Ten years ago, Planet Leasing was among the first leasing companies established on the Romanian market and was also creating the first association of leasing companies. At present, the company has gone into receivership. Moreover, another 70 leasing firms are featured on the Finance Ministry's website with overdue payments to the state budget.
The situation is alarming and proves that many of the companies operating on the leasing market will be having problems in the next few years, as competition and the war of interest rates are getting fiercer.
"The Romanian market has become extremely competitive. This is not just about the arrival of those leasing companies that are affiliated to banking groups, but also about the strong development of the companies that are already present on the market," says Cornel Coca Constantinescu, chairman of the Romanian Association of Leasing Companies (ASLR).
Under the circumstances, access to financing becomes the key-element in securing the long-term survival of a leasing company. Practically, it is becoming almost impossible for a small company to compete with the leasing firms affiliated to banking groups, at least in terms of interest rates.
In fact, part of the companies that are having problems are already beginning to sell their portfolios. "We have sold 90% of our portfolio to companies such as BT Leasing Transilvania or TBI Leasing," says Sorin Ovidiu Blaga, a partner with Euro Leasing Srl, which tops the ranking of companies with debts to the state budget. At the end of April, Euro Leasing Srl owed more than 140 billion ROL to the State, according to the Finance Ministry.
"Our debts are in fact much smaller and we have been involved in lawsuits against the Romanian State for many years," says the Euro Leasing official. The company now has only three em
