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September 12, 2001 We all have got to get back to business, to some “normalcy.” The planes need to fly. Safely. Commerce needs to begin. And most likely because there have been no planes, it will take sports events some time to get back to their schedule. But we need to get back to business and not let the terrorist scare us any further. editor __________________________________________________________________ Headlines--- NAELB “Help Desk” Answer to Question Asked on Friday— CapitalStream Announces New Licensed Reseller—Jim Buckles
GE Capital to Become Primary Provider/ U.S.
Equip. Financing
for Xerox AIG Issues Statement On Yesterday's
Terrorist Attacks Amazon Helps Out the Red Cross Wells Fargo & Company Contributes $1 Million to American Red Cross; Company Encourages Customer Contributions At Its 3,000+ Banking Stores in 23 States Brad A. Luecke, Chief Executive Officer Midwest Bank ,Open Letter Readers Reaction to Terrorist Attacks Special: Coping Skills ( How to Cope with Tragedy Like Yesterday ) ### denotes press release We have been trying to locate our Leasing News Advisor Phil Dushey who has offices in downtown New York. If anyone has heard from him, please let us know. editor ___________________________________________________________________ NAELB “Help Desk”The
National Association
of Equipment Leasing
Brokers
(NAELB )has
established a “Help
Desk” for its
members.. Michael
Meacher, President,
announces that Dee
DiBenedictis, who
currently sits on
the NAELB
will man
the Help
Desk. Dee
DiBenedictis has
over 15 years experience
in the industry
working for funding
sources such as
Denrich Leasing
and Unicyn Funding
Group, in capacities
ranging from credit
and documentation
through collections
and marketing “
Dee should be able
to answer just about
any question relating
to the industry,
he said. “
With the fifth anniversary
of her own company
SunStar Equipment
Leasing coming up
in a few months,
she is well aware
of the obstacles
and opportunities
we all face as brokers
in the leasing industry
today.” Inquiries
regarding general
association information,
such as membership
info and renewals,
conference and meeting
schedules, etc.
should be directed
to the main NAELB
office at 800-996-2352.
The Help Desk should
be called only for
questions and issues
that need to be
addressed to a peer
in the industry. A special phone number for
the Help Desk has
been established.
The phone will be
answered on Tuesdays
and Thursdays from
noon to 4:00 pm.
Voice mail messages
can be left at anytime. Answers
to Friday’s
Question on Ethics:
Broker calls up funding source and
says, “How
did you like the
way I screwed you
over for $10,000,000.
Was it as good for
you as it was for
me? Well, I thought
it was fun and now
you have a decision
to make---do you
put me in jail and
get nothing or will
you settle for $3,000,000
and give me a clean
bill of health,
so I can go back
to business as usual?” Jake
Kemps---
The
answer to your riddle
is: you take the money.
JAKE Kemps, Cedar Rapids, Ia Reaction to Charlie Lester Three Part Interview Private Label Leasing I have to agree with Mr. Lester’s
comments about recourse
and the problems
for both the discounting
broker and the funder.
I have also found in non-recourse the broker
can get royally
screwed by the funding
source. When your friend is out of a job
it’s a recession.
When you’re
out of a job it’s
a depression! I’m
finding it’s
a tough job market
out there. The uncertain
economic conditions
combined with the
demise of many leasing
companies and the
discontinuance of
broker business
by many funding
sources has significant
narrowed employment
opportunities, particularly
if one is reluctant
to relocate. Job
postings on the
internet are few
and far between
and it seems recruiters
really want to focus
their efforts on
employers. I’d sure like to hear comments
from other people
who are either looking
for a job or who
have recently found
one. Perhaps they
could share tips
as to how they found
their job, or what
methods they’re
currently using
in their job search. Time is your enemy when you’re
looking for a new
job.
Just in case
things really get
ugly, I’ve
purchased a one
way ticket to Honolulu
as I’ve decided
if I’m going
to have to be a
bag lady, it sure
as hell isn’t
going to be in Phoenix!
You know
you’re in Phoenix
when your car overheats
before you put it
in gear; you can
say 115 degrees
without fainting,
and you assume that
people driving black
cars from out of
town. Please be sure to make an announcement
when your classified
section is up and
running. The wide
distribution of
your newsletter
will surely facilitate
job postings that
will help get people
off the street and
back to work. Betty Ferrero ~~~ I have dealt with AT&T, Newcourt,
CIT, Textron Colonial
Pacific and Manifest.
Only Manifest and
Colonial Pacific
were willing to
send a monthly report on my portfolio with
regards to delinquency.
Occasionally I was
asked by these two
to assist in collections.
And because of this problem accounts were assessed
early and handled
promptly. By the same token, I would get calls
from the AT&T/Newcourt
group one day before
they were charging
off a lessee for
assistance...I could not get any answer as to why they
would not call me
sooner in the delinquency,
or why a monthly
report could not
be generated. We
lost a large amount
of residuals because
of this. A number
of these lessees
had major problems
with payments misapplied,
incorrect billings.
etc and got frustrated
with rude, inconsiderate
collection reps. I am still running into problems
with Textron reps
quoting payoffs
to lessees without
my knowledge, again
losing my residual.
Textron will not print a monthly report on the portfolio
- and yes I have
asked repeated for
one. Sometimes it is not a dishonest
broker - but a funding
source that hasn’t
a clue. Cary Sue Lavan Home State Leasing Corp. A Subsidiary of Home State Bank N.A. Ride the “e” Train
Again, my thanks for your support
of our efforts with
the FRC and for
publishing Alan’s
wonderful report
on our conference
last week. With your permission I would like
to run Alan’s
report on the new
eLNA web site at
http://www.elessors.com, with credit to the
Leasing News. Please
let me know and
thanks again.
John Semon ( Thank you for asking. Any reader may post any part or anything we
report. Of course, we do like the credit aspect, as John Semon mentioned as we are trying to build up our readership. editor ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Internet
Chamber of Commerce
Attend
ICC After-Hours
Tuesday September 25, 2001 6:00 p.m. till 8:30 p.m. ITI Information Technology Institute Denver, CO · Upcoming ICC Events - ICC
After-Hours -
Tuesday September 25, 2001 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. After-Hours Networking For Internet & Technology Professionals
Hosted by ITI Information
Technology Institute. Free to ICC members and $29 pre-payment
for Non-Members,
$8 MORE at the door.
Located at 410 17th
Street, Suite 1400,
Denver, CO, Corner
of Tremont and 17th
St. across from
the Brown Palace
Hotel. #### ######################### #################### ############### CapitalStream Announces New Licensed
Reseller, Preferred
Broker Solutions Reselling Agreement will provide the equipment leasing industry with continued
support and training
for new and existing
System 1-2.5 and
CapitalStream AdvantageÔ customers. Seattle, WA - - CapitalStream (www.CapitalStream.com), a Seattle-based
provider of a patent
pending, commercial
finance automation
technology for banks,
financial institutions
and manufacturers,
today announced
a licensing deal
with Preferred Broker
Solutions (PBS)
(www.pbs4u.com). The agreement will solidify PBS as a reseller and technical supporter
of CapitalStream’s
legacy desktop products
for the equipment
leasing industry,
System1-2.5 and
CapitalStream Advantage. CapitalStream’s (formerly System 1 Software) well-established
solutions enable
customers to facilitate
lease financing
transactions through
their own desktops.
In addition,
Preferred Broker
Solutions will be
assisting System
1-2.5 customers
in upgrading to
the latest version
of that software,
CapitalStream Advantage,
increasing customers’
speed and flexibility
while saving time
and money. By entering into this reselling
agreement, CapitalStream
will continue to
support products
used by hundreds
of companies in
the equipment leasing
space, through the
sales, technical
support, and training
services provided
by PBS.
Preferred
Broker Solutions
will continue to
sell additional
licenses of both
products to existing
customers, and will
sell and support
CapitalStream Advantage
to new customers.
Existing
System 1-2.5 and
CapitalStream Advantage
customers will continue
receiving client
service support
from CapitalStream.
CapitalStream announces PBS as a
reseller
“CapitalStream has always been
very proud of our
relationship with
the equipment leasing
industry and the
products we have
created to streamline
the complex processes
within it,”
said Stephen Campbell,
president and CEO
of CapitalStream. “ With PBS we are continuing to find new ways to ensure that
our customers get
the support and
training they need
to be more efficient.” “We are pleased to have this
opportunity to continue
providing System
1 and CapitalStream
Advantage software
users support and
training,”
said Jim Buckles,
president of PBS. “Our highly skilled support service will
focus on the needs
of equipment leasing
brokers.” CapitalStream also offers a browser-based
alternative, FinanceCenter,
which enables customers
to extend their
businesses via the
Internet safely,
securely and reliably. This technology reduces
processing time,
lowers costs, and
enables companies to cost effectively
take advantage of
new business opportunities
by automating manual
processes for leases,
loans, lines of
credit, and credit
cards. About
Preferred Broker
Solutions
Headquartered in Edmonds, Washington,
PBS is a service
organization specializing
in support of computer
automation for the
equipment leasing
broker.
By providing
technical support,
on-site training,
Web development,
custom reports,
and document templates,
PBS brings the best
products and support
available.
For
more information
visit www.pbs4u.com
About
CapitalStream
Seattle-based CapitalStream automates
and streamlines
commercial finance
processes for banks,
finance companies,
and manufacturers.
CapitalStream
– FinanceCenterÔ, a patent pending technology, reduces processing time, lowers
costs, and enables
companies to cost
effectively take
advantage of new
business opportunities
by automating manual
processes for leases,
loans, lines of
credit, and credit
cards. 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. For
more information
visit www.capitalstream.com
####
###################################
##################### -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The
Multistate Tax Commission
(MTC) office located
at the foot of Capitol
Hill in Washington,
D.C. closed yesterday
morning following
the tragedy. Due to the MTC public notice requirements (as well as staff schedules)
the teleconference
cancelled yesterday
will most likely
occur after October
4th.
This will
be a conference
call on the proposed
rule for determining
priority of sales
tax credits when
leased equipment
moves between taxing
jurisdictions. I will circulate dial-in information when the conference call is
rescheduled. Dennis
Brown ;DBROWN@ELAMAIL.COM __________________________________________________________________ GE
Capital to Become
Primary Provider
of U.S. Equipment
Financing for Xerox
Customers; Xerox
to Receive Approximately
$1 Billion in Financing
From GE Capital STAMFORD,
Conn.--(BUSINESS
WIRE)-- --Xerox
Corporation (NYSE:XRX)--
Companies
To Form Joint Venture
For Management of
Xerox's U.S. Customer
Financing and Administrative
Services Xerox
Corporation (NYSE:
XRX) and GE Capital
today announced
a "framework
agreement"
for GE Capital's
Vendor Financial
Services to become
the primary equipment
financing provider
for Xerox customers
in the United States.
When
completed, the agreement
will enable Xerox
customers to quickly
and easily obtain
the Xerox equipment
they need through
flexible financing
solutions. For Xerox,
the implementation
of the agreement
will be a major
step forward in
its progress to
restore the company's
financial strength
by transitioning
equipment financing
to third-party vendors.
For GE Capital's
Vendor Financial
Services, the transactions
will provide an
avenue of current
and future growth
through Xerox's
extensive U.S. customer
base. The
two companies also
agreed to the principal
terms of a financing
arrangement under
which Xerox will
receive from GE
Capital approximately
$1 billion secured
by portions of Xerox's
lease receivables
in the United States.
The
arrangements are
subject to the negotiation
of definitive agreements
and satisfaction
of closing conditions,
including completion
of due diligence.
"For
Xerox, the significance
of these landmark
agreements cannot
be overstated. With
the transition of
U.S. equipment financing
to GE Capital, one
of the world's leading
financial services
companies, Xerox
will transform its
balance sheet by
eliminating substantial
debt while ensuring
that our customers
receive worldclass
financing services
and administrative
support," said
Anne M. Mulcahy,
Xerox president
and chief executive
officer. "The
expected $1 billion
in financing will
further enhance
Xerox's liquidity.
This funding agreement
also becomes an
interim source of
customer financing
for the balance
of the year."
"Our
Vendor Financial
Services business
is dedicated to
helping companies
like Xerox focus
on their core business
by providing specialized
financing programs
backed by the financial
strength and resources
of GE Capital,"
said Denis Nayden,
chairman and chief
executive officer
of GE Capital. "This
agreement affords
Vendor Financial
Services the opportunity
to continue its
partnership with
a leader in the
global document
market, while further
expanding its asset
base and building
upon similar relationships
that it has with
over 100 manufacturers
and 4,500 dealers."
As
part of this transaction,
Xerox will transition
nearly all of its
U.S. customer administration
operations into
a new joint venture
with GE Capital
Vendor Financial
Services. GE Capital
will own 81 percent
of the joint venture
while Xerox will
own 19 percent.
The new company
will be jointly
managed by Xerox
and GE Capital,
and will be headquartered
in Rochester, N.Y.
"Our
goal is to make
the transition for
Xerox's customers
flawless, while
providing them with
the benefits of
our strong expertise
in leasing. We intend
to leverage GE management
systems, digitization
and e-business efforts
and Six Sigma quality
processes to bring
value to Xerox and
its customers,"
said Bill Cary,
chief executive
officer of GE Capital
Vendor Financial
Services. "This
joint venture is
an excellent example
of how we work closely
with our partners
and their customers
to best serve their
needs." It
is anticipated that
Xerox employees
who work in Xerox
customer financing
and administration
offices - located
primarily in Rochester,
Chicago, Dallas
and St. Petersburg,
Fla. - will transfer
to the new joint
venture on January
2, 2002. Their work,
which includes operations
such as order processing,
credit approval,
financing programs,
billing and collections,
is expected to continue
in the current locations,
ensuring further
continuity for Xerox
customers and Xerox
employees. "Our
partnership with
GE Capital offers
Xerox the best of
both worlds. We
will continue to
benefit from the
knowledge and skills
of people who know
our customers and
business best while
maximizing GE Capital's
renowned expertise
in managing complex
operational processes,"
said Barry D. Romeril,
Xerox vice chairman
and chief financial
officer. "This
framework agreement
and financing represent
a significant milestone
in the financial
turnaround of Xerox."
Last
October, Xerox announced
it would move to
third-party equipment
financing as part
of the company's
turnaround strategy
to restore its financial
strength and return
to profitability.
Over time, this
is expected to remove
as much as $10 billion
in financing-related
debt from the Xerox
balance sheet. Approximately
65 percent of Xerox's
total debt is related
to equipment financing,
close to half of
which is in the
U.S. About
Xerox Xerox
Corporation is an
$18.7 billion global
enterprise with
85,000 employees
serving customers
in 130 countries.
Xerox makes the
digital world work
better with an array
of innovative, document-related
solutions, services
and systems, including
color and black-and-white
digital printers,
multifunction devices
and copiers designed
for offices and
production-printing
environments. About
GE Capital GE Capital Vendor Financial Services, a global leader in developing and providing financial |