With a market share of 92 %, banks and savings banks firmly dominated the Macedonian financial scene in 2008. Although the Macedonian and foreign leasing companies only contrib­uted 2 % to the entire financial market, they achieved dynam­ic growth in 2008 (2007: 1 %). However, the financial crisis considerably slowed down this growth in the second half of the year. Severely affected by the global automotive crisis, the Macedonian automotive industry also contracted in 2008. This in turn affected the vehicle leasing market and therefore the hitherto most dynamically growing leasing segment of the country. Notwithstanding this difficult market environment, the market players nevertheless expect the increase of lease financing to continue, albeit moderately.