The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index showed their overall new business volume for October was $10.4 billion, down 8% year-over-year from new business volume in October 2022. Volume was up 7% from $9.7 billion in September. Year-to-date, cumulative new business volume was up 0.7% compared to 2022. 

Receivables over 30 days were 2.5%, up from 2.3% in September and up from 1.7% in the same period in 2022. Charge-offs were 0.42%, up from 0.36 percent the previous month and up from 0.26% in the year-earlier period.

Credit approvals totaled 76%, up from 73.6% in September. Total headcount for equipment finance companies was down 0.6% year-over-year.

Separately, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index in November is 42.8, an increase from the October index of 40.1. 

“Despite a set of sound metrics in the U.S. economy, MLFI participants report slight increases in both losses and delinquencies,” said ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta said. “This softness in credit quality is indicative of the challenges experienced by some businesses as they operate in a higher interest rate environment, constrained in some sectors, at least, by reports of a pull-back in bank lending. Origination activity for the year continues to be in acceptable ranges.”