Business volume, both new and existing, is on the rise for equipment finance lenders, based on recent first-quarter earnings reports.
As some banks, including Signature Bank and Quality Equipment Finance, pause or close their equipment finance operations, an opportunity exists for other financial institutions to pick up the slack. Recent earnings reports show several mid-tier lenders listing record loan originations.
Reliant Capital
Irvine, Calif.-based Reliant Capital announced April 8 that it had closed more than $43 million in business loans in Q1, a record for quarterly volume.
Reliant attributed this to a “record single month from our new business sales team,” without clarifying how much new business volume was generated.
The company finances loans of up to $500,000 and serves industries including trucking, manufacturing, construction and franchises.
Capteris
Greenwich, Conn.-based large-ticket lender Capteris Capital reported on April 12 a 200% increase in Q1 funding volume, which the company said marks its strongest quarter since its 2022 inception.
In 2023, Capteris closed two debt rounds to expand its equipment finance business, including a $14.1 million financing agreement with fleet manager Wheels Donlen LeasePlan and MidCap Financial in January and a $350 million credit facility from Truist Bank and Bank of America in September.
The lender also hired 14 people following its largest single month of loans, it said. Capteris finances equipment for industries including agriculture, aviation, construction, manufacturing, rail and transportation.
AP Equipment Financing
Bend, Ore.-based AP Equipment Financing grew its funding volume in Q1 by 16.3%, the company reported April 8.
The lender had $867 million in assets under management in 2022, according to the 2023 Monitor 100 index, which ranks the largest equipment finance companies in the country. AP Equipment Financing saw an estimated year-over-year increase in funding volume of 75.2% last year.
The company hired Mike Snyder as senior director of business development for fleet and mobility and John Pratt as senior vice president of business development for specialty vehicles, according to a company release.
“We are poised to achieve exponential growth and record-breaking Q2 funding in 2024,” AP Equipment Financing President Chris Lerma said in the statement.
Register for 2024 Equipment Finance Connect, which focuses on best practices in equipment finance, on May 5-7 in Nashville, Tenn. Learn about the event and free dealer registration at EquipmentFinanceConnect.com.
