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| July 18, 2000 Irwin
Completes Equity Investment of Onset Capital A couple of items: 1)
USA Today Money section reports on line credit card fraud for e-tailers double
that of brick & mortar store. Hurting bottom line of many struggling e-tailers. I also have note seen this in the newspapers or at Leasing News: SierraCities.com withdraws bank application NEW YORK, - Online financier SierraCities.com Inc. said Monday it withdrew its recently approved application to become a bank holding company, amid a review on whether to split its technology and finance operations. On April 24, SierraCities.com, formerly First Sierra Financial Inc., hired investment banker Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette to advise on such a potential division. In a statement, Thomas Depping, president and chief executive officer of SierraCities.com, said, "Although our application with the Federal Reserve was approved in April, we have decided not to implement the banking strategy at this time as we are in the process of potentially splitting our technology and finance operations." In April, the Houston-based company's bank application was approved by the Federal Reserve's board of governors.
Rob Yohe (
Stock on closed on Monday at 2 1/2 http://www.sierracities.com/stock_chart.asp
Irwin Business Finance Announces Closing of Onset Capital Acquisition BELLEVUE, Wash., July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Mike Taft, President of Irwin Business Finance, announced today the completion of its previously announced plan to acquire a 78% equity interest in Onset Capital Corporation, a Canadian equipment leasing company, from T&W Financial Corporation. Certain managers of Onset Capital have retained their 22% equity interest in the company. Onset Capital provides small ticket equipment lease financing throughout Canada. It is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia and has additional offices in Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City. The company, founded in April 1998, has an experienced team of leasing sales and management executives. Onset Capital's president, Joe LaLeggia, was formerly President and COO of AT&T Capital, Canada. Onset's focus on vendor-originated business complements Irwin Business Finance's broker-based origination channel. The acquisition will provide cross-border financing capabilities for the combined entities. Irwin Business Finance ( www.IrwinBF.com ), a subsidiary of Irwin Financial Corporation, funds and services small ticket (up to $300,000) equipment leases throughout the US. Its services are provided through e- commerce systems and staff committed to the highest standards in financial services, fast approvals and reliable and consistent processing, through customer service delivered on and offline. Irwin Financial Corporation ( www.irwinfinancial.com ) is an interrelated group of specialized financial services companies. The Corporation, through its five subsidiaries -- Irwin Mortgage Corporation, Irwin Union Bank and Trust Company, Irwin Home Equity Corporation, Irwin Business Finance, and Irwin Ventures Inc. -- provides a broad range of consumer and commercial financial services in selected markets nationwide. This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as "being developed," "will provide" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which include but are not limited to projections of business strategies and future activities. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual future results may differ materially from what is projected due to a variety of factors. SOURCE
Irwin Financial Corporation Fisher-Anderson L.C. Validates CapitalStream.com Private Label Strategy Partnership Brings Instant Online Deal Flow to 41 Lease Broker Customers, Resulting in 30 Deals Per Day SEATTLE, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Stream, Inc. (formerly System 1 Software) announced today that Fisher-Anderson, L.C., a business funding source headquartered in Des Moines, IA, has successfully employed the CapitalStream.com network to create an online dealspace for Fisher-Anderson's lease broker customers. By private labeling CapitalStream.com with the name F-A Net, Fisher-Anderson created an instant e-commerce site where its customers submit funding applications and view their status, and where Fisher-Anderson performs credit checks, posts various lending programs, and better services its broker customers. Since its launch in February, F-A Net has processed more than $25 million in transaction volume. Said Bob Fisher, president and CEO of Fisher-Anderson, "We knew that it was time to embrace a 'click and mortar' strategy in order to increase our agility in servicing our business partners and customers. However, creating our own site would have taken an enormous amount of internal resources. We have built a great relationship with CapitalStream through the use of their desktop business finance solutions, and knew the company could deliver an online solution for us with no hassle on our part." CapitalStream.com enables Fisher-Anderson to manage all of its customer communications online, including policies, rates, newsletters and announcements. Fisher-Anderson's customers, in turn, can fill-out online credit applications, which are automatically linked to the company's tracking and credit scoring programs. Fisher-Anderson's customers--business lease brokers--can then view the real-time status of their applications as they are being processed. To date, more than 41 lease brokers, representing between 25 and 30 small-to-medium ($5,000 to $75,000) lease deals a day, have embraced F-A Net as their preferred way to do business. Results Beyond Expectations The initial goals of the private labeling of CapitalStream.com by Fisher-Anderson were two-fold: to decrease lease processing costs and time, and to increase deal flow. Both goals have exceeded expectations. Specifically: -- Credit approval time has decreased from four hours to one -- Transactions submitted per broker have increased by 25 percent -- Deal processing costs have declined by 10 percent -- Approval/submission ratios have improved by as much as 20 percent "Using CapitalStream, Fisher-Anderson is able to strengthen its customer and partner relationships by providing the infrastructure and services to link them together," said Steven Campbell, CapitalStream president and CEO. "We offer Fisher-Anderson a pain-free way to take advantage of the Internet to both improve service to its customers and decrease costs." About Fisher-Anderson, L.C. Fisher-Anderson, L.C. is a privately held equipment leasing company and independent lessor. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, the company specializes in small ticket transactions from $5,000 to $150,000 across the continental United States. The company currently boasts four regional offices, nationwide, and a division in Columbia, SC devoted solely to the commercial vehicle market. Since its inception in early 1995, Fisher-Anderson has carved a niche for itself as a highly service oriented and progressive funding source. It is members of the following professional organizations: NAELB, UAEL & EAEL. About CapitalStream Seattle-based CapitalStream offers end-to-end e-commerce marketplace solutions-including customer management tools, work flow automation and an online transaction network-for the global business finance market. The company's e-commerce network, CapitalStream.com, provides an infrastructure for financing companies, manufacturers and B2B e-commerce firms to capture, grow and service customers. CapitalStream has been an established industry leader for five years, and in 1999, its 600 customers used CapitalStream products to facilitate $8.5 billion in transaction volume. For additional information about CapitalStream visit its web site at www.CapitalStream.com. NOTE: CapitalStream.com is a registered trademark of Capital Stream, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE Capital Stream, Inc. CO: Fisher-Anderson, L.C.; Capital Stream, Inc. ST: Iowa, Washington IN: CPR FIN MLM SU: CON FNC BroadIP Networks Announces Strategic Partnership With eLease Corporation Partnership Enables Aggressive Leasing Option for PacketCop, Enhances Price/Performance Value Proposition TORONTO, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadband solutions innovator BroadIP Networks, Inc. ("BroadIP") announced today a strategic partnership with eLease, the leader in online capital equipment leasing solutions. The partnership inaugurates one of the most aggressive hardware leasing alliances in the bandwidth management arena. The relationship allows BroadIP's clients a wide range of payment options for PacketCop's service level management (SLM) solutions. "After launching our Early Adoption Program for PacketCop, the response from clients was overwhelmingly positive," stated Jeff Howard, vice president of sales and marketing for BroadIP. "More clients wanted to participate in early adoption than we had room to accommodate. We realized that we had to come up with a solution to rapidly meet client demand and seize market share. What better way to accomplish this than by making it easier to purchase our products through a comprehensive leasing program." PacketCop(TM) is the first network appliance to bundle high-speed bandwidth management, the most complete options for prioritizing traffic, and a web-based graphical user interface (GUI) to conveniently administer service level policies. Clients who want to deploy PacketCop on their networks can now gain approval for custom payment terms in minutes by logging into broadip.elease.com. Through eLease, BroadIP provides clients the ability to choose from several leasing options to fit their budgets. "This step significantly reinforces our position as the price/performance leader in this industry," says Leslie Poole, CEO of BroadIP Networks. "I am very impressed with the capabilities of eLease. They provide our clients numerous financing options, and the whole process is extremely quick and easy. I think our clients will be more than happy with the announcement of this partnership." About BroadIP Networks Founded in February 2000 after two years of research and development by a team of both landline and wireless networking experts, BroadIP Networks, Inc. was created to provide innovative solutions for bandwidth management in broadband Internet Protocol networks, and wavelet-based audio and video compression for data storage and transit applications. BroadIP's products are expected to enable service providers, telecommunications providers, and enterprise network managers to deliver unprecedented Quality of Service levels to their customers. For more information about BroadIP Networks, please visit our web site at www.broadip.com. About eLease eLease has leveraged extensive technical knowledge and leasing industry expertise to create a comprehensive, information-rich, neutral marketplace, while providing standard and custom solutions for each constituent in the capital equipment leasing process, including financial service institutions, capital equipment vendors, and businesses that wish to acquire a lease. eLease is the first company to offer businesses a choice of competitive leases, real-time decision-making and a fully automated leasing solution. The company is based in Sunnyvale, California. For more information about eLease, please visit our web site at www.elease.com. The statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. SOURCE BroadIP Networks, Inc. CO: BroadIP Networks, Inc.; eLease ST: Ontario IN: CPR MLM SU: 07/18/2000 09:01 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com Herman Miller Selects Leasetec to Administer Global Leasing Program KeyCorp, one of the nation's largest financial services companies, announced that Herman Miller Capital has selected Leasetec, a division of the Key Equipment Finance Group, as administrator for its global leasing program. The program offers lease-based financing options to business customers of Herman Miller dealers around the world. Herman Miller Capital is a division of Herman Miller. Herman Miller Capital formed an alliance with Leasetec in February of this year to administer the lease program for its international customers. As of this month, Key will handle international lease transactions as well as U.S.-based lease transactions exceeding $250,000. Through the Herman Miller Capital Corp leasing program, Leasetec will offer a variety of lease products and services, including commercial, municipal and federal leases. "Our strategic alliance with Herman Miller, one of the leading multinational providers of systems furniture, is a very exciting opportunity," said Paul A. Larkins, president and chief executive officer, Key Equipment Finance Group. "This is a testament to Key's ability to grow customer relationships across lines of business by servicing their diverse needs." KeyCorp also provides senior debt financing for Herman Miller as part of their bank group and began this relationship at the beginning of 1999. Additionally, McDonald & Co., a KeyCorp subsidiary, provides stock coverage research for Herman Miller stock and has also been active in their stock repurchase program . "Herman Miller Capital is now positioned to provide a truly seamless financial services offering to our international and domestic accounts," said Lee Eilers, director of Herman Miller Capital. "Expanding our international program with Leasetec to include the U.S. made a tremendous amount of sense. The combination of Leasetec's sales support and enhanced funding capabilities will be a key differentiator in the marketplace." July 18, 2000 34 Leasing Companies Major Changes in the last Six Months: American
Business Leasing ( gone ) any comments, corrections, additions, or suggestions are greatly appreciated. BULLETIN BOARD ( These are postings for informational purposes. Any response, correction, addition, will be posted. We reserve the right to edit or delete any opinion that is not in good taste or is outright derogatory ). Universal
Capital Cut Off by BSB 7/12 Bruce Zwillinger, BSB, cuts off Universal Capital Service
Bruce Zwillinger, BSB, cuts off Universal Capital Service, Springhill, Florida
informs NAELB of their action. This company not returning money to lessee from
deal funding by BSB. Many attempts to get money returned to lessee, but many broker
promises by Universal Capital Service. Universal Capital Services
Source states Universal Capital Services, Springhill, Florida, took up-front fees
on deal and has not returned to lessee. Lessee is complaining to funding source.
This is the third complaint received on this. Source is trying to find out more
and request this be posted on bulletin board. Source will allow us to state name,
if this is not resolved. Parker Leasing
Parker Leasing $25,000 SD $29,000 first and last three months did not return money
Parker Leasing and Financing, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida no web site, no district
attorney complaints, advised to pull a D&B, find out who the secured parties are
and if I can identify them, will give them the person to call at the funding source
to hear the full story about what is happening. Parker Leasing and Financing refuses
to return commitment fee and first and last. Dodson Group - Delivery Charge We had been using the Dodson Group for overnight (Airborne) until recently. They were charging us $8.75 per overnight (their cost to Airborne is $7.61, who cares, they deserve a profit). But, in auditing our bills for the last 2 years we kept noticing that we were being repeatedly charged $12.00 to $18.75 for overnight on about 1/3 to 1/2 of the over nights. Initially, Dodson claimed "overweight", so we researched further and discovered that most of the overcharges were on checks going out overnight to vendors and brokers - no way this could be "overweight".
For the past year we have faxed and called Dodson repeatedly to get corrected
invoices - no one would even respond! So, we put them on notice that we would
not pay any more invoices until they corrected their over billing problem - they
never did. Their response was to turn us over to a collection agency! We are convinced
they purposely overcharged us, and probably every other client! Dodson does a
lot of biz with NAELB brokers, don't these brokers need to know about Dodson's
policy of quoting one price and charging another? Universal Finance / Universal Manufacturing Avoid
this company like the plague. I believe that if it is the same one they also run
companies under the name(s) Universal Manufacturing -(Vendor) & Universal Finance
(Credit repair company). I'll look up the e-mail I received on this a while back.
I think what the story was is that Universal Capital would submit a deal to funding
source, then if declined due to personal credit, Universal Finance would repair
credit then resubmit elsewhere. The vendor would be Universal Manufacturing who
would sell $2,000 computers for $40,000 invoice (just under F/S disclosure). Then
they split excess with lessee. Though I'm not sure about the Florida part. I'll
get back with the additional info ASAP. Universal Capital Do
you know anything about Univerasl Capital Services, Inc., in Spring Hill, Florida
34606. One of the lease brokers I work with is having trouble getting paid on
a deal. He thinks the company is owned by Jim and Anita Koper. Please let me know
if you hear anything. Metropolitan Mortgage Metropolitan
Mortgage and Sec in Washington had a division that funded the lesser
credits. Well they have stopped and are not honoring their approvals
if they don't already have signed docs. This was told to me by a broker
in Arizona who has 10 deals sitting with them and she is now scrambling
to replace them. www.leasingnews.org
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