Ionuț Morar, CEO BT Leasing: "45% of the cars financed by us this year are in the electric or hybrid category"

Ionuț Morar, General Manager BT Leasing, interviewed by the Financial Market about the leasing activity of Banca Transilvania Financial Group this year:

• In a "challenging" period, as defined by BT Group management in 2023, the results for the first six months of the year for the Group are considered positive, with the accelerated pace of growth in operational activity maintained. These considerations also apply to BT Leasing? If so, what springs were behind these results?

BT Leasing has seen an accelerated pace of operational growth this year, on the back of organic business growth and the completion of the integration of Țiriac Leasing and Idea::Leasing, companies acquired in the past by Banca Transilvania. As of January 2023, Țiriac Leasing became BT Leasing following the merger, and since the summer of this year we have increased our team thanks to our colleagues at Idea::Leasing. Now, all new leasing financing is done through one company, BT Leasing.

The strategy of consolidating the leasing business into a single entity has led to exceptional results, with total financing in the first 6 months of this year increasing by 90% compared to the same period last year, total assets exceeding 3.1 billion lei and profit of around 100 million lei. Over 95% of our portfolio is financing to companies, and their appetite for investment in new machinery and equipment has remained high even amid macroeconomic uncertainties related to the war in Ukraine, rising energy prices or inflation.

• For BT Leasing, as for the whole BT Group, a priority is now to offer financing products for electric cars and to support environmentally friendly investments that contribute to green energy production (such as photovoltaic panels). What can you tell us about 2023 finance lease financing through BTL in this area?

We are pleased to note the growing interest and adoption of ESG principles among Romanian entrepreneurs, with 45% of the cars financed by us this year being electric or hybrid. We aim to support this trend through tailored leasing solutions and pricing campaigns as we aim to make a significant contribution to the transition to a green culture.

• What is your company's current status in the digitization process and in the promotion of online financial leasing in the relationship with customers, knowing that Idea::Leasing plays a major role in this regard?

Digitisation is an ongoing process in a company, you can't just say you've done it and that's it, it's done. New legal regulations, new products, new ways of interacting with the customer are emerging. We have an online platform for lease management (MyBTLeasing), which instantly provides all details about invoices and leased goods, and customers can automatically generate all necessary documents themselves in relation to different authorities (Customs Authorities, City Hall, Insurance Companies, Police, etc.), early repayment calculations, and all requests through the app are handled with priority by our team. To date, over 100,000 such documents have been generated, with a customer adoption rate of over 75%.

We are also working on a full-online leasing product for car financing. This is a standardised fast leasing product that lends itself to full automation. I believe that more complex leasing products, tailored to customer needs will still need human consultation, even if the interaction with the BT Leasing employee will be through digital platforms.

• By tradition, BTL has over the years paid a lot of attention to equipment financing. How did this important business segment go for funding in 2023?

In the first half of the year, the area of equipment finance grew nicely as the economy grows and customers grow. Their needs are becoming more diverse, more sophisticated, including in manufacturing. In terms of areas of interest, construction and infrastructure are the driving areas for lease financing thanks to the programmes and funds Romania has accessed for infrastructure.

• The NBR published in 2023 Regulation No 3 on non-bank financial institutions, introducing stricter rules for NFIs. At the same time, 2023 is the year of transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for non-bank financial institutions in our country. How do you comment on their impact on NFIs in general and BTLs in particular?

The regulation, which has already entered into force for NFIs, has amended several provisions relating to the functioning of financial and banking institutions and we believe that it will help to strengthen a sound risk policy by introducing among NFIs some indicators specific to the banking financial environment - solvency, liquidity - , certain capital requirements and the calculation of exposures.

For BT Leasing, both the new regulation and the transition to IFRS as statutory accounting principles did not have an impact, as we adopted them as a result of being part of the group and the funding lines received from the major international financial institutions, such as EBRD, IFC, FMO, etc., with whom we have been collaborating for many years.

• As we approach the end of the year, surely you have set your business goals for 2024 and the main projects BTL will be involved in. In short, what will they be?

For 2024, BT Leasing's priority is to consolidate the business against the backdrop of the increased interest of companies in leasing, automating some internal flows and consolidating the transfer of expertise or strengthening the team resulting from the acquisitions of the last two years.