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July 25, 2001 Please send to a colleague, particularly since you are on the same address book as we are and the following may have spread. Yes, we want new readers, but this purpose is to warn about a new virus being spread by “ourselves.” Headlines---
TROJ_SIRCAM.A Hits the Leasing Industry Hard---B E W A R E !!!!! 1Lease Exits Broker Application Business ( to focus on
vendor and
“buying”
lease portfolio’s ) Capital Stream---New Version of Capital Advantage Paul Menzel, CLP, says to “ Keep it Up! “ Lessors.com Rejects Three Week Offer to Buy Company U.S. mortgage lending expected to hit record levels in 2001 Sale of equipment-financing/leasing unit to GE cuts Safeco debt in half The Economy---Menkin Makes Prediction---tomorrow- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TROJ_SIRCAM.A Leasing
News was hit with this virus
from several leasing e-mail
addresses, and
it is apparently spreading
among the leasing industry.
TROJ_SIRCAM.A Up-grade
your anti-virus pattern
and scan your local workstations
and network drives. Find out more, as
it is making the leasing
e-mail rounds.
This is real. This is not a hoax or exaggeration. ~~~ “Please warn others of a virus called Sircam...it goes to your hard drive and sends out random files..it then asks for your advice. Do NOT open these attachments. I was hit with it.” Sincerely, Deborah J. Monosson President BOSTON FINANCIAL & EQUITY CORPORATION 20 Overland Street Boston Massachusetts 02215 617-267-2900 617-437-7601 Fax Visit us at http://www.bfec.com ( We received many such e-mail. It should also be noted that some wag on the National Association of Equipment Lease Brokers opened an attachment on listserve. While instructions are not to send or open attachments, there are those who are curious and don’t think. Many NAELB members report being hit by the virus, and it then spread through their address book. editor ). 1Lease Closes Broker Division “Today we sent in a lease to be approved for a client, to "One Lease" we got a fax back that said it was declined, due to the fact that "One Lease" is no longer accepting broker business.” Name Withheld Leasing News tried to reach Sean Wheeler, but did receive this information from his mail address as the “reply” : Yes ,we are going forward with a new web-site and vendor division. Should be rolled out by mid-August. We will however continue to purchase lease portfolios from lease brokers and lessors. Eric Hallmark 1 Lease www.1lease.net
I wanted to expand on the reason for the decision not to continue with our broker division. Over the past few months we have seen our portfolio(s) mix begin to turn in the wrong direction. We felt before it became a real issue we would close the broker division and focus our interests on vendor direct business. We will be completely updating our web-site and marketing direction. We have enjoyed working with our brokers over the past year and wish them luck in the future. One Lease will continue it's on going program to purchase lease portfolios from brokers. Thank you Steven Ballard 1 lease 800-996-7440 800-977-4666-fax www.1lease.net www.1leasefranchise.com ( In our last communication with Sean Wheeler, he was going to appear at the San Antonio United Association of Equipment Leasing Conference and meet with everyone. He extended an invitation to all brokers to learn about their program. Of course, we knew Steven Ballard of the floral industry was going to be the new president and Sean was to take over three Wetpet Stores. We did not know they would now concentrate on vendor business and broker/lessor portfolios. Of Course, brokers who submitted leases may have their vendors called/ and lessees/ unless there was a guarantee such as The Manifest Group gives to all its brokers. We do not know 1Lease intention. We will assume they will uphold their reputation in the leasing industry under “new management.” Brokers, remember Joe Bonanno’s Question: “Do they belong to our association.?” The same can be said for other group, that protect their members. Or more fundamental: as Rob Day from Pawnee often says, “ Deal with people you know.”----editor ) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Stream---New Version of Capital Advantage Despite rumors that Capital Stream has abandoned Capital Advantage ( formerly System 1 ), they did issue this year an up-grade to all those who were on their maintenance contract for free. They recently issued an up-grade that ties into UCC filings that meets all Article 9 requirements (most states have adopted ). One advantage, the debtor does not need to sign the form, allowing electric filing and other abilities.. Capital Stream, since the first of the year, has been moving into a different direction, with major accounts, Fortune 100 companies as customers. Jim Buckles who was active with “System 1,” has gone on his own, starting a consultant company to service all “System 1” and “Capital Advantage” customers. Leasing News did an article on Jim: http://www.leasingnews.org/whateverhappenedto/buckels.htm You may also contact him at: Preferred Broker Solutions – 19621 82nd Pl W – Edmonds, WA 98026 – (866) 352 - 8665 – service@pbs4u.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keep it Up!!!-----Paul Menzel, CLP Your comment that many of your readers "do not believe we have a problem, or they are too busy, or they just don't care" about ethics and fraud in our industry is very disheartening. Much of the consolidation in our industry is a result of fraud or "omission". As a funding source in this industry for 26 years (same portfolio!), I can tell you that there is no worse feeling in the pit of the stomach than a fraud loss or discovering that the credit loss was a result of not knowing everything about the credit that you thought you did. It is the incremental risk (and losses) of doing business indirectly through intermediaries (a.k.a. brokers/lessors) that make the difference between success and failure. The losses attributable to ethics and/or law violations are the straw that breaks the camel's back. In our industry, it is what has convinced management to get out of the business or go direct and bypass the brokers and lessors. At least they know they're getting accurate info. SBBT is committed to the indirect leasing model as long as it can make a fair return. Doing so is highly dependant on dealing with honest intermediaries who help us avoid dishonest deals. If you want access to capital at reasonable rates that you can mark-up and resell, then you better care about the success of the funding sources. Otherwise I suggest you use your own capital and find out what it feels like in the stomach when you discover you've been had and it could cost you your job and your solvency. We have always been considered conservative because, ultimately, we won't put our jobs in the hands of someone else without first checking things out. The attempts at out and out fraud (i.e. doctored invoices) and omission of important credit info are way too common now-a-days. We want to grow and fund a lot of business at very fair rates, but only through honest relationships where all parties are held accountable in some respect. (We'll assume the credit losses!) I also appreciate what you are doing with the News. As long a people are not held accountable for their actions they will continue to swindle. At least this public forum holds individuals and entities up for scrutiny among their peers. Your service is holding people's reputations over their head. Keep it up. Name Revealed, Paul Menzel, CLP ************************************************* Paul J. Menzel, CLP Senior Vice President / General Manager Leasing Division SANTA BARBARA BANK & TRUST P.O. Box 1199 Santa Barbara, CA 93102-1199 1 South Los Carneros Road Goleta, CA 93117 (805)560-1650 PaulM@sbbt.com Lessors.com Rejects Three Week Offer to Buy Company ( They had been considered an offer for sale of their web site which promotes their events and is a great leasing portal, too ). 251 Request For Free Attendee Registrations In 18 Days! What dot-bomb explosion? Officials for the Financial Resource Conference, scheduled from the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead in Atlanta, August 28-30, confirm extraordinarily high interest in the technology event of the year for the equipment leasing industry. For Details - http://www.lessors.com ___________________________________________________ Pure Markets Joins Exclusive Exhibitor List For The Financial Resource Conference Jay Fudemberg, founder and CEO of Pure Markets, the leading online provider of secured financing tools and services for corporate borrowers and lenders, has been scheduled to conduct an Exhibitor Workshop at the upcoming FRC. View "Agenda" from http://www.lessors.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. mortgage lending expected to hit record levels in 2001 REUTERS NEW YORK -- U.S. mortgage lending should hit record levels this year, powered by a boom in home purchases and mortgage loan refinancings, the Mortgage Bankers Association said yesterday. The Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts this year and strong consumer confidence have fired up home purchases and prompted borrowers to cut their home loan costs by refinancing. But next year, as the number of people in a position to refinance decreases, the volume of lending is expected to shrink, the trade group said. The MBA said it expected a record $1.538 trillion in home loans and refinancings in 2001. That is up 50 percent from last year's $1.024 trillion and just above the previous record of $1.507 trillion set in 1998. This surge in demand for home loans has bolstered mortgage-related earnings this year, with firms like Washington Mutual Inc., the No. 1 U.S. savings and loan, and mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac posting strong profit increases. The surge in loans comes as home owners make home improvements and often pay off credit card debt via mortgage refinancings by drawing cash out of a home that has appreciated in value. In the last five years, home prices have appreciated by 34 percent on average, Douglas Duncan, chief economist at the MBA, told Reuters. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chevron's second-quarter earnings surge on higher gasoline prices ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO Chevron Corp. Tuesday reported that its earnings surge continued in the second quarter as the oil giant profited from springtime gasoline prices that rose above $2 per gallon in California. The San Francisco-based company earned $1.32 billion, or $2.05 per share, in the three months ended June 30, compared with $1.12 billion, or $1.71 per share, at the same time last year. Wall Street sizes up earnings by stripping out special accounting charges and by that standard, Chevron's results beat the market's expectations. Excluding one-time charges, Chevron earned $1.38 billion, or $2.15 per share, a 21 percent increase from last year's comparable period. The consensus estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call was $2.06 per share. In other news Tuesday, Chevron told analysts that the company expected to receive the Federal Trade Commission's conditional approval of its proposed acquisition of Texaco Inc. before the end of August. Chevron plans to officially take control of White Plains, N.Y.-based Texaco by mid-October. The second-quarter report wasn't enough to lift Chevron's stock, which dropped $2.46 to close at $85.18 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Even though Chevron and other oil companies have prospered so far this year, investors are concerned that the industry's earnings bonanza may be over. Gasoline profit margins slid last month and appear likely to erode for the rest of the year, said industry analyst Tyler Dann of Banc of America Securities. "It's looking pretty bad right now," Dann said. "It looks like things may have hit their peak in the first quarter of this year." Chevron pocketed a $1.6 billion profit in the first quarter. The company continued to thrive in the second quarter, even though its revenues dipped. Excluding gasoline taxes at the pump, Chevron's revenues during the period totaled $11.9 billion, a 2 percent decrease from $12.2 billion last year. (Total revenues were down, but profit up because they charge more for gas. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the corporate home, we pay $2.15 a gallon. editor ) Sale of equipment-financing and leasing unit to GE cuts Safeco debt in half By Rosland Briggs Gammon Bloomberg News STAMFORD, Conn. _ GE Capital, the nation's largest nonbank financing company, has agreed to buy Safeco's equipment-financing and leasing unit in Redmond, Wash., for an undisclosed price. Safeco had said in March it would try to sell the Redmond unit. The sale will cut the Seattle insurer's debt in half, reducing it about $1.5 billion, said Safeco Chief Executive Michael McGavick. GE Capital, a unit of General Electric, said its commercial-equipment finance unit will absorb Safeco Credit, which makes equipment loans to restaurant franchises and transportation, manufacturing, and construction companies. GE Capital has been building its franchise business, agreeing in March to pay $2.1 billion in cash and assumed debt for Franchise Finance, a lender to Burger King, 7-Eleven, Midas Muffler and other franchises. The company will acquire about $10 billion in assets from Franchise Finance and an additional $1.7 billion from Safeco, bringing its total to about $61.7 billion when both acquisitions are completed. Safeco Credit's clients, which typically have annual revenue of $5 million to $30 million, include owners of McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises, the companies said. Safeco will keep a credit business that finances equipment and other purchases for independent agents through which it sells insurance, said company spokesman Le Roi Brashears. On Monday, the insurance company reported a second-quarter loss of $33.4 million. It has been struggling since the 1997 acquisition of American States Insurance Group left it with expenses that outstripped revenue. Earlier this month, it said it would fire 1,200 workers to cut costs. Safeco declined to disclose details of the sale, saying only that GE Capital's offer was more than the book value of the unit. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the third quarter. Policy Statement Policy Statement---Nothing is sent out that is not "fair." Always unbiased reporting. Fairness always. If it is questionable, we will ask the writer's permission to quote them. We will print information without attribution, but feel as long as we do not name the person who sent it, we can use the information. Any information we think is suspicious, we try to have if substantiated first by at least two reliable people. We will not purposely send out "negative" news. We prefer "positive" news. We have no "axe" to grind or are not paid or seek or accept any remuneration for product or promotion. We do not Spam anyone. To be added to the mailing list, you must request it. We do not send anything about our company or personal e-mail or jokes to the leasing news list. We do not share our mailing list with anyone. We try not to send more than one report a day, if at that, unless an "alert." We follow Internet Netiquette at all times. Our sole purpose is to provide communication to improve our profession. We reserve the right to deny sending the newsletter when requested. We reserve the right to edit or delete an opinion that is not in good taste or is outright derogatory. Leasingnews.org www.leasingnews.org
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