HVB and UniCredit to forge biggest domestic leasing firm

The takeover of the German group HVB by UniCredito Italiano will also be felt on the leasing market.

With total contracts worth around 300 million euros this year, HVB Leasing Romania and UniCredit Leasing, the leasing units of the German group HVB and of the Italian UniCredito, are likely to combine their activities in 2006, as part of the merger strategy the two groups announced this year.

“I think the merger process will begin next year,” stated Melih Mengu, general manager with UniCredit Leasing. He offered no other details as to this process.

The portfolios and competences of the two companies are complementary, as UniCredit Leasing particularly specialises in the industrial equipment segment, while HVB Leasing specialises in real estate and car leasing.

UniCredit Leasing owns about 30% of the industrial equipment leasing market, in line with the latest information available. Nevertheless, cars account for the biggest share of the total volume of leasing contracts.

“Demand for the car segment has largely come from customers in other segments, and less from retail,” Mengu added.

It is car dealers, the so-called retail segment, who count for the largest proportion out of the total volume of contracts signed by HVB Leasing.

“Besides, real estate leasing is a segment where we are well represented and which is registering solid growth each year,” explained Septimiu Postelnicu, general manager of HVB Leasing.

He projects financing contracts worth around 130-135 million euros, while UniCredit Leasing official forecasts a volume of 160-165 million euros.

UniCredit Leasing is one of the first leasing firms to have emerged on the domestic market, in 1994, under the name Demir Romlease. Since then, the company has been taken over by the Italian group UniCredito.

HVB Leasing Romania started operations in May 2002, as part of the German financial group HVB. Its shareholders are Bank Austria Creditanstalt Leasing GmbH (Austria), which owns 80% and HVB Bank Romania (20%).

The total value of the contracts signed on the domestic market in the first nine months of 2005 is put at some 1.6bn euros. It could exceed 2bn euros for the entire year, according to certain estimates.