Leasing News

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Since Sam Leeper has taken over the day-to-day management of Pawnee I spend most of my business time on long range planning, which we all know is a way of saying that I watch what is happening more than making things happen. We continue the Pawnee philosophy of "manage yourself out of your position" so more of our employees are having the opportunity to take on increased responsibilities.

Additionally, we have been able to hire some bright new talent. New faces bring new ideas and that is healthy for any company.

I am excited about the prospects ahead for Pawnee and others in the small ticket leasing arena. I believe that the companies left in the industry have a skilled executive suite with a clear vision of the task ahead. The fact that more and more financial giants are entering the asset-backed market is the best indication yet that leasing may no longer be the outcast of the financial services sector.

I wish you well in 2003 and pray for the safety and well being of your son during these difficult times.

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Sales: 25 Territory Managers needed. Generous comp. Provide custom telemarketing your database. Provide 800#. Strong support (System 1 Advantage). E-mail Bruce Larsen Leasing Partners Capital (952) 890-5092.

Sales: LCA is a small ticket leasing company seeking results-oriented, qualified sales professionals with outstanding performance in the lease industry. We offer competitive salary, commissions and benefits. Fax: 248-524-0267 email: kbernia@leasecorp.com

Sales: Lessor/Broker seeks experienced small - mid ticket reps (IT, Furniture, Telcom, Medical and General), 2 in CA, 2 Nationally and 2 in NE. Must have a book of business. Qualified Vendor leads available, strong commission & support, Draw and benefits. Call 617-641-9628 ext.11 or email MarkG@IntegrityLeasing.com

Sales: Lessor/Broker-Arizona- need experienced mid-market salesperson, location open, strong medical bkrnd pref. Top comm, draw, benefits. Call John Torbeson 888 607 6800 john@odysseyequipfinance.com

About Odyssey Equipment Financing started in 1985 in Seattle. Company sold part of the company in 1997 and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. Company specializes in medical equipment financing and acts as both a funder and broker.

Leasing News got Tom O'Shane on the telephone. He said he was the chairman of the board. “Things are going well... COO Paul Appell left on his own volition...

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The Equipment Leasing Association (ELA) has launched an online map tracking progress toward enactment of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement by state legislatures. Passage of this legislation advances states toward establishment of a permanent Governing Board comprised of representatives from each state that adopts the Agreement. The site includes text of bills introduced in state legislatures, a link to the full Agreement and a Streamometer that tracks progress toward establishment of the Governing Board.

Only bills that would conform state law to the Agreement are tracked. The map will not include other proposals such as legislation to establish Streamline study commissions or have a state join the Project and Implementing States. In some instances observers have disagreed on which category a Streamline proposal should be classified and the map could differ from the opinion of some participants. The map and Streamometer can be found at

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Come hear Lynn discuss the state of the North Texas economy from a banker's perspective!

Cost: Nothing, as in FREE (we will be holding a 50/50 raffle with half to the winner and half to UAEL)

Questions? Contact: Ron Mitchell or Jim Lahti at 972-221-7335 or the UAEL Office at 760-564-2227

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ATLANTA, - ePlus Group, Inc. will present at the Lessors Network 2003 Lease Syndication Showcase on March 10, 2003. George Fox, Vice President Finance, will deliver an overview of ePlus Group's 2003 Lease Syndication Strategies.

Profitable since inception in 1990, the company is headquartered in Herndon, VA and has more than 30 locations in the U.S

For its third quarter ending December 31, 2002. ePlus produced record net earnings of $2.6 million, a 21.4% increase over $2.14 million recorded during the same period in the prior fiscal year. Total Revenues increased 31.3% to $73.3 million from $55.8 million, and fully diluted earnings per share increased 30% to $0.26 from $0.20.

"We are pleased to report record earnings for the quarter" commented Phillip Norton, Chairman, CEO and President of ePlus. "We are successfully winning sales, software, leasing, and services transactions with new customers, hiring experienced salesman with deep industry expertise, and cross-selling to our existing customers. ePlus continues to focus on profitability, expanding the customer base, and increasing operating efficiency."

A leading provider of Enterprise Cost Management, ePlus provides a comprehensive solution to reduce the costs of purchasing, owning, and financing goods and services. ePlus Enterprise Cost Management (eECM) packages business process outsourcing, eProcurement, asset management, supplier enablement, strategic sourcing, and financial services into a single integrated solution, all based on ePlus' leading business application software..

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Here is the official US Department of Housing report. It is not only interesting regarding the construction industry (and their needs in equipment Leasing,) but the

The main economic problems remain as before: (1) weakness in the manufacturing sector (capacity utilization remains below 75%), and (2) a “jobless recovery” to date. Most analysts agree that the recovery will be delayed until the Iraq situation is resolved. If there is a war, and it ends quickly and favorably for the Allies, the U.S. economy should show more strength in the second half of the year. (I still believe the recovery will be gradual due to continuing reticence on the part of business’s to reinvest until existing plant capacity is better utilized) A stronger economy will mean higher mortgage rates, but the job situation will improve, so the net effect on housing demand is expected to be minimal. Starts are expected to pull back about 3-5%, with any weakness expected in the 2^nd half. If the war drags on for an extended period, the economic recovery will be delayed, and housing may actually do better as interest rates would remain near today’s low levels.

January starts surprised many analysts by picking up where they left off last year – at record levels. January numbers were similar to December 2002 with total starts up slightly to 1.85 million (SAAR). The multi family (MF) sector fell 7.6% to 340,000 (SAAR), as robust single family demand increased 2.1% to 1.51 million (SAAR). Permits, an indicator of future activity, were down 5.6% with most of the weakness in the MF sector. Regionally, there was an even split - the NE and MW were down 16.7% and 11.9% respectively, while the South was up 3.8% and the West was up almost 10%. The split was due in part to the winter storms in the Northern part of the country.

Analysis and outlook: Housing remains one of the few bright spots in the economy, and along with consumer spending, it represents almost 75% of the economy (GDP), and most of the net economic growth in 2002. The main drivers continue to be attractive interest rates and solid income growth despite a sluggish job market. It is amazing that starts remain so strong despite weakening consumer confidence, albeit confidence is probably low due in large part to the concern over “geopolitical factors”. Housing is actually benefiting from the weak economy as noted in today’s Economy.com report ( www.economy.com ). The weak econo

my, uncertainty over the Iraq situation, and weak equity markets are keeping mortgage rates below 6%, and this is helping to drive housing demand (particularly single family) to record highs. In fact, starts are now almost as high as they were in the late 70’s when the baby boomers were buying all those homes. But, today’s market is even better – single-family share is higher (80% today versus 71% between 1975-1980), and today’s homes are 30% larger than the ones our parents bought in the 70’s. For all of 2002, housing starts totaled 1.71 million, up 6% from 2001, and making 2002 the best year for housing construction since 1986.

First Fleet Corporation, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida is hosting an informational forum on March 5, 6 and 7th to specifically address transportation industry changes and the challenges facing fleet operators today. Suppliers, lenders, and premier private fleet operators are among the attendees participating in panel discussions and seminars addressing topics which include: Financial Markets, Our Changing World - Industry Projections, Light Weight Specing, Maintenance Cost Tracking, and Risks & Rewards of Outsourcing Maintenance. Charles Allen from ZF Meritor will be on hand to discuss today’s transmissions, Don Kilfin of Detroit Diesel will present insight into ’04 and ’07 MBE emissions regulation, and Mark Ashdown of TMT, a maintenance software provider, will discuss management reporting systems.

This excellent exchange of shared experience and information will benefit all attendees. For more information or to register to attend this conference, please contact Stacy Groh at (954) 761-9700.

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McCue Systems Offers Entry-Level LeasePak Edition

BURLINGAME, CA,-- McCue Systems Inc. announces the release of LeasePak Bronze Edition, the latest addition to a range of enterprise lease and loan management packages scaled to meet the requirements of lease operations of virtually all sizes.

“We saw a gap in the marketplace for leasing technology,” said John McCue, CEO and founder of McCue Systems. “We saw no other vendor providing an affordable, entry-point system that is part of a unified product line that can grow as the complexity and transaction volume of a lessors’ operations grow, yet never require migration to a new application, database, or business workflow”.

LeasePak Bronze Edition joins LeasePak Silver Edition and LeasePak Gold Edition to complete the range of system offerings from McCue Systems.

“By harnessing the most advanced technology – including the Linux operating system – McCue Systems can now offer the right package for almost any shop,” says VP of Development Doug Jones. “We’ve got the right system for HP, SUN, or Linux shops, as well as for Oracle and Sybase users.”

“With LeasePak Bronze Edition, McCue Systems can now offer 5-user LeasePak license starting at $35K,” states VP of Global Sales, Bruce Harrison. “Now there’s a solution for those lessors who’ve outgrown their present system and need the power of a full enterprise lease and loan management system with a manageable investment. LeasePak Bronze Edition offers affordability with unlimited scalability.”

LeasePak Bronze, LeasePak Silver, and LeasePak Gold are available immediately.

About McCue Systems

With over 30 years experience in developing business solutions for the leasing industry, McCue Systems Inc. is the leading provider of lease/ loan portfolio management software for banks, leasing companies, and manufacturers. Its flagship product, LeasePak, simplifies lease/loan administration and asset management by accurately tracking leases, loans, and equipment from origination through end-of-term and disposition.

McCue Systems leads the leasing technology industry in the development of Web-enabled and Web-based tools to deliver superior customer service, reduce operating costs, streamline lease management, and collaborate with sales channel and asset partners.

The leasing experts at McCue Systems work closely with lessors to put the company’s leasing expertise to work to streamline lease operations and enhance customer retention at every stage of the lease lifecycle.

Clients include Cisco, HP, BankOne, M&C Leasing, Ford Motor Credit, Bank of Hawaii, Volkswagen Credit, Bank of Tokyo/ Mitsubishi, Cisco Systems, ORIX /Australia and KeyBank.

LeasePak runs on HP/UX-based and SUN/Solaris systems, as well as with Linux-based Intel systems. The Sybase relational database is fully supported. LeasePak will be available for use with Oracle 9i in Q2 2003.

See www.mccue.com for more information about the LeasePak lease management system and the company’s comprehensive range of consulting and technology services.

CONTACT:

Andrew Lea

McCue Systems Inc.

Phone Number: (650) 348-0650, Ext 1171.

E-mail: info@mccue.com

(courtesy ELAonline.com)

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(Leasing News has a new collection that we will print this week. For past stories,

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Equipment lessors are among those impacted by drafting errors in bills introduced in legislatures to conform state law to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. In some instances sections of the Agreement are omitted because these provisions can be instituted by regulation or state law already conforms to those terms of the Agreement. Drafting inaccuracies causes other variations from the Agreement

Sourcing of leased mobile equipment is arising as the prime area of concern for the Equipment Leasing Association (ELA). American Automotive Leasing Association (AALA) member Larry Makowski of Wheels, Inc, has closely tracked these issues in coordination with ELA State Government Relations Committee Chair Valerie Guerrieri, CIT. His initial findings have been communicated to Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) leadership. In response, they promise to bring these concerns to the attention of Project members and reiterate the importance of adhering to provisions of the Agreement.

Several states have not used exact sourcing language for leasing. The State of Washington instead of saying a lease with a Terminal Rental Adjustment Clause (TRAC) is a true lease, the language was reversed - a TRAC clause lease is not a true lease. The TRAC clause language was corrected in the states second draft of the bill. Nebraska made a similar error.

Makowski reports several states believe their existing state rules cover lease sourcing and have decided not to include sourcing language in legislative proposals. In other instances the rationale for excluding sourcing from Streamline legislation is not easily determined.

Indiana does not currently have a sourcing rule in effect but drafters decided not to include it in Streamline legislation. This leaves it to the rule making process for the state to conform to that provision. The North Dakota leasing definition did not include motor vehicles, as they are not taxed under the states sales tax statutes.

Kentucky wrote a troublesome TRAC provision including all agreements including trailers. Kentucky also excluded motor vehicle lease sourcing language since motor vehicles leases are covered by a different act and sourcing rules are in regulations.

AALA's Larry Makowski has contacted bill drafters in each instance cited. ELA's Valerie Guerrieri has extended assistance in examination of bills. In some cases positive corrections are expected in legislation while other situations may fall to rulemaking. Going forward, more positive changes are expected.

The question of individual state conformity with required provisions of the Agreement will not occur until the initial states enacting the Agreement convene to form a Governing Board. A summary of this process is available when you click on "What is the Streamometer and the Goal" at ELA's new online map tracking progress toward enactment of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement located at