The growth in the number of representative offices of leasing companies in the regions is limited by the policy of the Central Bank and the shortage of personnel

Against the background of record growth in leasing and intensified work with small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), market participants expanded their network of representative offices in the regions in 2023. The companies explain that this made it possible to do work, including under problematic contracts, more efficiently, and also to develop services for servicing leased items. But in 2024, the trend may slow down against the backdrop of the continued tight monetary policy of the Central Bank and a shortage of qualified personnel.

According to leasing companies surveyed by Kommersant, one of the significant trends in 2023 for them was the expansion of branch networks and increasing presence in new regions against the backdrop of rapid growth in the industry (by 70%, to 3.4 trillion rubles, see Kommersant) dated December 5, 2023). In particular, Interleasing opened 19 new representative offices during the year, increasing their number to 65. Leasing Trade opened three branches. VTB Leasing launched representative offices in Kirov and Khabarovsk (there are now 63 of them in total).

“MSB Leasing” in 2023 tested the concept of developing a regional sales directorate with the help of regional representatives in large industrial centers – St. Petersburg, Leningrad and Moscow regions, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Krasnodar, says the head of the company’s board of directors, Yuri Kolesnikov. Regional representatives “on the ground” of the Fleet Finance company (part of the Insight investment group) “cover all front office work, their number has doubled over the past year.”

For leasing, presence in the region is important when building effective work both with clients and with suppliers of machinery or equipment, market participants note. “We provide a financial service, but it is inextricably linked with the real product. It is important for regional entrepreneurs to have the opportunity to contact a manager who understands the specifics of the territory and can quickly agree on a deal or resolve a pressing issue,” explains Sergei Zharkov, commercial director of Interleasing.

“In addition, as part of an expanded package of services, some leasing companies also offer clients servicing of leased items (see Kommersant, December 8, 2023), which is difficult to do from a distance,” notes Suren Asaturov, Deputy Director of the ACRA Financial Institutions Ratings Group. He adds that infrastructure projects, in particular road construction, have become a significant driver of the trend, as well as “geopolitical changes are stimulating a shift of interests to new regions.”

But it’s not just about help and support. Another important reason for presence in the regions is to work with potentially problematic lessees to facilitate the process of withdrawing equipment, monitoring its quality and operating conditions, experts say.

The criterion for choosing a region is, first of all, the investment climate, which also determines the level of demand for raising funds and capital investments, including through leasing, and “the presence of at least one significant anchor client with an already clear and formed request,” explains Yuri Kolesnikov. “With this approach and the average financing amount for one leasing transaction from 25 million rubles. the costs of opening a regional office can be recouped in one or two transactions,” he believes.

In 2024, Interleasing plans to open ten more representative offices, said Sergei Zharkov. They are talking about the possibility of opening points in small towns and in Alfa-Leasing.

The pace of expansion of regional networks of leasing companies, say experts and market participants, will depend primarily on the rigidity of the monetary policy of the Bank of Russia, which will restrain the growth of leasing in general.

So far, leasing companies are quite restrained in their expectations and expect business growth in 2024 by 10–20% (see Kommersant on January 19). “With the current key rate of 16%, we see no reason to increase the branch network. Spot increases are possible, but for now we are not planning growth throughout the country,” explains Alfa-Leasing Group Sales Director Alexander Golankov.

Personnel shortage also affects the situation. The free and effective personnel potential in the regions is practically exhausted, explains Yuriy Kolesnikov, “it is very difficult to attract new people.”

Polina Trifonova