October 2023

From 30 years of industry service, fresh pearls of wisdom 

This year, The Alta Group celebrates three decades of steadfast service to the global equipment leasing and finance industry.

In wedding traditions, the 30th anniversary is “the year of the pearl.” The lustrous pearl, created by the long-living oyster, symbolizes the qualities of abiding commitment – loyalty, dedication, and the capacity to adapt and transform.

The symbol of the oyster and the pearl tells the story of The Alta Group, too: the oyster, a built-in resilience to navigate the industry’s ebbs and flows; the pearl, the ability to create entirely new opportunities for our clients worldwide.

In this anniversary year, we gratefully reflect on the impact we’ve had on the industry to date: 5,000+ projects completed, 1,200+ clients served, and 60+ trusted advisors across an expansive scope of services, disciplines, and geographies. 

Our specialized expertise wasn’t “built overnight.” Like a pearl in formation, the wisdom that comes from experience continues to evolve – year by year, layer by layer, client by client. The result is our delivery of ongoing value to the treasured relationships we cultivate. 

In the years ahead, we look forward to continuing our pledge: to bring gems of insight to our industry, steady direction through the changing currents, and smart strategies for enduring worth. 

We look forward to seeing many of you at the ELFA’s 62nd annual convention in Phoenix next month. We’d love to meet with you at the event. Contact us to set up an appointment.

Amid bank pressures, M&A opportunity exists for startups, independents

Jim Jackson, Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Alta Group, wrote in the Monitor last spring about how the 2023 economic environment would impact mergers and acquisitions. As we round the bend on the end of the third quarter, Jim offers the following updates on the situation. 

Here are Jim’s insights:

• Economic factors including inflation and high interest rates continue to dampen the level of M&A activity in the industry.
• In part due to the SVB and Signature Bank failures which took place earlier this year, many regional banks have pulled back on equipment finance originations and are focused on cost cutting measures, increasing deposits, and improving their liquidity positions. As such, many have returned to focusing on their core offerings for their premium customers and have limited appetite for acquiring or expanding an existing equipment finance platform.
•  Many of the regional banks still need to merge in order to gain economies of scale to cover the increased costs of regulatory compliance, invest in digital platforms, and expand their deposit base. As such, this may potentially lead to displacement of bank owned finance companies, in turn creating new start ups and opportunities for seasoned lift out teams.
• Those independent finance companies with available capital that are able to take advantage of the banking industry pullback are the beneficiaries in 2023. A prediction: Later this year, or early next year, the banking tide will change, and the need to grow assets and portfolio will resume, creating a more robust M&A environment.

Jim will be attending the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA’s) 62nd annual convention in Phoenix next month. Contact The Alta Group to set up a time to meet.

Patricia Voorhees to speak at ELFA convention 

Climate-focused equipment is forecast to generate $18 trillion in financing opportunity between now and 2030, according to the ELFA’s Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2023. Voorhees and other industry experts will discuss “Sustainable Innovation: Driving Climate Finance in Today’s Market” in one of four breakout sessions scheduled for Oct. 23.

Read the article.

Alta Latin American advisors have expertise to guide nearshoring moves

The nearshoring trend continues to boost the flow of capital into Mexico and Latin American countries. Over the last three decades, The Alta Group has played a leading role for the equipment leasing and financing industry in Latin America. Learn about some of the areas where Alta advisors can help manage risk and navigate common hurdles in a nearshoring move.

Read the article.

An imaginative look at the industry’s future

Paul Bent, Senior Managing Director with The Alta Group, has been teleported into the year 2073, and he’s reporting back on all that has changed in the world of equipment leasing and finance. From fully autonomous leasing bots that require no human intervention to credit-review technology that taps into humans’ “brain chips,” Bent’s musings on what the next half-century holds offer entertaining food for thought in today’s atmosphere of rapidly evolving technological capabilities.

Read the article.

How to cash in on the climate trend

In a three-part series in Equipment Finance Advisor, The Alta Group’s Patricia Voorhees and Ian Robertson deliver important insights that can help firms position themselves to profit on the massive amount of investment expected to pour into climate-focused equipment, thanks to recent policy actions in both the U.S. and the European Union, as well as corporate carbon-reduction targets. The articles cover best practices for creating a climate equipment finance strategy and guidance on important competencies firms will need to succeed in financing this new and quickly evolving class of equipment. The final installment of the series examines how the industry is already well-positioned to lead in this evolving market.

Read about the series.

Global News

Alta Sponsors Important Global Networking Events 

The Alta Group’s European and Latin American regions will host their 2023 conferences Nov. 15-16 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Nov. 7-8 in Miami, Fla. In Dubai, attendees will hear from the Head of Risk for the Abu Dhabi Investment Company, as well as other speakers who can shed light on growing global investment activity from the Middle East. Expert speakers from the automotive industry will discuss emerging mobility trends. The Miami conference will include informative sessions discussing ESG as a business opportunity, artificial intelligence, secured transactions, predictive analytics and more. Learn more in this blog post by Regional Leader MEA Hans Geijsen and CEO Latin American Region and Emerging Markets Rafael Castillo-Triana, both of The Alta Group. 

Meet with us at the ELFA Convention

Are you travelling to Phoenix for the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s 62^nd ELFA Annual Convention Oct. 22-24? We’d love to meet with you at the event. Contact us to set up an appointment.