Lease Structures Available

AFG has the resources and experience in providing your company the lease structure that you need to meet your business needs.

Operating Lease

An operating lease is particularly attractive to companies that continually update or replace equipment and want to use equipment without ownership, but also want to return equipment at lease-end and avoid technological obsolescence. An operating lease usually results in the lowest payment of any financing alternative and is an excellent strategy for bypassing capital budgeting restraints. It typically qualifies for off-balance sheet treatment and can result in improved Return On Asset (ROA) due to a lower asset base. It can also result in higher reported earnings in the early years of the lease.

Finance Lease

A finance lease is a full-payout, non-cancelable agreement, in which the lessee is responsible for maintenance, taxes and insurance.
Finance leases are most attractive in cases where the lessee wants the tax benefits of ownership or expects the equipment's residual value to be high. These leases are structured as equipment financing agreements with residuals up to 10 percent. The lessee purchases the equipment upon lease termination at a pre-agreed amount. The term of a finance lease tends to be longer, nearly covering the useful life of the equipment.

Other types of leases are listed below:

Capital Lease

Type of lease classified and accounted for by a lessee as a purchase and by the lessor as a sale or financing, if it meets any one of the following criteria: (a) the lessor transfers ownership to the lessee at the end of the lease term; (b) the lease contains an option to purchase the asset at a bargain price; (c) the lease term is equal to 75 percent or more of the estimated economic life of the property (exceptions for used property leased toward the end of its useful life); or (d) the present value of minimum lease rental payments is equal to 90 percent or more of the fair market value of the leased asset less related investment tax credits retained by the lessor.

Direct Financing Lease (Direct Lease)

A non-leveraged lease by a lessor (not a manufacturer or dealer) in which the lease meets any of the definitional criteria of a capital lease, plus certain additional criteria.

First Amendment Lease

The first amendment lease gives the lessee a purchase option at one or more defined points with a requirement that the lessee renew or continue the lease if the purchase option is not exercised. The option price is usually either a fixed price intended to approximate fair market value or is defined as fair market value determined by lessee appraisal and subject to a floor to insure that the lessor's residual position will be covered if the purchase option is exercised.

If the purchase option is not exercised, then the lease is automatically renewed for a fixed term (typically 12 or 24 months) at a fixed rental intended to approximate fair rental value, which will further reduce the lessor's end-of-term residual position. The lessee is not permitted to return the equipment on the option exercise date. If the lease is automatically renewed, then at the expiration of that initial renewal term, the lessee typically has the right either to return the equipment without penalty or to renew or purchase at fair market value.

Leveraged Lease

In this type of lease, the lessor provides an equity portion (usually 20 to 40 percent) of the equipment cost and lenders provide the balance on a nonrecourse debt basis. The lessor receives the tax benefits of ownership.

Synthetic Lease

A synthetic lease is basically a financing structured to be treated as a lease for accounting purposes, but as a loan for tax purposes. The structure is used by corporations that are seeking off-balance sheet reporting of their asset based financing, and that can efficiently use the tax benefits of owning the financed asset.

Tax Lease

A lease wherein the lessor recognizes the tax incentives provided by the tax laws for investment and ownership of equipment. Generally, the lease rate factor on tax leases is reduced to reflect the lessor's recognition of this tax incentive.

Trac Lease

A tax-oriented lease of motor vehicles, trailers and qualified construction equipment that contains a terminal rental adjustment clause, and otherwise complies with the requirements of the tax laws.

True Lease

A type of transaction that qualifies as a lease under the Internal Revenue Code. It allows the lessor to claim ownership and the lessee to claim rental payments as tax deductions.