Banking companies will finance about $600 billion in new equipment purchases this year, and that figure is forecast to grow 4% in 2008, according to a study released Tuesday by the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.
It represents a solid area of growth in an era when banking companies have been dragged down by mortgage-related losses, Kenneth E. Bentsen Jr., president of the association, said on a conference call.
The organization commissioned Global Insight, a consulting and research firm in Lexington, Mass., to analyze federal data and survey 472 businesses of varying sizes. The polling was conducted during the year and is Equipment Leasing's first such survey.
It found that though most business owners expect the economy to slow in 2008, strong demand is expected from agriculture, the airline industry, health care, and small manufacturers.
