Equipment lenders well positioned to weather drops in confidence

PLANNED Government infrastructure spending, supply chain issues pushing up asset prices, and fixed rates will help prime commercial asset finance lenders to be among the most resilient lenders in Australia.

An industry CEO says lenders in this category are well positioned to weather any drops in consumer or business confidence – and has the reasons to back it.

Phillip Crossman is the CEO of equipment and car lender Metro Finance (metrofin.com.au), one of Australia’s leading providers of asset finance and, more recently, a provider of consumer car loans and novated leases.

Since Phillip founded Metro in 2011, Metro has accumulated around 50,000 customers and a loan portfolio of $3 billion.

It attracts borrowers through a network of 3700 brokers nationally and settles an average of $150 million per month. Last month, Metro closed a $500 million debt funding deal which attracted investors from Europe, Asia and Australia.

Why asset lenders will perform well even with continued slow economic growth

“I expect our industry to withstand further interest rate increases and, if it arises, an economic downturn better than lenders that fund discretionary assets,” Mr Crossman said.