June 26, 2001

 

 

Headlines---

 

   ELA/NAELB Listserve

     Ivory Consulting/CapitalStream---Strategic Partners

        Associated Press Reports “ Light at the End of the Tunnel”

           Fitch Rates Marlin Leasing Receivables Very Favorable

             European Union Reports on GE/Honeywell “Rescue”

                Bay View Sells Mortgage Division to Offset Losses

 

________________________________________________________

 

ListServe in Leasing

 

Equipment Leasing Association has four Email Discussion Groups ("listserve" programs):  ELALeaseTalk, ELATaxTalk, ELAILCTalk (Independent Leasing Companies), and the ELANewsletter.  Each enables the ELA membership to discuss a targeted topic with the exception of the ELANewsletter, which is published each Thursday and is not open for discussion.

 

http://www.elaonline.com/discussions/

 

They do not have the traffic volume such as is experienced by the National

Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers listserve, where there are 25 or more messages a day, mainly questions of where to place transactions. Brokers share their information with other brokers about successes for specific transactions.  Funders often volunteer themselves as available for a specific transaction. There is a lot of “chatter,” too.

 

How it Works:  A member signs up with his specific password. Any on line user

than can post an e-mail.  The response can be sent to the individual sender, and/or

sent to the entire list.  Once signed up, you do not need to be on line to receive or

send.  It works like a private network; only e-mail received by members.  You

can send to other members and cc: to non-members, although this does not

happen very often.  The system is designed for e-mail only to members on the “list.” 

 

At ELA, some days there are no correspondence. The most observed recently

is one of two a day.  However, there does appear to be many users "on line."

 

A question regarding what other leasing companies were charging for "late

fees," with the sender telling what he was charging, and asking if this was "in

line," brought responses from attorneys, presidents, and others, "Do not answer this, it may be viewed as price fixing." There may have been three or more dozen quick

responses. This is evidence that members are "listening."

 

The inquiries are very sophisticated, and also go off the main equipment Leasing section, such as to flooring inventory sources, serious legal situations, and very specific questions.

 

There are occasionally questions as to "who is doing 'B" and 'C' paper?", as a source is needed for leases that they cannot fund.  "This is a more experienced group, quite professional in their behavior, no gossip, no jokes, no kidding around.  This is business."

 

Barry Marks, Esq., author of "  Power Tools for Successful Leasing” one of the founders of the National Equipment Leasing Brokers, who helps members for free with legal issues, has been a member of ELA for 15 years.  He notes the difference.

 

"I think that the listserve gives NAELB's members the opportunity they've needed for many years: to share funding source and deal opportunities and compare notes regarding the bona fides of others in the industry, as well as network, swap war stories and feel "connected" to others in a highly-competitive industry, "he

says. " We are attacking the sense of isolation many brokers feel and giving them an invaluable resource.

 

"Most of all, I think that use of the listserve will result in the defining of commonly-agreed standards of conduct and fairness."

 

250 out of  530  NAELB members are registered on line.  Marks believes the NAELB listserve "...follows the very purposes for which NAELB was formed.

 

“ The NAELB did direct call the membership last August to verify

information in our database, “ Donna Cole, Business Capital Leasing, also NAELB Membership Chairman said. “  This included email addresses.  I believe we

now have over 80% email addresses.”

 

Leasing News could not confirm the number  of the last reported 731 members of

ELA who using this means of communication amongst each other.

 

"As to ELA's excellent listserves, I know that they are not as widely used or active,”

Barry Marks, Esq., states."  I have gotten a lot of valuable insight, particularly off the "ELATaxTalk" listserve from other lawyers and professionals. I once posted a "wrong" answer (yes, it happens!) and was called to task by a friend and fine lawyer from NYC who gave me an IRS ruling I never knew existed.

 

"There are other developments in technology ELA, NAELB and others may be

able to use. ELA is always pushing the envelope where technology and training are concerned and I know that NAELB is studying a major overhaul of its website and listserve to improve the service and value to its members, “ he says.

 

"There are challenges ahead:

 

“Listserves are only useful if many use them and new people log in to add vitality and fresh input.

 

"We have seen problems where these facilities are abused by those whose personal grudges overshadow their judgment - the potential for liability and wasteful disputes could shut down listserves altogether, or at least force our volunteers to expend valuable man-hours on nonsense."

 

New technology will require sponsors to evaluate their members' real-world needs and be ever cost-diligent.  As both the ELA and NAELB have found out, it is a very valuable tool for their members.

 

"I am 'sold' on the value of listserves and other technology answers to the needs of leasing professionals," Marks concludes, "I hope more people join and log on!

Both serve their members very well."

 

 

 ( To learn more about the dues and benefits of all professional leasing associations,

    please go to: http://www.leasingnews.org/links_section.htm  )

 

 

Leasing News Reported May:

 

Bay View Capital, San Mateo, CA ( 5/2001) Jeff Allard, CLP, COO “... decided to exit the commercial leasing business and other business lines due to the strategic change in thecompany's direction as determined by the new management team.” Parent company

running out of money, a lot of good people let go.

 

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Bay View Capital Corporation Announces Sale of BVFMAC

 

 

SAN MATEO, Calif., -- Bay View Capital Corporation (NYSE: BVC) announced today the stock sale by Bay View Bank of the legal entity Bay View Franchise Mortgage Acceptance Company (BVFMAC) and its related servicing platform to a group of independent investors who were formerly part of BVFMAC management. Bay View Capital is the parent of Bay View Bank, the largest independent deposit franchise exclusively serving the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

Consistent with the strategic plan previously disclosed in the rights offering prospectus, the Company will realize a loss of approximately $25 million as a result of the sale, which will be included in its second quarter results.

 

"This sale is part of the strategy of returning to our core business banking competencies. Bay View had tremendous success with the rights offering earlier in the quarter. The main purpose of this rights offering was to facilitate the divestiture of non-strategic businesses, such as BVFMAC and its related servicing," said Robert B. Goldstein, president and CEO of Bay View Capital Corporation. "We are continuing to strengthen our fundamentals of sound banking by divesting anything that distracts from our business strengths and is not local. We're retrenching back to being a Bay Area-focused bank."

 

The sale of the BVFMAC servicing group will have no impact on Bay View employees. Those employees involved in the actual servicing of the loans are part of the sale and will continue to work for the new owners.

 

Bay View Capital Corporation is a commercial bank holding company headquartered in San Mateo, California. The Company's principal subsidiary is Bay View Bank, a nationally chartered commercial bank which is the largest deposit franchise exclusively serving the San Francisco Bay Area with 57 full-service branches. Bay View offers a full array of retail and commercial banking products and services to its customers. For more information, or to locate the closest branch call 800-BAY VIEW (800-229-8439), or visit www.bayviewbank.com.

  ( All e-mail to the leasing unit, except for one, are no longer working, as staff

   has been let go, as well as in other units, contrary to the above press release.

   Let’s wait another 60 days and reality will prevail.  editor )

 

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Ivory Consulting Corporation and CapitalStream Announce Strategic

Partnership

 

Ivory's SuperTRUMP pricing engine helps CapitalStream create increased

flexibility and efficiency for shared customer, Siemens Financial Services,

Inc.

 

Walnut Creek, CA and Seattle, WA - - Ivory Consulting

Corporation (www.ivorycc.com <http://www.ivorycc.com>) a provider of

state-of-the-art lease analysis software SuperTRUMP for the leasing industry

and CapitalStream (www.capitalstream.com <http://www.capitalstream.com>)

provider of credit origination and workflow automation solutions for the

financial services industry announced today the integration of their

respective solutions.  

 

CapitalStream's use of Ivory's pricing engine enables customers like Siemens

Financial Services, Inc. (SFS)(www.siemensfinancial.com

<http://www.siemensfinancial.com>) the ability to obtain pricing quotes for

customers and/or sales representatives in less time right at their desktops.

This seamless integration of the companies' technologies creates more

flexibility and efficiency with standard and customized quoting, and

facilitates SFS's workflow management.

 

SuperTRUMP performs financial analysis and optimization for true lease, loan

and lease vs. purchase evaluations. It quickly and accurately calculates

taxes, accounting entries, and cash flows in investments ranging from simple

single-investor leases, operating leases, and straightforward loans to

highly structured leveraged leases.

 

 As a result of CapitalStream/Ivory partnership, SFS can create custom quote

requests and send directly to customers' pricing analysts desktop.  This

collaboration allows greater flexibility and efficiency equaling more deals

in less time.

 

"By design, SuperTRUMP allows us to provide a pricing engine that works

seamlessly with CapitalStream's workflow automation," said Ivory's

President, Christian Ivory.  "This gives our customers the ability to

quickly and easily facilitate customized quoting from the convenience of

their desktop. The time savings ultimately boosts SFS' bottom line."

 

Robert Mercogliano, Siemens Financial Services Vice President of Asset

Management and Pricing said. "With CapitalStream we can now accommodate

standard quotes in less than 15 seconds.  Thanks to the integration of

CapitalStream and SuperTRUMP, SFS will now accommodate custom quotes much

more quickly saving us additional time and money."

 

"Ultimately, our end goal is to help companies like SFS save time and

money," said Steven Campbell, CapitalStream's president and CEO.  "This

partnership represents the future of where the commercial finance industry

is heading-in a swifter and more flexible direction-and CapitalStream and

Ivory Consulting are proud to be leading the way."

 

SFS has been using CapitalStream - FinanceCenter since November of last year

to streamline its financing processes and increase service to its partners

and vendors. SFS plans to advance its e-commerce initiatives in the U.S. by

using CapitalStream's hosted infrastructure.  An affiliate of Siemens AG

(Munich, Germany), SFS offers customized financial solutions for industrial

companies, service providers and public contractors.

 

About Ivory Consulting Corporation

 

Since 1983, Ivory Consulting Corporation has provided state of the art lease

analysis software for the leasing industry.  SuperTRUMP was the first PC

based analysis model to provide portfolio analysis and linear programming

optimization and provides connectivity for automating workflow management.

Over 2,000 people in more than 150 companies use the Walnut Creek,

California-based company's software. Ivory's customers are among the world's

leaders in finance and leasing-from banks to captives, to independent

lessors, and lessees.

 

 

About CapitalStream

Seattle-based CapitalStream strengthens existing business relationships and

streamlines transaction workflow through its flexible web infrastructure for

commercial finance automation. The company provides finance companies, banks

and manufacturers the ability to manage, distribute and automate commercial

lease, loan and credit card financing programs for their business customers

and associates.  CapitalStream, an established industry leader for more than

five years with deep knowledge about the inner workings of the financing

world, has helped hundreds of financial organizations increase their

competitiveness, customer service and profitability.

 

###

 

Contact:            Scott Battishill                                               

                        DDB Seattle                                                 

                                                206-464-0197                                

                                                scott.battishill@sea.ddb.com

<mailto:scott.battishill@sea.ddb.com>             

 

                                                Christine Falconer

 

                                                Ivory Consulting

                                                925-926-1100

                                                christine@ivorycc.com

<mailto:christine@ivorycc.com>

 

                        Jennifer Fox

                        CapitalStream

                        206-548-1651

                        jenniferf@capitalstream.com

 

 

  

<mailto:jenniferf@capitalstream.com>

 

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 Reports Give Hopeful Signs for Economic Recovery

 

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Poking through dark economic clouds, a trio of reports Tuesday provided some sunshine: Consumer confidence climbed to the highest level of the year, demand for big-ticket goods jumped and new-home sales were up.

 

``The economy is clearly coming out of hibernation and beginning to move about,'' said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo. ``But it's still pretty dark in the woods.''

The government reports came as the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee, which has reduced interest rates five times this year, began a two-day session that many analysts expect to result in a sixth rate cut Wednesday.

 

While economists were still divided on whether the reduction will be by another half-point or a quarter-point, some analysts believed Tuesday's reports bolstered the case for a more moderate move and complicated the Fed's decision-making.

 

Consumer confidence rose in June for the second straight month, the New York-based Conference Board said. Its index of 117.9 was a better showing than many analysts were predicting and followed a revised 116.1 in May. Still, it was well below the year-ago level of 139.2.

 

``Households seemed to have turned the corner on their outlook for the future,'' said economist Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors.

 

One of the biggest factors determining whether the economy tips into recession is how consumers hold up through the economic slowdown, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has said.

 

Given that consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity, economists are hopeful that confident consumers will keep shopping and keep the economy afloat. Still, no one is predicting they'll go on shopping sprees any time soon.

The lingering fear among economists is that consumers -- faced with rising layoffs -- might curtail spending and throw the economy into recession.

 

But another report showed an increased appetite among consumers and businesses for a wide variety of costly manufactured goods.

 

Orders for durable goods -- items expected to last at least three years -- jumped by a bigger-than-expected 2.9 percent in May, following a steep 5.5 percent drop the month before.

 

The report provided a bright spot for manufacturers, which many believe have been suffering through their own recession.

 

National Association of Manufacturers President Jerry Jasinowski said the figures were ``like a ray of sunshine in an otherwise stormy sky.'' He said that ``while I don't think the clouds are going to fade right away,'' the numbers ``show that the storm is beginning to moderate.''

Orders for transportation equipment, led by stronger demand for automobiles and car parts, rose by 3.4 percent, following a 9.4 percent drop in April.

Excluding the volatile transportation category, new orders rose 2.7 percent in May, the first gain in the last three months.

 

Computers and electronic products saw orders increase by 2.7 percent, after a 13.5 percent decline, with all the strength coming from a whopping 35.3 percent rise in orders for semiconductors.

 

Orders for electrical equipment and home appliances grew by 3.4 percent, after dipping 0.1 percent in April. Industrial machinery saw orders rise by 2.6 percent in May, on top of a 0.7 percent increase.

 

One part of the economy that has held up well during the slowdown is housing, bolstered in large part by low mortgage rates. That strength is another main reason why the economy hasn't tanked.

 

In a third report, new-home sales rose a solid 0.8 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 928,000, following a revised 4.5 percent decline the month before. Sales rose in all parts of the country, except for the Northeast, where they fell.

Separately, in its annual assessment of the U.S. economy, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that tax relief recently enacted by Congress will help ensure against a sharper slowdown and that the Fed's aggressive rates cuts this year have been appropriate.

 

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Fitch Rates Marlin Leasing Receivables V LLC, Series 2001-1

 

CHICAGO-- --Fitch rates Marlin Leasing Receivables V LLC, Series 2001-1 (Marlin 2001-1) $103,300,000 class A notes `A', the $7,900,000 class B notes `BBB', and the $4,560,000 class C notes `BB'.

The `A' rating on the class A notes reflects the 16% credit enhancement provided by the subordination of the class B (6.50%) and class C (3.75%) notes, overcollateralization (4.75%), and the reserve account (1%). The `BBB' rating on the class B notes reflects credit enhancement of 9.50% provided by the class C notes, overcollateralization, and the reserve account. The `BB' rating on the class C notes is based on credit enhancement of 5.75% provided by the reserve account and overcollateralization. Expected residual realization proceeds will be available as additional credit enhancement. The ratings address the payment of timely interest and ultimate payment of principal in accordance with the terms of the legal documents. The ratings also reflect the quality of the receivables and the legal structure of the transaction.

 

The underlying pool of contracts backing the Marlin 2001-1 notes consists primarily of small-ticket equipment leases. The issuer is expected to acquire additional contracts, subject to certain eligibility criteria, from Marlin Leasing Corporation (Marlin) during a prefunding period that has a maximum duration of three months and is limited to 20% of the initial note balance.

 

At closing, a nondeclining reserve account was established and funding with a deposit of 1% of the initial Aggregate Discounted Contract Balance (ADCB). The account is a segregated trust account established by the indenture trustee for the benefit of the noteholders and may be used to pay interest and principal on the notes to the extent that amounts on deposit in the collection account are insufficient.

 

The Initial Principal Balance (IPB) of Marlin 2001-1 is approximately $97 million. At closing, the pool contains 13,101 contracts with weighted average seasoning of approximately 3.3 months. Prior to the prefunding period, major equipment types are copiers (14.37%), computers (8.79%), and telephone systems (8.70%). Geographic concentrations include California (11.18%), Florida (9.06%), and Texas (9.05%). The average contract balance is $7,420.

 

Credit enhancement levels were based on an analysis of a cash flow model that reflected the structural nuances of the transaction. Fitch analyzed static pool data and also took into consideration Marlin's historical performance of two past securitizations and Marlin's total managed portfolio. Ultimately, credit enhancement levels were sized to withstand multiples of static losses at each rating level over the life of the transaction.

 

Located in Mount Laurel, N.J., Marlin originates and services small-ticket commercial equipment leases to small business companies through a nationwide network of vendors and brokers. Marlin has satellite offices near Denver, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia. Marlin was founded in June 1997.

 

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EU Chief 'Satisfied' With Support

 

By PAUL GEITNER

.c The Associated Press

 

 

1310

 

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Providing little hope that General Electric Co. can rescue its proposed $41 billion purchase of Honeywell International Inc., the European Union antitrust chief sought Tuesday to smooth trans-Atlantic waves and said he was confident that differences with his U.S. counterparts would remain rare.

 

Competition Commissioner Mario Monti avoided directly answering a question about whether there was still time for GE to satisfy the EU's objections to the deal, which is stalled in Brussels although it received conditional clearance from U.S. and Canadian regulators.

 

Monti noted that the European Commission is scheduled to make its decision next Tuesday and pointed out the ``very precise and tight rules governing deadlines'' for submitting proposals to meet concerns raised by regulators. That deadline passed for GE on June 14.

 

He also said he welcomed the solid backing the Commission's findings on the case received at a meeting Monday by EU national competition authority officials, who had been the targets of las