BUSINESS COUNCIL UPDATES Keeping a Finger on the Industry Pulse W mittees (BCSCs), which represent the five key business sectors of the association membership. Each committee keeps its finger on the pulse of the industry, assessing sector trends and how they may impact the membership and the association. The committees are an integral part of ELFA operations, providing critical input on the direction of the association, meeting the needs of members in their respective areas and serving as a bridge between the members and the Board of Directors and staff. Make sure you have a say in who represents your interests by voting in the upcoming BCSC elections (see box, p.17). The BCSCs met in Washington, D.C., in May as part of the association’s Capitol Connections congressional outreach program. Here’s an update on the committees’ activities so far this year. HAT’S HAPPENING IN YOUR BUSINESS SECTOR? Just ask the members of ELFA’s Business Council Steering Com-Throughout the first half of 2015, the committee conduct-ed regular conference calls to discuss the current business climate and the outlook for this sector going forward. This input is valuable to association staff—and members of the committee itself—as the association develops needs-based programming designed for member companies operating in this space. With a few exceptions in certain market sectors, This committee represents the constituency group within most committee members reported a relatively strong first ELFA that provides vendor financing programs, either as a half of the year, in terms of originations and credit quality. subsidiary of a manufacturer or an independent, third-party Margin compression continues to present a challenge across organization. The committee is composed of 15 members, most organizations. drawn roughly equally from captive organizations and third-At its May meeting in D.C., the group conducted the fol-party independents and banks. lowing business: ●●● Reviewed ELFA’s membership retention and re-cruitment goals for the year, both of which were already achieved by the date of the meeting. ●●● Reviewed the goals and objectives of the associa-tion’s grassroots public policy program, focusing on targeted contribution levels for members of the BCSC. ●●● Debriefed the successful Best Practices Roundta-ble held in Chicago in April. ●●● Conducted a very lively discussion of the trend toward so-called non-standard financing ar-rangements, which include the bundling of ser-vices and other soft costs, within the industry (for more on this topic, refer to the cover article in the May/June issue of Equipment Leasing & Finance magazine). ●●● Made preliminary plans for the Captive and Vendor Finance Business Council luncheon at the ELFA Annual Convention in San Antonio. This spring, the ELFA Membership Committee challenged each Business Council ●●● Reviewed the upcoming summer elections, which Steering Committee to recruit as many new members as possible in a two-month will be held to replace BCSC members whose period. ELFA would like to extend a big thanks to all the BCSC members that terms expire at the end of 2015. successfully recruited a new member in 2015 and congratulate the Captive and For more information, contact Committee Vendor Finance Business Council for recruiting the most members on a percent-Chair Brian Madison (brian_d_madison@key. age basis. Congratulations! com) or staff liaison Ralph Petta (rpetta@elfa online.org). Captive and Vendor Finance BCSC Contest Recognizes Membership Recruitment 16 JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE ISTOCK