Equipment leasing
Introduction
The financial lease, rental with the right to purchase, *financial leasing, lease by renting, *operational leasing or simply lease is a contract through which the lessor transfers the right to use an asset to a lessee, in exchange for the payment of rental income during a certain period, at the end of which the lessee has the option of purchasing the leased asset paying a certain price, returning it or renewing the contract of a person.
Once the contract term has expired, the lessee has the power to acquire the property for a previously established price, called “residual value.” This value is calculated as the difference between the original price paid by the lessor (including interest and expenses) and the sums already paid by the lessee. If the purchase option is not exercised, the lessee must return the property to the lessor, unless the contract establishes a specific additional period for such return.
Background
Throughout the century, a set of contractual institutions, mostly originating in Anglo-Saxon law and perfected in the American business context, have expanded towards countries with a codified tradition or civil law in which, although they have achieved social typicality, they are difficult to apprehend by the traditional categories of Law, which is why some of them are considered atypical contracts. Among the best known and most operational in our environment, the following can be mentioned: leasing, factoring, underwriting, franchising, know how, merchandising, swap, etc., trust and securitization businesses. Within this context, leasing has earned a special place, its antecedents date back to 5000 years BC. C., a time when it was used by the Sumerians, leasing is a contract whose classification has been configured as a form of financing and provision of services.
It is a unique economic phenomenon whose development begins with the expansion of the railway in the middle of the century, when the first limited liability companies were established in England whose purpose was to carry out leasing operations; Likewise, in the U.S.A. In 1952, a leasing company was founded in San Francisco, the United States Leasing Corporation, to respond to some needs for which the existing financial techniques were insufficient. They began to use slogans such as "leadership not ownership", which was intended to generate the idea that for a businessman who uses vehicles, machines and industrial premises, it matters little whether they are his property, as long as he has them at his disposal; or "pay as you earn" which means simply that the obligations resulting from the leasing.