{"id":71219,"date":"2026-10-15T15:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T22:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=71219"},"modified":"2026-10-15T15:34:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T22:34:23","slug":"equipment-finance-industry-confidence-eases-in-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/news\/2026\/10\/equipment-finance-industry-confidence-eases-in-october\/","title":{"rendered":"Equipment Finance Industry Confidence Eases in October"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Washington, DC (Oct. 15, 2026)<\/em> \u2013 The Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Association (ELFA) today released its October 2026 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI), revealing confidence in the equipment finance market is 60.4, easing from the September index of 62.4. The index provides a qualitative assessment from key executives in the $1.3 trillion equipment finance industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>October 2026 Survey Results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Business Conditions \u2013 When assessing the next four months, 27.3% of responding executives believe business conditions will improve, an increase from 26.1% in September. Those who believe business conditions will remain the same decreased to 68.2% from 69.6% the previous month. The percentage of executives who believe business conditions will worsen was relatively unchanged from the previous month at 4.5%.<\/li><li>Capex Demand \u2013 For the next four months, 18.2% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase (down from 31.8% in September). Additionally, 81.8% expect demand to remain the same (up from 63.6% last month), and none believe demand will decline (down from 4.6% in September).<\/li><li>Access to Capital \u2013 Over the next four months, 19.0% of respondents expect greater access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions, a decrease from 27.3% in September. The majority (81.0%) anticipate the \u201csame\u201d access to capital to fund business, an increase from 72.7% the previous month. None expect \u201cless\u201d access to capital, unchanged from September.<\/li><li>Employment \u2013 Regarding employment over the next four months, 42.9% of executives expect to hire more employees, a decrease from 47.8% in September. Another 52.4% foresee no change in headcount (up from 47.8% last month), and 4.8% expect to hire fewer employees (up slightly from 4.4% from September).<\/li><li>U.S. Economy \u2013 Of the respondents, 4.5% evaluate the current U.S. economy as \u201cexcellent,\u201d relatively unchanged from 4.2% in September; 90.9% assess it as \u201cfair,\u201d down from 91.7% last month; and 4.5% evaluate it as \u201cpoor,\u201d relatively unchanged from 4.2% in September.<\/li><li>Economic Outlook \u2013 Over the next six months, 18.2% of respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will \u201cget better,\u201d a decrease from 20.8% in September. Another 59.1% expect the U.S. economy to \u201cstay the same,\u201d up from 54.2% last month; and 22.7% believe economic conditions will worsen, a decrease from 25.0% in September.<\/li><li>Business Development Spending \u2013 Over the next six months, 38.1% of respondents believe their company will increase spending on business development activities, a decrease from 39.1% in September. Those who believe there will be \u201cno change\u201d in business development spending increased to 61.9% from 60.9% the previous month, and none believe there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from September.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>October 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>\u201c2026 has been a solid year for new business volume and Q4 looks to be on track to finish the year strong. Obligor confidence in the market is evidenced by this volume increase and credit quality has improved throughout the year. The industry and our customers continue to adapt to uncertainty and take advantage of the opportunities that it creates, We look forward to an excellent finish to the year.\u201d<br><em>\u2014 David Normandin, CLFP, President and CEO, Wintrust Specialty Finance<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Independent, Middle Ticket<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe rising interest rate environment will ignite more weakness in the credit markets. We expect delinquency and charge-offs to increase in most markets.\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 (Oct. 15, 2026) \u2013 The Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Association (ELFA) today released its October 2026 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI), revealing confidence in the equipment finance market is 60.4, easing from the September index of 62.4. The index provides a qualitative assessment from key executives in the $1.3 trillion equipment finance industry. October 2026 Survey Results: Business Conditions \u2013 When assessing the next four months, 27.3% of responding executives believe business conditions will improve, an increase from 26.1% in September. Those who believe business conditions will remain the same decreased to 68.2% from 69.6% the previous month. The percentage of executives who believe business conditions will worsen was relatively unchanged from the previous month at 4.5%. Capex Demand \u2013 For the next four months, 18.2% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase (down from 31.8% in September). Additionally, 81.8% expect demand to remain the same (up from 63.6% last month), and none believe demand will decline (down from 4.6% in September). Access to Capital \u2013 Over the next four months, 19.0% of respondents expect greater access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions, a decrease from 27.3% in September. The majority (81.0%) anticipate the \u201csame\u201d access to capital to fund business, an increase from 72.7% the previous month. None expect \u201cless\u201d access to capital, unchanged from September. Employment \u2013 Regarding employment over the next four months, 42.9% of executives expect to hire more employees, a decrease from 47.8% in September. Another 52.4% foresee no change in headcount (up from 47.8% last month), and 4.8% expect to hire fewer employees (up slightly from 4.4% from September). U.S. Economy \u2013 Of the respondents, 4.5% evaluate the current U.S. economy as \u201cexcellent,\u201d relatively unchanged from 4.2% in September; 90.9% assess it as \u201cfair,\u201d down from 91.7% last month; and 4.5% evaluate it as \u201cpoor,\u201d relatively unchanged from 4.2% in September. Economic Outlook \u2013 Over the next six months, 18.2% of respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will \u201cget better,\u201d a decrease from 20.8% in September. Another 59.1% expect the U.S. economy to \u201cstay the same,\u201d up from 54.2% last month; and 22.7% believe economic conditions will worsen, a decrease from 25.0% in September. Business Development Spending \u2013 Over the next six months, 38.1% of respondents believe their company will increase spending on business development activities, a decrease from 39.1% in September. Those who believe there will be \u201cno change\u201d in business development spending increased to 61.9% from 60.9% the previous month, and none believe there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from September. October 2026 MCI-EFI Survey Comments from Industry Executive Leadership: Bank, Small Ticket \u201c2026 has been a solid year for new business volume and Q4 looks to be on track to finish the year strong. Obligor confidence in the market is evidenced by this volume increase and credit quality has improved throughout the year. The industry and our customers continue to adapt to uncertainty and take advantage of the opportunities that it creates, We look forward to an excellent finish to the year.\u201d\u2014 David Normandin, CLFP, President and CEO, Wintrust Specialty Finance Independent, Middle Ticket \u201cThe rising interest rate environment will ignite more weakness in the credit markets. We expect delinquency and charge-offs to increase in most markets.\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":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71219"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71219"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71220,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71219\/revisions\/71220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}