In the Marketplace

The full report can be found at www.fitchratings.com.

Crowell & Moring LLP of Washington, DC, has announced the addition of nine financial services and distressed-debt lawyers to its New York office, including partners William M. O'Connor, Robert G. Frucht, and Evelyn H. Seeler. In addition to the three partners, the team includes four counsel: Douglas R. Arntsen, Timothy J. Fierst, Prassana Mahadeva, and James Maisano. Associates joining the firm include Genelle R. Francis and Jamie Krapf. The lawyers come from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, and their representative institutional and hedge fund clients include Wachovia Bank, Lehman Brothers, UBS, and Silver Point Capital. Crowell & Moring LLP opened its New York office five months ago and now has 29 attorneys.

AIG Commercial Equipment Finance of Dallas has named Ronald D. Horner as assistant general counsel. He will report to B. Andrew Fletcher, senior vice president and general counsel. Horner most recently served as vice president and associate general counsel with CitiCapital.

Sterling National Bank of New York, a subsidiary of Sterling Bancorp, has announced the appointment of Andrew R. Corsi to senior vice president and department manager for Sterling Bank Leasing. Previously, Corsi was the chief credit officer at Independence Community Bank Leasing Corp. He was also employed at Wasco Funding Corp., a subsidiary of EAB.

RVI Group of Stamford, CT, a provider of residual value insurance, announced the appointment of Michael P. McGroarty as senior vice president and general counsel. He most recently spent more than five years as senior vice president and general counsel of Portrait Software in New Haven, CT. Prior to serving at Portrait Software, McGroarty worked at Information Management Associates of Meriden, CT, where he served as vice president, general counsel, and secretary, and for the final 18 months served as chief operating officer, general counsel, and secretary.

In a recent Financial Services Special Report by Fitch Ratings of New York, 'U.S. Finance & Leasing 2007 Outlook ' Tougher Sledding,' the rating company concluded that the outlook for 2007 is 'broadly Stable, however, stress points are beginning to emerge, most noticeably in the residential mortgage arena.' Although the scope of companies covered by the report is quite diverse, a few common themes were present. First, the credit cycle is becoming less benign, which could cause a rise in delinquencies and losses. This is already showing up in the subprime residential mortgage sector. Second, the report notes, capital management is becoming more aggressive, as leverage, on any measure, is increasing. Although issuers are managing capital more aggressively, the analysts did not see immediate rating repercussions as they felt issuers are more sophisticated in capital planning and are better able to tie together capital and credit risk. Third, the continued flat to inverted yield curve represents a major challenge to all lenders, which Fitch does not anticipate to normalize in the short-run, leaving finance and leasing companies to wrestle with this issue well into 2007.

Fitch further projects some level of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures to occur, but with a greater emphasis on portfolio purchases, both foreign and domestic.

An emerging trend for finance and leasing companies is to enhance 'asset management' capabilities. 'This tendency became evident in companies that possess a variety of origination channels, but not necessarily the risk appetite or capital capacity for holding certain assets on-balance sheet. This has been made possible by advancements in capital markets, such as CDOs, as well as strong supply of liquidity, willing to invest in such assets. Nonetheless, Fitch will be monitoring the development of asset management businesses, particularly if liquidity becomes less available.' Ultimately, however, Fitch expects that commercial lenders and leasing companies will perform reasonably well in terms of credit quality, even with a modest weakening in the macroeconomy.

The full report can be found at www.fitchratings.com.

Crowell & Moring LLP of Washington, DC, has announced the addition of nine financial services and distressed-debt lawyers to its New York office, including partners William M. O'Connor, Robert G. Frucht, and Evelyn H. Seeler. In addition to the three partners, the team includes four counsel: Douglas R. Arntsen, Timothy J. Fierst, Prassana Mahadeva, and James Maisano. Associates joining the firm include Genelle R. Francis and Jamie Krapf. The lawyers come from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, and their representative institutional and hedge fund clients include Wachovia Bank, Lehman Brothers, UBS, and Silver Point Capital. Crowell & Moring LLP opened its New York office five months ago and now has 29 attorneys.

AIG Commercial Equipment Finance of Dallas has named Ronald D. Horner as assistant general counsel. He will report to B. Andrew Fletcher, senior vice president and general counsel. Horner most recently served as vice president and associate general counsel with CitiCapital.

Sterling National Bank of New York, a subsidiary of Sterling Bancorp, has announced the appointment of Andrew R. Corsi to senior vice president and department manager for Sterling Bank Leasing. Previously, Corsi was the chief credit officer at Independence Community Bank Leasing Corp. He was also employed at Wasco Funding Corp., a subsidiary of EAB.

RVI Group of Stamford, CT, a provider of residual value insurance, announced the appointment of Michael P. McGroarty as senior vice president and general counsel. He most recently spent more than five years as senior vice president and general counsel of Portrait Software in New Haven, CT. Prior to serving at Portrait Software, McGroarty worked at Information Management Associates of Meriden, CT, where he served as vice president, general counsel, and secretary, and for the final 18 months served as chief operating officer, general counsel, and secretary.