BNP Paribas Lease, the newest player on the leasing market, part of the French giant BNP Paribas, estimates it will grant 10 million euros in funding by the end of the year. The company will soon begin operations and will only work with corporate clients, to which it will grant both loans and financing via leasing contracts in euros.

"Our target is not to gain market share, we came to Romania to work with our partners from other countries mainly, which have subsidiaries here. Romania has a really great investment potential, therefore a potential for the financing market, because of its size and status as a European Union member," stated Philipe Chabert, general manager of BNP Lease. He says BNP Paribas will not resort to a generalist approach and will not develop a bank but will pursue specialised asset financing. In Romania, BNP Paribas group also holds Arval, a company specialising in operational leasing, Cardif, a life insurance company and Cetelem, the biggest player on the consumer finance market. At the end of last year, Cetelem had granted loans worth 816 million RON (226 million euros), 77% more than in 2006.

BNP Paribas Lease will not position itself as an aggressive player, he says, and business will start growing faster in 2009, given that the company is just developing now.

Chabert, 43, has been working for BNP Paribas since 1990 and, before he took reins of the leasing company in Romania, he was part of the management of the leasing subsidiary in Italy.

The group will specialise in financing for equipment in Romania. "We know the market relies on motor funding, but this is the segment where the group's operational leasing company Arval operates. We will not finance real estate projects at first, either, although we do it in France. Perhaps we could enter this segment in a few years," BNP Paribas Lease's boss explains.

He bel