Companies signed up for $8.7 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, down from $9.4 billion a year earlier. However, their borrowing rose 12 percent from August.
"Third quarter new business volume was steady, if not exceptional, despite the string of devastating weather events that plagued parts of the U.S. during the month of September," ELFA Chief Executive Ralph Petta said.Washington-based ELFA, a trade association that reports economic activity for the $1 trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 74 percent in September, down from 75.3 percent in August.ELFA's leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States. It is designed to complement the U.S. Commerce Department's durable goods orders report, which it typically precedes by a few days.ELFA's index is based on a survey of 25 members that include Bank of America Corp