CBank and Commercial Industrial Finance (CI Finance), of St. Louis, MO., announced their plans to enter into an agreement for CBank to acquire CI Finance, an equipment leasing and finance business with more than 30 years’ experience providing sales-aid finance programs to manufacturers, vendors and distributors in commercial, industrial and municipal sectors.
The acquisition is scheduled to be completed in early May, pending the bank board of directors’ approval. The resulting entity will be a wholly owned subsidiary of CBank and operate as a CBank company. The business will continue to operate with the CI Finance name and the current management team to ensure customer service continuity. CI Finance also will maintain its steadfast focus on serving the municipal and C&I markets where it has dedicated equipment expertise.
“Combining our financial strength and capacity with the proven team at CI Finance will enable us to expand and help our customers grow,” said Dean Meiszer, CEO of CBank. “This acquisition completes one of CBank’s original business goals of adding an equipment leasing and finance capability to expand our bank’s commercial offerings. We are impressed with CI Finance’s management team, business platform, and depth of experience.”
“We are pleased that our cultures and objectives are in sync to fuel the growth of both CI Finance and CBank,” said Scott Hawkins, president of CI Finance. “The real winners in this merger are our many customers (primarily manufacturers, distributors and vendors of equipment, software and energy efficiency projects).”
Hawkins is a 20-year principal of the company. Bob Rinaldi joined the management team over a year ago as a principal and CEO. Rinaldi is also the current chairman of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association, Washington, D.C. and an international speaker and author on leading trends in the equipment financing industry.
CBank is a full service commercial bank. Founded and headquartered in Cincinnati by Greater Cincinnati business and professional leaders, CBank was formed to serve the commercial and private banking needs of the local business community. It primarily services privately-held businesses, their owners and other local professionals.
Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, Commercial Industrial Finance (CI Finance) was originally founded in 1982. The company provides equipment financing to companies of all sizes nationwide. CI Finance develops and implements finance programs that increase sales for manufacturers, vendors and distributors in the commercial, industrial and municipal sectors under the slogan CI Finance embraces: “Our business is improving yours!”