Leasing · Broker Black education

The captive lender, explained.

Broker Black prices Mercedes-Benz leases on the Mercedes-Benz Financial Services program because, like most manufacturers' finance arms, it writes nearly all of the brand's leases. A captive lender is the manufacturer's own finance company: Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, BMW Financial Services, Toyota Financial Services. It exists to sell the brand's cars, so it prices leases in ways a bank will not.

By Broker Black · Published September 18, 2026 · Part of Leasing basics: how a car lease works

What a captive does that a bank does not.

How Broker Black uses the program.

Each month's program (residuals, base rates, lease cash) is loaded on the server. When you open a vehicle page the payment is computed from the dealer's published selling price, the program figures for that model, your credit range, and the structure you chose. The program figures themselves are not displayed; they are the lender's. The payment is.

A captive lease is only as good as the selling price under it. On Broker Black the partner dealer publishes that price, so the payment you see is the payment you get.

When a bank lease or a loan beats the captive.

Rarely on a lease; captives dominate. On a purchase, a credit union or bank loan sometimes beats the captive's finance rate when no promotional APR is running. Broker Black shows the finance payment alongside the lease so you can see both on the same car, and the Coordinator can explain which program is behind each number.

Quick answers.

Who is Mercedes-Benz Financial Services?

The captive finance company for Mercedes-Benz in the United States. It writes the leases and most of the loans on new Mercedes-Benz vehicles and publishes the residuals and rates Broker Black prices on.

Do captive programs change every month?

Often, yes. Broker Black's vehicle page shows the date of the program a payment is built on.

Can I lease a Mercedes-Benz through a bank instead?

Some banks and credit unions write leases, but the captive's residuals and subsidies usually make it the sharper number. Compare the payment, not the lender.

Does the dealer or the captive set my payment?

Both. The dealer sets the selling price and any rate markup; the captive sets the residual and base rate. Broker Black applies both and shows the result.

See program-priced leases on live inventory Ask the Concierge