|
December 2008
Worldwide factoring report
2008
We asked our friends in the International Factors Group to
let us have their thoughts on progress made through 2008 and
the prospects for 2009 |
Australia
Bibby Financial Services Australia
Since launching in Australia in 2003, Bibby Financial Services
Australia has been one of the fastest growing factoring and invoice
discounting providers in Australia, growing at approximately 40% per
annum over five consecutive years. Part of the Bibby Financial
Services Group with 32 companies in 11 countries, Bibby Financial
Services offers a full range of confidential and notified factoring
and invoice discounting products, including non-recourse factoring
and export factoring via the International Factors Group (IFG).
Bibby Financial Services currently operates in Sydney, Melbourne,
Brisbane and Perth and services clients nationally.
Sales growth for 2008 has been strong, buoyed in no small manner by
the tightening of bank credit, which has seen an influx of larger
value opportunities enter the second tier market. Sales growth
year-on-year to November 2008 reached 35%.
Despite the uncertain global credit environment, the Australian
economy is reasonably well positioned to withstand the level of
fallout experienced in other markets. The banking sector, dominated
by four major banks, remains strong, and with some recent
consolidation should remain so. However, at the time of writing the
economy was under pressure, with the value of the Australian dollar
at a historically low level, and interest rates, inflation, average
debt-turn and business insolvencies at relatively high levels.
In the current economic climate, demand for factoring and invoice
discounting is expected to increase, with the nascent non-recourse
factoring segment expected to grow strongly with an increase in the
level of bad debts as widely expected. The relatively low value of
the Australian dollar is also expected to be maintained, which could
provide increased opportunities for export factoring, particularly
when coupled with the continued tightening of bank credit.
Furthermore, with a number of bank invoice discounting operations
scaling down or sold, and with some lifting credit criteria, the
opportunities in the invoice discounting segment for independent
providers are expected to increase.
Bibby Financial Services Australia has grown significantly in 2008,
with the acquisition of three experienced senior personnel,
additions to our sales and operational staff and a recent expansion
into Western Australia to capitalise on opportunities resulting from
the protracted resources boom in that market.
Overall, 2009 is expected to be one of opportunities, particularly
for the independent providers, and one in which factoring and
discounting solutions is set to become more established in the
commercial finance landscape. With the most experienced management
team in Australia and the support and stability of the Bibby
Financial Services Group, 2009 should see the Australian operation
continue its strong growth.
Greg Charlwood
Chief Executive
Belgium
ING Commercial Finance BeLux
The Belgian market is suffering from a financial and economic
breakdown which is commonly expected among experts to worsen in the
coming months. This critical situation even impacts companies which
so far have been spared. The message is crystal clear; confidence in
such companies needs to be restored to guarantee a healthy recovery
of our economy. Nevertheless asset-backed financing, i.e. commercial
finance activities, continue to grow by 15% per year in our Belgian
market. This growth strengthens the trend that corporates in general
entrust the virtues of our products.
ING Commercial Finance BeLux combines robustness and professional
expertise to assist companies in meeting their ambitions through a
close monitoring of their clients’ payment behaviour. Our commercial
taskforce offer them tailor-made solutions which perfectly suit
their financing requirements. Our product range has as many colours
and cloths available as our clients’ wishes and tastes. The numbers
of their clients with different payment behaviours, the way each
company chases its debtors, etc... makes them all unique.
ING Commercial Finance Group has an international presence and
coverage to support its clients with cross-border activities. The
combination of the expertise and the support of ING Group is of
great value to ING Commercial Finance BeLux but also to our clients
by triggering reliability and trust. Easy to deal with is definitely
ING’s universal motto. Needless to say that ING Commercial Finance
puts client satisfaction at the top of its priorities. Day after
day, we translate our clients’ needs into adequate solutions to help
them manage their financial operations in an easy way.
Our present commercial and operational approach has proven its
efficiency. Our close attention to clients’ expectations and our
clear business principles will lead us further along this way as our
guiding light.
Bruno Verhofstede
Managing Director
KBC Commercial Finance NV
Not only for the United States but also for KBC Commercial Finance,
2008 was the year of change. We started 2008 with a new name
(formerly International Factors Belgium).
It was also the first year as a 100% subsidiary of KBC Bank leading
to a substantial additional administrative burden.
It was the first year that our operations were based on our new
platform, IMX. Although generally the performance of this new system
was more than acceptable we could not avoid a few hic-ups.
It was the first time that we experienced a financial crisis of an
unseen nature. It is still unclear what the final effect will be on
our domestic market.
Despite this very challenging environment KBC Commercial Finance
will realise a volume exceeding €4bn, this will also be a first
time. Neutralising the volumes of our former partner in the
dissolved joint-venture, ING, this means a year-on-year growth of
+30%.
The Belgian economy is performing in line with its European peers,
meaning that the short-term economic outlook is rather gloomy with
an exceptionally high inflation (close to 5%) and rather pessimistic
growth figures. It seems that the Belgian economy could just be able
to avoid a recession but there is no reason for further enthusiasm.
However, for 2009 we have every reason to be optimistic. Since most
banks will be forced to reduce their risk weighted assets,
asset-based lending alternatives are now in the scope of all
companies, from SME to multinational. Hence, we expect a further
growth of our sales volumes, be it in more invoice finance type
deals.
Our new software platform will also allow us to expand our services
geographically, following the footprints of KBC Bank.
We are confident that our forty sixth year in business will be the
start of a new era. We have the experience, expertise, the financial
support of one of the most solid banks in Europe and most
importantly, the staff, to live up to our company’s credo: expect
more!
Dirk Van Strijthem
CEO
Canada
Maple Trade Finance
As 2008 draws to a close, I don’t think it would be an exaggeration
to state that it has proven to be one of the most unusual years from
a business perspective! The unjustified run-up of the price of oil
to unimaginable levels followed by the dramatic drop to levels less
than 50% of their peaks, in and of itself, could have been the top
story of the year. Add in foreign exchange rates fluctuating by 3-6%
per week, central bank rate drops of 1% at a time and the major
topic would still not have been addressed – that of the virtual
collapse of the global financial system.
Despite the fact that Maple Financial Group, our parent company, and
Maple Trade Finance experienced phenomenally successfully years from
both a growth and revenue perspective, the entire global economy
changed at the end of this summer with the collapse of Lehman
Brothers and the investment banking establishment; this lead to the
re-examination of the entire financial industry and their methods of
calculating the value of assets. The cascading failures caused the
collapse of several financial stalwarts and even the country of
Iceland.
Although the Canadian banks have often been criticised for their
lack of innovation and low risk tolerance, this approach has now
resulted in Canada having arguably the strongest banking system in
the world. Notwithstanding this, no nation is an island and we have
experienced considerable hardship as well. The unwillingness of
banks to lend to each other is a direct result of the inability to
assess the strength of the counter-party in a transaction. Exactly
how can one value an asset when it is unclear exactly what the asset
is?
As we close the year and plan for 2009, we can expect a
stabilisation of the economy. However, we are by no means looking at
a financial turnaround. The upcoming year will allow the strong to
survive, but the growth that has been seen over the past several
years will give way to solidification of the basic foundation and
the preparation for renewal in 2010. At Maple Trade Finance we
expect to continue to grow our business, but fully anticipate that
the pace of growth will slow down and the due diligence will need to
intensify. The faltering world economy will result in a greater
default rate, and therefore, the reliance on solid pre-funding due
diligence and credit insurance will be paramount to success.
We look forward to a year with more clearly defined parameters and a
return to an economy that, while in a recession, still provides
enormous opportunity for success for financial companies relying on
fundamental lending principles.
Michael Miller
Chief Operating Officer
China
TFG (China)
2008 is a year with great troubles. International financial crisis
has been rarely seen in history, which causes serious effects to the
increase and stability of the world economy. With the aggravation of
world economic crisis spreading, stable and rapid development of
Chinese economy contributes a lot to the world.
Looking back to 2008, TFG of China made great achievements, which
show as follows:
Industry alliance: Firstly, TFG made a broad alliance with IFG
members. At present, the scope of global business involves more than
100 countries and regions. Secondly, TFG has been in business
co-operation with the world’s second largest credit insurance
company – Atradius Group and Sinosure, which are reinsurance
institutions of TFG. Thirdly, being as the only independent
non-banking factor TFG has been brought into the category of
non-banking financial institutions by Chinese government. ICBC,
Tianjin Bank and Bohai Bank, etc. have given many supports as
capital and innovative settlement mode. Finally, various domestic
credit management companies and insurance brokers have also
co-operated with TFG, which forms a worldwide network of systematic
union with factoring in the centre and radiation-related industries.
Innovative ideas: Reverse Factoring, Reverse Marketing and BFB
Website is the innovative ideas advocated by TFG.
TFG firstly proposed the reverse factoring idea in China. This idea
contains reverse of clients marketing and the funds, further
develops the four standard functions of international factoring to
reverse marketing, and merges into every link in international
trade, serving for the whole trading process of both importer and
the exporter. This innovative idea has gained close attentions and
high evaluation from international co-operative institutions,
Chinese and foreign media, financial research sector and traders. At
the same time, it has also obtained strong support from the Chinese
Ministry of Commerce and recognition of traders. IFG members also
have high evaluation of TFG.
Chinese Ministry of Commerce will invite senior leaders of TFG to
make prepared public speeches in the Seventh Annual Meeting of the
China Import and Export Enterprise on 20 December 2008, to
vigorously promote international factoring business under reverse
factoring and broaden a new trade financing channel for Chinese
import-export enterprises.
The BFB Website is another innovative idea of TFG, which is
different from the BTB business website. BFB means providing two
parties of the trade with credit guarantee and commodity quality
assurance, making them complete the business of trade negotiation,
document flow and funds flow, etc, on the BFB website, and factors
undertaking the risk of bad debts, trade financial, etc. It is the
matching tool of reverse factoring, makes factor’s marketing more
comprehensive, let’s factoring clients conduct trade deal online and
factoring business offline, and eventually forms a multi-dimensional
international factoring model.
TFG has signed business agreements with the world famous BTB
website, providing importer’s order information of importing Chinese
commodities in various countries. After being screened and confirmed
by TFG to provide international two-factoring services, the list of
importers will be sent to other IFG members, then, other factors can
conduct import factoring business in a targeted manner within
shortest time and improve efficiency.
Operating performance: Only innovative ideas can bring innovative
operating model and profits.
The operating performance of TFG mainly lies in the second half of
2008. Up to 31 October 2008, the amount of contracts signed by TFG
has reached $30m and the industry of factoring is minerals and
chemicals, with the main factoring mode direct import factoring.
At present, the Chinese economy is running well, and the national
economy will continue to maintain stable and higher development.
China is one of countries with best payment capacity all around the
world.
Management team: The senior leaders of TFG comes from president of
bank, CFO and entrepreneur, respectively having senior technicians
of master degree, doctor degree, CCA (ACCA) and senior economist,
etc. The general manager and the CFO once worked in ICBC and Bank of
Communication in China. They have expertise in international
settlement and have rich business experience. There are 46 staff in
the company now. They respectively graduated from Peking University,
Nankai University, Tianjin University of Finance & Economics and
Tianjin Foreign Studies University, etc and now engaging in
international business, credit, financial affairs, law and IT, etc.
TFG has a well-structured organisation. Its business network chain
organisations proliferates more than 20 provinces and cities all
over the country, which is a wide co-operative alliance. The
innovative operating idea obtains high admire and strong support
from the Chinese government and the financial field, and recognition
from domestic trade associations and international colleagues.
To every industry, TFG especially focuses on excellent professional
services, business understanding of trade, cost savings and quick
response.
The staff of TFG can maintain a close co-operation, have a thorough
understanding of each client’s business character and demand, give
in-depth and accurate professional advice and provide creative
factoring services.
TFG establishes an efficient and accountable system of internal
control. Also, it has a friendly and relaxed working atmosphere to
ensure that the factoring business information will be sent rapidly
and the management system be strictly implemented.
TFG focuses on human-oriented, growth and development environment of
cultivating talents. Expert masters, scholar steered is one of
distinctive characteristics for human resources accumulation and
allocation. Understanding of the Chinese localisation of
international factoring business and planning of the development
strategic make TFG’s business covering whole China and many
countries and regions all over the world.
China’s economic condition at present: Facing the global credit
crunch, China, like many developing countries, may need to reduce
the credit costs in order to stimulate the economic development.
Recently, China has begun to turn its focus on stimulating the
economic growth. Some Chinese economists forecasted that the
development of China’s economy is expected to slow down in 2009, but
will still remain at very high speed at 8-9%. With Chinese
government’s policies to stimulate its economy, China’s economy is
expected to grow at 9-10%.
Under the present circumstances of the declining purchasing power of
importers and continuously dropping commodity prices, it is
necessary for Chinese exporters to get rid of all kinds of middlemen
so as to reduce the costs and open the international market. The
concept of reverse marketing in reverse factoring advocated by TFG
just meets the needs of the present situation, that is, getting rid
of the middlemen and establishing connections with creditable
importers or exporters directly under factoring business.
Opportunities and challenges: The financial tsunami will change the
map of the world. As an important part of the world, China, should
certainly participate in the design of the future world. With two
trillion foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world,
sustainable and steady economic growth and a domestic market with
1.3 billion customers, China holds the best position to take part in
the reconstruction of the world order. However, we should see that
as a member in the economic globalisation, China is also a victim of
this crisis, confronting the same challenges with European and
American countries.
Expansion of the influence of US financial crisis leads to the
decline of consumer consumption index and the importing demands of
the developed counties, which will inevitably bring negative effects
for China’s export. Thus, on 1 November 2008, China increased the
export rebate rate of 3,486 kinds of commodities, with the aim to
increasing enterprises’ exporting competitiveness and supporting the
enterprise to expand export on the basis of expanding domestic
needs. This policy promotes the development of the national economy,
increases enterprises’ risk-resisting ability and plays a positive
role in leading enterprises to overcoming difficulties, developing
healthily and optimising their export product mix.
Outlook for 2009: The experience of over one year proves that only
innovation leads to development; only mutual benefit leads to
co-operation; only double-winning leads to the future. Looking back,
the achievements we have made are quite encouraging. Looking ahead,
we have a long way to go. With firm belief on the concept of reverse
factoring and the principle of mutual benefits and win-wins, TFG
will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners to open a new
chapter for the international factoring innovative cooperation.
Sun Hong
First Vice-President
Columbia
Factor Group – Columbia
The Colombian economy has had an excellent growth over the past six
years. Economic and social environment has improved and foreign
investment grew substantially. Future outlook does not have the same
expectations, as the current global economic environment will have
an effect on our market. However it is expected that the impact will
not be very strong due to our solid economic situation.
Our business environment has changed on a positive basis. Congress
approved law 1231/2008 called, The Factoring Law,
which promotes the developing of thefactoring industry.
This law, amongst others, forces payers to accept the endorsement of
the invoices and factors will only need to send a notice of
assignment to the payer so that it has the information of to whom he
must pay at the expiration of the invoice. New legal structure is
currently in place and we view a great opportunity to increase our
turnover but we also have a big challenge since we expect new
companies and new players in the industry.
Factor Group has increased its turnover from $4m by year 2003 to
$126m by year 2007, with a $213m budget for year 2008. We have
increased our number of employees, seeking to structure a team with
high expertise and knowledge to support our goals. For year 2009,
and in line with the new legal framework, we expect to increase our
turnover by at least 55% and keep our market share in a growing
industry and we will also get into new markets and develop new
products as well.
David Wigoda
Managing Director
France
BNP Paribas Factor
BNP Paribas Factor is a major player on the French market with its
receivables solutions: to know, to guarantee, to optimise, to
finance.
Its turnover tripled between 2003 and 2007 and the market share
doubled.
At the end of September 2008, our total turnover reached €9.313bn
(€6.888bn in 2007), a 35.2% growth.
Over the same period, our international business topped €742.3m,
compared to €296.5m in 2007, a 150.29% increase.
The pursuit of our international strategy leads us to develop our
pan-European offer: an innovative, flexible and competitive service
performed directly in France, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Benelux
and our direct import and export offer in 11 European and
Mediterranean countries, thanks to the support of the members of the
BNP Paribas Factoring Network (BMCI in Morocco, BNP Paribas Factor
in Portugal, Ifitalia in Italy and TEB Faktoring in Turkey).
BNP Paribas Factor has become a European and worldwide player
providing both standardised and tailor-made services that meet the
financing and outsourcing requirements of all types of companies, at
any stage of their development.
Liana Innocenti
Project Manager
Eurofactor France
In the context of the international crisis, economic growth in
France should be low in 2008. Industrial decline, credit contraction
and unemployment increase are the main syndromes of economic crisis
and appeared during the second semester. However, the French
economic situation has to be put in perspective with other European
countries which go into a recessionary period. France tends to
withstand, as shown by the inflation decrease, the household
consumption stability, and the exports rebound during the third
quarter.
In contrast with the economic situation, the French receivables
market shows a buoyed up growth on the first nine months of 2008
(+15.5% in volume). The volume of receivables reaches €100bn, which
amounts to the annual turnover of 2006. From the trend of the first
nine months the annual turnover should reach €133bn in 2008, versus
€122bn in 2007.
In the economic context, factoring has been promoted and the market
growth should be continuous in 2009.
With 21.6% of market share, Eurofactor thus keeps its leading
position in the French market in the first nine months.
Eurofactor reinforces this position with a larger range of funding
solutions. With Eurofactor Stock, Eurofactor has developed a
solution of asset-based lending and gives the possibility to its
clients to find an extended funding, based on their inventory.
Moreover, Eurofactor has developed its services offer, with the
partnership created with Theofinance plc.
In 2009, Eurofactor will extend its French presence in the French
West Indies (Guadeloupe and Martinique).
With over 800 employees, including 40 staff in the international
department, Eurofactor France belongs to both international
factoring associations, IFG and FCI, and works with around 70
correspondent factors worldwide.
In 2008, Eurofactor has further developed its international
activity, with the opening of a second office in the United Kingdom,
the first market in size in the world, and with the launch of a new
subsidiary in Italy, the second largest market in size. Together
with its European subsidiaries, Eurofactor’s turnover should exceed
€44bn this year.
For the future, Eurofactor is looking to develop even further its
international presence and to keep its competitive edge through an
innovative product range and excellent quality of service to be your
favourite international partner par excellence.
Bernard Muselet
Directeur Général
Adjoint-Développement France
GE Factofrance
GE Factofrance had another strong year in 2008, with +20% volume
growth, i.e. above market, reflecting the quality of product
offering and partnership approach provided to SMEs and corporate
customers throughout all economic cycles. GE Factofrance serves SMEs
and large corporates, including multinational corporations via GE’s
cross-border factoring centre of excellence, based in Paris.
A leader in the French factoring market, with 27% market share, GE
Factofrance is part of GE Capital, which has a network of over 20
factoring platforms across the world. Since GE Factofrance is an
independent provider, not tied to any bank, the company has a proven
proposition to support SMEs through these difficult times. In 2008,
GE’s wide product range in full factoring, delegated or non-notified
factoring, supply chain finance or inventory finance, proved again
to be valuable to our 6,000+ customers wanting to fund their growth,
improve their working capital situation, and complete their bank
credit lines.
The economic situation in France has rapidly deteriorated in 2008. A
flat, or potentially negative, GDP growth rate in 2009 is expected.
The sharp increase in corporate bankruptcies in the second half of
2008 reinforced GE’s commitment to support SMEs/corporates, trade
and the whole supply chain.
Indeed, on top of existing partnerships with industry and trade
associations, GE Factofrance has developed new partnerships and
built specific products and/or commercial alliances to support the
French SMEs and the corporate landscape in the current financial
turmoil. For instance, the main French SMEs association (CGPME) and
GE Factofrance have reached an unprecedented agreement promoting
sound and clear business principles applied to factoring to
establish recognised best practices. A similar agreement has been
reached with the National Transportation Association (FNTR) to help
support a key industry in France.
The French banking community remains committed to factoring. Late
2008, the Fédération Française des Banques (FFB) stated that banks
and lenders should remain supportive of French companies, and
suggested that factoring should be more commonly used. This is
wholly in line with GE Factofrance’s strategy to support
French SMEs and corporates throughout all economic cycles.
Today, factoring use is very much driven by demand from SMEs/corporates
as they struggle to obtain appropriate funding from their banks.
This demand is not being fully addressed by the factoring industry
and so we believe there is more runway for additional secured
lending products. But, the demand for factoring is such that GE
Factofrance, like other Factoring companies, has to be increasingly
selective in the transactions it funds.
Looking ahead, it is likely that the economic situation will not
radically improve within the next few months. GE remains committed
to the European market, while continuing to be a responsible lender,
managing our risk fundamentals, correctly pricing our offer, and
marketing flexible products to different customer segments. Factors
will benefit from the shift from other lending products into secured
lending but, in the short-term, lenders will remain selective and
cautious about risk, credit insurance coverage and overall corporate
bankruptcies. In the long run, the French factoring market should
continue to grow, driven by the increasing appetite from SMEs/corporates.
Thierry Willieme
CEO
Germany
Bibby Financial Services GmbH
This year has indeed been a very successful one for BFS Germany. In
January the business was still just at the conceptual business plan
stage with a very challenging timetable for the launch of the
company into the German market. But, by March premises had been
found, an experienced team of factoring specialists recruited and
pretty much all systems put in place ready for the opening of the
doors for business in April. It is always difficult to plan a
greenfield site and project forward how the business will develop in
a new market, however with a very experienced team putting together
the plan and executing it by May the first client was taken on
quickly followed by a steady stream of new business throughout the
rest of the year.
Shortly after the start of the business we decided that we needed to
develop our international presence and like many of the Bibby Group
companies we applied to join IFG and were quickly accepted into the
fold. Another major step forward in terms of gaining local
credibility came when we were accepted into the German Factoring
Association. For many new factoring companies this process can take
some time due to the high quality criteria that has been set for
entry into the association, indeed some never reach the standards
for admission.
As we approach the end of 2008, the business is still very much
hitting the forecasts made in the business plan with a solid
portfolio of clients now being handled by the team. With a
substantial amount having been invested in the establishment of the
Bibby brand in the market in 2008 and further investments in this
area planned for 2009 we believe that we will continue to grow our
presence in this important market over the next few years despite
the tough economic climate that the country is experiencing at
present.
Jorg Freialdenhoven
Managing Director
GE Capital Bank
Since its integration into GE more than three years ago, GE Capital
Bank has grown in sales, number of employees and offices.
In 2007, GE Capital Bank reported its best year ever with a factored
volume of more than €17.5bn, and in the first half of this year
delivered sales of €11bn, a year-on-year increase of 37.2%. GE
Capital Germany CEO Joachim Secker is confident the bank will be
able to repeat 2007’s success this year. More than €21bn factored
volume for 2008 is expected with sustainable quality of earnings and
profits.
As a result of the credit crunch GE Capital Bank expects a tough
year in 2009, because there will be a lot of new regulations which
will be decided by the national governments. Currently the whole
banking and finance sector has to wait to see, how all the new
regulations will influence the banking system.
Furthermore economic experts anticipate a recession in 2009 and this
may have a large impact on the whole economy and factoring business
in Germany. An increasing number of clients require fresh capital.
This can be an opportunity for GE Capital, because of the business
approach in the past and an effective proactive risk management, GE
Capital Bank is well prepared for competition. GE Capital expects a
further double-digit growth for 2009.
Since GE completed the full acquisition of GE Capital Bank in 2005,
the Mainz-based bank has expanded its workforce, benefiting the
Mainz area. The number of employees has risen from 130 to 189. GE
Capital Bank takes on eight apprentices each year and many of these
go on to assume full-time positions in the bank.
GE Capital Bank has also expanded its branch presence throughout
Germany and Austria. In 2008 GE Capital opened new offices in
Hanover and Stuttgart, extending its network through northern and
southern Germany and adding to those already in Düsseldorf, Munich,
Hamburg and Leipzig. Furthermore GE Capital Bank opened a branch in
Austria, Vienna. The expanding office network will help GE Capital
adopt a more local approach and win new customers. The offices will
be staffed by locals from the regions, important in Germany and
Austria where there are significant regional differences in dialect,
cultural habits and ways of doing business.
Joachim Secker
CEO
Quorum AG, Düsseldorf
The trading conditions in Germany were very positive for us
throughout the year. The growth in the factoring market experienced
in 2007 continued in 2008. This was due to the fact that more
companies looked for alternatives to traditional financial products;
especially small and medium-sized enterprises who are more and more
dependent on factoring for working capital finance. The financial
crisis had a positive effect on our business in Germany as we saw an
increase in enquiry levels. On the other hand it is difficult as a
funding partner to see your customers suffering from the worldwide
financial crisis and their order books shrinking. We are supporting
our clients in these troubled times, this is particularly important
as more conventional forms of finance become increasingly difficult
to access. The banking sector is becoming ever more conservative
which creates good growth opportunities in the factoring market.
This does not however give us free license but a greater
responsibility to ensure the liquidity of our customers.
Quorum AG had a successful 2008 in which we achieved all of our
targets. We grew our market share and broadened our business
knowledge helping us to continue to offer tailor-made solutions to
our clients. Customer satisfaction remains a core value to the
business and we were able to improve on our already high level of
customer satisfaction from 2007. To maintain this high standard we
increased our staff numbers to offer amongst other things an
improved service and provide consistent quality levels.
As for 2009 we still expect the German factoring market to grow. We
will continue to focus on our clients and their individual needs. We
will also continue to develop new products and services, such as our
special funding solution for the transport sector launched in 2008.
We expect to enjoy a successful 2009.
Frédéric Lodewyk
CEO
Indonesia
PT IFS Capital Indonesia – Jakarta
The Indonesian economy has been growing for the past two years at a
rate of 6.1% and 6.3% respectively, which, if compared to the
historically high prices reached by major exportable commodities,
represents modest figures for the years in question. High commodity
prices and a strong internal demand have been the main drivers for
the Indonesian economy for the last two to three years.
Exports, on a balance-of-payments basis, rose by 29% year-on-year in
January-March, to US$34.4bn, on the back of rising oil export
prices. Imports grew by 42% to US$26.8bn in the same period.
But since the global economic turmoil impacted upon Indonesia in the
third quarter 2008, the GDP growth slowed to 5.8% in 2008, down from
6.3% in 2007, in response to a spike in domestic inflation and an
uncertain global economy. The unemployment rate was 9.7% on 2007 and
will stay or rise at the end of 2008. Moreover, the nominal GDP and
other key indicators will deviate significantly. The Indonesian
government trimmed its economic target for 2009 from 6.3% to the
range of 5.5% to 6.1%, due to the impact of the global economic
crisis. And downward its 2009 inflation forecast from 7% to 6.2%.
In terms of volume, PT IFS Capital Indonesia will account for over
US$25m in lending during 2008 or more than 80% growth from last
year.
PT IFS Capital Indonesia offers a wide variety of working capital
solutions from factoring to financial lease, targeting its products
at small and medium-sized companies. We have expanded our personnel
accordingly, and are proud of the fact to have skilled and dedicated
personnel, and this is expected to continue as we enter into
next year.
2009 is anticipated to be another milestone year for PT IFS Capital
Indonesia to exist creatively in the global economic crisis, as we
become the alternative lender of choice when banks and more
traditional lenders have to say no.
We are proud to share with you that we are now focusing to enter
export factoring with a customer which is based in Europe.
Dani Firmansjah
CEO
Italy
Ifitalia SpA
Ifitalia, founded in 1963 by Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL), was
the first factoring company established in Italy; most of the
factoring industry know-how comes from Ifitalia, which has always
been the benchmark in Italian market.
In Italy, the role of factoring has changed considerably in the last
two decades. Ifitalia has played a leading role in this evolution.
In the 1970s and 1980s, factoring was substantially accounts
receivable financing for small and medium enterprises unable to
access bank finance; now, factoring means services for all kinds of
businesses and a wide range of innovative financial solutions.
Ifitalia has always focused on international factoring, since the
very beginning, when in 1963 International Factors Group (IFG) was
founded as the first international association of factoring
companies. Ifitalia, who was established in the same year, was one
of the founder members of IFG. In 2006, Ifitalia became part of BNP
Paribas Group, one of the word’s largest banking groups, with a
strong international vocation.
In 2007 Ifitalia’s turnover exceeded €17bn, with a 7% growth over
2006. About 77% of the turnover of the year was assigned on a
non-recourse basis.
In 2008 Ifitalia is expected to attain a substantial growth and this
is fully confirmed by the results of the first 10 months of the
year, which registered a 33% increase of the turnover. At 31
October, international turnover reached €1.6bn euros. Currently,
Ifitalia ranks second on the Italian market, the third largest
factoring market in the world.
In 2008 the Italian factoring market is registering a positive
trend. So far, the global financial crisis does not appear to have
produced considerable effects on factoring demand, which still shows
a significant growth rate. However, the market tends to be more
competitive both on pricing and service quality.
The uncertainties connected with future economic scenarios make it
hard to predict next year’s market trend. Nonetheless, the Italian
factoring market should keep on growing also in 2009 and Ifitalia
has what it takes to continue to be a market leader and a top-notch
provider of effective and efficient services in international
factoring.
Massimo Ferraris
General Manager
Portugal
Eurofactor Portugal S.A.
Eurofactor Portugal continues to grow fast with 25% increase in
turnover in 2007, against a factoring market increase of just 4%.
For 2008 we continue to grow in a two digit rate in an odd year.
Unfortunately Portugal remains in a slow growth economic environment
(0.3% in 2005, 1.2% in 2006, 1.8% in 2007 and forecast 0.8% in
2008), high unemployment rate (8%) and struggling to control public
debt under 3% of GDP.
The Portuguese economy is very sensitive to exports, and the picture
of an international crisis is not good news, especially in a country
that is dealing already with slow growth for too many years.
We are facing a very complex crisis that will dominate the near
future and looks as the big threat of the moment.
The biggest challenge is to continue to provide funding to our
clients, with excellent quality service and innovative products.
The most important opportunities rely on the crisis in itself. We
expect the market to turn to products like factoring, with a strong
link between funding, liquidity and assets value (invoices).
Being part of a strong group like Crédit Agricole will bring us the
capacity to respond to market needs and take advantage of the
opportunities ahead.
Eurofactor Portugal is fully dedicated to factoring in the
Portuguese market, and we have a team of 30 people covering
operations and clients, sales and marketing, international, risk,
financial and IT.
A staff of 28 is located in our Lisbon headquarters and two are in
our Porto office, responsible to sales in the north of the country.
We live in a global economy and we are facing a global crisis. No
one can predict the end, the size or the duration of the problems
ahead.
What we can and should do is our best to respond to the challenges,
take advantage of the opportunities: The market will refocus on
products like factoring.
I believe that we will have a big growing opportunity for factoring
in this context and we will be there.
Rui Esteves
General Manager
Romania
ING Commercial Finance IFN S.A.
Our sales growth this year is huge (1,133%) as this was the first
full year of operation.
The Romanian economy is one of the fastest growing in Europe with
GDP going up 6-7% (before the crunch).
The challenge is that we are one of the first real, mainstream,
factoring companies and therefore have to educate the market.
Opportunities – huge need for liquidity, and risk cover, less
competition.
Threats – week court system – they do not understand the complexity
of receivables financing business, low understanding of SME sector.
Human resources are another challenge in Romania. Banking and
financial services growing fast and the labour market is very tight.
No experienced factoring people. Need for intensive training.
For 2009 – I expect increase in demand for our services, especially
from the SME sector. Small businesses in Romania have very narrow
equity and not enough securities for bank facilities. On the other
side, due to the slowdown, the risk will increase as well.
Ryszard Lublinski
General Manager
Russia
Interregional Factoring Company TRUST
For the first half of the year the influence of the world financial
crisis was not very significant, which allowed the Russian factoring
market not to slow down and show growth of 82% in comparison to the
same period last year. But now the world financial crisis has
definitely affected the Russian economy so projections for the
second half are not so optimistic, most likely it will not be
possible to keep the same growth rate.
According to the market experts, estimated turnover of the Russian
factoring market in 2008 will account to $29bn maximum. Growth
should amount to 43%, which is a quite good indicator, especially in
conditions of liquidity deficit of financial means.
At the same time the Russian government takes all possible measures
to prevent the world financial crisis influencing normal activity of
financial organisations and other companies. Therefore action plan,
developed by the Russian government, is aimed to improve the
situation in financial and certain economic sectors; the plan
contains two points which have direct effect on factoring market. In
one of them factoring is named as one of the instruments that help
solving the problem of financial sector liquidity. In the other one
companies of SME are called one of the priority directions of
Russian economic development. Both points are really good for the
factoring market and let us hope that factoring business will get
financial support, and potential clients of factoring firms such as
SME companies will get an opportunity to develop due to a number of
government measures, including tax
reduction.
As far as our company is concerned, we managed to maintain a high
growth rate in the first half of 2008 and stay in the top five –
leaders of factoring business in Russia by such indicators as the
receivables portfolio and the number of clients and regional
offices. We have an optimistic outlook for the future and plan to
show the same results as previously or even improve our performance.
Dmitry Pyatakov
CEO
National Factoring Company (Joint-Stock Company), Russia
NFC is the first independent factoring company in the local market
with nearly 10 years’ experience in the business. A member of both
IFG and FCI. 2007 factoring turnover scored $2.5bn which represents
a 42% growth compared to the previous year. NFC strives to further
improve its results: in 2008 NFC signed a partnership agreement with
Coface, expanded its product range with purchase order finance and
improved its position on the international arena being granted full
membership with FCI. NFC plans to maintain its leading position in
the non-recourse segment that is becoming very popular among
clients. In October 2008 Moody’s Investors Services affirmed NFC’s
B2/NP (global scale) and A3.ru (national scale) credit ratings.
The Russian factoring market has been one of the fastest growing
markets in the world with a growth rate of around 100% p.a. for the
past six consecutive years and a volume of $20bn
in 2007. The growth rate in 2008 is expected to reduce to 50%
p.a. or even less due to the unfavourable economic environment which
in turn forces the factors to take a more conservative approach to
boarding on new clients in terms of risk appetite and credit crunch.
As a result of the evolution of the market and the need to protect
the interest of the factors, the Association of Factoring Companies
(AFC), the first specialised factoring association in Russia was
established. Currently the government together with AFC is
developing a program on supporting the economy using such tools as
factoring.
On the one hand, if the number of factoring companies during the
past years constantly increased to reach over 30 players by the end
of 2007, it is expected that the economic crisis will lead to
consolidation and that the companies for which factoring was not the
core business will leave the market. On the other hand, the economic
environment has substantially enhanced demand for collection and
credit cover services and non-bank forms of financing.
Slava Ivanov
Head of International Operations
Slovakia
NLB Factor, Bratislava, Slovakia
Member of Nova Ljubljanska Banka
Sales growth: 20%. Local and national economic situation: expected
to be influenced by global financial crisis, however, still 4-5% GDP
growth is expected (compared to 6.5% forecast).
Any special challenges, opportunities or threats in your business
environment:
-
strengthening of dunning process;
-
overtake of clients from banks which are stuck;
-
be
more cautious and take less risk;
-
utilise insurance, although insurance companies got stuck
either; and
-
time
to improve internal processes.
Personnel:
16 people.
Thoughts on prospects for 2009: importance to survive without
dramatic and significant damages caused by possible insolvency of
debtors.
Miroslav Bernat
CEO
Slovenia
Prva Financna Agencija d.o.o.
Our company is for more than 20 years successfully conducting
factoring business in Slovenia. The current world financial
situation is reflecting also in our environment, for the time being
still to a smaller extent.
In spite of this the predicted economic growth for 2009 is 5% which
is an incentive data considering the 1.2% prediction of economic
growth in the rest of Europe. There are more insolvencies expected,
slightly higher unemployment, extended payment terms, up to 30 days
on average, banks sharpening their criteria for loan endorsements
and also the population’s creditworthiness should be slightly
worsening.
We at Prva Financna Agencija d.o.o. see as well opportunities as
threats in this situation. Enquiries after our services are
increasing which enables us bigger profit and even more stable
operations by gaining even more quality portfolio of our clients
which we see as most important at this time. On the other hand we
are aware that the financial crisis is already being felt in certain
branches like trade and construction and is consequently being
carried to other fields of the economy. Consequently risks are
increasing there but we’ll try to limit those influences by
thoughtful client selection.
We expect a business volume growth from €100m in year 2007 up to
€130m in the year 2008 and consequently profit growth. The clientele
we have is already very big, around 5,000 companies, considering the
expanse of the Slovene economy, especially because of the large
scale of services we are able to offer to our clients. An extra
increase of clientele is not expected in the year 2009. But we count
on increased business volume with the current clients to whom we
started to offer international factoring in the second half of this
year by gaining membership in IFG. We are an export orientated
country and believe that our market share, which is around 35% at
the moment, will additionally be increased by covering also this
sort of clientele.
There are 33 employees at our company at the moment, which are
highly motivated and deserving for company success. Essential cadre
increase in 2009 is not expected except maybe on the field of
international factoring. We take care of regular education and
training of current cadre, realising that the company’s success is
as a result of highly professional personnel.
Nada Škoberne
International Manager
Spain
Eurofactor – Hispania
A couple of months ago I wrote an article for another publication
talking about the 2007 evolution of factoring in Spain, and the
title I used was: Crisis? What Crisis?, remembering the Supertramp
album of many years ago. And I did it because in 2007 the growth of
our sector was 24%. In the same article I was predicting that 2008
was going to be more complicated and not so nice in terms of
evolution.
Well, if I ever have any doubt about my complete lack of skills
regarding futurology, this is the final and absolute confirmation
that I’m a disaster in this field. (In others too but we don’t talk
now about them…).
The sector is growing at 30 September 2008 at a rate of 22.3% so at
least on the turnover side the crisis is not really affecting
factoring, up to now. Needless to say that on the side of risk
deterioration rates have improved but we are still in lower levels
in respect to other European countries in recent years.
All companies have strengthened their risk circuits, either for
sellers and debtors, and we manage the situation with a high degree
of caution. Many of us are backed by credit insurance companies and
they have had different behaviours in the country, but most
of them have cancelled or reduced
many credit lines.
The GDP of the country is going dramatically down and coming from a
3.8% growth in 2007 we are now bordering on recession. So normally
this situation would affect us in 2009 (and I hope to be wrong
again, of course), but it’s also true that the main responsibility
of this fall in activity comes from the construction sector, in
which we are not directly involved.
Eurofactor Hispania will probably close this year with a growth
in-line with the market, above 20%, as we are maintaining, until
today, almost 21%, and we keep our position as leader in
international business, two factor system.
But this year, more important than the increase on sales is the risk
control and the prevention of client’s defaults, so our efforts are
directed in this line and will keep on doing it in
2009.
Josep Sellés
Director General
Switzerland
UBS Factoring AG
With approximately 60% market share UBS Factoring is the largest
factor in Switzerland. It continues to grow rapidly with sales
growing at over 20% p.a. This is primarily thanks to the
introduction of new products, but also due to better market
penetration.
The Swiss factoring market is seeing increasing competition as new
domestic and foreign factors are entering this relatively small
market. However, this has not substantially changed the competitive
picture as the dominant providers of working capital financing
remain the banks with unsecured lending facilities.
Switzerland is facing an economic downturn as its economy is very
export oriented and its financial industry is a major factor.
However, domestic demand remains strong, real estate prices are
unlikely to fall and many hurtful structural changes have been made
in earlier years.
Thus there is hope of a soft landing and less severe fallouts from
the global financial crisis than in other countries. With recent
government actions to support the financial markets the financial
system has regained strength and is stable.
Due to the improved competitive position of factoring products
versus alternative means of working capital financing we anticipate
further sales growth and possibly improved margins in 2009.
Beat Wespi
CEO
Tunisia
Tunisie Factoring
The Tunisian economy continues its good performance in foreign
trade, thanks to the efficiency of the manufacturing sector, tourism
and agriculture. The economic growth rate expected by the end of
2008 should be around 6%.
Concerning the financial sector, its upgrade continued uneven,
unequal performances between the public and the private sector.
Overall the indicators are green in terms of capitalisation ratio,
non-performing receivables ratio and coverage by the provisions.
During the first half of 2008 statistics show an improvement in the
distribution of credit including credit investment. Despite the
enhancement in the rate of reserve requirements imposed on banks to
limit the inflationary effects, the sector has been marked by an
almost permanent excess of liquidity.
The growth of the Tunisian factoring market is based upon a
favourable economic situation, high growth rates of the national
economy and development of trade. Currently, Tunisie Factoring
offers a full service factoring including financing, recovery and
credit insurance. Despite its already high turnover in the previous
years, Tunisie Factoring has achieved a great performance in 2008;
the turnover of the company will be around 300m dinars (about
€171m), which represents a growth of 16.5% compared to 2007. Tunisie
Factoring improves its leading position in the Tunisian market, with
65% of market share, in spite of the competition.
TF employs 42 persons, maintaining a system of continuous training.
Such system increases the development of knowledge and skills of
staff.
The personnel of TF are involved in the main sales operations; risk
activities and communication with foreign correspondents.
The challenge is to remain innovative and competitive in terms of
factoring solutions, with new products that meet market needs, while
improving quality of service towards clients and international
factoring correspondents (IFG members).
For the future, Tunisie Factoring is looking to develop even further
its international presence and to keep its competitive edge through
an innovative product range and excellent quality of service to be
your favourite international partner.
Mohamed Bouraqui
Managing Director
Turkey
Tekstil Factoring Hizmetleri AS
The Turkish economy has been using factoring as a financial service
for the last 20 years; it has a growth rate of 30% almost every year
since the beginning. The sales volume of 2008 was targeted to $36bn
while it has reached $22bn in 2007.
Currently, there are 97 registered factoring companies in Turkey, of
which 45 are members of the Factoring Association of Turkey. Member
companies account for nearly 90% of the country’s total factoring
turnover. Presently, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency
of Turkey regulates the factoring industry in Turkey and the
establishment of a factoring company is subject to its approval and
subsequent control.
Tekstil Factoring was established in 1994 as a subsidiary of
Tekstilbank.
At the end of 2004, GSD Holding purchased Tekstil Factoring from GSD
Foreign Trade, thus making it a direct subsidiary of the holding.
There are currently 35 people working in the company, besides its
head office in Küçükyalı Istanbul, Tekstil Factoring has its
representative offices at Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Denizli, Bursa and
at the European Part of Istanbul Bayrampasa to offer its customers
flexible factoring solutions for their domestic and international
sales.
Tekstil Factoring has an unwavering place among factoring companies
in Turkey in terms of business volume, service quality, number of
customers, and product diversity.
The company has been a member of the Brussels-based International
Factors Group (IFG) since 1996.
The sales volume of Tekstil Factoring has reached to 536m YTL
($430m) in 2007 and in 2008/9 it has reached approximately $344m.
The deceleration of the economy in 2007 brought new concerns to the
global market. The takeover of the banks and financial institutions
in the USA and all around Europe in 2008 has even worsened the
economy and bail-out plans did not work for everyone. Most emerging
markets have faced the issue of losing their competitive positions;
Turkey’s economic growth has dropped to 4.5% in 2007 and
re-scheduled to 3.7% in 2008. The narrowing of the global market
will definitely affect our 2009 projects, we estimate that this
global constriction will end around June 2009, but will leave too
many bodies on the field. Economic shrinkage will force every
company and institutions to revise their future plans.
Factoring will be very important in 2009.The service of guarantee
will be priceless, and if companies can manage to drive their
opportunities they can even come out from the turmoil much stronger
then ever.
M. Turgut Isik
International Manager
UK
Bibby Financial Services
Bibby Financial Services (BFS), a global business finance provider
is a committed member of the IFG with 10 of its global companies,
the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Poland, Czezh Republic, USA,
Canada, Australia and India as active members.
Now with a network of 32 operating companies across 11 countries
including, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic,
Slovakia, USA, Canada, Australia and India, Bibby Financial Services
has the ability to service and facilitate cross-border trading
through our large network of global companies.
And even in those countries where we do not currently have a
presence, Bibby Financial Services is delighted to be able to use
our IFG membership to offer our clients a seamless service
regardless of where they are trading across the world.
Through our international business based in the UK, we have our own
team of experienced multilingual staff, which lowers the language
barrier that many exporters face and takes the hassle out of dealing
with overseas customers. Through our extensive network of
international offices, we can also use local knowledge and
understanding to ensure clients are paid on time wherever they are
in the world.
Bibby Financial Services provides a seamless, pan-global service
that gives clients the peace of mind that their best interests are
being looked after on a macro and micro-level and that they can
trade confidently, knowing that cash will continue to flow.
Our strategy is to continue our expansion into overseas countries
and in doing so provide our clients with the confidence that we can
work with them to facilitate their overseas trading. We are
delighted to be a member of the IFG as it supports our global
expansion strategy by giving us access to a valuable network of
factoring companies which helps us cater for all our clients’ needs.
Martin Warman
Managing Director
Eurofactor UK
Despite turbulent economic conditions, we are pleased to be able to
report further modest growth in turnover to a projected annualised
level of £1.85bn. We have also seen growth within the international
business area to £209m.
Once again our international team headed by Richard Hall and
supported by Martin Almond and Julie Curtis has been marked best UK
import factor by members of the IFG.
Commentary on both the global and UK economies is widespread and no
further repeat of those issues is necessary here. The impact,
however, has been felt in a number of areas particularly.
Substantial increases in business failures, resulting in:
A much more difficult credit insurance environment with
credit limits much more difficult to obtain especially in areas such
as construction and automotive.
Looking ahead into 2009, we will be working hard with our partners
throughout the IFG to maintain our service standards and achieve the
best possible level of support from the credit insurance market.
Jeff Longhurst
Managing Director
GE Commercial Finance – Business Finance
As an independent provider of invoice finance solutions for small
and medium enterprises in the UK and Europe, GE Commercial Finance
has had another successful year despite the turmoil in the financial
markets.
In the face of unique market disruption, our factoring and ABL
businesses, based in the UK, Italy, France, Germany and The
Netherlands, continue to see strong demand for funding from SMEs as
they seek alternatives to traditional forms of finance, and also a
significant drive from larger/cross-border corporates shifting from
unsecured to secured lending.
Like all financial providers, we now face an unprecedented set of
global economic conditions that will continue to challenge
businesses in the UK and beyond. Now, perhaps more than ever before,
is the time that strong underwriting and origination strategies will
pay off in the longer-term. Several providers have pulled out of the
market creating an increased demand for credit but lenders,
including GE, have to be selective as result. We’ve been working
closely with our customers to ensure that funding packages are
stress-tested to allow for any further deterioration in market
conditions. Flexibility is key here – there has to be some wriggle
room for companies facing stress – and our customers have
appreciated the flexibility we’ve given to provide enhanced working
capital facilities or investment funds for taking advantage of
market opportunities.
For the rest of 2008 and looking forward to 2009, the market both in
the UK and Europe is likely to remain flat, if not decline, as we
move into recession. The corporate world is likely to see more
defaults and bankruptcies, lower consumer and business consumption
and, therefore, companies will be increasingly keen to maintain
cashflow. Financial institutions will continue to lend, but on a
case-by-case basis, with a lot more focus on the business
fundamentals.
GE remains committed to the SME sector in the UK and Europe and
we’re working with our customers and key partners across the region
to provide suitable funding packages, on a more selective basis –
reflecting the market conditions – to support clients through these
challenging times. GE’s AAA rating, one of only six companies to
receive this rating, is a sign of the confidence that the markets
have in our business, and our ability to continue performing
strongly in the future. Patience and flexibility will be key to
working through the current economic crisis.
John Jenkins
CEO
GMAC Commercial Finance
GMAC Commercial Finance is an experienced and committed participant
in the world of international factoring, intent on championing its
services and growing the industry to support companies to increase
their importing and exporting products.
GMAC CF is one of the founder members of the International Factors
Group (IFG) and is proud of its association with the group; it has
and continues to be an active participant. Over the years GMAC CF
has provided various board members, chairmen and staff to its
technical committee. Its USA business is one of the few American
factors within the group and offers a full range of import factoring
services to several of the European members.
The GMAC CF team houses a depth of professional expertise that draws
on a wealth of knowledge. It operates and manages its international
operations as one group under the supervision of Ian Watson and
supported by Yvonne Wedel-Andersen in the UK and Abhinav Siagal in
New York.
During 2008 the international group at GMAC CF has seen its sales
volume grow by approximately 30% to in excess of $1.2bn, working
with a wide range of factors across the world.
Whilst 2008 has been an extremely successful year for our
international operations, we are very much aware of the challenges
ahead in 2009. The global financial turmoil and recessionary
pressures will affect international factoring directly as trade
flows between countries reduce. The challenge will be further
compounded by the increased demands of underwriters in considering
the availability of trade credit and the upward pressures on pricing
risk.
The experience within our international operations team at GMAC CF
will be one of our major assets in 2009 as we navigate what will no
doubt be a challenging environment across the world. At such times
there is no replacement for knowledge and experience which is
something GMAC CF is more than adequately equipped with. We look
forward to continuing to serve and support our correspondents across
the world next year.
Ian Watson
International Operations Director
Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance.
In the current economic climate, many of our clients are
experiencing challenges. At Commercial Finance we have redoubled our
efforts to ensure our asset-based lending solutions are helping them
quickly tackle issues and capitalise on opportunities.
Over the past 12 months, ABL has cemented its position as a
mainstream funding option for businesses. We’ve seen rising demand
across our full range of ABL facilities and increased new business
levels, which have put us on track to secure strong growth in the
remainder of 2008 and into 2009.
In particular, we’re seeing growing numbers of large companies and
multinational corporations viewing ABL as an ideal solution for
their complex requirements. This year we arranged a US$500m
syndicated facility, one of the biggest multi-currency ABL deals
ever completed in the UK.
We’ve also completed a high volume of deals to support SMEs,
something they need now more than ever.
This year, our staff have remained committed to providing excellent
service to both existing and new clients, and to working closely
with professional introducers and colleagues within the bank to
ensure businesses have the best possible financial support in place.
This includes making a broad range of services available to our
clients, such as debtor insurance to protect the company’s sales
ledger at a time when the potential threat of insolvency is rising.
In addition, this year has seen our international strategy come to
fruition. Our network of seven offices (Ireland, France, Germany,
Holland, Belgium, Spain and the US) is capable of providing major
multinationals with a joined-up approach to funding and overcoming
the challenges posed by the EU’s patchwork quilt of licensing, tax
and transfer frameworks.
Looking ahead, we will continue to take a case-by-case approach to
lending which is focused on strength of management teams and
deliverability of growth strategies, helping to support businesses
throughout their lifecycles.
Simon Featherstone
Managing Director
Venture Finance
In this ever-changing financial climate and in light of recent
events we are pleased to confirm that we remain part of ABN AMRO BU
Netherlands and their ultimate owner is now the Dutch government.
This offers us a tremendous amount of solidity during these
turbulent times. In fact, the only change Venture has experienced
lately has been the recent move to our newly renovated and larger
Haywards Heath headquarters. A positive step which brings our head
office staff under one roof and makes us better equipped to support
all our clients and business partners than ever before.
We’ve been busy supporting our clients in 2008 and during the first
six months we saw our total advances grow by 29% compared to the
same period in 2007. Very wisely, significant numbers of our clients
took bad debt protection over the year, helping to push our
non-recourse turnover up by 18% at half-year compared to the same
period in 2007.
As the credit crunch transitions to recessive conditions, many
clients will be in for a bumpy ride. The very nature of ABL means
the growth of advances will mirror the sales performance of our
clients and, in common with most of our competitors; we are starting
to see the effects of this within our portfolio.
This is a time of huge opportunity for our industry, as businesses
work harder to sustain their cashflow and look to maximise liquidity
to combat late payment. Many will find themselves having to move
away from the traditional methods of finance and look to us to
provide alternative funding solutions.
As an industry, we stand on the threshold of a whole new era, with
ABL increasingly being embraced by the corporate finance world. As
custodians, I believe it is the industry’s duty to maximise this
opening and move ABL into the centre ground of business finance
where I am sure it will stay.
Peter Ewen
Managing Director
IFG Support Services
Belgium
White & Case LLP
White & Case Brussels has an extensive factoring and ABL practice.
Led by Thierry Bosly and Muriel Alhadeff, the factoring team is
composed of five lawyers who have been involved in 2008 in numerous
cross-border projects in western and eastern Europe, in North Africa
and the Americas.
As a leading global law firm, White & Case is an international law
firm with over 2,400 lawyers in 37 offices in 23 countries
worldwide. Our clients are public and privately held commercial
businesses and financial institutions, as well as governments and
state-owned entities. We work with both the world’s most established
and respected companies, and with start-up visionaries, governments
and state-owned entities. Our clients rely on us for their
cross-border commercial and financial transactions, and for
international arbitration and litigation. International practice is
the foundation of our firm, and we have been involved in
transactions in virtually every corner of the world.
White & Case is distinguished not only by the depth and scope of its
legal advisory services, but also by unmatched experience in the
international arena, particularly in providing legal advisory
services to, and in, developing or emerging countries. The firm’s
lawyers have decades of experience in multi-jurisdictional issues in
numerous legal systems – some well established, some in their
infancy – as well as in transitional economic and political systems.
Our approach is based on listening to our clients’ needs, taking the
time to understand their business and responding with effective
strategies and solutions, no matter how big the opportunity or
formidable the challenge.
With new technologies, globalisation, consolidation and other forces
continuously changing how business gets done, we help our clients
evaluate the risks and rewards of ventures designed to advance their
interests.
Mireille Dallmann
Practice Development Manager
France
Codix
With an increase of 30% in turnover compared to 2007, Codix has
again been successful with its single solution iMX, which is
dedicated to commercial finance – factoring, ABL, invoice
discounting, collection, credit insurance, etc… The company has now
240 staff in France, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Poland, Vietnam. A new
subsidiary has been set up in Atlanta (USA).
Multi-currency and multilingual, iMX is the global, powerful and
flexible IT solution for demanding international groups. After the
first implementation of iMX Factoring in KBC Commercial Finance, iMX
has been chosen by Dexia Commercial Finance, Volkswagen Group
Services, UPS Capital, GE CommFin Mexico and Latin America.
Discussions with major groups will with any doubt be concluded in
the following months.
In other markets, Codix has already taken a major rank. With clients
on worldwide projects based on centralised and global corporate
integrated systems as important as:
Each year,
Codix organises important events:
-
Project teams iMX club with the clients’ teams working on the
implementation – last one in Cannes – May 2008.
-
General Managers Club – October 2008 – Amalfi coast, Italy.
Jean
Louveau
Sales Manager
Germany
efcom gmbh
Efcom is a European software company for high-level factoring
solutions. With the factoring software ef3premium, efcom offers its
partnersan outstanding application for international factoring
concepts based on an intelligent integration platform.
The factoring branch in Germany is developing well at the moment, as
the statistics of the German Factoring Association show. Their total
revenue increased by 24.17% in the first half of 2008, which
resulted in €50.76bn in total. Economical growth is on a constant
high level (There was a growth of 24.84% in the first half of 2007).
With these preconditions, it is not surprising that there is a
continuous demand for efcoms’ product portfolio in 2008. At present,
efcom assists European factoring companies in eight different
countries. Twenty three reputable factoring companies put their
trust in the secure and efficient software applications. As a result
of the good market situation, efcom gmbh will increase its number of
employees to 27 by the end of the year.
In 2009 the focus lies on international business, efcom is looking
forward to 2009, with a bright perspective and determination to
obtain new markets in Europe. With its corporate partners, efcom
trusts in the excellent reputation of its services and further
development of the factoring software portfolio.
Kai Hunsicker
Marketing
UK
Atlantic Risk Management Services
Atlantic RMS has continued to grow and develop its knowledge base
over the last 11 years.
Our task is to maintain our very high standards as demand for our
services and support increases.
We expect that the economic circumstances in the UK and elsewhere to
continue to deteriorate and expect that the current recession will
be with us for at least the next two years.
We understand that there is limited experience of managing client
portfolios in a recession.
We have taken a number of initiatives with this in mind including
increasing the depth and breadth of our team and also developing
services to meet the increasingly complex demands of the market we
serve.
One of these initiatives is to provide portfolio review and
management services to enable lenders to maximise the recovery and
income opportunities from the client base.
We have further strengthened our high risk review format providing
clarity to enable decisions to be made in the light of the best
possible information.
Atlantic RMS is a people business. The quality and skills of our
team are reflected in our work. Developing our people and adding to
our talent pool is a constant requirement and
key strategy.
We expect 2009 to be a very tough year for our clients; we are there
to support them with clarity, knowledge and experience.
Joanna Bennett-Coles
Managing Director
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