Fairport, NY (October 8, 2008) - First American announced that the company’s CEO, William Verhelle, presented at the Eurofinas and Leaseurope Joint Annual Convention at the Westin Palace in Madrid. As the current Chairman of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), Verhelle’s presentation took a closer look into the impact of the liquidity squeeze on the $600 billion U.S. leasing and finance market.

The introductory session of the conference included an overview of the U.S. leasing market, given by Verhelle, and a discussion the EU leasing market, led by Jacqueline Mills of Leaseurope. Following the presentations, Verhelle joined other international leasing executives in a panel discussion, moderated by Leaseurope Chair John Bennett from Bank of America Vendor Leasing EMEA. Verhelle’s presentation provided timely insight on the U.S. credit crisis and its impact on liquidity, raising capital, and credit underwriting for U.S. equipment leasing and finance firms.

The Eurofinas and Leaseurope Joint Annual Convention, which took place from October 5th – 7th in Madrid, is attended by policymakers, industry leaders and executives from across Europe. The theme of the 2008 Convention was "Navigating Through Change" and sessions examined the key drivers in today’s leasing and finance environment. It provided participants with valuable knowledge on the strategic and economic trends creating challenges and opportunities in the worldwide equipment leasing and finance market.

 About First American Equipment Finance. First American specializes in leasing high-technology equipment to large corporations, education clients and hospitals. First American specializes in providing unique financial services to sophisticated commercial borrowers seeking structured capital equipment financing. First American has earned a reputation for fairness, attention to detail and excellence in commercial equipment leasing and finance. Additional information about First American is available at http://www.faef.com.