Ionuț Morar, CEO of BT Leasing, was a guest on the ZF Live show, where he spoke about the potential of Romania’s leasing market and the company’s strategic growth directions.

BT Leasing has reached 43,000 financed clients

• BT Leasing’s outstanding financing portfolio has reached 1.3 billion euros, representing 43,000 financed clients.
  
  
• From BT Leasing’s strategy perspective, the growth plan rests on two pillars: organic growth and growth through mergers and acquisitions. We aim to be a major player in the Romanian economy. Whenever an opportunity arises, we will assess it. Opportunities are constantly emerging in the market.

Romania’s leasing market still has significant potential

• Romania’s leasing market still has considerable potential, given it currently stands at 2% of GDP, while in other European countries it has reached 5–6% of GDP.
  
  
• Although the leasing market is at 5 billion euros — similar to the level in 2007, the heyday of leasing — entrepreneurs have now reached a level of maturity, which means they will start turning to better financing instruments.
  
  
• The economy is largely made up of small and medium-sized companies. As a market evolves and matures, businesses turn to better financing tools such as leasing, loans, the stock market, or they begin to understand that there are other funding options better suited to their needs. In the past, the financing need may not have been as great. There were other sources — supplier financing, trade credit — and entrepreneurs lacked maturity. Now we are starting to think in plans, over a longer horizon, to have growth strategies and to formalise those strategies. There is significant potential in Romania to increase financial intermediation, but regulation should also move in this direction and better recognise certain financial instruments.
  
  
• Entrepreneurs have a fairly high level of financial literacy; they distinguish between personal investments and investments for the company. When they decide to invest, they have a clear plan for the asset — whether to buy it at the end or replace it. Most see their leasing contracts through to the end.
  
  
• On the other hand, when the economic environment is challenging and they can no longer repay, some say so from the outset and seek an amicable termination, while others request temporary support until they rebuild their cash flow.
  
  
• As for the market, there is a slight delay in entrepreneurs’ plans. Uncertainty always makes you more cautious and postpone certain investment plans, but as an entrepreneur you can never stand still. You must always keep moving and look for solutions. I truly believe entrepreneurs will diversify their financing solutions and tailor them to their needs. I don’t think the fiscal package will have an impact that is passed on to leasing companies. Businesses will certainly be affected by higher taxes — it’s a cost increase — but we have been through such moments before.
  
  
• I believe we are at a much higher level of maturity than in 2008–2009, when we were working with triple-digit interest rates. Entrepreneurs have their plans; they should stay focused on them, keep moving and keep investing.