Finance for equipment is definitely getting very hard to get. I have relatives who have large amounts of equipment involved in mining, and they are going gangbusters... but the banks and finance houses are all a bit jittery, scared of what is going to happen when the Euro and the PIIGS start to unravel, and scared of a double-dip recession in the U.S. The relatives say that getting the machines now is the relatively easy part - getting the finance is the hard part.
The financing of equipment was relatively easy in recent times, if you could show a satisfactory cash flow from the equipment. Now, the cost of borrowing worldwide is increasing, and additionally, funding (or willing funders, perhaps a better description) is actually in short supply. Many financiers look like losing a lot of money if the Euro scene gets a lot worse, very quickly.
However, in most cases, the manufacturers usually have an arrangement with a bank or financier, who provide finance for the products of the manufacturer.
There is always the deep concern that perhaps the aviation industry is going to suffer a slowdown, and that only the best propositions will get finance, if that is what is currently driving the financiers outlook.
In essence, equipment financing has been very easy, the last 5 years or more. The terms of financing are returning to the standards of 20 or 25 years ago, when it was a lot tougher to get finance.