Headlines---

 

  Heller Financial Reports Strong Earnings

     Hey,Bob!—The Final Shot

          Certified Leasing Professional Mentor Program

                Wajnert, Ogle Join The Alta Group

 

Friday’s Odds and Ends:

    El Dorado/Jim Merrilees/Nine Took the Test/”The Gazelle”/Goodbye, Katie

__________________________________________________________________

 

Code Red Worm

 

Hi Kit...

 

Chris Oder in the IS Department at Republic Leasing...  Vicki Hall, our

Marketing Director, forwarded your e-mail to me this morning...  Thanks for

the tip...  Symantec is offering a free tool to check your servers for

vulnerability...  The address is:

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/codered.worm.html   May want to

post that to your leasing mailing list...  Again.. thanks for the tip...

 

Chris Oder

 

Network/Systems Support Analyst

Republic Leasing Company, Inc.

tel: 800.669.0222 ext. 8280

fax: 877.398.3223

e-mail: coder@republicleasing.com

 

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Heller Financial Reports Strong Earnings Growth

 

CHICAGO-- Heller Financial, Inc. (NYSE: HF) today reported net income of $79 million for the second quarter of 2001, an increase of 13% over the second quarter of 2000. Net income applicable to common stock was $72 million, up 14% over the second quarter of 2000. Diluted earnings per share were $0.73, up 12% from $0.65 per share for the prior year second quarter.

 

Earnings growth for the quarter and first six months was driven by improved net interest margin and improved operating efficiency. For the six months ended June 30, 2001, excluding one-time charges recorded in the first quarter, operating net income was $155 million, an increase of 7% over the prior year period. Diluted operating earnings per share for the six months were $1.44, up 7% from $1.35 in the first six months of 2000. One-time charges recorded in the first quarter related to the discontinuation of Small Business Administration loans and the adoption of the new accounting standards for derivatives.

 

"We are pleased to report another strong quarter as this challenging economic environment continues," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Richard J. Almeida. "Our disciplined operating strategies have paid off, and as we enter the second half of the year, we remain well positioned with solid transaction backlogs and stable portfolio quality."

 

Highlights included:

 

Operating revenues were $270 million for the quarter and $523 million year-to-date. Heller's operating margin was 6.2% for the second quarter, consistent with the second quarter of 2000 and up from 5.9% in the first quarter of this year. For the six months ended June 30, 2001, operating margin was 6.1%.

 

Net interest income totaled $165 million for the quarter and $319 million for the six month period, an increase of 5% over both prior year periods. Net interest margin was 3.8% for the second quarter, up from 3.7% for the second quarter of 2000. For the six months ended June 30, 2001, net interest margin was 3.7% within Heller's targeted range of 3.6% to 3.8%.

 

Fees and other income, which includes net investment gains and recurring fee income, totaled $79 million for the quarter and was consistent with the prior year period. Year-to-date fees and other income totaled $150 million, down from the prior year period due primarily to lower net investment gains.

 

New business volume, which includes portfolio purchases, totaled $1.9 billion for the quarter and $3.0 billion year-to-date, was strongest in leasing services, real estate and asset-based finance. Managed assets totaled $19.1 billion, up 8% over the prior year period and up slightly over year-end. During the quarter the Company sold assets of approximately $400 million into an equipment-backed financing vehicle as a more cost-effective funding source. As a result of this sale, strong syndication activity and the continued sale of Small Business Finance assets, funds employed decreased slightly from year- end.

 

Credit quality in Heller's portfolio remained in line with targets. Net write downs totaled $35 million during the quarter, or 0.9% of average lending assets on an annualized basis. Heller's nonearning assets increased slightly to 2.3% of total lending assets, toward the low end of Heller's target range of 2% to 4%. The Company's loan loss reserve totals 2.2% of receivables, consistent with the first quarter and slightly higher than the prior year. Operating expenses which totaled $116 million for the second quarter, were flat compared to the second quarter of 2000. Year-to-date operating expenses totaled $227 million, a decrease of 3% from the prior year period. Heller's efficiency ratio improved to 43% for the second quarter of 2001, down from 44% in second quarter of 2000 and the first quarter of 2001. Operating efficiency was 43% for the six months compared to 45% for the first six months of 2000.

 

"This quarter again demonstrates our commitment to our credit disciplines and improving operating efficiency and financial returns," said Almeida. "While we remain cautious about the current economic environment, we still feel confident that we can continue to deliver on our commitments to our shareholders."

Heller is hosting a conference call and simultaneous Webcast on July 20, 2001 at 9 a.m. CDT to discuss its second quarter financial results. Both the call and Webcast are open to the general public. The conference call is available at the following numbers:

 

United States: (800) 230-1074

International: (612) 288-0318

 

Interested parties may also access the live call on the Internet at www.hellerfinancial.com in the Investor Relations section. Listeners are advised to access the web site at least 15 minutes before the broadcast to register, download, and install any necessary software. A replay of the call can be accessed at 1 p.m. CDT after the call on the Internet via www.hellerfinancial.com or by calling in the U.S. (800) 475-6701 or internationally (320) 365-3844 using the passcode 590065 (available until August 3, 2001).

 

Heller Financial, Inc., is a worldwide commercial finance company providing a broad range of sophisticated, collateralized financing solutions. With nearly $20 billion in total assets, Heller offers equipment financing and leasing, sales finance programs, collateral and cash flow-based financing, financing for healthcare companies and financing for commercial real estate. The Company also offers trade finance, factoring, asset-based lending, leasing and vendor finance products and programs to clients in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Heller's common stock is listed as "HF" on the New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges. Heller can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hellerfinancial.com .

Sites of Reference:

http://www.hellerfinancial.com

 

 

Leasing Ethics---Last Call 

 

        (we meant it, too, as this is the last one:)

 

Kit---

 

Just a note of thanks for a VERY entertaining and enlightening forum.

 

*******************************************

John Craine, VP Sales

PowerNet Financial Group Inc.

Your Professional Equipment Leasing Network

http://www.thePowerNet.com

(800)348-2288

Fax (509)695-3091

JohnC@thePowerNet.com

 

 

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Certified Lease Professional---Mentor Program

 

 

 

In response to the references from Bill Griffith at Padco Leasing, I am

currently a member of the CLP Foundation's committee to organize a Mentor

Program for the CLP exam.  The committee is planning to present the program

at the fall UAEL conference.  Anyone interested should feel free to contact

me or any CLP Foundation board member, check out the CLP Foundation website

at www.clpfoundation.org, or contact Cindy Spurdle through the CLP

Foundation. 

 

With regard to the ethics issue as it relates to CLP's: while the CLP

Foundation encourages and expects ethical business practices from its

members, no license or industry certification can guarantee that a person

will always act in an ethical and responsible manner.  I am disappointed to

see the CLP program condemned because of the actions of a few.  This is not

any more reasonable than dismissing the value of  UAEL, NAELB, ELA or any

other organizations because of the actions of any one or few of its members.

 

Feel free to print my name...

 

Nancy A. Geary, CPA, CLP

Edwin C. Sigel, Ltd.

ngeary@edwinsigel.com

 

++

Bill: Your question is very timely. The Mentoring Program is in active

preparation right now and will have a plan in place by the UAEL Annual

Conference in October.

 

Thanks for you interest. We think the Mentoring Program will be a great help

to those planning to take the test and to the CLP Program in general.

 

Bob Teichman, CLP

Teichman Financial Training

3030 Bridgeway

Sausalito, CA 94965

Tel: 415-331-6445

Fax: 415-331-6451

e-mail: BoTei@aol.com

 

"Providing education and training to the equipment leasing and financing

industry."

 

 

  ( We have many others who have written that they would like to become “mentors,” to help others become Certified Lease Professionals. editor )

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  Friday Odds and Ends

 

“ The Gazelle”

 

I meant Rockford, not Rockwell in yesterday’s story about American  Express taking over Sierra Cities as they did “Rockford”.

 

I also thought Tom “ The Gazelle” Depping was in Costa Rica smoking a cigar on

his plantation....but was corrected by a very reliable source:  he is in the Southwest recruiting a new leasing team.

 

This is difficult to believe, as I would have suspected American Express

would have had a “non-compete” clause in their buy-out...but our source says

“The Gazelle” misses the action.  Stay tuned, news at Eleven.

 

~~~~~

 

E-Mail comes back from El Dorado Bank

 

“Nothing new, here. California Bank & Trust bought Eldorado Bank as of the close of business March 31, 2001.  We are now in the process of changing over to CBT's systems.”

 

Name Withheld

 

~~~~

    E-Mail comes back from Jim Merrilees

 

Jim Merrilees of Colonial Pacific, Grayrock, Nations Credit fame e-mail

at Textron keeps coming back the last three days.  We are attempting to

find out if he is still there. Textron is not officially talking to Leasing News.

 

We are told by a Textron insider, who does not want us to use his name

or he will be fired:  “Jim, Randy Ernst, Denise Mann, and company have all departed TFC.  Jim is on the payroll until the end of the year as he has a contract

but I don't think he is working here anymore.”

 

We were told by another “insider,” Merrilees may be back again with his

own group. We have not been able to confirm that directly with him.

 

Anyone who knows where Jim is, perhaps on vacation, please let us know.

 

 

~~~

 

  Nine Took the Test

 

Don’t want to keep “beating a dead horse,” but in further investigation,

there is more to the story about the seminar to help people take the

Certified Lease Professional exam.  While it is true that five did

fail the test, what was left out was the fact that four did pass the

test.

 

The seminar series also did not guarantee passage of the exam.  There is

a book available that we keep as a “bible” here of leasing information.

Members of the various associations can get a discount on it, I believe.

Contact your association to find out more about “ The Leasing Professionals

Handbook.”  or here is another great book, our second “bible.”

 

www.leasingpress.com

 

Power Tools for Successful Leasing

by James M. Johnson, PH.d

Barry S. Marks

Leasing Power tools Press

43W690 Willow Creek Court

Elburn, Illinois 60119

Phone: 630.365.9004

Fax: 630-365.5602

E-mail: phdleasing@hotmail.com or bsm@blik.com

This is a wise investment: $79.95 plus $5.00 for handling Check, money order or credit card  number ( MasterCard/Visa or American Express) with expiration date. Be sure to include name, address and telephone number, with area code or e-mail or fax or call.

~~

Ka-Booooom!

 

Let me make one final point, too, that only Ken Greene seemed to state:

Just because you are an attorney, a certified accountant, or even a medical

doctor, doesn’t mean you are automatically “ethical.”  Unfortunately, the

same applies to being a Certified Leasing Professional

 

 I can tell you that a funder, banker, or another CLP, will give you instant respect about your knowledge of the industry because you have this title.  It may not

be knighthood, but it is very special, indeed.  You should become Sir or My Lady

when addressed.

 

The CLP program is backed by all the leasing associations, by the way.

 

~~~~

Goodbye, Katie

 

On a sad note, I needed to let you know that my last day at ELA will be next Thursday, July 26th.  I wanted to thank you for the work that you put into this newsletter. Since I started reading it I have learned a tremendous amount about the leasing industry and have finally felt like I was kept current on what's going on in the industry on a day to day basis..

 

And "the list" has been invaluable to me.  I will be leaving a note to my successor that he/she should sign up for your newsletter immediately.

 

Thanks for everything :)

 

Katie Plona

Director of Membership

Equipment Leasing Association

kplona@elamail.com

 

( We will miss her. above and beyond your job, helping out, following through...I wish more people were as "thoughtful" as you were to the industry. editor )

 

~~~

 

Night Time is the Right Time

 

Just thought you’d like to know that we get a lot of the material from readers

in the evening.  For instance, Bob Rodi, Steve Geller, Barry Reitman, and

an anonymous GE guy, send us e-mail after 6pm, California time.   I have had

telehone calls from Steve at 6:30pm, where it must be 9:30pm in New Jersey.

He works late, or after dinner. And Barry tells me he copies Leasing News

and formats in Word Perfect into columns, just like newspaper columns and

then reads Leasing News.  He sent me a copy by fax, and it looked great---has

me thinking.  The point is, many don’t read Leasing News when it comes

out in the afternoon, but in the evening at their home.

In the 1970's women's roles in the military began to expand greatly. From 1973 to 1976, all of the services trained women as noncombat pilots. In 1970, the first female general officer was an Army nurse. In 1973, the first female major general in the military was Air Force. In 1974, the first female helicopter pilot was Army and in 1979, the first woman in charge of a military vessel, a cutter, was Coast Guard. In 1989, the first woman to complete the Air Force Test Pilot School was Air National Guard (ANG) and the first woman qualified as a female fighter pilot was in the ANG. In 1991, the first female battalion commander in an aviation unit was Army. The first female Secretary of a military service was Shelia E. Widnall who became Secretary of the Air Force in August, 1993. (4:xvii-xviii)

In Desert Storm, the issue of women in combat was heightened even more than in World War II, as the advanced technology used in the war obscured the areas of combat and noncombat for the approximately 41,000 female troops who participated. (4:xvii)

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Next Thursday, August 26

 

 

 

ARIZONA FUNDERS APPRECIATION EVENT

 

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT!!

 

Arizona Diamondbacks VS. San Francisco Giants

 

THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2001

Skybox Opens: 5:35 p.m. First Pitch: 7:05 p.m.

BASEBALL, NETWORKING, FUNDERS, BROKERS and REFRESHMENTS

 

Get ready to mix business with pleasure! The Arizona Regional Event is headed to the Bank One Ballpark for an evening of baseball, networking and refreshments. Join industry peers in an exclusive Skybox. Networking in a summer fun manner!

 

The opportunity that you have been waiting for is on Thursday, July 26. Funders are ready to share! Find out what's hot! New Programs...New Funds...New Concepts!

 

Space is limited and on a first come basis. The fun begins at 5:35 p.m. with the opening of the Skybox and continues with the first pitch at 7:05 p.m. Register today!

 

For more information, please contact: Alan Jensen, CLP, Lease2Loan at (602) 788-4422 or Irv Ellis, CLP, LeaesCor, Inc. at (602) 395-0463.

 

Registration must be received by July 21, 2001