Finansal kiralama (Leasing)

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, ülkemizde 1986 yılından bu yana uygulanmakta olan, ancak tarihi oldukça eskilere dayanan leasing faaliyeti incelenmiştir. öncelikle, leasing'in kavram olarak tanımı verilmiş, ülkemizde ve diğer ülkelerde rastlanan leasing türlerine değinilmiştir. Leasing'in, leasing alan ve leasing veren taraflar açısından diğer finansman yöntemlerine göre ne gibi üstünlükler ve eksiklikler taşıdığı analiz edilmiştir. Bu arada, leasing'in yatırımcıya getirdiği maliyetin hangi kalemlerden oluştuğu belirtilmiştir. Leasing'in tarihçesi de ilk uygulamalardan günümüze kadar gelişimini kapsayacak şekilde anlatılmıştır. Leasing hakkında verilen genel bilgilerin ardından, faaliyetin Türkiye'deki ve diğer ülkelerdeki durumu istatistiksel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Türkiye'deki yasal ortam, bu yasalardan doğan kısıtlamalar yanında leasing'in Türkiye'deki gelişimi de anlatılmıştır, ülkemizde leasing'in hangi alanlarda yoğunlaştığı ve sıklıkla uygulanan leasing türleri belirtilmiştir. Diğer ülkelerdeki leasing uygulamalarına, gerek ülkeleri toplu olarak gösteren istatistiksel tablolarla gerekse ülke bazında rakamlarla değinilmiştir. Uygulamaların yoğunluğu, pazar payı ve. sektörlere dağılımı ele alınmıştır. ülkeler, gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülkelere örnek teşkil edecek şekilde seçilmiştir, ülkelerin yanısıra, kıtalara ait genellemelere de gidilmiş ve ayrıca, belli başlı leasing birlikleri tanıtılmaya çalışılmıştır.

Paralleling the rapid growth of leasing has been an increase in studies of its various features. The subject has been examined from economic, legal, fiscal and accounting standpoints. Conclusions reached by practitioners, authorities, and professional bodies in each country have varied widely and leasing literature reflects numerous views on the precise nature of leasing and its role as a financing mechanism. With each approach has come a different definition of a financial lease. The best known definition of leasing is that adopted by the European Leasing Association: A lease is a contract between a lessor and lessee for the hire of a specific asset sellected from a manufacturer or vendor of such assets by the lessee. The lessor retains ownership of the asset. The lessee has possession and use of ' the asset on payment of specif ied-rentals over a period. 1 -«TV- " -??? Within this general definition of â^lease there ere two main elements- financial or finance leases and operating leases. A financial lease is a contract involving payment over an obligatory period of specified sums sufficient in total to amortize the capital outlay of the lessor and give some profit. The main caracteristics of a financial lease identified in the ELA' s definition are as follows. 1. The equipment is choosen, from a manufacturer or distributor of such equipment, by the lessee not the lessor. 2. The lessor retains ownership of the equipment. 3. Stibject to the payment of rent and compliance with the other terms of the lease, the lessee has the exclusive right to use the equipment during the whole period of the lease. vııı 4. There is a non-cancellable section of the lease period during which the leasing company seeks to recover the whole, or a major part, of its capital outlay together with its outgoings and a profit margin. 5. The burden of obsolescence of the equipment falls primarily on the lessee. There are several other factors which, although not essential to a definition of a financial lease, are normally features of most financial leases. 6. Leases are with commercial customers for equipment used in the firm's trading activities. They are not common in consumer transactions. 7. Since the equipment is purchased by the lessor at the request of the lessee, the responsibility for its suitability and condition rests with the lessee. 8. The lessee is responsible for maintenance and insurance of the equipment. 9. At the end of the obligatory lease period, the lessee has an option to continue the lease at a reduced rental and may share in the proceeds of sale. An operating lease is any other type of lease -that is to say, where the asset is not wholly amortized during the non-cancellable period, if any, of the lease, and where the lessor does not rely for his profit on the rentals in the non-cancellable period. Leasing has had a long history. The Sumerians? leased goods before 2000 BC, and this form of commercial activity has thrived ever since. The extend to which the Romans engaged in leasing is shown by the detailed regulations in the Institutes of Justinian. Several European writers have pinpointed 1877 as the date of equipment leasing in modern times, being the year that the Bell Telephone Company began renting telephones in the United States. But the origins of modern financial leasing are not wholly American. It was not, as is commonly believed, first introduced into the United Kingdom in 1960 after a period of gradual development in the United States during the 1940s and 1950s. IX Equipment leasing prospered in Britain several decades before 1877 and items continued to be leased sporadically for various reasons throughout the period up to 1960, when financial leasing was launched in the City as a 'new' method of finance. Equipment leasing is one of the financial success stories of the 1980s. In just under a decade, investment in equipment through the mechanism of leasing has grown nearly fivefold to US$250 billion. Growth in the three major leasing markets - US, Europe and Japan - has continued irrespective of the economic performance of these countries and in spite of considerable reductions in tax benefits. The last decade has been an era of closing tax loopholes and abolishing concessions. In 1984, capital allowances were phased out in the UK and restrictions were placed on tax-based leases to non-residents in the US; and in 1986, the US Tax Reform Act withdrew investment tax credit. Nevertheless, business has never been better. In 1988, leasing volume in the US rose by 15% to $104.2 billion and increased by another 12% to $116.7 billion in 1989. Leasing played a significant role in markets for computers, telecommunications and transportations equipment. The UK leasing industry has never looked back since the 1984 budget removed 100% first-year allowances. The UK Equipment Leasing Association (which represents- about 90% of the industry) reported 7 billion of lease under-writing by its members when 1988 figures are produced. A more telling statistic, and one which reflects the maturity of the industry, is that UK leasing companies provide some 20% of investment in all types of plant and equipment. In Japan, the world's second domestic leasing market, the volume of new lease contracts has increased more than sixfold over the last decade, averaging an annual growth rate of 20%. In the last financial year (April 1987-March 1988), the Japanese Leasing Association reported a total of Y5.29 trillion in new lease receivables. The attractions of leasing are spreading worldwide. Some of the most recent recruits to leasing include Türkiye, Greece and Pakistan. Although these industries are still limited in what they can do, the establishment of leasing is considered an important step in modernising the credit systems and promoting investment. Even the socialist countries, with their huge debt problems, are recognising that they can use leasing to acquire equipment to modernise their economies without overstepping their plan budgets. Fully fledged leasing industries have been established in Bulgaria and Hungary. Bulgarleasing, the state leasing organisation, carried out $150m of business in its first three years. In 1988, it became the first Eastern bloc member of the European leasing federation, Leaseurope. The equipment leasing industry has not only undergone horizontal expansion around the globe but vertical development as well. Perhaps the most reported phenomenon has been the soaring growth in the leasing of commercial aircraft. Passenger demand is expected to double by 2005, which means that around $250 billion will be spent on new aircraft and more than half is expected to be leased. Leasing of land-based transport equipment is also on the increase. The single European market will create greater opportunities for crossborder intermodal transport of goods, via rail, containers and trailers. Leaseurope figures show leasing has grown in value terms in its 17 member countries by 18 percent between±the end of 1988 and 1989. Inflation in OECD. Europe was running at 4.5 percent in the 12 months to September 1989, according to OECD estimates. Leasing was boosted by relatively strong GDP growth and steady growth in gross fixed investment. In OECD Europe GDP grew at a rate of 3.5 percent in 1989, of which gross fixed investment comprised 1.3 percent. But growth is forecast to slow in 1990 and 1991, according to OECD estimates by 2.8 percent and 2.7 percent respectively. Gross fixed investment is forecast to grow at a rate 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent respectively. Leaseurope also notes that part of the reason for the strorig performance was because: "The profitability of capital stock continued its recovery in 1989 (since 1981) leading to an increase in industrial leasing investments one third higher than in 1986. The moderate rise in real salaries compared to productivity and the drop in energy costs have been major stimulants in aiding the recovery. Spain and Ireland are examples of XI this phenomenon." These positive factors may dissappear, however, as the likelihood of higher energy costs looms. In terms of turnover, the UK was the largest lessor with leasing of movable assets amounting to ECUsl9,638 million, a growth rate of 18 percent. France ranks second with ECUsl5,930 million, a growth rate of 14 percent. Germany ranks third with ECUs8,100 million, a 10 percent increase on an annual basis. In four countries growth over the year was more than 50 percent: Luxembourg (168 percent); Ireland (80 percent); Denmark (56 percent) and Sweden (50 percent). Real estate leasing grew by 16.5 percent, from ECUs69.5 billion to ECUS82.1 billion in 1989. Of this figure France was the largest lessor accounting for approximately 50 percent of the total recorded figure; Germany follows and then Italy which showed 60 percent growth. As a share of the total leasing transactions as compared with the global investments, Britain's share totaled 30.1 percent. Ireland ranked second with 28.4 percent and Spain, 27 percent. A breakdown of assets shows machinery and industrial equipment continue to be the main assets leased, slightly up on 1988, with 27.6 percent of market share. Computer and office equipment represented 17.8 percent of the total, compared to 13.5 percent in 1988. The commercial vehicle sector lost market share, slipping from 20 percent to 16.7 percent. Ships,: planes and trains represented five percent of production in 1989 and 2.7 percent in 1988. In terms of clientele the services sector represents 40 percent of business with industry at 38.5 percent. Agriculture accounts for no more than three percent (compared to 15 percent in 1988).