It is at this time of year that people start to think what the new year will bring them, we all hope for better things, and that hope is what drives us all on.
Hope is a positive, but you have to look at the coming year in the hard light of reality. So lets get the bad news over first. I do not believe that in a years time, the eurozone will look the same, some members I expect would have left, or there will be a two tiered eurozone, possibly North & South. Only this morning, the European Central Bank have come up with yet another sticking plaster to the crisis, this is where the eurozone banks can borrow direct from the ECB to help them through the next 2- 3 years.
As the BBC’s Business Editor Robert Peston puts it this morning “Because the whole reason that eurozone banks are perceived to be weak at the moment, and why commercial lenders are shunning them, is that these banks are seen to have excessive exposure to sovereign borrowers who may not be able to repay all they owe.
Or to put it another way, the ECB is taking a double solvency risk: on the solvency of the bank to which it lends and on the interconnected solvency of the sovereign standing behind said bank, and to which said commercial bank has lent “
This is a recipe for disaster for waiting for the eurozone down the road, how far down I have no idea, but at least you know that the light at the end of the tunnel is now a train…..!
That’s the bad news over and done with, and now moving swiftly on with positive news, Asset based lending grew faster than any other form of lending in the third quarter of 2011. Total funding was £16bn in this period.
This included sale & leaseback & asset refinance, where companies can release tied in capital in equipment, for either expansion in new areas,a Plan B, or to cover irregular cash flow problems.
Another growth area which many people shun because of perceived problems is selling into the eurozone.This is a huge market opportunity which companies simply cannot ignore.The European vendor leasing area has seen Oak Leasing’s largest growth over the last three years.We are able to arrange leasing in almost all of Europe in conjunction with our funding partners. This gives you the chance of using our expertise and experience to help you grow in these vital markets. And the best part is we make no charge, its free.
Decisions normally within 48 hours, and we handle all of the lease documentation in the language of your customers through the local offices of our european leasing partners. You have nothing to lose, but I would think a great deal to gain.
So as we look back over the year, it has been hard, perhaps harder than we all thought last January, but hope and opportunity is there for us all to seize in the New Year.