Egnatia Leasing triples funding in Q1

Egnatia Leasing, a part of the Greek financial group Egnatia, funded goods worth 42.2 million euros in the first quarter of this year, almost three times as much as in the same period in 2006. The Greek leasing company sealed 1,069 funding contracts worth 51.5 million euros in the first three months of this year. Egnatia Leasing closed 116% more contracts in the first quarter of 2007 against the same period in 2006. The growth rate registered by Egnatia Leasing’s business in the first quarter is approximately seven times higher than the 32% growth rate estimated for this year’s leasing market. According to estimates from the Leasing and Non-Banking Financial Services Association (ALB), the leasing market is expected to reach 4.3 billion euros in 2007, after reaching 3.26 billion euros last year. The products accounting for the biggest share in the company’s total funding in the first quarter of 2007 are lorry leasing (34%), car leasing (33%) and equipment leasing (23%). Contrary to the trend of the local market, which is generally focusing on real estate leasing, the share of this type of funding in Egnatia Leasing’s portfolio fell from 18% in 2006, to 4% in the first three months of 2007.