The Board of Trustees met in November in Bonita Springs, Florida, to elect 2019 officers, approve the 2019 budget and set programming plans for the upcoming year. Guided by strong leadership and invaluable expertise, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation continues to be Your Eye on the Future.
We are pleased to announce the 2019 Officers and Trustees:
Chairman–Jeffry Elliott, Huntington Equipment Finance
Vice Chair– Scott Thacker, Ivory Consulting Corporation
Treasurer– Nancy Pistorio, Madison Capital LLC
President– Ralph Petta, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association
Executive Director– Kelli Nienaber, Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation
Jeff Berg, DLL
Katie Emmel, International Decision Systems
Chris Enbom*, AP Equipment Financing
Lori Frasier*, Key Equipment Finance
Eric Hanson, Macquarie Capital
Valerie Gerard*, The Alta Group LLC
Randy Haug, LTi Technology Solutions
James Johnson, Ph.D, Retired
Donald Link, Hitachi Capital America Corp.
Zack Marsh*, Orion First Financial, LLC
Bonnie Michael, U.S. Volvo Financial Services
Thomas Petersen, Wells Fargo Equipment Finance
Michael Romanowski*, Farm Credit Leasing Services Corporation
Thomas Ware, PayNet, Inc.
New Foundation Study Reports
Equipment Finance Industry on Sound Footing for the Future
The Foundation’s recent study, the 2018 Equipment Leasing & Finance Industry Horizon Report, a hybrid of the annual State of the Equipment Finance Industry report (SEFI), combines the best elements of prior SEFI reports and the quadrennial market sizing study. In addition to summarizing key industry performance data, this year’s version places more emphasis on forward-looking economic and industry insights related to the U.S. economy. The report also includes the results of a new Foundation survey of equipment end-users conducted in August 2018. Key findings from the 2018 Equipment Leasing & Finance Industry Horizon Report include:
Leasing leads the pack. According to the end-user survey (which focused only on private sector investment), the most common payment method used by businesses to acquire equipment and software in 2017 was leasing (48%), followed by lines of credit (9%) and secured loans (8%).
Nearly 6 in 10 businesses use financing for acquisitions. The end-user survey also revealed that 58% of respondents who acquired equipment or software in 2017 used at least one form of financing to do so (i.e., lease, secure loan or line of credit).
Propensity to finance remains stable. More than twice as many respondents expect their equipment and software acquisitions to increase vs. decrease over the next 12 months (26% increase; 12% decrease), though the majority of respondents expect equipment and software acquisition to stay the same (59%).
Economic expansion has “room to run.” Most economic indicators that have historically provided an early warning sign of a downturn suggest that the current expansion likely still has some room to run. As such, there is reason to be optimistic about the U.S. economy over the next 6–12 months.
Challenges from the future of work. Advances in computing technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, will pose challenges for the equipment finance industry, particularly for management. To successfully deploy new systems, they will need to overcome resistance to changing previous mindsets, as well as recruit and develop talent who are adept at critical thinking, communication and working with technology, among other skill sets.
The Foundation intends to commission a full-scale market-sizing study with additional detail in 2019. Access the complete 2018 Equipment Leasing & Finance Industry Horizon Report for free at www.leasefoundation.org/industry-resources/horizon-report/.
