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Global Leasing Report 2020 - FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH: NINE YEARS OF CONTINUOUS GROWTH IN LEASING - White Clarke ...
2020

Global
Leasing
Report
BY BRENDAN GLEESON
GROUP CEO
WHITE CLARKE GROUP

FROM STRENGTH
TO STRENGTH:
NINE YEARS OF
CONTINUOUS
GROWTH IN LEASING
Global Leasing Report 2020 - FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH: NINE YEARS OF CONTINUOUS GROWTH IN LEASING - White Clarke ...
Your complimentary copy of
the Global Leasing Report 2020

I am delighted to present you with this latest edition of the
White Clarke Group Global Leasing Report 2020 (GLR).
The GLR has become the definitive analysis of country trading
environments and world trends in auto and asset leasing.

This is the 14th year that our report has featured as the keynote
commentary of the World Leasing Yearbook, and it continues
a history of tracking the worldwide market for leasing products
for more than 30 years. You will find the latest auditable data
on volume and growth by region, market penetration, GDP ratios
and market shares, complete with a ranking of the top 50 leasing
markets by size worldwide.                                          Brendan Gleeson, Group CEO,
                                                                    White Clarke Group
The report highlights the global leasing industry’s development,
whilst companies introduce new and innovative ways to finance
equipment for businesses worldwide. This year’s report sees the
top 50 countries growing new business volume by 0.33%, rising
from US$1,282.73bn in 2017 to US$1,287.01bn in 2018. Three
regions, North America, Europe and Asia, account for more than
95% of total world volume.

I hope you will enjoy reading this report and information
included. Feel free to comment or ask questions
info@whiteclarkegroup.com.

Sincerely yours,

Brendan Gleeson
Group CEO, White Clarke Group

2                                                                              © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
Global Leasing Report 2020 - FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH: NINE YEARS OF CONTINUOUS GROWTH IN LEASING - White Clarke ...
About White Clarke Group                                      World Leasing Yearbook
White Clarke Group is the global first-class provider in      The White Clarke Group Global Leasing Report is prepared
end-to-end automotive, consumer and equipment finance         by White Clarke Group in association with the World
software solutions and consulting services. It is a global    Leasing Yearbook. This report is an extract from the
organization employing around 600 professionals, with         complete Global Leasing Report which is part of the 352
offices in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Austria, Germany,   page World Leasing Yearbook. To obtain the full report,
India and China.                                              which contains 7 additional tables and figures, you can
                                                              purchase the book at www.world-leasing-yearbook.com
The company’s award-winning CALMS full life-cycle             or call +44 (0)1206 579591.
platform provides a flexible workflow approach that
automates the entire business process from origination
through contract to portfolio management—trusted by
more than 100 customers in 30 countries around the globe.
For more information, please visit
www.whiteclarkegroup.com

3                                                                                               © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
Global Leasing Report 2020 - FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH: NINE YEARS OF CONTINUOUS GROWTH IN LEASING - White Clarke ...
From strength to strength:
nine years of continuous
growth in leasing
By Brendan Gleeson, Group CEO, White Clarke Group

The White Clarke Group Global Leasing                        Three regions, North America, Europe and Asia, account
Report continues a history of tracking the                   for more than 95% of world volume. North America
worldwide market for leasing products                        experienced growth of 3.2%, while all other regions,
for more than 30 years.                                      bar Africa, showed a decline in growth when expressed
                                                             in US dollars.
All values are quoted in US dollars.
                                                             It is important when analysing this data to stress that
                                                             the Global Leasing Report employs the US dollar as the
Overview                                                     common currency baseline for country comparisons, using
                                                             exchange rates prevailing at the end of the year. (For this
For this 41st edition of the World Leasing Yearbook,         report the date of conversion is December 31, 2018).
we can announce that the global leasing industry has
reported the ninth year of uninterrupted growth, albeit      Care should be taken when making comparisons year
at a more modest pace than in recent years.                  on year for individual countries and regions in this data
                                                             as currency fluctuations inevitably impact the US dollar
The international leasing industry remains an essential      figures in the Report. The growth figures we specify in
contributor to global economic development and               Table 2 are as actually reported by each country, before
continues to demonstrate innovation and flexibility in the   conversion into US dollars, so they are unaffected by
face of regulatory change and economic turbulence.           the vagaries of currency fluctuations and give a more
                                                             accurate picture of domestic performance year on year.
The top 50 countries in 2018 reported growth in new
business volume of 0.33%, rising from US$1,282.73bn          North America
in 2017 to US$1,287.01bn in 2018.
                                                             The North American region consists of the US, Canada
This performance follows on from the remarkable growth       and Mexico. The sector has maintained its position as
of 16.6% in 2017 and 9.4% in 2016. The Report shows that     the world’s biggest market, with new business volume
the global leasing industry has grown 131% in the past       of US$460.1bn, representing 35.8% of the total global
nine years (see Table 3).                                    market share in equipment leased.

4                                                                                              © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
Table 1: Volume and growth by region (2017—2018)
Rank by              Region                        Annual volume          Growth         Percentage of world   Percentage of world    Change in market
volume                                                   (US$bn)    2017–2018 (%)        market volume 2017    market volume 2018      share 2017–2018
1                    N America                            460.11             3.2                      34.8                  35.8                  1.0
2                    Europe                               427.03           –0.3                       33.4                  33.2                 –0.2
3                    Asia                                350.65             –1.0                      27.6                  27.2                 –0.4
4                    Aus/NZ                                28.51           –9.5                        2.5                   2.2                 –0.2
5                    S America                             14.55           –14.5                        1.3                   1.1                –0.2
6                    Africa                                 6.16             9.0                       0.4                   0.5                  0.0
                     Total                               1,287.01

Source: White Clarke Group Global Leasing Report

                                                                                   Europe
The US is the dominant player of the region, and the                               Europe reported a decline in growth of 0.3% in 2018
largest single market in the world by some margin. New                             when expressed in US dollars bringing total new
business volume for the equipment finance industry                                 business to US$427bn and it maintains its position as
expanded by 4.4% in 2018 according to the ELFA Annual                              the second largest region in the world. Europe accounts
Survey of Equipment Finance.                                                       for 33.2% of total world volume.

This is down on 2017’s 6.9% growth figure but still                                The leading five European countries (UK, Germany, France,
impressive when compared with US GDP of 2.9% for                                   Italy and Poland) feature in the world’s top 10 countries
2018 as reported by the US Department of Commerce.                                 for new business, contributing 64% of the total European
New US equipment finance business volume in 2018                                   volume. Sweden has dropped out of the top five.
was estimated at US$428.4bn.
                                                                                   The United Kingdom and Germany are positioned as the
Canadian economic growth slowed in 2018 to 1.6% from                               third and fourth largest leasing markets in the world and
3% in 2017. Uncertainty over NAFTA negotiations between                            remain the dominant players in Europe. They accounted
the US, Canada and Mexico as well as fears over tariff                             for 39% of the European market and 13% of the world
wars has created concerns over trade and dampened                                  market in 2018.
growth. Deteriorating confidence in the global economic
environment has led the Bank of Canada to predict slower                           In 2018, the UK industry captured US$92.2bn of new
economic growth and the Canadian economy is only                                   business registering a growth rate of 5.3% (in local
expected to grow around 1.4% in 2019 and 2% in 2020.                               currency) as compared with previous year and locating
                                                                                   it third in the global rankings after the US and China. At
New business in Canada was up 0.3% in 2018 compared                                the time of writing (November 2019) Brexit negotiations
with 2.7% in 2017. Total new business volumes have risen                           continue to dominate the UK political agenda though
by an average 3.3% a year between 1990 and 2018. The                               the UK economy has proved to be incredibly resilient
asset-based finance sector is now estimated to account                             despite the prevailing economic uncertainties.
for around 39% of all spending on equipment in Canada.
                                                                                   The second largest European leasing market is Germany
According to data supplied by the Alta Group, Mexico                               which registered growth of 2.4% in 2018 in local currency
experienced a decline in new business in local currency                            in comparison to 2017 with new business volume of
of 6.7% in 2018.                                                                   US$73.3bn.

5                                                                                                                         © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
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Cars and estate vehicles (57%) and trailers & trucks                                                               Overall the members of Leaseurope (the European
(17%) occupying the main types of asset being leased. A                                                            federation of leasing and finance companies) recorded a
highlight in 2018 was the demand for office equipment                                                              consolidated increase in new business of 7.69%. (For an
and IT systems which grew by 12.8%.                                                                                in-depth breakdown of the European data, please see
                                                                                                                   the Leaseurope report in the World Leasing Yearbook)
France remains in sixth place in the top 50 rankings,
with new business volume of US$52.2bn and reporting                                                                The overall decline in Europe shown in this GLR conflicts
growth of 9.8%. Italy ranks as the fourth largest European                                                         with the 7.69% rise in new business by Leaseurope
market with new volume at US$35.9bn and growth of                                                                  members because The Global Leasing Report adopts
5.5%. Poland has moved into fifth position in European                                                             the US dollar as its base rate, as published on the last
ranking with new business of US$22.2bn, registering                                                                day of the year (2018).
growth of 21.8%. As a result of Poland’s strong performance
Sweden slips out of the top 10 as result of a decline in new                                                       Leaseurope employs the euro as its base currency,
business of 19.6%.                                                                                                 adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations.

Other significant domestic growth performances worth
highlighting throughout the European region are: Bulgaria
20.2%, Netherlands 19.7%, Portugal 16.7%, Russia 20.7%,
and Hungary 13.3%.

6                                                                                                                                                             © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
Asia
New business volume in Asia fell by 1% to US$350.7bn          US$66.3bn. It remains the second largest market in
reflecting the slowdown in the Chinese leasing market. This   Asia after China and approximately 5% of private capital
follows the remarkable growth in the Asian region of 59% in   investments are made through leasing.
2017. Asia occupies a 27.2% share of the world market.
                                                              The Taiwanese market is now the third largest in the
China remains the second largest leasing market in            Asian region and registered growth of 16.9% in 2018
the world. New business stood at US$254.4bn in 2018.          with new business volume of US$13.4bn ranking it 14th
Growth slowed dramatically in 2019 to 1.27% compared          in the Top 50.
to the impressive 20.4% in 2017.
                                                              The fourth biggest leasing market in Asia is Korea which
However, it should be noted that the Chinese leasing          ranks 15th in the world achieving new business volume of
market has experienced growth of 168% in new leasing          US$12.2bn which is up 5.9% on 2017. In Hong Kong new
business since 2014, a remarkable feat. Leasing market        business for 2018 was up 11% at US$0.4bn, Malaysia fell
penetration stands at around 7% showing that this market      10% at US$1.4bn and India was up an impressive 60% at
has tremendous potential for further development.             US1.6bn. India is a market ripe for tremendous expansion.
                                                              We do not have reliable data for Thailand, Singapore,
Japan, which is the fifth largest leasing market in the       Pakistan and Indonesia.
world, experienced an increase in lease transaction
volume in 2018 of 6.8% with new business volume of

7                                                                                             © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
Rest of the world
Leasing in Australia is a mature product, having been        in the region. In May and June 2019 Africalease led a
offered as part of a portfolio of equipment financing        mission to Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Senegal, Togo and
techniques for over 60 years. Leasing is a proven            Gabon to promote leasing. It is to be hoped that new
equipment financing technique suitable to all stages of      national leasing associations will be formed in the African
the economic cycle and it is expected it will continue to    region in coming years and with that reliable data which
play an important role in supporting and developing the      can be used in forthcoming editions of the GLR.
Australian economy.
                                                             In South America new business volume figures
The AFIA estimates that total equipment finance in           are generally not recorded by the national leasing
Australia in 2018/19 was A$40.4bn, up just 0.25% on the      associations where the emphasis is on portfolio value.
previous year. Australia ranks in eighth place in the Top    This makes it difficult to ascertain annual new sales
50, with new volume of US$28.5bn.                            volume for the region and many of the figures in this
                                                             report are therefore estimates.
We have no reliable data for New Zealand. Australia/
New Zealand represents a 2.2% share of global volume.        We are most grateful to the CEO of the Alta Group –
                                                             Latin American Region, Rafael Castillo Triana, for giving
Africa accounts for 0.5% of the world market in leasing      us access to his research and facilitating us with data
with four African countries achieving a placing within the   used in this Report. In the absence of growth figures,
top 50 leasing threshold: South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco     we have adopted the growth in portfolio value, giving at
and Egypt. The region increased volume by 9% to              least some indication of the health of the industry.
US$6.2bn.
                                                             Overall new business volume for the South American
The African leasing industry is still in its infancy and     region was US$14.6bn, down 14.5% in 2018. South
there is still a scarcity of quantitative information        America accounts for 1.1% of total global lease volume.
available. The International Finance Corporation (IFC),
a member of the World bank, has been supporting the          The largest leasing markets in South America by size
development of leasing markets for over 10 years and         ranking are Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Puerto Rico
has intervened in over 20 countries. There remains,          and Argentina. New business volume was up (in local
however, no definitive study of the region and estimates     currency) in Brazil (22%), Chile (10%) and Puerto Rico (5%),
are challenging.                                             but down in Columbia (20%), Peru (8%), Mexico (7%), and
                                                             Argentina (21%) (See the Alta report in the World Leasing
Under the initiative of the Moroccan Leasing Association     Yearbook for further detail on the region).
and the support of the IFC, Africalease was founded in
2017 with a view to developing and promoting leasing

8                                                                                              © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
Table 2: White Clarke Group Global Leasing Report
Ranking         Continent         Country                            Annual Volume                         % Growth                    % Market                            Source
                Code                                                       (US$bn)                        2017—2018                  Penetration
1               NA                US                                         428.40                              4.40                        21.5                              (8)
2               A                 China                                      254.42                              1.27                            6.9                           (9)
3               E                 UK                                              92.17                          5.30                       32.9                               (2)
4               E                 Germany                                     73.32                              2.39                       15.9                               (2)
5               A                 Japan                                       66.34                              6.80                            5.2                               (1)
6               E                 France                                          52.18                          9.79                       16.9                               (2)
7               E                 Italy                                       35.90                              5.47                        16.1                              (2)
8               ANT               Australia                                       28.51                          0.25                       40.0                                   (1)
9               NA                Canada                                          24.46                          0.30                       39.0                                   (1)
10              E                 Poland                                      22.20                             21.80                        27.0                              (2)
11              E                 Sweden                                      20.88                            –19.61                       22.4                               (2)
12              E                 Russia                                       20.59                            20.71                            n/a                           (2)
13              E                 Switzerland                                     13.49                          8.01                       12.5                               (2)
14              A                 Taiwan                                          13.42                         16.89                       10.8                                   (1)
15              A                 Korea                                           12.18                          5.94                            9.0                               (1)
16              E                 Spain                                           11.89                         11.61                            6.6                           (2)
17              E                 Denmark                                         11.49                          0.97                       25.3                               (2)
18              E                 Austria                                          9.36                         10.78                       14.0                               (2)
19              E                 Netherlands                                      8.71                         19.67                            8.0                           (2)
20              E                 Norway                                           8.57                          5.31                        12.1                              (2)
21              E                 Belgium                                          7.72                          4.63                       10.0                               (2)
22              NA                Mexico                                           7.25                         –6.77                            n/a                           (4)
23              E                 Czech Republic                                   5.36                         –1.92                       12.3                               (2)
24              E                 Turkey                                           5.24                         -4.16                            n/a                           (2)
25              E                 Finland                                          5.20                          1.96                       16.0                               (8)
26              E                 Portugal                                         4.98                         16.70                        18.7                              (2)
27              SA                Colombia                                         4.84                        –20.15                            n/a                           (4)
28              SA                Chile                                            4.74                          9.90                            n/a                           (4)
29              AF                South Africa                                     3.51                         12.86                            n/a                           (8)
30              E                 Hungary                                          2.93                         13.30                            8.5                           (2)
31              E                 Slovakia                                         2.79                         –7.47                       15.0                               (2)
32              SA                Brazil                                           2.69                         22.90                            n/a                           (4)
33              E                 Romania                                          2.55                          2.00                            n/a                           (8)
34              E                 Lithuania                                        2.41                          7.06                      31.64                               (2)
35              E                 Slovenia                                         1.76                          3.77                       19.6                               (2)
36              E                 Bulgaria                                         1.71                         20.21                       13.9                               (2)
37              A                 India                                            1.58                         60.21                            0.6                           (9)
38              SA                Peru                                             1.56                         –8.40                            n/a                           (4)
39              E                 Estonia                                          1.45                          4.08                       29.2                               (2)
40              A                 Malaysia                                         1.41                        –10.48                            n/a                               (1)
41              AF                Morocco                                          1.27                          2.20                       15.0                                   (1)
42              E                 Latvia                                           0.99                          3.74                       14.9                               (2)
43              A                 Iran                                             0.85                        –17.00                            0.5                               (1)
44              E                 Ukraine                                          0.81                         10.84                            n/a                           (2)
45              AF                Egypt                                            0.73                         45.00                            n/a                           (8)
46              AF                Nigeria                                          0.65                         11.00                            n/a                           (9)
47              A                 Hong Kong                                        0.45                         11.37                            n/a                               (1)
48              E                 Greece                                           0.38                        -36.58                            2.1                           (2)
49              SA                Puerto Rico                                      0.37                          5.23                            n/a                           (4)
50              SA                Argentina                                        0.35                        –20.82                            n/a                           (4)
                                  TOTAL                                     1,287.01

Market penetration rates quoted by Leaseurope appear as those reported and defined in the Leaseurope’s 2017 Annual Survey. Country growth figures display the figure reported by
each country i.e. it is unaffected by the vagaries of currency fluctuations. It is intended to display true growth as experienced on the ground.
Key to Sources:	(1)          National Leasing Association                  (4)     Alta Group                                 (7)   Central bank data
                 (2)          Leaseurope                                    (5)     Other trade associations                   (8)   Author’s estimate
                 (3)          Asian Leasing Association                     (6)     Government statistics                      (9)   Others’ data
White Clarke Group Global Leasing Report is prepared by White Clarke Group, Milton Keynes, UK, in association with the World Leasing Yearbook.
No information may be reproduced without the prior permission of White Clarke Group and the publishers (World Leasing Yearbook).
Leasing penetration                                           The sources
For countries where reliable data has been made               The White Clarke Group Global Leasing Report is
available, Table 2 includes a measure of leasing              assembled from a number of disparate sources, the
penetration for the year 2018. We provide two                 most important primary sources being the national
measurements for leasing penetration. One shows the           associations that represent leasing companies in most
percentage of investment in a given country financed by       individual countries.
leasing and hire purchase. It is calculated as total new
business volume divided by total investment, excluding        The chief role of the national associations is to act
real estate. For the largest countries, a back run of these   as lobbying groups, with the aim of influencing the
figures for 20 years is given in Table 4.                     regulatory environment. These bodies almost all make
                                                              efforts to extend their membership bases as widely as
The second method of expressing penetration, introduced       possible within the local leasing industry, and to measure
into the Global Leasing Report in 1999, is in relation to     and publicise local leasing business activity.
gross domestic product (GDP), i.e. national output as a
whole. Table 5 gives figures and rankings for each country    In several regions, including Europe, Asia and Latin
in the White Clarke Group/GDP ratio for 2018.                 America, continental leasing federations add substantial
                                                              value to the process of recording activity at national as
Of the two measures, the first (investment penetration)       well as continental levels.
is a better indication of how leasing compares in
competition with alternative forms of financing. However,     In Europe, the Leaseurope federation endeavours to
calculation of the investment penetration ratio depends       standardise the measurement of equipment leasing
on identifying the correct statistic for plant investment,    business for each European country, on a basis that
against which leasing should be compared. The White           broadly matches the Global Leasing Report’s concept
Clarke Group/GDP ratio is a more reliable indicator in        of the scope of leasing. We are particularly grateful to
that it is based on a broader denominator. Furthermore,       Leaseurope for the quality and depth of their data.
information for all countries is more readily available.
                                                              As mentioned before, readers will note some differences
In measuring leasing by reference to economic activity        between figures quoted for European countries by the
as a whole, this ratio highlights which countries have        two organisations. This is because Leaseurope publishes
relatively mature leasing industries, or, in some cases,      its data in euros, using average exchange rates over the
where leasing is being promoted strategically as a            year for non-Euro countries, while the Global Leasing
source of investment funding.                                 Report is published in US dollars, employing the last
                                                              published exchange rates for the year.

10                                                                                              © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
Identifying the top 50
National associations also remain important sources         The global and continental aggregates are compiled
of information in Europe, with many of them providing       from the top 50 countries only, and estimates are not
significant information and narrative beyond that           made for countries outside that group. It is estimated that
required by Leaseurope. We are grateful to the Alta         all the excluded countries together would probably have
Group for their assistance in preparing much of the Latin   accounted for around US$14bn of measurable leasing
American data.                                              business in 2018.

Other important sources of information for some             For the purposes of identifying regional or continental
countries include official statistics from central banks    groups, Turkey is taken as the eastern extremity of
or finance ministries, and in some cases trade bodies,      Europe. Africa is divided from Asia at the Suez Canal,
which have a wider remit than the leasing industry but      with Egypt in Africa. The Americas are divided at the
who can make a clear differentiation between leasing        Panama Canal, with Panama itself in North America.
and other financial products.                               Australia and New Zealand together are treated as a
                                                            separate region.
In some of the less developed countries, International
Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of        Cross-border leasing is included within the national total
the World Bank, has been active in promoting leasing        for the home state of the lessor, rather than that of the
activity. IFC is in a position to provide market volume     lessee. Strictly speaking, the national totals represent
estimates for several developing countries, and has         leasing industries rather than leasing markets.
been a very helpful source of information for the Global
Leasing Report for many years.
                                                            Deriving the figures
For a few countries, where it is clear that locally-
based sources have provided data representing only          The statistics measure new business value for each
part of total leasing activity, or where reasonably         year, i.e. the value of equipment newly assigned on
comprehensive information for earlier years had not         lease to customers during the year. Strictly speaking,
been available, we have had to make an author’s             that does not necessarily denote new equipment: it
estimate of the national leasing total.                     could include second-hand equipment, and sale-and-
                                                            leaseback transactions for equipment already in use by
The various sources of information for each country are     the seller/lessee.
identified in the footnotes to Table 2.

11                                                                                            © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
Table 3: Leasing volume by region 2002–2018 (US$bn)

                       2002      2003           2004              2005         2006       2007      2008     2009     2010     2011       2012           2013         2014              2015       2016      2017       2018

Europe                 164.1     196.1         236.5          239.6            272.0      401.2     336.7    220.4   233.0     302.7     314.0          333.6         327.8             322.8      346.3     428.3     427.2

N. America             216.0     223.9         240.7          236.7            241.1      237.9     226.1    190.8   213.3     292.5     336.4          335.1         368.4             407.8      416.8     445.9     460.1

Asia                    68.7      74.1              78.2          74.0          81.7       84.6      99.2    103.8   105.6     153.4     180.2          177.3         195.0             223.0      289.9     354.4     350.7

S. America               3.3          4.0            7.5          13.9          19.2       41.4      54.2     30.2     25.4     27.5       13.2          18.0             10.7           13.8       12.9      17.0      14.6

Australia/NZ             5.8          7.6            8.1           8.2           8.6        4.1       6.9      5.7     10.8     12.0       16.1          12.5             35.6           31.2       28.4      31.5      28.5

Africa                   3.7          5.6            8.1           9.6          11.1       11.2       9.6      6.5      6.4       8.6           8.2          7.5           6.8            6.7        5.4       5.7       6.2

Annual totals          461.6     511.3         579.1          582.0            633.7      780.4     732.8    557.3   594.5     796.7     868.0          884.0         944.3 1,005.3 1,099.8 1,282.7                   1,287.0

Sources: London Financial Group, White Clarke Group Global Leasing Report

Table 4: A comparison of the rate of equipment leasing
market penetration (%)

                    2000       2001     2002          2003          2004         2005      2006     2007     2008    2009     2010      2011          2012     2013          2014          2015      2016     2017      2018

US                    31.7     31.0          31.1          31.1      29.9         26.9      27.7     26.0     16.4     17.1    17.1     21.0          22.0         22.0      22.0          22.0       21.5     21.6      21.5

Japan                 8.3       8.8          8.9           8.8        8.8          8.6       8.4       7.5    6.9     6.5      6.0       5.9           6.2          6.2          5.4        5.7        5.7      5.3      5.2

Germany               14.8     13.5          9.8           21.7      15.7         18.6      23.6     15.5     16.2    13.9    14.3      14.7           5.8         16.6      16.4           16.7      17.0     17.2      15.9

Korea                 2.4       1.6          3.9           4.4        5.6          7.7       9.4      n/a     10.5     4.4     4.8       8.7           8.5          8.1          9.8        9.4        9.1      8.9      9.0

UK                   13.8      14.4         15.3           14.2          9.4      14.5      12.7      11.6   20.6     17.6    18.5      19.8          23.8         31.0      28.6           31.1     33.7      32.4     32.9

France                9.2      13.7         12.9           15.4       9.0          11.7      11.0    12.0     12.2     3.1    10.5       11.1         12.8         12.5          13.1       14.2      15.3     16.1      16.9

Italy                 12.3     10.4          8.6            7.6       11.4         15.1     15.2      11.4    16.9    10.0     13.1     12.3          10.0          9.4          11.7      13.0       14.1     15.2      16.1

Brazil                11.4      7.6          3.6           3.8           7.7      13.5      16.9     19.0    23.8     n/a      n/a       n/a           n/a          n/a          n/a        n/a       n/a       n/a       n/a

Canada               22.5      22.0         20.2       22.0          23.3         23.9      22.0     22.0     19.6    14.0     15.1     20.8          20.8         32.0      31.0          32.0      32.0     38.0      39.0

Australia            20.0      20.0         20.0       20.0         20.0         20.0       18.0      14.2    10.0    10.0    12.0      27.5          27.5         40.0      40.0          40.0      40.0     40.0      40.0

Sweden               12.9       9.2         13.0           11.6      12.7          11.8      11.8     14.3    19.4    17.5    19.2      18.2          24.6         24.4      22.7          22.9      26.0      27.1     22.4

Sources:        (1)	Australian Equipment Lessors Association (total leasing as a percentage                           (4) Leaseurope Annual Reports
                     of private capital investment)                                                                    (5)	Statistics Canada and Equipment Lessors Association of Canada
                (2)	US Dept. of Commerce, Economics & Statistics Administration, Bureau                                    (lessor purchases as a percentage of total equipment acquisitions in Canada)
                     of Economic Analysis and Equipment Leasing Association of America                                 (6) Korea Leasing Association
                     (equipment leasing as a percentage of business investment in equipment)                           (7) Brazilian Association of Leasing Companies
                (3)	Japan Economic Planning Agency and Japan Leasing Association                                      (8) London Financial Group
                     (equipment leasing as a percentage of private capital investment)                                 (9) White Clarke Group Global Leasing Report

12                                                                                                                                                                               © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
The widespread adoption of hire purchase as a financial     The Global Leasing Report employs US dollar as the
instrument for equipment finance (in some countries,        common currency baseline for country comparisons,
hire purchase has become the major source of revenue        using exchange rates prevailing at December 31, 2018.
for leasing companies) prompted a change in our
industry reporting since 2011. Since then, all reference    The outlook for 2019
to leasing and the leasing sector includes equipment
hire purchase.                                              As a conclusion to this Report we always attempt to
                                                            forecast the climate and flavour of the leasing industry
Real estate leasing is excluded from the Report. In         during the coming years. Of the Top 20 countries, only
some countries the national leasing associations            Sweden failed to report growth in new business levels in
(or other information sources) are concerned with           2018. What about 2019?
the leasing of land and buildings as well as that of
equipment. Nevertheless, in most of those cases             The five largest countries in the GLR ranking (US, China,
the primary data sources make a sufficiently clear          UK, Germany and Japan) account for more than 70% of
distinction between the two in their own statistics.        world volume and performance in these countries drives
                                                            the overall picture of global business volume and the
In other cases, some estimating is necessary within the     GLR data. A focus on these regions can give us an idea
Global Leasing Report in order to strip out a portion of    of where we are headed in future years.
the reported total leasing activity believed to represent
real estate leasing.                                        At the time of compiling this report (November 2019)
                                                            information is available only for three quarters of
Likewise, consumer credit financing is excluded.            2019 therefore further adjustments might need to be
In principle, the dividing line between leasing and         undertaken when reviewing this section. As we report
consumer finance is a simple functional one, i.e.           below, the prospects for further growth for the leasing
whether the equipment is largely for business use, or       markets in 2019 appear promising despite differing
primarily for the customer’s private non-professional       economic turbulence and uncertainty in most regions.
use as an individual or householder.
                                                            United States
This still leaves some problem areas as to what types of    According to the Equipment Leasing & Finance
commercial equipment financing transaction should be        Foundation’s “Q4 Update”, the US equipment leasing
counted as leasing. In many countries the line between      sector is expected to grow by around 3.9% during
leases and other forms of finance is reasonably clear.      2019. Credit market conditions remain healthy, says
                                                            the Foundation, despite somewhat weaker demand for
There is no obvious solution as to where to draw the        business finance. Sectors which are showing signs of
line on a consistent basis for all countries. In such       growth in investment include: agricultural and medical
problem areas the approach adopted by the White             equipment, trucks and software. The Foundation reports
Clarke Group Global Leasing Report (within the              that capital spending has been weaker in 2019 and could
overriding parameters, such as excluding both real          slow further due to heightened trade uncertainty and
estate and consumer transactions) is to follow the local    industrial sector weakness.
definition of leasing.

13                                                                                            © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
Table 5: White Clarke Group/GDP penetration ratio
Annual leasing volume as a percentage of gross domestic product

Ranking     Country                          2018 Ratio     Ranking   Country          2017 Ratio   Ranking   Country                   2016 Ratio
1           Estonia                                 4.71    1         Estonia               5.58    1         Estonia                        4.97
2           Lithuania                               4.52    2         Lithuania             4.99    2         Sweden                         3.93
3           Poland                                  3.79    3         Sweden                4.65    3         Lithuania                      3.72
4           Sweden                                  3.75    4         Denmark               3.67    4         Denmark                        3.40
5           Denmark                                 3.26    5         Poland                3.64    5         UK                              3.11
6           UK                                      3.26    6         Slovenia              3.58    6         Slovenia                       3.09
7           Slovenia                                3.26    7         UK                    3.52    7         Poland                         2.98
8           Latvia                                  2.84    8         Latvia                3.30    8         Latvia                          2.74
9           Bulgaria                                2.62    9         Slovakia              3.29    9         Czech Republic                  2.31
10          Slovakia                                2.62    10        Czech Republic        2.59    10        Finland                        2.27
11          Taiwan                                  2.27    11        Australia             2.28    11        Australia                      2.25
12          Czech Republic                          2.19    12        China                  2.21   12        Colombia                       2.20
13          US                                      2.08    13        Norway                2.20    13        US                             2.06
14          Portugal                                2.07    14        Austria                2.12   14        Taiwan                          1.89
15          Austria                                 2.05    15        Germany                2.12   15        Austria                         1.85
16          Australia                               2.01    16        US                     2.11   16        Germany                         1.85
17          Norway                                  1.97    17        Taiwan                2.07    17        China                           1.84
18          Switzerland                              1.91   18        Bulgaria              2.05    18        Norway                          1.83
19          China                                   1.90    19        Portugal              2.05    19        Switzerland                     1.81
20          Finland                                 1.90    20        Colombia              2.05    20        Bulgaria                        1.79
21          France                                  1.88    21        Finland               2.02    21        Canada                          1.69
22          Germany                                 1.86    22        Hungary                2.01   22        Portugal                        1.65
23          Hungary                                 1.82    23        Switzerland           2.00    23        Hungary                         1.65
24          Italy                                   1.73    24        France                 1.92   24        France                          1.58
25          Chile                                   1.59    25        Italy                  1.73   25        Slovakia                        1.54
26          Colombia                                1.46    26        Canada                 1.60   26        Belgium                         1.50
27          Belgium                                 1.45    27        Chile                  1.58   27        Italy                           1.37
28          Canada                                  1.43    28        Belgium                1.57   28        Romania                         1.31
29          Japan                                   1.33    29        Morocco                1.49   29        Morocco                         1.30
30          Russia                                  1.24    30        Russia                 1.27   30        Japan                           1.20
31          Morocco                                 1.07    31        Japan                  1.24   31        Peru                            1.18
32          Romania                                 1.06    32        Romania                1.18   32        South Africa                    1.09
33          South Africa                            0.95    33        Turkey                0.93    33        Serbia-Montenegro              0.85
34          Netherlands                             0.95    34        Netherlands           0.93    34        Turkey                         0.84
35          Spain                                   0.83    35        South Africa          0.89    35        Russia                         0.82
36          Korea                                   0.71    36        Spain                 0.85    36        Chile                           0.81
37          Peru                                    0.69    37        Peru                  0.79    37        Netherlands                    0.79
38          Turkey                                  0.68    38        Mexico                0.79    38        Korea                          0.76
39          Ukraine                                 0.62    39        Korea                 0.78    39        Spain                          0.70
40          Mexico                                  0.59    40        Malaysia               0.51   40        Mexico                         0.68
41          Malaysia                                0.39    41        Ukraine                0.41   41        Uzbekistan                     0.45
42          Puerto Rico                             0.37    42        Puerto Rico           0.35    42        Malaysia                       0.36
43          Egypt                                   0.29    43        Greece                 0.31   43        Iran                            0.31
44          Iran                                    0.19    44        Iran                   0.31   44        Ukraine                        0.23
45          Greece                                  0.17    45        Egypt                  0.17   45        Greece                          0.17
46          Nigeria                                 0.16    46        Brazil                 0.16   46        Nigeria                         0.13
47          Brazil                                  0.14    47        Argentina              0.14   47        Hong Kong                       0.12
48          Hong Kong                               0.12    48        Nigeria                0.14   48        Argentina                       0.11
49          Argentina                               0.07    49        Hong Kong              0.12   49        Egypt                           0.10
50          India                                   0.06    50        India                 0.04    50        Brazil                          0.10

Sources: White Clarke Group Global Leasing Report

14                                                                                                                     © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
US economic growth decelerated to 2% in the second               for the first time since 2013. The ifo Institute, the Munich-
quarter of 2019 and business investment has been weak.           based research group, has found that German companies
Trade tensions with China, equity market volatility and          are worried about the current economic situation and
decelerating job creation are potential risks for quarter four   pessimistic of the outlook for the future. The German
says the Foundation.                                             government is under pressure to increase spending to
                                                                 boost a fragile economy.
The ongoing trade dispute with China is the most
significant risk to the US economy and although de-              New business by members of the BDL was up 2.4% in
escalation is to be hoped for, political uncertainties mean      2018. And despite the economic gloom the BDL’s quarterly
trade tensions have the potential to impact the economy.         trend report states that the value of new business in the
                                                                 first half of 2019 was up 9.3% on the corresponding period
China                                                            in 2018. Baring major global upheavals the BDL predicts
China is experiencing an economic slowdown and trade             business to up between 3% – 5% in 2019.
relations with the US remain strained.
                                                                 Japan
China’s leasing industry has experienced a significant           The Japanese economy, the third largest in the world
regulatory tightening and as a result the growth of leasing      behind the US and China, is facing serious economic
investment slowed in 2018. This tightening will affect           challenges. Japan has suffered a fallout from the US/China
general leasing growth in 2019 and 2020. There has also          trade wars and the strength of the yen has weakened
been some consolidation amongst the leasing companies            export demand and markets are unsettled. GDP grew at an
operating in the market.                                         annualised pace of 1.3% in the three months through June
                                                                 from the previous quarter.
However, Chinese automobile manufacturers are
increasingly turning to leasing as a sales aid to market their   The Japanese Leasing Association has reported that
vehicles and auto leasing is an area which is expected to        lease transaction volume in August 2019 increased by
see further growth in the Chinese market in coming years.        16.8%. For the period from April 2019 to August 2019
                                                                 business was up 8.4% compared to the same period in
United Kingdom                                                   2018, suggesting that overall 2019 will most probably be
The UK asset finance market was up by 5% in 2018                 a year of growth for the Japanese leasing market despite
bringing the eighth consecutive year of growth in the UK         the economic environment.
market. Brexit uncertainty does not appear to be affecting
domestic investment and the UK economy is proving to be
remarkably resilient.

The FLA has reported that total new business as at the first
                                                                   Author
eight months of 2019 was up 7% on 2018. And for the 12             Brendan Gleeson is Group CEO of White Clarke Group, a
months to August 2019 business was up 6% compared to               global financial services business technology company,
                                                                   with offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
the same period the previous year with aircraft, ships and
                                                                   Brendan joined White Clarke Group in 2001 and, under his
rolling stock up 115%, commercial vehicles up 11% and plant        leadership, the group has grown to become a global force
and machinery 14%. It is reasonable to assume that growth          in the auto finance and asset finance industry. With over 25
                                                                   years’ experience in the financial services sector, including
for the UK leasing industry in 2019 looks promising unless
                                                                   a number of board level appointments, his expertise is
there is a significant downturn in Q4.                             creating and delivering strategic change initiatives. Before
                                                                   joining the company he was IT Director at Bank of Ireland
                                                                   Asset & Motor Finance.
Germany
The German economy faced uncertainty in 2019 with low              info@whiteclarkegroup.com
business confidence, deteriorating economic conditions and         whiteclarkegroup.com
even the Bundesbank warning of the possibility of recession

15                                                                                                    © WORLD LEASING YEARBOOK
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