Published in Monitor Daily
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) held its 2025 National Funding Conference in Chicago in April, convening capital providers, lenders and equipment leasing industry leaders. Rick Ross, President of Summit Funding Group, was there and shares his takeaways from the conference as well as his insights on the equipment leasing industry today.
Main Conference Topics
The main subject discussed was how to create new business in today’s economic environment. The outlook was positive, despite current headwinds, including rates, waiting on a new tax law and all the unknowns regarding tariffs.
Tariff Threats & Possible Economic Downturn
Most conference-goers were not overly concerned about the effects of tariffs or a potential economic slowdown. I’ve been doing this since 1981, when prime was 21%, and we still did business, and while e a few people “thought the world was coming to an end,” the majority were proceeding with business as usual.
