News Releases

PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwired - Mar 13, 2014) -

• 65 percent of Arizona respondents plan on investing in their business in 2014
• More than one-quarter (26 percent) are slated to upgrade or purchase new equipment
• 26 percent plan on modernizing technology and systems

BMO Harris Bank released a study today that found that the majority of Arizona business owners/executives plan on investing in their business in 2014, with upgrading/purchasing new equipment, along with modernizing technology and systems, cited as their primary expenditures.

"It is a positive sign for the Arizona economy that a majority of businesses are feeling they are once again in a position to invest in their company," said Tim Bruckner, Arizona Managing Director, Commercial Banking, BMO Harris Bank. "We are seeing increased financing opportunities across a variety of sectors from businesses looking to invest in new technology and equipment or capital expansion."

When business owners/executives were asked where they would make those business investments:

• 26 percent said they would upgrade or purchase new equipment
• 26 percent were focused on modernizing technology and systems
• 17 percent plan to hire more employees
• 12 percent hope to expand operations

"These numbers shouldn't come as a surprise," added Jud Snyder, Managing Director and Head, BMO Harris Equipment Finance Company. "They reflect what we've seen over the past 18-24 months, with companies making more investments in capital expenditures for both maintenance and expansion."

Thirty-five percent of Arizona respondents were not planning to make business investments in 2014, with the most popular reasons being the state of the economy, the fact that their business is performing well enough, and upgrades not being necessary at this time.

Financing Options Vary

As for funding, nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of those planning to make investments in their business say they will do so with cash reserves. Eight percent plan to fund the investments entirely through borrowing, while 17 percent plan on doing a combination of both.

"These findings demonstrate that the business community continues to be conservative the use of debt for funding growth, stemming from what they learned during the recent recession," added Snyder. "However, intermediate-term borrowing should still be strongly considered as an option for financing growth with interest rates continuing at historic lows."

National Results from the Survey

When business owners/executives throughout the country were asked about their investments for 2014, the results were:

• 64 percent of respondents are planning to invest in their business this year
• That number increases to 82 percent of owners of businesses with revenues over $20 million per year
• When asked where they were making investments, owners responded:
  • 42 percent said they would upgrade or purchase new equipment
  • 26 percent plan to hire more employees
  • 25 percent were focused on modernizing technology and systems
  • 24 percent planned on expanding operations

For more commentary on the survey findings, visit the BMO Harris Commercial Bank Resource Center:
https://resourcecenter.bmoharris.com/Insights/equipment-finance/business-outlook-cash-vs-debt-equipment-financing

The survey was conducted by Pollara with an online sample of 601 American business owners in November, 2013. A probability sample of this size would be accurate to +/- 4%, 19 times out of 20.

About BMO Harris Bank
BMO Harris Bank's commercial banking team provides a combination of sector expertise, local knowledge and mid-market focus throughout the U.S. BMO Harris Bank provides a broad range of personal banking products and solutions through over 600 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. For more information about BMO Harris Bank, go to the company fact sheet. Deposit and loan products and services provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. BMO Harris® and BMO Harris Bank^® are trade names used by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a North American financial organization with approximately 1,600 branches, and approximately CDN $5593 billion in assets (as of January 31, 2014).