In brief

The role of UK independent lessors and bank asset finance providers in helping businesses manage through the pandemic will feature as a major talking point during an online discussion between two heavyweights of the UK leasing sector to be streamed on 4 March.

The 30-minute talk between Sam Geneen (of Star Asset Finance), and host Lindsay Town (of IAA-Advisory) will be streamed on 4 March at 1pm UTC, followed by a live Q&A. Click HERE to register for the webinar.

The year of Covid-19 was characterised by the trade body meeting its core commitments as well as undertaking an overhaul of external IT communications and deepening its EU lobbying, said Patrick Beselaere, the chairman of the European Federation of Leasing Company Associations.

In a video statement, Beselaere, the chief executive and global head of ING Lease, said: We managed to ensure our core priorities were covered, which included overhauling and modernising our communications with the launch of a new website and online member area.

Total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) fell by 6% in December 2020 compared with the same month in 2019, the FLA said in a statement.

In 2020 as a whole, new business was 23% lower than in 2019, according to the UK’s Finance & Leasing Association.

The commercial vehicle finance sector reported new business up by 2% in December compared with the same month in 2019.

The plant and machinery finance and IT equipment finance sectors reported falls in new business of 4% and 21% respectively, over the same period.

Mark Kindermann, the chief operating officer of Grenke AG, has resigned from his role on the company's supervisory board before critical audits into the company's business dealings could be completed, Grenke AG reported 8 February.

In a statement, the German-based SME lender and leasing company said that: “The preliminary assessments made in the course of the ongoing audits are critical of previous internal processes in the compliance organisation and internal auditing department.

“Kindermann has pointed out to the supervisory board that it will be necessary to revise the preliminary assessments once the audits have been completed."

Business partners Jo Davis and Daksha Mistry have launched Auxillias – a specialist legal and compliance firm targeting the consumer, motor and asset finance sectors.

“Our clients have always expressed that they would like to be able to have legal and regulatory compliance support all in one place,” said Davis.

“Our vision was to create a market-leading specialist legal and compliance law firm bringing advisory, consultancy, regulatory and training support services to its clients within these specialist sectors, all under one roof.”

Insight Investments and Harbor Capital Leasing have announced a partnership to accelerate the growth of their leasing organisations, according to a joint company press release.

Materials handling equipment lessor, Harbor Capital, has joined forces with Insight Investments, a technology leasing company, in a move that creates one of the largest privately-held independent lessors in North America with $1.2bn (£880m) in assets under management.

Under the partnership agreement, each company will continue to operate and serve customers independently.

Nordea Bank – a provider of asset finance and leasing in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland – has updated its plan to fully integrate sustainability into its business strategy with a long-term objective to become a net-zero emissions bank by 2050 at the latest.

Nordea’s ambition is to become a bank with net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, the bank said in a statement.

To reach this goal, Nordea has set a mid-term objective to reduce carbon emissions from its lending and investment portfolios by 40-50% by 2030, the bank said.

The joint venture between BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions and 3stepIT, has commenced operations in the Netherlands and Belgium, building on its existing European network.

In a statement, the company's said any mid-market, corporate and public sector organisations in the Netherlands and Belgium will be able to access BNP Paribas 3 Step IT Technology Lifecycle Management solution.

The alliance, which brings together BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions and Finland-based 3stepIT, operates five IT refurbishment centres across the UK, France, Germany, and Italy, with additional coverage in the Nordic region.

The sharp drop in European equipment leasing volume during March and April 2020, when Covid-19 hit, was counterbalanced by a positive recovery period during Q3, according to Acquis Insurance Finance.

However, this recovery failed to continue its strong upward trajectory during Q4 when the sector witnessed a levelling off of volumes across the Continent, according to Acquis' Index of performance indicators for 2020.

The Q4 plateau "was to be expected as the optimism of a return to some form of normality during the late summer months was replaced with trepidation" as many European nations re-entered lockdown amid the pressures of winter in managing the virus, commensurate with the imposition of cross-border restrictions on non-essential travel, Acquis said.

Acquis Insurance Finance 
https://www.acquisinsurance.com/

DF Capital, a provider of working capital for SMEs, has issued over £1bn in loans since the firm opened for business in 2017, the lender said.

The newly authorised commercial lending and savings bank – which was granted a UK banking licence in September 2020 ­­ – has also raised over £145m in deposits since the launch of its savings products in October 2020.

Carl D’Ammassa, chief executive of DF Capitals, said: “We have a growing loan book, a proven capability to raise deposits and carry no pandemic related arrears or losses into 2021."

DF Capital
​​​​​​​https://www.dfcapital.co.uk/