Leasing companies were seriously hurt last year by the plummeting car sales and a wave of frauds, with losses on this market topping 100m euros, three times above the previous year's level.

According to the balance sheets published on the Finance Ministry's website, large and medium-sized leasing firms in 2008 registered cumulated losses of 115m euros, while in 2007 losses had amounted to 34m euros. On the other hand, total profits made by large and medium-sized companies stood at around 42m euros.

The biggest loss by far was last year reported by Marfin Leasing, a medium-sized company controlled by Marfin group of Cyprus: almost 50m euros, 15 times higher than in 2007. Marfin's loss thus accounts for almost one half in the market's losses. Contacted by ZF, the company's representatives did not comment on this trend, but market sources state Marfin had to deal with frauds of around 20m euros last year and is no longer granting any financing now, focusing on reselling cars and equipment retrieved from bad payers.

The ranking of leasing firms that suffered the heaviest losses also includes Romstal Leasing (14.6m euros), NBG Leasing (11.3m euros) and Italo-Romena Leasing (7.2m euros). At the opposite end, the most profitable leasing company in 2008 was BCR Leasing, with a net income of 11m euros.

The company's representatives could not be contacted for comment. BCR Leasing at the end of the first quarter ranked third on this market (in terms of financing granted), while UniCredit Leasing and Porsche Leasing held the top two positions. Companies boasting the biggest profits in 2008 also include Tiriac Leasing and VB Leasing.

For the leasing market, 2009 will probably be the most difficult year, considering that the value of financing granted will fall by more than 60%, while previous years saw two-digit growth rates. According to leasing man