, particularly those with business finance customers, made for interesting reading this month.

The document was prepared as a briefing for the Eurozone finance ministers’ meeting and warned the 19 member states that use the euro, to expect a rise in bankruptcies and bad loans as governments begin to unwind their worker and business support schemes.

The document estimates that the EU spent almost €2.3 trillion in supporting national business schemes to prevent a rise in insolvencies which it calculated has prevented almost a quarter of EU companies from experiencing liquidity issues.

Against this background, the Continents’ biggest bank asset finance providers have begun reporting their 2020 earnings in February and the picture is not pretty, as unpaid debt has ravaged bank profits, adding further pressure on politicians to not act too hastily in seeking to balance the books. (See our News Analysis for details about Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Société Générale.)

In the UK, the newly appointed chief executive of the economy, Rishi Sunak, faces a similar dilemma, how to manage a smooth tapering of schemes?

Also, of interest in the UK is the nature and extent of EU-UK regulatory divergence. Members of the UK’s Finance & Leasing Association would like to diverge from the EU’s Consumer Credit Directive to revamp the much-maligned Consumer Credit Act. Our main feature is an interview with the FLA’s director general on the topic.

We also look at sustainable procurement in the circular economy, what the end of the internal combustion engine (ICE) looks like for UK commercial vehicle lessor Asset Alliance Group, and our country focus is on Poland, plus much more.

Alejandro Gonzalez, Editor