QCR Holdings announced the decision to discontinue offering new loans and leases through its equipment finance business, m2 Equipment Finance, LLC (“m2”), located in Waukesha, WI. m2 was acquired by the Company in 2005 and has provided equipment financing solutions to commercial borrowers since its founding in 1998.

“We expect that this change will improve our profitability, increase liquidity, reduce our credit losses and allow the Company to allocate capital to assets with higher risk-adjusted returns. We will focus our efforts on business units with more opportunity to build client relationships with greater deposit gathering potential,” said Larry J. Helling, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

m2 will continue to service its existing $360 million equipment finance portfolio with a reduced staff. The Company expects the majority of the portfolio to amortize over the next 3 years. One-time restructuring expenses of approximately $2.1 million and a goodwill write-down of approximately $0.4 million will be recognized in the third quarter of 2024. The Company expects to earn back the one-time charge in two quarters.

“While m2 has been an important contributor to our company over the past 19 years, market dynamics have continued to evolve, and it became clear that m2 would not achieve our expected returns over the long term. We are extremely grateful to our m2 colleagues for their dedication to serving clients and their contribution to the overall success of QCRH,” added Mr. Helling.