Celebrating Four Decades of Milestones

It’s a big year for Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada, any way you look at it.

As the company marks the milestone financing of $2 billion in assets, it also commemorates the 10-year anniversary of its initial partnership with Hitachi Capital, and the one-year anniversary of the creation of Mitsubishi HC Capital America, Inc., under which Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada falls.

From fax machines to clean-energy infrastructure, the 43-year journey of the company has seen some interesting turns.

CLE Leasing beginnings

Founded as CLE Leasing in 1979 in Grand-Mère, Québec, the company focused exclusively on small-equipment leasing in the sub-prime market during its early years. Typical equipment financed included restaurant and office equipment. One long-time employee remembers financing a telex machine and being the first company in Canada to finance an ATM machine.

From the beginning, the company found a niche in working with companies with specific needs and challenges, and in developing relationships with start-up, entrepreneurial businesses. They wanted to do more than finance transactions; it was always about creating financing solutions adapted to the customer, and finding good companies with which they could develop real partnerships and grow together.

And because CLE Leasing worked in the sub-prime market, the business of credit risk analysis was extremely important. Early on, risk analysis became a primary strength of the company.

The philosophy and the experience paid off as customers grew, partnerships prospered and the company increased its product offerings. Financial performance improved. Technology investments highlighted the early 1990s, with Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada one of the first financial services companies to use the internet extensively. The company expanded outside Quebec, to Ontario, quickly developing local expertise in legal systems and the culture.

Partnership with Hitachi Capital

In 2012, CLE Leasing signed a partnership agreement with Hitachi Capital, becoming Hitachi Capital’s official representative in Canada. The partnership flourished; just two years later, Hitachi Capital America purchased the common shares of CLE Leasing. While the business retained the CLE brand, the corporation legally became Hitachi Capital Canada.

In 2016, François Nantel took the helm as president from retiring Luc Robitaille. Business soared, with larger deals. Hitachi Capital Canada reached $1 billion in assets in 2018.

Then, last year, Hitachi Capital Corp. and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Co. merged to form Mitsubishi HC Capital America. Under that corporate umbrella, Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada today maintains headquarters in Trois-Rivières (Quebec), and offices in Montréal (Quebec), Burlington (Ontario) and Calgary. More than 250 employees work with customers across the country.

The next four decades

Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada looks forward to the future knowing its core business is in figuring out financing solutions tailored made for our customers. Flexibility is the name of the game, key for any business to continue to thrive. “All along, we’ve kept the CLE DNA, developing one-on-one relationships with our customers,” says Nantel.

“We might be financing transportation, construction and clean-energy equipment instead of fax machines, but we’re still a relational vendor, not a transactional one.” And customers, he points out, are still looking for a financing provider that will work to understand their business and their goals, and help them figure out how to achieve those goals.

What’s next? A continually diversifying portfolio. Emerging markets. Extended U.S-Canada programs. “We make sure that we fulfill the needs of our customers by offering financing solutions tailored-made for them. We are convinced that there’s always an appropriate solution!,” says Nantel. “With that base, we’re ready for anything.

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Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada Financing Solutions

• Accounts receivable financing
• Asset-based credit line
• Debt refinancing
• Inventory financing
• Leasing and equipment financing
• Lender refinancing