Finance Industry Grows for 10th Year; Then Covid

Sept. 16, 2020

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, while recognizing the recent effects of the coronavirus pandemic, reported growth in new business for 2019 of 10.5 percent, the 10th consecutive year that “businesses increased their spending on capital equipment,” it said.

The data, part of ELFA’s 2020 Survey of Equipment Finance Activity (SEFA) covers key statistical, financial, and operations information for the $900 billion equipment finance industry, based on a survey of 100 ELFA member companies.

“The world is a very different place today in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic than it was in 2019,” said ELFA president/CEO Ralph Petta, in a prepared statement. “However, the 2019 statistics included in this report provide valuable industry benchmark data.”

How leasing fared in 2019

New business volume grew 10.5 percent, up from the 4.4-percent increase reported in 2018, and stronger than the growth of the nation’s GDP, reported at 2.3 percent by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

By organization type, banks saw a 12.8-percent increase in new business volume, independents saw an 8.4-percent increase, and captives saw a 6.9-percent increase.

Source: ELFA