Since the economic downturn in 2008, asset finance technologists have been re-appraising their technology solutions to ensure that their systems are best placed to manage the downturn, and subsequently to ensure that they are ready to compete successfully as their businesses emerge into a new post-recessionary environment.

As the global asset finance industry emerges slowly from the great recession it has to face some changed structural realities.

Asset lenders and lessors have, in varying degrees, altered over the past four years. Equipment lessors seeking to re-build their new-business portfolios are doing so with the handicap of shrunken balance sheets, the shedding of non-core sectors, fewer staff, less available liquidity - and tougher competition and pressure on margins.

It has, therefore become crucial for equipment lenders to maximize the potential of each and every new-business proposal while at the same time identifying every opportunity to cross sell (or up-sell) products – and ultimately to retain their hard-won customer base.

On January 30, 2012, the Australian Attorney-General's Department (AGD) made live the new Australian Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), allowing all registered Australian finance organizations to electronically lodge, amend and remove interests in registered securities.

The move heralds the start of a fundamentally new approach to dealing with security interest in almost all assets other than real property.

Jarrod Bradley

Being a market leader brings advantages but it undoubtedly brings its own pressures too. Maintaining that position demands insight into pinpointing where growth will come from and a clear understanding of how it will be achieved.

Jarrod Bradley, AUF Director explained: “As one of the UK's largest independent vehicle and finance brokerage to both personal and corporate customers, Auto Union Finance plc (AUF) embarked on a programme of expansion at a time when many of its competitors were scaling back their operations. We see this is as a bold statement of intent in the current economic climate.”