Finding money from IT gear

The struggling banking sector that had been hit hard by the mortgage crisis has found a small and unusual way to help the balance sheet and free up dollars--selling their IT computer equipment to IBM, and then leasing it back on a monthly basis. IBM calls it Sale Leaseback, and reports this business has grown 300 percent from 2007. IBM officials said the company bought $200,000 worth of gear from a top-five bank earlier this year, and is now leasing it back to the institution. IBM also said it is currently negotiating a Sale Leaseback with another top bank for $400,000 worth of hardware.

"Their equipment doesn't change on the [data center] floor, but we come in and pay cash for the equipment, the equipment comes off their balance sheets, and now we own it and we write a lease," says Dan Ransdell, general manager for client financing with IBM Global Financing. "It generates cash for the bank, and it gets their existing assets on a technology refresh cycle."

For more on a new way to save money:
- check out this NetworkWorld.com article