Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – In his greeting, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, emphasized that the Leasing Show "constitutes a significant opportunity to analyze the developments characterizing the current economic scenario" and that "leasing is a valuable tool available to economic actors to increase the investments necessary for their growth."
The event opened with a remote greeting from Antonio Patuelli, President of ABI, and was opened by Assilea President Paolo Guzzetti, Confindustria Vice President for Credit, Finance, and Taxation Angelo Camilli.
“The new geoeconomics: market, credit and investments” and “The frontiers of leasing between regulation and innovation” are the two sessions that animated the morning and afternoon work.
Renato Loriero, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Budget and Economic Policies, speaking remotely, highlighted the "€3,4 billion in business support provided by the budget package, which focuses on strategic and infrastructural investments and the role of leasing as a natural channel through which public policies reach businesses."
Gregorio De Felice, Chief Economist at Intesa Sanpaolo, Alessandro Fontana, Director of the Confindustria Research Center, Marco Fortis, Vice President and Director of the Edison Foundation, and Alessandra Lanza, Senior Partner Corporate & Government at Prometeia, discussed "Scenarios for the Economy and Finance," moderated by Sebastiano Barisoni, Executive Deputy Director of Radio 24.
In the afternoon, a speech by Almorò Rubin de Cervin, Head of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Department of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, opened the debate on regulatory aspects.
"Looking at the data for the first nine months of 2026, leasing confirms itself as a formidable development tool and, even more so in the current context, it truly makes a difference both economically and socially," began Assilea President Paolo Guzzetti. "From the discussion of macroeconomic issues, the opportunities it can offer for the implementation of social housing, the digital and energy transitions, and vehicle fleet renewal have emerged. However, a stable regulatory framework is needed, along with rules commensurate with the objectively lower risk, and public administrations must always consider leasing in their incentive schemes for the acquisition of productive assets."
"The sector also has a responsibility to continue improving its ability to respond to market needs and make the tool increasingly accessible and well-known. AI and human capital are the macro trends that will influence both the market and the organization of leasing companies," Guzzetti concluded.
"The leasing market outlook remains positive, and our Assilea-Prometeia forecasting model signals a 4% to 5% growth in new contracts for 2027," says Assilea General Manager Giuseppe Schlitzer. "In the first nine months of 2026, the sector recorded a 3,2% increase in new contracts, and the Italian leasing industry, ranked fourth in Europe, still has room for expansion. Tomorrow, we will hold in-depth roundtable discussions on the Real Estate, Automotive (cars, commercial and industrial vehicles), and Capital Goods markets."
"Leasing is a key tool for financing business investments. Confindustria is willing to collaborate with Assilea to further expand its use, including for intangible assets," emphasizes Confindustria Vice President for Credit, Finance, and Taxation, Angelo Camilli. "We advocate for increased resources and an extension of the Hyper-Depreciation program. It is also essential to ensure the extension of the Central Guarantee Fund for SMEs and maintain tools like the New Sabatini Fund, which support access to credit and investment. Another priority is to mobilize greater resources for the real economy, encouraging the contribution of private savings and institutional investors to business financing. Leasing can also play an important role in this process, including in the real estate sector, for example, by promoting the development of affordable housing for workers."
"I would like to emphasize the importance of leasing for economic recovery, including in Southern Italy," emphasized Antonio Patuelli, president of ABI. "We need a new European NRRP, but we don't see one, and the EU and Italian budgets don't allow for expansionary policies. Therefore, the voluntary transformation of European savings into productive investments is essential, but I have come to believe that there are countries that attract capital thanks to lower taxes and have no interest in equal taxation and the union of savings and investments."
"Italy has seen the strongest growth in GDP and per capita consumption in the EU from 2022 to date," explains Marco Fortis, director of the Confindustria Research Center. Macroeconomic analysis shows that the country is performing better than what is being reported. The strength of emerging sectors, exports, and the contribution of leasing, which was crucial in overtaking Japan in exports, should be emphasized. Increasing productivity remains a key issue, but we must distinguish between sectors; manufacturing, for example, has seen an improvement in productivity compared to other sectors.
"Italy's reduced vulnerability is a fact, determined primarily by the reduction in energy demand per million GDP," emphasizes Gregorio De Felice, Chief Economist at Intesa Sanpaolo. "However, 2027 leaves us with some doubts. We must consider structural interventions, targeting productivity—starting with services, the liberal professions, and public administration—and transform the Central Guarantee Fund from a "defensive" instrument into an "offensive" one to strengthen businesses' access to the capital market and support the strengthening of strategic sectors. This is also because we expect a rate hike in December."
"Every economy in the world has achieved very positive results if we consider wars, tariffs, and energy costs, and I believe this is largely due to being in the midst of a true transition, both digital and green," explains Alessandra Lanza, Senior Partner Corporate & Government at Prometeia. "I believe, however, that this leads to demand that is structurally and permanently stronger than supply, which relies on scarce resources, such as rare earths, but also the water and energy needed for data centers, causing growing inequalities that will be unsustainable unless we intervene. Consider the growth in manufacturing productivity, which, however, has not been matched by consistent wage growth.
"Oil prices have risen less than expected, and this, combined with the energy consumption of our production, has certainly contributed to a positive GDP result," explains Alessandro Fontana, Director of the Confindustria Research Center. "In recent decades, we have grown less than others due to demographic decline and low productivity, which in turn affects the size of companies, their capitalization, and the cost of energy itself. We must focus on the medium to long term by addressing these areas, along with trade agreements, which are the only shared global regulatory instrument."
The Automotive sector (cars, commercial vehicles, and industrial vehicles) remains the largest segment of the leasing market, accounting for 62,1% of financed volumes, followed by Industrial Equipment (26,3%) and Real Estate (8,9%). The Automotive sector is slightly increasing in value (+2,0%), driven by passenger cars and industrial vehicles, while commercial vehicles are declining after strong growth in 2025. One in four electric cars is financed through long-term leasing or rental.
The capital goods segment stabilized (-0,9%) after a 15,2% increase in 2025, primarily due to the decline in the "financial" segment above €2,5 million. It remains the preferred financing instrument for SMEs, accounting for 67,3% of investments with Nuova Sabatini, Industry 4.0, and Sabatini Green. Real estate leasing (+21,9%) grew across all segments, with a peak of +35% in the "built" segment (+77,5% due to the reduction above €2,5 million), and, by type, in hotels and leisure centers (+51,9%) and office buildings (+45,0%).
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