Cole Taylor Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taylor Capital Group, Inc. announced that it has formed a national ESOP Finance Group focused on the unique financing needs of middle market companies. Patrick J. Stoltz, Group Senior Vice President, will head up this group, reporting to Lawrence G. Ryan, Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer.

Cole Taylor’s ESOP Finance Group will operate on a national basis and specialize in providing middle market business owners and ESOP community partners with  strategic employee stock ownership plan financing. Structures for such financing include leveraged and non-leveraged ESOPs, full and partial sales, second stage transactions and the refinance of seller notes.

“Our ESOP Finance Group has the resources and expertise to provide closely-held businesses with the responsive and customized solutions they’ve come to expect from Cole Taylor”, said Ryan. “Pat and his team work with a broad range of ESOP partners and, given Cole Taylor’s history as a family owned business with employee ownership, we bring a unique perspective to ESOP financing.”

Stoltz added, “We have a strong group with extensive commercial lending experience. We understand the complexities of ESOP financing and are focused on providing creative and competitive structures for our clients. I’m excited to bring these much-needed solutions to the middle market while continuing to work with the clients we’ve built close relationships with over the years.”

The addition of ESOP financing enhances Cole Taylor Bank’s already strong commercial banking services, which include comprehensive lending, deposit, and treasury management solutions designed for middle market companies.

Cole Taylor Capital Group, Inc. is the holding company of Cole Taylor Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Chicago with assets of $5.8 billion as of March 31, 2013. Cole Taylor specializes in serving the banking needs of closely held businesses and the people who own and manage them. With its national businesses, the Bank also provides asset-based lending, residential mortgage lending and commercial equipment leasing through a growing network of offices throughout the United States. Cole Taylor is a member of the FDIC and is an Equal Housing Lender.