Financing for the real estate sector surged 12 times against the first nine months of 2006, while the value of loans for commercial vehicles doubled. BCR Leasing, the second biggest player on the market after UniCredit Leasing Corporation, granted financing worth almost 280m euros in the first 9 months of the year, up 26% against the same period last year. The value of contracts signed by the company topped 356.6m euros in late September, 31% higher than the level reached in the first three quarters of 2006.

During this period, the company's turnover on the segment of commercial vehicles doubled, to 74.3m euros, which accounted for almost 27% in the company's portfolio, from around 15% during the same period last year. The weight of car loans shrank from 56.5% in 2006 to 43.4% this year, while the value of financed acquisitions stood at almost 121.3m euros.

The weight of equipment financing also dropped, by around 7%, to 20%, while the value of acquisitions revolved around 57.5m euros. This year, BCR Leasing saw strong turnover growth on the real estate segment. At the end of September, the vale of financing granted for this domain reached 26.7m euros, 12 times higher against the same period in 2006. This segment now accounts for 9.6% in overall loans released by the company, from around 1% in the first nine months of 2006.

"For 2007, our sales target is a growth rate of around 30-35%, with the volume of financed goods standing at around 380-400 million euros," stated Claudiu Stanescu, general manager of BCR Leasing. For 2008, the company has forecast growth above the market average.

"We will pay special attention to the development of the motor segment, mainly the commercial one, as well as to the real estate segment. Ensuring a portfolio structure of 60%-20%-20% (cars-equipment-real estate) is a viable target for the company and also mea