Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing launches in US

Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing (SMFL) is set to launch in the US this week, on October 1, 2014, with the aim of targeting the construction, transportation and IT sectors as well as US-based clients of its parent companies, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Sumitomo Corporation.

SMFL’s new business, headquartered in New York with a branch office in San Mateo, California, has an initial team of 25 people and is set to grow to 85 over a three-year period. It will focus primarily on vendor originated business and will participate in syndications and portfolio acquisitions.

Jeffrey Scott Whitcomb has been appointed as senior vice president and executive director to spearhead the company’s move into the construction and transportation industry segments.

Whitcomb has spent 16 years in the equipment leasing and finance industry, initially as one of three founders at Captive Capital Corporation, a web platform for managing multi-lender vendor finance programs. He then led business development for the construction and industrial team at De Lage Landen Financial Services, before moving to People’s Capital and Leasing Corporation as they expanded their construction and transportation portfolios coming out of the financial crisis.

Most recently, Whitcomb led the development of one of the nation’s largest providers of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for the trucking industry. CNG completed projects for Pepsico Frito-Lay, Dairy Farmers of America, and Subaru of Indiana Automotive. Whitcomb’s team created innovative lease programs for the larger and more costly CNG-fueled class 8 tractors.