{"id":68807,"date":"2026-03-19T12:25:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T19:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=68807"},"modified":"2026-03-20T06:43:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T13:43:38","slug":"eci-software-solutions-named-2026-great-place-to-work-in-eight-countries-for-employee-driven-culture-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/news\/2026\/03\/eci-software-solutions-named-2026-great-place-to-work-in-eight-countries-for-employee-driven-culture-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Equipment Finance Industry Confidence Dips in March"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Washington, DC (March 19, 2026)<\/em> \u2013 The Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Association (ELFA) today released its March 2026 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI), revealing confidence in the equipment finance market is 61.0, a decrease from 67.6 in February, but within range of index levels over the past nine months. The index provides a qualitative assessment from key executives in the $1.3 trillion equipment finance industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>March 2026 Survey Results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Business Conditions \u2013 When assessing the next four months, 29.2% of responding executives believe business conditions will improve, down from 37.5% in February. Those who believe business conditions will remain the same decreased to 54.2% from 58.3% the previous month. The percentage of executives who believe business conditions will worsen increased to 16.7% from 4.2% in February.<\/li><li>Capex Demand \u2013 For the next four months, 37.5% of the survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase (down from 45.8% in February). Additionally, 50% expect demand to remain the same (down from 54.2% last month), and 12.5% believe demand will decline (up from none in February).<\/li><li>Access to Capital \u2013 Over the next four months, 25% of respondents expect greater access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions, a decrease from 33.3% in February. The majority (70.8%) anticipate the \u201csame\u201d access to capital to fund business, an increase from 66.7% the previous month. Those expecting \u201cless\u201d access to capital increased to 4.2%, up from none in February.<\/li><li>Employment \u2013 Regarding employment over the next four months, 37.5% of executives expect to hire more employees, a decrease from 45.8% in February. Also, 58.3% foresee no change in headcount (up from 50% last month), and 4.2% expect to hire fewer employees, unchanged from February.<\/li><li>U.S. Economy \u2013 Of the respondents, none evaluate the current U.S. economy as \u201cexcellent,\u201d down from 4.2% in February; 100% assess it as \u201cfair,\u201d up from 95.8% last month; and none evaluate it as \u201cpoor,\u201d unchanged from February.<\/li><li>Economic Outlook \u2013 Over the next six months, 20.8% of respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will \u201cget better,\u201d a decrease from 33.3% in February. Another 54.2% expect the U.S. economy to \u201cstay the same,\u201d down from 58.3% last month; and 25% believe economic conditions will worsen, an increase from 8.3% in February.<\/li><li>Business Development Spending \u2013 Over the next six months, 50% of respondents believe their company will increase spending on business development activities, unchanged from February. Those who believe there will be \u201cno change\u201d in business development spending increased to 50% (from 45.8% in February), and none believe there will be a decrease in spending (down from 4.2% last month).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>March 2026 MCI-EFI Survey Comments from Industry Executive Leadership:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bank, Small Ticket<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFear over tariffs has settled. The sky wasn&#8217;t falling. If economic conditions continue to improve and foreign relations do not deteriorate further, we should see growth.\u201d<br><em>\u2014 Charles Jones, senior vice president, 1st Equipment Finance, Inc.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Independent, Small Ticket<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe continued strong performance of our portfolio paired with a normal to enhanced seasonal origination pace helps us maintain confidence in the short term.\u201d<br><em>\u2014 Daryn Lecy, CLFP, COO, Oakmont Capital Services<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Independent, Middle Ticket<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m optimistic about potential Increased capex due to onshoring, but global economic uncertainty halting capex decision making is a concern.\u201d<br><em>\u2014 Jeffry Elliott, CLFP, CEO, Elevex Capital<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>###<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About ELFA<\/strong><br>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elfaonline.org\">Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Association<\/a> (ELFA) represents financial services companies and manufacturers in the $1.3 trillion U.S. equipment finance sector. ELFA\u2019s over 600 member companies provide essential financing that helps businesses acquire the equipment they need to operate and grow. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC (March 19, 2026) \u2013 The Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Association (ELFA) today released its March 2026 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI), revealing confidence in the equipment finance market is 61.0, a decrease from 67.6 in February, but within range of index levels over the past nine months. The index provides a qualitative assessment from key executives in the $1.3 trillion equipment finance industry. March 2026 Survey Results: Business Conditions \u2013 When assessing the next four months, 29.2% of responding executives believe business conditions will improve, down from 37.5% in February. Those who believe business conditions will remain the same decreased to 54.2% from 58.3% the previous month. The percentage of executives who believe business conditions will worsen increased to 16.7% from 4.2% in February. Capex Demand \u2013 For the next four months, 37.5% of the survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase (down from 45.8% in February). Additionally, 50% expect demand to remain the same (down from 54.2% last month), and 12.5% believe demand will decline (up from none in February). Access to Capital \u2013 Over the next four months, 25% of respondents expect greater access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions, a decrease from 33.3% in February. The majority (70.8%) anticipate the \u201csame\u201d access to capital to fund business, an increase from 66.7% the previous month. Those expecting \u201cless\u201d access to capital increased to 4.2%, up from none in February. Employment \u2013 Regarding employment over the next four months, 37.5% of executives expect to hire more employees, a decrease from 45.8% in February. Also, 58.3% foresee no change in headcount (up from 50% last month), and 4.2% expect to hire fewer employees, unchanged from February. U.S. Economy \u2013 Of the respondents, none evaluate the current U.S. economy as \u201cexcellent,\u201d down from 4.2% in February; 100% assess it as \u201cfair,\u201d up from 95.8% last month; and none evaluate it as \u201cpoor,\u201d unchanged from February. Economic Outlook \u2013 Over the next six months, 20.8% of respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will \u201cget better,\u201d a decrease from 33.3% in February. Another 54.2% expect the U.S. economy to \u201cstay the same,\u201d down from 58.3% last month; and 25% believe economic conditions will worsen, an increase from 8.3% in February. Business Development Spending \u2013 Over the next six months, 50% of respondents believe their company will increase spending on business development activities, unchanged from February. Those who believe there will be \u201cno change\u201d in business development spending increased to 50% (from 45.8% in February), and none believe there will be a decrease in spending (down from 4.2% last month). March 2026 MCI-EFI Survey Comments from Industry Executive Leadership: Bank, Small Ticket \u201cFear over tariffs has settled. The sky wasn&#8217;t falling. If economic conditions continue to improve and foreign relations do not deteriorate further, we should see growth.\u201d\u2014 Charles Jones, senior vice president, 1st Equipment Finance, Inc. Independent, Small Ticket \u201cThe continued strong performance of our portfolio paired with a normal to enhanced seasonal origination pace helps us maintain confidence in the short term.\u201d\u2014 Daryn Lecy, CLFP, COO, Oakmont Capital Services Independent, Middle Ticket \u201cI\u2019m optimistic about potential Increased capex due to onshoring, but global economic uncertainty halting capex decision making is a concern.\u201d\u2014 Jeffry Elliott, CLFP, CEO, Elevex Capital ### About ELFAThe Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Association (ELFA) represents financial services companies and manufacturers in the $1.3 trillion U.S. equipment finance sector. ELFA\u2019s over 600 member companies provide essential financing that helps businesses acquire the equipment they need to operate and grow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[86],"tags":[1842],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68807"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68807"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68837,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68807\/revisions\/68837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}