Written by Tom McCurnin, Leasing News Legal Editor
and Christopher Menkin, Leasing News Editor
(Part Two of Four)
Brokers Grow in Leasing
As the brokers got into the field, many started their own leasingcompanies as originators and some brought in investors or obtain lines of credit via investors or relatives or putting up their house. Private label contracts used by funders for “captive vendor” business became the purview of independents who did the sales while the funder did the approvals and servicing.
At first it was recourse with the banks, then non-recourse as they taught bank officers how the procedure worked and banks become more comfortable. Companies also were obtaining recourse lines of credit from banks with leasing divisions such as Crocker Citizens, Security Pacific, Union Bank, Wells Fargo with its auto center division. Companies such as TRE Financial, Phoenix, Key Lease, and SHW Capital grew to compete with AT&T Capital, Dana, FMC, and Tri-Continental. GE was still the elephant in the room.
Larger banks at this time were getting into middle-market leasing, and for a long time, Bank of America did not consider any leasing below $500,000, even for good existing bank customers.
Leasing commission by leasing companies financed by banks were often capped at 2% to 3%, what the funders were also paying dealers or the dealer sales personnel direct. Copiers were the most popular to be leased, then telephones, security systems, office furniture, and finally computers and even software in the 1980’s. There was very little “franchise leasing,” even McDonald’s and “7- Eleven were financed, not leased— and Small Business Administration loans prohibited leasing until their loan was paid off. Brokers learned they could not only earn more of a commission in “discounting,” but could earn the residual when the lease paid out, as it was treated as a “balloon payment,” not counted in the “stream of payments.”
This was the start of independent brokers, and a group in California joined together and were up to over 80 members when the then Western Association of Equipment Lessors began to take brokers. In the group were A.J. Batt of Atel Capital, Louis Funkenstein (Funston) of Western States, Mont Gates of Leaserite, Jim Harris of Allco Leasing and Financial, Kit Menkin of American Leasing, Ted Parker of CCLease, just to name a few who began their own leasing companies. (5)
The former Equipment Leasing and Finance Association was slow in accepting third party originators, according to their directories, as well as their membership fees were higher. The newly formed Western Association of Equipment Lessors (WAEL) voted against allowing brokers being a member of their group. In reality, most of the members were “brokers with a staff” acting as a lessor. When it got to the point of competing for broker business, they were allowed to join so they could go to meetings and attract more brokers. Many of them kept direct sales staff, but augmented their business with an “indirect business” representative/processing staff. (6)
As the independent leasing companies grew, they began to have portfolios, warehouse lines to fund leases, and the syndication age began where companies would build up warehouse lines of leases and then discount them in dollar amounts, primarily over $1 million or more. As the marketplace changed, banks got involved and would start to accept portfolios and warehouse lines of credit. In the beginning, it was all recourse to the leasing company.
As competition grew, the 1980’s saw the growth of lessors with non-recourse and recourse lines of credit with large banks, then smaller regional banks, and even community banks as it become more acceptable. There were books and manuals published and with brokers joining associations, then other funders, including banks, also wanted to join to vie for their business. The trend was away from direct sales to independent brokers who had access to smaller vendors, manufacturers, distributors, too expensive for the larger companies to service. Fax machines sped up the business, as well as lower price leasing software was becoming available as computers were less expensive and could now not only do accounting, but contain contracts from various companies, which sped up the process. Sending applications, constructs, documents by Federal Express became very popular. Speed became very popular, more than “rate.” Software was catching up with Capital Stream, Lease Team, McCue, and others (even brokers now had software to speed up the typing and processing of documents.)
In 1990, a group of leasing brokers formed an association called the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers, where brokers were the only ones who could vote in a general election, as well as had a much lower fee than another group, such as funder or service provider. At first they had a part-time “secretary” and with the help primarily of two attorneys, Joe Bonanno and Barry Marks, Esq. grew into a premier organization which had 1,089 members.
With the roaring economy of the 1990’s, everyone became a leasing broker, including the dealers who were demanding higher and higher referral fees for their business. Franchise business was booming, and so was leasing of franchises as well as when they had an SBA loan as the covenant not to lease was changed. Second mortgage made subprime leasing with very high rates acceptable. The trend then turned to “automated credit scoring” and “application only” kept growing up to $150,000 for when once what was standard requirement were a financial statement, tax return, and personal financial statement requirement for small leases especially.
Computerized credit scoring became very popular, not only for marketing purposes, but for approving credit. Often a consumer credit report, time in business, and average bank account was all that was needed. Certain professions such as medical or dental, the limit on “app. only” was higher than others.
Colonial Pacific Leasing developed Pegasus a program for lessors who generated a specific volume and could use the credit scoring system, this may be likened to a franchise operation as the leasing company had a territory and franchise. First Sierra took this a step further by combining many independent lessors into one large company for the volume, making them “corporate partners” and companies such as Republic Leasing of South Carolina began syndicating leases with banks, mortgage companies and others who would underwrite the lease portfolio, enabling them to extend their lines of credit for more leases. (7)
In 1998 and 1999 companies were being merged into large groups, and this trend continued into a downturn in 2000 that saw many companies closed and Leasing News started its well-read “The List”, eventually labeling the list of companies closed as being hit by “The Perfect Storm” after a movie came out starring George Clooney who takes his boat out into weather that the ship no longer can ride. (8)
As the companies merged or went out of business, they rose up again as independents, small lessors who were basically brokers, but instead of using company documents, the thrust was “originators,” who began to act as if they were a “funder” as the contracts were theirs, and often the check emanated from them as that was the discounting arrangement with the actual funding source. First Sierra and Colonial grew at terrific rates during this short time period. General Electric was buying leasing companies left and right.
Some of the originators had warehouse lines to fund the leases and then when all the parts were in place, or a group, they were then packaged and discounted. Computers made it simpler. Summit, Lease Team, among others came up with affordable software packages. Companies such as Pioneer Capital gave brokers not only internet access, but software to type and fund documents very simply. (9)
It was the “Age of the Broker” who often was making 15 points on a transaction. Several, such as Balboa Capital, would pay up to 20%, discounting some of the profit in advance from the residual or Evergreen Lease clause. (10)
As of 2005 the National Association of Equipment Brokers (NAELB) had grown to 648 members, where the now Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) who had 850 members in 2000 was down to 780 members, and the United Association of Equipment Lessors who was at 589 members in the year 2000 was down to 297 members. It was a “no holds bar the door” and get the deal funded as quickly as you could, “due diligence” out the window, and the race was on who could bring in the most business and earn the most in commissions—take the money and run. Everyone wanted to be an independent broker and earn the generous commissions.
Friday—Part Three of Four
“Hits the Fan”
(5) http://www.leasingnews.org/list_alpha_new.htm#allco
(6) http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/WAEL_Hist_I.htm
(7) http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/CLP.htm
(8) http://two.leasingnews.org/archives/November/11-29-00.htm
(9) http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/April%202008/04-02-08.htm#adv
http://two.leasingnews.org/archives/November%202001/11-09-01.htm
(10) http://two.leasingnews.org/archives/May01/5-29-01.htm
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/September%202004/9-21-04.htm#sales
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Salesman_Survey_update.htm
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/October%202006/10-18-06.htm#points
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