2004 February Issue

FEBRUARY 2004
Capital Markets

FEATURES

LKE Programs… Enhancing Yields & Market Share
By Mark Belec
Implementing a Like Kind Exchange program provides lessors the ability to enhance yields and market share. Unlike many new accounting or asset management projects, an LKE program can be implemented quickly with minimal efforts by your operations and IT staff.
(Ref # TAX051)

Back-Up Servicing: Providing Value Time & Time Again
By Joe A. Andries
Nothing can completely eliminate the risk of a primary servicer default. However, successful back-up servicers have proven time and time again that the planning and foresight displayed at the onset of a transaction can be critical to its overall success. (Ref # CMRK002)

Beyond The Tipping Point - Confronting Seismic Shifts (Part II)
By Jay M. Mudrick
In the January issue of the Monitor, Part One of this two-part article examined current and pending "micro" level events that will dramatically alter the leasing industry in coming years. Part II will address "macro" level trends whose impact will be equally great.
(Ref # TRE063)

Fifth Third Leasing: Buying and Selling on the Syndication Highway
By Tom Merkle and Doug Lusco
What did the wild ride of 2003 teach us? In the following article, Tom Merkle and Doug Lusco of Fifth Third Leasing confirm that solid customer relationships built on integrity and respect along with the ability to adapt quickly to a changing marketplace remain critical to any organization's success. (Ref # SYN008)

Looking to the Future: Opportunities in Sight for Leasing & Specialty Finance Companies
By David D'Antonio
As companies such as Marlin and CapitalSource have been successful in raising equity and other specialty lenders have experienced gains in their stock prices, the next few years should provide positive opportunities for leasing and specialty finance companies that stick to the basics and grow their business in a conservative manner. (Ref # TRE064)

Recruiting for Success: Attracting and Maintaining High-Caliber Leasing Professionals
By Rob Cook
Even in a soft job market, it can be difficult to find the individual who has the right combination of skills, experience and personality traits. In the following, Rob Cook of CitiCapital discusses a few fundamental traits that are common in successful leasing sales professionals.
(Ref # SAL133)

DLL Global Capital Markets Group… Opens Door to New Business Opportunities
De Lage Landen's new Global Capital Markets Group combines the company's knowledge, expertise and best practices on both sides of the ocean into a single new international organization focused on adding value for partners around the world. (Ref # CPR087)

Industry's Rising Tide Nets Successful IPO for Marlin
By Robert P. Rinek
The warm reception for the Marlin and CapitalSource IPOs suggests that the capital markets' appetite for finance companies is back. This positive momentum should bring new capital providers to the commercial finance industry and help promising commercial finance companies fund their future growth. (Ref # CMRK001)

Fitch Ratings/QIII 2003: ABS Delinquency Directions
By Sara M. Grohl
While the economy built muscle and investors embraced a surprising 8.2% annual GDP growth rate during third quarter 2003, ABS issuers within the leasing industry have strengthened in-step as evidenced by another decline in Fitch Ratings' Equipment Lease ABS Delinquency Index. (Ref # CRD061)

Equipment ABS: 2003 Review & 2004 Outlook
By John McElravey, CFA
The year 2003 was one of recovery for the equipment ABS sector in a number of ways. Issuance increased, credit data began to show signs of improvement and headline risk in corporate names subsided. Overall, the events of 2003 laid the foundation for a positive 2004. (Ref # EQM127)

COLUMNS

CAREER MOVES
Rethinking Your ABC’s
By Jim Pawlak
Time for another lesson in the ABCs of success. Think about these definitions in terms of your goals for your career and personal life.
(Ref # JBS078)

LEGAL WATCH
Kiwi Airlines & LCO Enterprises... Assumption of an Equipment Lease in Bankruptcy
By Andrew K. Alper
Creditors hate giving money back to their debtors. There is nothing worse for a creditor than a debtor defaulting on lease or loan transaction and then a bankruptcy trustee reaching back to attempt to recover payments made to the creditor within 90 days of the filing of a bankruptcy petition as a preference. (Ref # LGL1018)

DISPATCHES FROM THE TRENCHES
Guaranties: How Certain Is Your Security?
By Kenneth P. Weinberg
Some leasing companies obtain personal guaranties in all transactions. Others obtain them when they are readily available or only when absolutely necessary. In any event, guaranties are certainly the engines that drive many transactions. (Ref # LGL1019)