BRD Sogelease boasts financing worth 126m euros

BRD Sogelease IFN, the leasing arm of BRD Groupe Societe Generale, concluded 2,525 contracts worth 126m euros in the first nine months of the year, up 57% against the corresponding period of 2005.
Financing granted over this period by the company exceeded the level posted in 2005, when BRD Sogelease sealed contracts worth 122.4 million euros, ranking eighth on the domestic leasing market.
“The domestic leasing market will witness a dramatic change. It will grow more equipment-oriented, as there is increasing demand coming from the construction and infrastructure sectors. Equipment will outweigh cars,” stated Jean Paul Decrock, general manager of BRD Sogelease IFN SA.
BRD Sogelease’s portfolio seems to have followed a similar trend, as most of the financing contracts, namely 45%, have not been sealed for car acquisition, but for acquisitions of commercial and utility vehicles.
“BRD Sogelease is not focusing only on car leasing. The company also finances commercial vehicles and equipment and tries to tailor its strategy to the needs of the market,” added Decrock.
Equipment financing also witnessed strong growth, accounting for 28.2% of the total loans granted by the company, followed by car leasing, 24%, currently leading the domestic leasing market.
The IT and real estate markets saw a slower pace of growth, accounting for 3.1% and 1.9% of the company’s portfolio respectively.
The slow growth pace of these two segments will cause “the car funding sector to keep developing, although not at the same pace as it has so far. As for the real estate segment, I am more reserved,” says Decrock.
Besides the increase in the period of a financing contract, which has been extended to 60 months at certain companies, the declining interest rates also demonstrate the change currently witnessed by the domestic leasing market. Interest rates have gradually fallen from 10.5% in 2004 to 8.5% in 2005, and some companies even set rates at 6.5% this year.