Leasing Industry Closes 2003 with Positive Signs
March 31, 2004
After three consecutive quarters of failing to show any portfolio growth, the equipment leasing industry came through at year's end to close 2003 with only a slight net loss in portfolio size. According to the Equipment Leasing Association's Quarterly Performance Indicators Report (PIR), total net portfolio growth decreased by a total of only 0.4% in 2003. While 2003 marked the second consecutive year in which the leasing industry failed to recognize any net portfolio growth for a calendar year, based on how 2003 was shaping up after the third quarter, the modest overall drop-off was not such bad news. In fact, 2003 was not as bad a year for the leasing industry as one might have expected given the many challenges that have been presented over the past few years. New business volume and credit approvals were up, and charge-offs and actual delinquencies were down. Employment remains a concern, but overall, it appears that the leasing industry is weathering the storm.
In The Marketplace
March 31, 2004
Highlights of the lastest equipment leasing news from around the country.
The Leasing Hotline
March 22, 2004
Highlights of the latest commercial leasing cases from around the country.
True Lease v. Disguised Security Interest: A New Dilemma
March 01, 2004
Over the past several years, courts faced with the issue of whether a lease is a "true lease" or a "disguised security interest" have been making it more and more difficult for lessors to have their leases confirmed as true leases. Through a process of focusing on economic reality instead of the intent of the parties and increasing the amount of residual value required at the end of a lease term, courts are creating a dilemma for the leasing industry. Certain segments of the equipment leasing industry are more severely effected by these changes than others.
Reforming Characteristics of Maintenance Deposits to Avoid Treatment as Cash Collateral
March 01, 2004
One of the common issues facing businessmen and lawyers in the lease financing of complicated equipment such as aircraft, is how to impose an obligation upon the lessee to pay and segregate funds sufficient to assure aircraft maintenance expenses, while preventing these funds from being treated as property of a debtor and cash collateral within the meaning of Bankruptcy Code Section 363 (11 U.S.C. '363). If a lessee is asked in a written lease agreement to deposit, from time to time, contemplated amounts of cash by which to assure the lessor that certain long-term maintenance obligations will be funded and completed, or that rent will be paid, then there is a risk that these deposits might be treated as cash collateral and property of the estate. This subjects the lessor to the risk that the bargained-for cash set-aside funds, might, in a bankruptcy case context, not be available for the purposes for which they were originally intended. This article addresses a risk avoidance approach to that problem.
In The Marketplace
March 01, 2004
Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.
What Leasing Lawyers Should Know About the Rules of Evidence
March 01, 2004
It is an unfortunate consequence of the leasing business that leasing lawyers often become involved in bankruptcy matters. These attorneys, who rarely visit a courtroom, may think they don't need to worry about the rules of evidence. Yet evidentiary rules can provide critical protections. In a typical case or negotiation, lawyers create and circulate tremendous amounts of information ' much of which would be potentially damaging if obtained by other parties. To protect this information, leasing counsel need to be familiar with the rules of evidence and how courts have interpreted these rules. The case law interpreting these rules is not static; rather, it is constantly evolving in ways relevant to counsel who specialize in corporate insolvency. For example, a series of recent cases has explored the boundaries of the attorney-client privilege, examining such questions as, if counsel for a creditors' committee hires a financial expert, is the expert's work protected?
ELA Responds to Proposed Budget Legislation
February 10, 2004
On Jan. 13, 2004 the Treasury Department announced a series of legislative proposals, included in the president's fiscal year 2005 budget, for the purpose of closing loopholes, halting several abusive tax avoidance transactions, and simplifying the tax code. Of particular interest to the leasing community is the proposal: "Stop Abusive Leasing Transactions with Tax-Indifferent Parties."
