TriState Capital Bank Equipment Finance has extended its run among the U.S. equipment-finance industry’s top performers, ranking No. 78 in the 2026 Monitor 100 after growing its loans and leases 5.8% year over year to $749.3 million in 2025.

Equipment financing is often treated as a specialised corner of commercial banking, but its performance can offer a useful window into business investment. Companies need financing to acquire vehicles, machinery, technology and other essential equipment without tying up all of their capital in upfront purchases.

For TriState Capital Bank Equipment Finance, that market continued to expand in 2025.

The equipment-finance division increased its total loans and leases from $708.3 million in 2024 to $749.3 million in 2025, a 5.8% year-over-year increase. The result earned the business the No. 78 position in the 2026 Monitor 100, the annual ranking of the largest equipment-finance and leasing companies in the United States published by MonitorDaily.

It is the seventh consecutive year TriState Capital Bank has been recognised in the ranking.

The division also originated $288.2 million in new business during 2025, providing another indication that the bank’s equipment-finance strategy is expanding alongside its existing commercial-banking relationships.

The numbers are notable because TriState Capital’s equipment-finance operation is still relatively young compared with many established specialist lenders. The division was launched in 2018 from the bank’s general commercial lending business, when its assets stood at $18.1 million.

By the end of 2025, that figure had grown more than fortyfold.

The expansion reflects a strategy built around combining specialist equipment-finance expertise with the balance sheet and broader capabilities of a commercial bank. TriState Capital Bank, part of a financial institution with more than $20 billion in assets, positions the equipment-finance group as an extension of its commercial banking offering rather than an isolated leasing business.

That distinction can matter to corporate borrowers.

Equipment financing typically involves more than determining whether a company can make monthly payments. Lenders need to understand the equipment being financed, its useful life, residual value and the economics of the customer’s underlying business. Industry knowledge can therefore influence both credit decisions and the structure of a financing package.

TriState Capital says its approach emphasises personalised service and flexible loan and lease structures. The company has focused its equipment-finance activities on the Northeast and Midwest, with particular attention to the Chicago market and a regional footprint spanning New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and neighbouring states.

That regional strategy puts the bank into a competitive market that includes large commercial banks, independent equipment-finance companies and manufacturer-affiliated captive finance operations.

The competitive landscape varies by borrower. Large enterprises may have access to multiple banks and specialised leasing companies, while middle-market businesses can place greater value on lenders that understand their industries and can provide financing alongside other commercial banking services.

The ability to cross-sell those services is one potential advantage of a bank-owned equipment-finance operation.

A borrower financing manufacturing equipment, for example, may also need working-capital facilities, treasury services, deposits, foreign-exchange capabilities or other commercial banking products. A lender that can provide several of those services can potentially deepen the relationship beyond an individual equipment transaction.

That model resembles the broader direction of financial technology, where banks increasingly seek to connect specialised financial products rather than operate them as separate silos.

Technology is also changing how equipment finance is delivered. Digital underwriting, automated documentation, data analytics and integrated payment systems are making it possible for lenders to process financing more efficiently. At the same time, specialised human expertise remains important when transactions involve complex equipment, unusual collateral or sector-specific risks.

TriState Capital’s performance comes against a wider backdrop of resilient equipment-finance demand. Data from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA) recently showed record new business volume in July 2026, reaching $14.3 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis. ELFA attributed part of the surge to AI-related investment, while its full-year 2026 forecast pointed to $137.3 billion in industry-wide new business volume.

The two developments are not directly comparable—TriState Capital’s figures cover its own loan and lease portfolio for 2025, while ELFA’s index tracks broader industry new business volume—but together they illustrate continued demand for financing physical business assets.

AI investment is one emerging driver, particularly for servers, networking equipment and other infrastructure. Traditional industries continue to finance machinery, transportation assets and specialised equipment as well.

For banks, that creates an opportunity but also a credit-management challenge.

Higher interest rates and elevated funding costs can pressure margins, while changes in equipment values can affect collateral economics. A lender’s ability to price risk accurately becomes particularly important when borrowers are financing assets whose useful life or resale value may change rapidly.

TriState Capital’s executives emphasise credit discipline as part of the division’s 2025 performance. The company says it also strengthened strategic partnerships while continuing to focus on relationship-based financing.

For enterprises evaluating equipment-finance providers, the more meaningful question is what sits behind the headline loan growth. Borrowers should assess pricing, lease-versus-loan economics, prepayment terms, residual-value assumptions, documentation requirements and the lender’s ability to support financing as their equipment needs evolve.

TriState Capital’s ranking does not by itself establish that its offering is superior to competitors. Monitor 100 measures scale within the equipment-finance market rather than customer satisfaction, pricing competitiveness or portfolio quality.

Still, the trajectory is notable. Growing from $18.1 million in equipment-finance assets in 2018 to $749.3 million seven years later suggests that the bank has established equipment finance as a meaningful component of its commercial strategy.

The next stage will be maintaining that growth while managing credit quality and funding costs in an increasingly competitive market.

Market Landscape

The U.S. equipment-finance market includes commercial banks, independent leasing companies and captive finance operations affiliated with manufacturers. The sector finances a broad range of assets, from industrial machinery and transportation equipment to technology infrastructure.

TriState Capital’s bank-based model provides access to broader commercial banking resources, while specialist independent lenders can compete through sector expertise, transaction flexibility and specialised underwriting.

The industry’s demand outlook remains strong. ELFA’s latest data showed record monthly new business volume in July 2026, although higher funding costs remain a potential constraint on future growth.

For businesses, the competitive choice increasingly extends beyond interest rates. Financing structure, lender expertise, speed of execution, asset knowledge and the ability to provide additional banking services can all influence the economics of an equipment-finance relationship.

Top Insights

• TriState Capital’s equipment-finance portfolio reached $749.3 million, up 5.8% year over year, earning the division No. 78 in the 2026 Monitor 100.
• New equipment-finance business totaled $288.2 million in 2025, supporting continued expansion across the bank’s Northeast and Midwest regional markets.
• The division has grown dramatically since 2018, increasing assets from $18.1 million to $749.3 million as equipment finance became part of the bank’s commercial strategy.
• Bank-owned equipment finance competes with specialist lenders, offering borrowers the potential advantage of combining leasing and lending with broader commercial banking services.
• Strong equipment demand creates opportunity and risk, as lenders balance business investment against funding costs, asset values and changing credit conditions.

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