Contractors Hot Line is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
Contractors Hot Line is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
In February, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) reported a 4% increase in new business volume compared to the same period last year, totaling $7.9 billion. However, this figure represented a 15% decline from January's volume of $9.3 billion. Year-to-date, the cumulative new business volume saw a positive uptick of 4.9% compared to the previous year.
Regarding financial indicators, receivables over 30 days decreased to 2.2% from the previous month's 2.3%, yet showed an increase from 1.8% in February 2023. Charge-offs stood at 0.4%, down from 0.5% in the prior month but up from 0.3% in the same period last year.
Credit approvals remained steady at 76%, unchanged from January, while total headcount for equipment finance companies increased by 1.8% year-over-year.
“Given continuing high interest rates and inflationary pressures, new business volume performed well in February. Tightening lending standards at banks are expanding opportunities for independent and captive equipment finance companies to provide critical productive assets that businesses need to operate,” ELFA President and CEO Leigh Lytle said. “Credit quality, while still elevated year over year, showed improvement with delinquencies slowly returning to normal levels and charge-offs moving in a positive direction.”
Additionally, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation's Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) for March rose to 55.2, marking an improvement from February's index of 51.7 and reaching its highest level since April 2022.