In The Marketplace

Information Leasing Corporation of Cincinnati has announced that it is changing its name to National City Commercial Capital Corporation. The new name reflects the combination of the leasing groups of Provident Financial Group and National City Corporation. The merger of Provident and National City closed on July 1 of this year. ILC is a subsidiary of National City Corporation.

The company further announced that Vince Rinaldi, previously an executive vice president with Provident and co-founder of ILC, will be the president and CEO of National City Commercial Capital. With the close of the merger of Provident and National City, National City Commercial Capital has $1.2 billion in annual originations, $3.2 billion in assets under management, and more than 30,000 commercial accounts. It is one of the largest bank-affiliated leasing companies in the country.

Independence Community Bank of New York has announced that it is adding equipment leasing to its commercial business services and that Ira Z. Romoff will join the Business Banking Division to head the department. Romoff was previously chief credit officer and risk manager for the Western Hemisphere for the $50 billion Bank Leumi. He also ran NatWest's equipment and auto leasing arm, Tilden Management, and created ABN Amro's domestic leasing subsidiary, EAB Leasing. The latter grew via internal growth and acquisition into the nation's 11th largest bank leasing operation, totaling $3.5 billion when that bank was sold to Citibank in 2001. Independence Community Bank was established in 1850 and has more than $18 billion in assets and 122 branches in New York and New Jersey.

Key Equipment Finance of Superior, CO has named Scott Schauer as vice president of direct large ticket asset management. Previously, Schauer was senior vice president and director of asset management for GMAC Commercial Finance in Atlanta, where he directed and developed all aspects of asset management for the Equipment Finance Division.

GMAC Commercial Finance of Southfield, MI, a subsidiary of General Motors Acceptance Corporation, has named Brian Conn as head of the Capital Funding Group, which is part of the company's Equipment Finance Division. Conn previously managed all aspects of organizational debt and equity placement activities for Dexia Global Finance LLC in New York (formerly Pricewaterhouse Coopers Global Structured Finance). While at Dexia, Conn created a business model that facilitated the placement of debt and equity for more than $22 billion of transaction cost, which generated more than $10 million in fees. As head of the Capital Funding Group, he will provide strategic direction to the buy/sell syndication effort, as well as, support the growth of the division's Project Finance Group.

In a separate announcement, the company has also named Robert Pokallus as vice president of the Capital Funding Group. He also previously worked with Dexia Global Structured Finance and will be responsible for managing the syndication needs of the Equipment Finance Division.

Conference Committee Approves FSC/ETI Legislation: On Oct. 7, 2004, a House-Senate conference committee gave final approval to a $145 billion tax measure containing key provisions affecting the leasing industry. The conference agreement on the $145 billion Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income (FSC/ETI) reform legislation (H.R. 4520) provides transitional relief for FSC/ETI leases in light of the repeal of FSC/ETI. Under the terms of the conference agreement, full transitional relief will be afforded for those FSC/ETI leases subject to a binding contract as of Sept. 17, 2003. A binding contract includes purchase options, renewal options and replacement options, which are included in the contract and which are enforceable against the seller or lessor. In addition, the legislation contains a number of depreciation changes, a passive loss regime that addresses the monetization of lease obligations, equity investment, and risk of loss, as well as a provision addressing like kind exchanges of certain leases and lease property.

The conference agreement also provides a special rule for qualified technological equipment (QTE) leases so that standard renewal options of no more than an additional 24 months do not count against the “5 year” rule for purposes of the 125% depreciation rule. This rule will be particularly helpful in the medical and telecom fields and would encompass such diagnostic imaging equipment as MRIs, CT scanners and ultra sound equipment as well as high-tech microprocessors.

The much-debated general effective date is set to be March 12, 2004, rather than the Senate bill's far more onerous super-retroactive effective date.

Information Leasing Corporation of Cincinnati has announced that it is changing its name to National City Commercial Capital Corporation. The new name reflects the combination of the leasing groups of Provident Financial Group and National City Corporation. The merger of Provident and National City closed on July 1 of this year. ILC is a subsidiary of National City Corporation.

The company further announced that Vince Rinaldi, previously an executive vice president with Provident and co-founder of ILC, will be the president and CEO of National City Commercial Capital. With the close of the merger of Provident and National City, National City Commercial Capital has $1.2 billion in annual originations, $3.2 billion in assets under management, and more than 30,000 commercial accounts. It is one of the largest bank-affiliated leasing companies in the country.

Independence Community Bank of New York has announced that it is adding equipment leasing to its commercial business services and that Ira Z. Romoff will join the Business Banking Division to head the department. Romoff was previously chief credit officer and risk manager for the Western Hemisphere for the $50 billion Bank Leumi. He also ran NatWest's equipment and auto leasing arm, Tilden Management, and created ABN Amro's domestic leasing subsidiary, EAB Leasing. The latter grew via internal growth and acquisition into the nation's 11th largest bank leasing operation, totaling $3.5 billion when that bank was sold to Citibank in 2001. Independence Community Bank was established in 1850 and has more than $18 billion in assets and 122 branches in New York and New Jersey.

Key Equipment Finance of Superior, CO has named Scott Schauer as vice president of direct large ticket asset management. Previously, Schauer was senior vice president and director of asset management for GMAC Commercial Finance in Atlanta, where he directed and developed all aspects of asset management for the Equipment Finance Division.

GMAC Commercial Finance of Southfield, MI, a subsidiary of General Motors Acceptance Corporation, has named Brian Conn as head of the Capital Funding Group, which is part of the company's Equipment Finance Division. Conn previously managed all aspects of organizational debt and equity placement activities for Dexia Global Finance LLC in New York (formerly Pricewaterhouse Coopers Global Structured Finance). While at Dexia, Conn created a business model that facilitated the placement of debt and equity for more than $22 billion of transaction cost, which generated more than $10 million in fees. As head of the Capital Funding Group, he will provide strategic direction to the buy/sell syndication effort, as well as, support the growth of the division's Project Finance Group.

In a separate announcement, the company has also named Robert Pokallus as vice president of the Capital Funding Group. He also previously worked with Dexia Global Structured Finance and will be responsible for managing the syndication needs of the Equipment Finance Division.