Aircraft
Sumitomo Seeks Top-three Slot in Growing Lease Market
Gecas and its main rival, ILFC, still dominate the growing airliner leasing market, but new entrants such as Sumitomo Mitsui Bank hope to break the duopoly.
Gecas and its main rival, ILFC, still dominate the growing airliner leasing market, but new entrants such as Sumitomo Mitsui Bank hope to break the duopoly.

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Bank (SMBC) beat more than 30 other bidders to complete the acquisition of RBS Aviation Capital on October 15, demonstrating the growing importance of leasing in new-airliner acquisitions. The bank’s new SMBC Aviation division intends to merge two other leasing companies owned by its shareholders to challenge for the number-three position in the leasing sector, controlling some 331 aircraft. The market remains dominated by GE Capital Aviation Services (Gecas) and International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC), which between them own almost 2,800 airplanes worth $62 billion.