Leasing sector experiences first slump ever as banks take tougher stand

Leasing companies last year leased a total of zl.7.1 billion worth of assets, down from zl.7.45 billion in 1999, marking the first drop in revenues in the ten-year history of the sector in Poland, said Piotr Czyzak, head of the Conference of Leasing Companies (KPL) which presented the data. According to KPL, the inflation-adjusted value of assets leased last year was 14% lower than in 1999. The main cause of the sector's decline was tougher financing requirements imposed by banks, after BG Leasing, one of the leading companies in the sector, stopped servicing its liabilities last spring. The sector could take an even bigger hit this year, after the bankruptcy of Towarszystwo Finansowo-Leasingowe (TFL). However, some firms managed to beat the negative trend and considerably boost turnover. These were mostly leasing companies linked to major banks, such as Raiffeisen Leasing Polska, WBK Finanse & Leasing or BRE Leasing, the second player on the market after Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy (EFL). (Rzeczpospolita, p.B1, Puls Biznesu, p.8) T.J.