Romanian Daily

Leasing falls under NBR's credit restrictions

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-27T08:26:00+00:00

Financial non-banking institutions (IFN), i.e. leasing companies, consumer credit companies etc, will have to limit their loans to individuals, so that the debtor's total commitment would not exceed 40% of his or her income, as is the case with banks. So far, the IFNs could grant credits according to their own standards, but they often accepted a higher degree of indebtedness of debtors, with the commitment often reaching half their customers' incomes. According to a draft norm adopted by the NBR, the monthly payment obligation will include, in addition to the principal and the interest, all the costs involved in the credit granting, thus excluding the possibility for part of the costs to be transferred in commissions not included in the instalment.

"The fact that the series of institutions, which grant loans, has extended has prompted the National Bank to draw up a law draft that it will make available for public debate, which will unify the legal status of all these institutions," said Adrian Vasilescu, advisor of the NBR's governor. The governor's advisor says the new rules will be directly applicable to both categories of lenders.

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€20 mln in Contracts for Sixt New Kopel

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-26T09:23:00+00:00

This month, Sixt New Kopel, the first specialised company which brought the operational leasing concept on the Romanian market, has signed contracts, among other companies, with Pagini Aurii and UTI, which added to its current customer portfolio’ Pepsi, Alka, Elite, Tnuva, ACT Media news agency reports. The value of these contracts is EUR 20 M.

”As we expected, the operational leasing market is beginning to grow and we have an increasing number of signals indicating a substantial development in the coming months.

We are glad to see that companies in Romania understand the advantages of this service,” says Sixt New Kopel Executive Manager Dudy Perry.

Kew Kopel is a member of Israeli holding “Schlomo Group”.

The latter owns and controls companies in various sectors: infrastructure, shipyards, real estate and the automotive industry.

Schlomo Group has 2,000 employees, the largest car fleet in Israel - 50,000 vehicles - over 100 garages and purchases 15 per cent of the total number of new vehicles sold in Israel.

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BCR Leasing: 42% higher

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-26T09:21:00+00:00

BCR Leasing in the first part of the year recorded 42 percent higher results as against the similar period of last year and is set to achieve a growth pace above the average by year-end, ACT Media news agency reports.

"We hope that, by year-end, we are going to maintain our growing pace above the average level on the market," president of the company Claudiu Stanescu told Rompres.

In the first four months of the year the company financed goods worth more than 28 million euros and in 2005 the value amounted to 235 million euros.

At the end of the first six months of 2006, BCR Leasing portfolio structure was formed in a proportion of 59 percent by car leasing, fleets included, 15 percent, commercial vehicles, 24 percent, equipment and industrial machines, and some 2 percent, leasing for buildings with productive or commercial destination.

At present, the company holds a market share of 11 percent and 26 outlets all over the country.

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International Leasing borrows 18m euros from banks

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-26T08:32:00+00:00

Leasing company International Leasing has signed contracts for funding worth 18 million euros, 80% of which will come from the BCR. The remainder of the loan will be granted by Piraeus Bank and Banca Romaneasca. The BCR will grant 14.7 million euros to the leasing company, divided into two instalments. A sum of 14.7 million euros should be granted by the end of this year, with the remaining 3 million euros being made available at a later date. International Leasing will also borrow 2.1 million euros from Piraeus Bank and 2 million euros from Banca Romaneasca. The sums will cover funding for new contracts, as well as the refinancing of financial leasing contracts that have already been closed.

"We will use part of the capital we have secured to start an ambitious project of territorial expansion. The project also includes a first on the local leasing market, the franchising of the International Leasing brand," said Ioana Necula, the company's manager and main shareholder.

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Leasing Market will Grow 25 % in 2006

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-24T08:01:00+00:00

The leasing market might grow by about 25 percent this year, but despite that, the experts consider the Romanian leasing is still underdeveloped, ACT Media news agency reports.

The experts expect the market to reach 3 billion euros in 2006 after having attained 2.21 billion euros the previous year, and further follow an upward trend, yet at a lesser growth pace, due to the requirements imposed by the National Bank of Romania.

"I believe the leasing market has an important growth potential up to about 4 - 5 billion euros, a threshold that could be attained in 3 to 5 years," secretary-general of the Romanian Leasing Companies Association (ASLR) Adrian Dodita told Rompres.

Dodita considers that although cars account for the largest share of the leasing sector - about 93 percent - there is still room for further growth of car sales under leasing contracts.

BCR Leasing president Claudiu Stanescu estimates vehicle leasing will not witness a substantial growth in 2006. Of this segment, cars account for 76.8 percent, whereas industrial and farming equipment accounts for 4.7 percent.

The experts believe real estate leasing, that currently holds just 3 - 4 percent of the total, is the segment with the most substantial potential, given the fact that in other European countries it accounts for some 18 percent and in Italy it holds almost 50 percent of the total.

"Real estate leasing might witness a growth of 60-70 percent or could even double," says Ager Leasing president Bogdan Savin.

He believes the majority of the population does not yet trust this product very much, considering car leasing is more advantageous.

The ASLR representative points to the fact that independent or captive leasing companies that have no bank to support them complain over the high interest rates charged on them, that can reach 7 - 9 percent.

The banks that established their own leasing companies offer them financing for more advantageous rates so that they are not particularly interested in expanding their offers to other companies that are not group members.

The independent leasing companies prefer to focus on foreign financing schemes, that are feasible, yet difficult to carry into effect.

Romania's accession to the European Union implies the connecting of the Romanian market to the unique European market, the removal of a series of protectionist measures and the setting in place of the necessary conditions for the free circulation of services, goods, capitals and persons.

The experts estimate that an increasing number of foreign leasing companies will set foot in Romania, which will result in tougher competition and implicitly in the appearance of new and more advantageous offers.

Several thousand companies with leasing in their activity object are currently registered in Romania but only 278 are effectively operational.

The experts say that after accession, only a part of them will manage to cope with the requirements imposed by the central bank, so that the number of companies will reduce even more.

"Right ahead of accession, the regulation - in less than six months - of the domestic leasing market will sweep off the market about 40 percent of the leasing companies, due to their low re-capitalization potential, their incapacity to draw in deposits or redeemable funds from the public, issue bonds or perform activities other than the disbursement of credits," said the president of BCR Leasing.

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“Sixt New Kopel” signed EUR 20 M operational leasing contracts

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-20T07:05:00+00:00

The company Sixt New Kopel Romania announced the signing of operational leasing contracts of EUR 20 M, for groups of vehicles of over 500 units. According to a communiqué of the company, Sixt New Kopel has already exceeded 1,000 cars estimated for the end of 2006.

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Leasing transactions on vehicle market up 46%

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-20T06:18:00+00:00

The number of vehicles acquired in leasing grew by 46% in the first six months of the year against the similar period of last year, to 58,438, cumulating some 43% of the total sales, according to data from the Association of Automotive Manufacturers and Importers of Romania (APIA). New imported cars acquired in leasing totalled 30,358 units in the first six months, a 31.7% growth against the same period of 2005.

The pace of growth slowed down compared with the same period last year, when sales in leasing increased by 57% against 2004. The rise however stays very close to the growth of total sales of imported cars, which stood at 31.8% in the January-June period of this year. Of all the options for purchasing foreign cars, leasing has maintained at the 52% seen in the first half of last year, with the difference being covered by funding through bank credits and by payments in cash upon purchase. Skoda remains the top imported brand acquired through leasing, with 4,680 units, a 27.5% growth.

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TBI Leasing, 2,500 contracts in six months

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-20T05:58:00+00:00

In the first six months, TBI Leasing closed some 2,500 contracts, with a value of funded goods standing at 31.5 million euros without tax, witnessing a 22.5% increase against a similar period of last year, said the company's sales manager, Laurentiu Levandovschi. "The improvement in funding products, the development of our new products and the expansion of our sales network are factors that have contributed to this increase," said Levandovschi. The results we posted in the first six months are in line with the budget set at the beginning of the year, with company officials estimating they will sign contracts worth a total 90 million euros by the end of 2006, a 50% increase against the level seen last year.

The company's portfolio is dominated by leasing of new cars (54%). Equipment accounts for 27% of the total number of contracts closed, second-hand vehicles cumulate 11%, while 8% go to real estate leasing. "TBI's market share in Romania's leasing market is 2.3% and 16% among independent leasing companies," said the sales manager.

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Merkantil to open next year a leasing firm in Romania, in collaboration with OTP

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-19T06:52:00+00:00

The financial group Merkantil from Hungary, with divisions specialised by consumer credits and leasing, could tap next year the Romanian leasing market in collaboration with OTP Bank Romania, declared to Mediafax Nikolay Marev, Merkantil General Manager for international operations.

“Merkantil wants to be among the first seven players from the leasing industry in the five years following the beginning of the activity in Romania,” said Marev. The main shareholders of the leasing company will most probably be Merkantil Bank and OTP Bank Romania, both members of OTP group, the biggest financial group in Hungary. The share capital and the quotas held by the participants have not yet been established, according to the official.

Merkantil offers funding both in financial and operational leasing, through two companies - Merkantil Lease and Merkantil Car, the last being specialised in motor vehicle leasing.

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Vehicle leasing up 46 pc in H1

IulianBulandra — 2006-07-19T06:39:00+00:00

Leasing transactions in the Romanian automotive market picked up 46 per cent in H1 as compared to the corresponding period of last year, to 58,438 vehicles, accounting for approx. 43 per cent of the total sales, according to data made public by the Automotive Producers and Importers Association (APIA).

New imported cars purchased under leasing contracts totalled in the first six months 30,358 units, up 31.7 per cent since the corresponding period of 2005. The rise pace was however slower than last year, when leasing sales increased by 57 per cent compared to 2004. But the increase rate is similar to the one reported for the total sales of imported vehicles – 31.8 per cent in January-June 2006.

Dacia automobile leasing contracts doubled compared to the first six months of last year, to 17,407 units, while total sales dropped by 4.28 per cent to 49,803 units. The share of leasing contracts in the Dacia sales rose from 16 per cent to 35 per cent of the total units sold in the Romanian market. The leasing contracts for Dacia pick-ups accounts for 45 per cent of the total sales, up 16 per cent. The number of leasing contracts on Dacia pick-ups rose by approx. 66 per cent, to 2,940, although total sales decreased 64 per cent, to 6,602 units.

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