A new book for all newcomers to the industry.
Welcome to the World of Leasing and Asset Finance; a World which is experiencing major change.
Since its modern beginnings in the United States in the mid nineteen fifties and its development across Europe and Asia in the sixties and seventies, banks have dominated the industry. Although their dominance persists, it is being challenged in many markets.
Many of the changes we are experiencing flow directly from the Global banking crisis and the resultant rethink concerning capital adequacy and the new banking guidelines for capital contained in Basel III. These pressures have caused many banks to re-consider the value of their leasing subsidiaries alongside other products, the cost of customer distribution channels and definitions of what type of customer profile they are seeking.
The scale of the banking distribution channel continues to be significant and leasing is being incorporated as a ‘lending’ product by many. Beyond the banks; amongst the new entrants and the expanding manufacturer owned captive financiers, there are many for whom leasing and asset finance are new, and a mainly untapped opportunity. Leasing and Asset Finance products offer a way to sustain investment & growth in the mature markets, but even more so in the emerging markets of Europe and Asia. An introduction to equipment leasing and asset finance should be helpful and useful for all these audiences.
In serving such a cross section of readers we have taken particular care not to include unnecessary complications in the book, or features which are relevant to only one or two geographic markets, or jurisdictions. The book is intended to be an accessible introduction, written in digestible chapters, for new, non-expert, entrants to the market.
I would like to thank all my colleagues in IAA-Advisory who spent time and effort in assembling and writing the content and in addition the editing and design of the book.
I wish you happy reading.
Derek Soper
Chairman, IAA Advisory