Equipment finance sector optimistic

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Thomas Jaschik, president, BB&T Equipment Finance, said: “The House is considering its tax reform package which includes a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 20%.

“The assumption is that this will allow companies to invest more fully in their businesses. If this holds true, the tax package would be the catalyst to accelerate growth in our industry. Over the next several years the equipment finance industry could achieve record levels of new business production.”

The big shift in this month’s survey is in respondents’ views on the wider business environment, with 17.7% now evaluating the current US economy as “excellent,” up from none last month, and the remainder categorizing it as “fair”.

In addition, one-third (32.5%) of the survey respondents believe that US economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, an increase from 23.3% in October.

Two-thirds (64.7%) indicate they believe the US economy will “stay the same” over the period, and just 2.9% believe conditions will worsen.

In November, 52.9% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, an increase from 36.7% in October.