Index Says Equipment Finance Industry Confidence Remains Steady in August

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) recently released its August 2025 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI), revealing confidence in the equipment finance market is steady following three consecutive months of increases. The index, which provides a qualitative assessment from key executives within the $1.3 trillion sector, eased slightly to 60.2 in August from 61.6 in July.

Providing an executive perspective on the MCI-EFI’s findings and the outlook ahead, David Normandin, CLFP, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wintrust Specialty Finance, shares his outlook: “The results of 2025 to date have made me optimistic about the near-term future of the equipment leasing and finance industry. 2025 has brought strong origination volume and slightly improved portfolio performance. A little net interest margin improvement would be the icing on the cake for a year that we were concerned about in January.”

August 2025 Survey Results:

• Business Conditions - When assessing the next four months, 26.9% of responding executives believe business conditions will improve (down from 37.5% in July). The majority (69.2%) believe business conditions will remain the same (up from 58.3% in July) and 3.9% believe business conditions will worsen (down slightly from 4.2% in July).
• Capex Demand – For the next four months, 26.9% of the survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase (down from 37.5% in July). 61.5% expect demand to remain the same (up from 58.3%), and 11.5% believe demand will decline (up from 4.2% in July).
• Access to Capital – Over the next four months, 11.5% of respondents expect greater access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions, a decrease from 16.7% in July. The majority (88.5%) anticipate the “same” access to capital to fund business, up from 70.8% the previous month. None expect “less” access to capital, down from 8.3% in July.
• Employment – Regarding employment over the next four months, 42.3% of executives expect to hire more employees, a sharp increase from 20.8 % in July. 57.7% foresee no change in headcount (down from 70.8% last month), and none expect to hire fewer employees, down from 8.3% in July.
• U.S. Economy – None of the respondents evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” down from 8.3% in July. 100% assess it as “fair,” up from 91.7% last month, while none evaluate it as “poor” (unchanged from July).
• Economic Outlook – Over the next six months, 23.1% of respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will “get better,” a notable decline from 41.7% in July. More favorably, 65.4% expect the U.S. economy to “stay the same” (up from 41.7%), and 11.5% believe economic conditions will worsen, a decrease from 16.7% last month.
• Business Development Spending – Over the next six months, 30.8% of respondents believe their company will increase spending on business development activities, up from 25% in July. 69.2% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending (down from 75%), and none believe there will be a decrease in spending (unchanged from last month).