Horizon Bank announced the formation of a new equipment finance division to be led by Joel Mikolich as the division President. The new division will provide business equipment financing solutions to small and medium sized businesses nationwide, while enhancing Horizon’s depth of services to its existing clients providing for continued profitable growth in Horizon’s Commercial platform.

Mikolich is a seasoned veteran of the equipment finance industry with over 20 years of experience and a successful track record for leading banks into this strategic line of business. Throughout his career, Mikolich has provided innovative financing and developed successful teams that have assisted small and mid-sized companies obtain the funding and capital solutions necessary to fuel their growth.

“The entry into this business line strategically aligns with Horizon’s stated goal to continue to diversify our business model and revenue streams,” Chief Commercial Banking Officer Lynn Kerber said. “We believe the success of this new division will be propelled by Horizon’s core commercial banking business that has served as trusted advisors to the unique financial needs of diverse industries for 150 years. This foundation, coupled with the experienced leadership brought by Joel will provide new and flexible financing solutions to our customers, while providing an additional revenue stream for the Bank to help maximize shareholder value."

The immediate goal for the new division is to build a well-rounded, experienced team and originations platform in the fourth quarter of 2023 with a target to be operational in early 2024.

“I am excited to leverage my industry network and experience to build out a team that shares my passion for providing customer-centric financing solutions that can be supported by the lending capacity of an established financial institution like Horizon Bank,” said Mikolich.