Recent engagements undertaken by Aperio Associates, and its Founders & Principals, include the following:
Consulting & Advisory Services
One of our Principals, along with local legal expertise, drafted a
Regulatory & Supervisory Policies & Procedures Manual for the
Central Bank, focused on non-bank leasing companies over which the
Bank has regulatory & supervisory responsibilities.
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of our Principals headed a team of local experts to develop a policy
framework designed to accelerate the growth of financial leasing in
an East African Country, including recommendations for adding and
amending laws and regulations that apply to the financial leasing
industry and to lease transactions.
Assisted in the preparation of a strategic plan, including
recommendations for establishing additional short and medium-term
facilities for short-term post-harvest financing and medium-term
mechanization financing.
As part of an inter-disciplinary team, one of our Principals helped
the Central Bank of a rapidly industrializing country in East Africa
to draft a new Lease Proclamation governing financial leasing.
Financial leasing is becoming a critical means for financing the
acquisition of capital equipment by local businesses.
Some West African countries are encouraging small-scale miners to
organize themselves into legal entities, allowing commercial lenders
to offer them credit. We are collaborating with mining associations
and local banks to developing leasing products targeted at
small-scale mining operations that are both attractive to potential
lessees as well as protecting the interests of potential lessors.
We conducted a number of meetings with leasing industry players,
reviewed the national statistics as well as relevant laws and
regulations that apply to leasing, with the objective of identifying
possible investment opportunities in the leasing industry.
We met with several financial institutions, to assess how they were
using the recently-established movable asset registry in their
credit and underwriting processes, as well as in development of loan
products
We met with several financial institutions, to assess how they were
using the recently-established movable asset registry in their
credit and underwriting processes, as well as in development of loan
products
Services provided by Aperio include alternatives designed to
restructure the finances of several regional finance companies, and
recommendations for assistance in improving the companies' lending
operations whose focus is primarily on lending to micro and small
enterprises.
We met with several financial institutions, to assess how they were
using the recently-established movable asset registry in their
credit and underwriting processes, as well as in development of loan
products.
Provided assistance in the development of a leasing market, through
workshops with bank employees as well as workshops and advisory
services covering regulatory and supervisory matters for employees
of the Central Bank as well as the National Investment Commission.
The consulting engagement included devising 6 lending products to be
used by 4 regional banks and credit unions targeted at small
agricultural operations, including short-term pre and post-harvest
financing, purchase-order financing, financing for small livestock
producers, equipment financing for small-scale farming equipment.
The Project include a loan product using warehouse receipts as a
form of collateral for post-harvest financing.
The engagement was targeted at Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises
engaged in the manufacture and sale of food & beverage and personal
care products.
The consulting engagement included devising 6 lending products to be
used by 4 regional banks and credit unions targeted at small
agricultural operations, including short-term pre and post-harvest
financing, purchase-order financing, financing for small livestock
producers, equipment financing for small-scale farming equipment.
The Project include a loan product using warehouse receipts as a
form of collateral for post-harvest financing.
Professional Workforce Development
Produced by the Founders and Principals of Aperio Associates under a
contract with the International Finance Corp. (part of the World
Bank Group), the IFC Global Leasing Toolkit offers a complete guide
to starting up and running a leasing entity. The Toolkit contains
chapters on setting up and managing a leasing entity, including a
business plan template, funding options for a leasing entity and
individual lease transactions, lease origination including marketing
and sales strategies and pricing of lease transactions, leasing
company management including credit & risk management, lease
documentation and insurance, accounting and information technology.
The Toolkit also contains 4 "Focused Toolkits" covering financing of
agricultural equipment, financing energy saving equipment, Islamic
leasing ("Ijarah") and regulatory and supervisory issues affecting
leasing entites. The focused toolkit on Ijara was, to the best of
our knowledge, the first extensive treatment of this subject.
The Project involved establishing the first professional
certification program for leasing professionals outside of North
America. The Project included devising a curriculum for training
sessions covering all aspects of equipment leasing, training the
trainers, developing exam protocols, establishing a relationship
with the Certified Leasing Professional Foundation in the US, as one
of the certifying bodies, and setting up an NGO responsible for the
on-going implementation of the Program. As of early 2017 over 500
leasing professionals in Ukraine, Moldova and, recently, Belarus,
have received certification as Certified Leasing Specialists.
Workshops & Seminars
Presentation entitled “Unlocking Investments in the Ethiopian
Leasing Sector, Legal & Regulatory Barriers.”
Aperio Associates has developed 2 workshops for professionals
working for financial services companies in Liberia: The use of
Liberia’s Movable Asset Registry and how to incorporate the Registry
into underwriting and credit policies; Offering financial leasing
products to Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises in Liberia
Nine 2-day workshops on financial leasing, over a 3 1/2-week period
in mid 2017, for approximately 200 bank professionals. The workshops
were held in conjunction with a $200 million loan extended by an
international donor-funded institution to the country’s central
bank. Loan proceeds will be used by development bank to fund
financial leasing transactions for small & medium-sized enterprises.
Aperio was engaged to conduct workshops with key Company personnel
at their Head Office in Beijing, to assist the Company in developing
new leasing products, incorporating new and existing leasing
products into their risk management policies, and to help develop a
management accounting system to allow the Company to better evaluate
the performance of each Department and each product. The workshops
made extensive use of the case studies and examples contained in the
IFC Global Leasing Toolkit (see below).
Aperio, along with the International Finance Corp., arranged and
coordinated an exposure visit to Ukraine for a delegation of
Ethiopian Gov’t officials from the National Bank and Development
Bank of Ethiopia. The purpose of the visit was to learn more about
the development of financial leasing laws and legislation in
Ukraine. The delegation met with officials from the National Bank of
Ukraine, the Parliament of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economic
Development & Trade of Ukraine, along with the Head of the Ukraine
leasing association, 2 Ukrainian leasing companies, and equipment
suppliers. As a result of the visit, the delegation returned to
Ethiopia with a number of ideas and policy prescriptions designed to
promote the growth of financial leasing in Ethiopia.
Aperio, along with the International Finance Corp., arranged and
coordinated an exposure visit to Ukraine for a delegation of
Ethiopian Gov’t officials from the National Bank and Development
Bank of Ethiopia. The purpose of the visit was to learn more about
the development of financial leasing laws and legislation in
Ukraine. The delegation met with officials from the National Bank of
Ukraine, the Parliament of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economic
Development & Trade of Ukraine, along with the Head of the Ukraine
leasing association, 2 Ukrainian leasing companies, and equipment
suppliers. As a result of the visit, the delegation returned to
Ethiopia with a number of ideas and policy prescriptions designed to
promote the growth of financial leasing in Ethiopia.
Specialized Training for Commercial Finance Professionals
Attendees included over 140 employees of the China Banking
Regulatory Commission (CBRC), as well as bank employees, suppliers
of agricultural equipment, and representatives of international
donors from several East and Southeast Asian countries. The
objective of the training was to familiarize CBRC employees with
credit and underwriting procedures designed to improve access to
credit for farming operators.
Attendees included personnel from the the Agricultural Bank of
Nigeria as well as Member Companies of the Equipment Leasing
Association of Nigeria.
5-day training workshop for 30-person in-house leasing department
for a major US-based international manufacturer of IT and copier
equipment. This department dealt with all equipment leased from
others for the use of the manufacturer. In the workshop we trained
the personnel in how to negociate and work with outside lessors.
A one week training program designed to familiarize bank employees
with the rapidly expanding Islamic Banking and Insurance Markets.
Over 100 bank employees, as well as officials of bank regulatory and
supervisory agencies, were trained in various types of commercial
transactions allowed under Shariah Law as well as training in the
market for Islamic Bonds (Sukuk) which are increasingly important
source of funding supporting Islamic banking operations.
For more information about Aperio Associates, call us at +1-703-519-1211
