Leasing Activity: History and Development

The objectives of the article are to investigate history of the origin, development and existence of leasing activity in order to clarify the main stages and tendencies of its development and to improve understanding of the economic substance of leasing operations. The article presents the author's view on the development's history and expansion of modern leasing in the global economy (leasing forming in industrialized countries; stage "of leasing boom" in the advanced industrial countries and asset distribution to emerging markets, stage of saturation, stabilization, diversification of asset). It has been ascertained that stages of the leasing industry include the development of a finance lease; establishment of the leasing industry; development of an operating lease; and development of competition in the leasing market. Leasing, as a rather complex economic phenomenon, has emerged only at a certain stage of development of human society. It has a number of simpler precursors, such as sale, leasing and credit. But among economists and lawyers there is no certainty and unity of the time and era of its origin. A number of experts refer leasing to new market products. At the same time they believe that there is very little in common between leasing and leasing relationships. Others consider leasing a specific kind of rent, and that period of its origin belongs to the XVIII and XIX centuries. Others completely agree with the characteristics of rental relations as leasing. The last group of scholars (both economists and lawyers) believes that for centuries various lease (leasing) products, including financial leasing has formed and developed.