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Here are 1-3 brief analogies for Esquire Financial (ESQ):

• It's like the JPMorgan Chase for law firms and their clients.
• A regional commercial bank (like PNC or US Bank) exclusively focused on the legal industry.

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• Deposit Accounts: Offers checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts for businesses and individuals.
• Commercial Real Estate Loans: Provides financing for the acquisition, refinancing, or development of income-producing commercial properties.
• Commercial & Industrial Loans: Delivers various business loans, including lines of credit, term loans, and equipment financing, often tailored for professional services firms.
• Commercial Litigation Finance: Specializes in providing capital to law firms secured by anticipated legal case settlements or judgments.
• Treasury Management Services: Offers solutions for businesses to manage cash flow, optimize payments, and streamline receivables efficiently.

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Esquire Financial (ESQ) Major Customers

• The Legal Community: This is Esquire Bank's specialized niche. They provide tailored banking services to law firms, attorneys, and legal professionals across the United States. This includes services such as IOLTA (Interest On Lawyers Trust Accounts) and escrow management, operating accounts, practice financing, and other financial solutions designed specifically for the legal sector. While these are businesses, they represent a broad category of firms rather than a few major, named corporate clients.
• Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: Beyond its legal focus, Esquire Bank serves other commercial clients and small to medium-sized businesses, particularly within its geographic footprint (primarily the New York metropolitan area). Services include commercial loans, lines of credit, business deposit accounts, and treasury management solutions.
• Individuals: Esquire Bank offers traditional personal banking services to individuals. This includes checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), mortgages, and other consumer lending products. These individual customers often reside within the bank's local communities or are associated with the businesses and law firms it serves.

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• FIS (NYSE: FIS)

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Andrew C. Sagliocca, Vice Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & President

Andrew C. Sagliocca has served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. and Esquire Bank, N.A. since 2009. In 2023, he was named Vice Chairman while maintaining his current roles. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as Esquire's Chief Financial Officer when he joined the company in 2007. Before joining Esquire, he was a senior financial officer for 13 years at North Fork Bank, an institution that grew significantly and was later acquired by Capital One. He was also formerly a manager in KPMG LLP's Financial Services Group, specializing in financial institutions. Mr. Sagliocca has over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. There is no information indicating he founded other companies or has a pattern of managing companies backed by private equity firms.

Michael Lacapria, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Michael Lacapria has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. and Esquire Bank since December 2018. He has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. From October 2016 through December 2018, Mr. Lacapria served as the Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation and the regional finance director for Deutsche Bank's U.S. operations. Between 2014 and 2016, he was a Director in Cantor Fitzgerald's real estate lending and investment management platforms. From 2000 to 2014, Mr. Lacapria was an auditor in KPMG LLP New York's financial services practice, focusing on investment and commercial banking. He was also selected to serve on Payzli's Board of Directors in connection with Esquire's strategic fintech investment in Payzli. There is no information indicating he founded other companies or personally sold companies he was involved with to an acquirer, or has a pattern of managing companies backed by private equity firms.

Eric S. Bader, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer & Corporate Secretary

Eric S. Bader has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Corporate Secretary of Esquire since December 2018. Prior to this role, he served as the Chief Financial Officer from January 2009 to December 2018 and as Treasurer in 2008. Before joining Esquire, Mr. Bader held the position of Vice President at Goldman Sachs and served as a Vice President and Investment Officer at North Fork Bank. He has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Ari P. Kornhaber, Founder, Executive Vice President & Head of Corporate Development

Ari P. Kornhaber was named Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Development in October 2020, and previously served as Executive Vice President and Director of Sales from 2013 to 2020. He is a founder and Senior Officer at a family of financial service companies that provided litigation financing to lawyers, law firms, and their clients. Mr. Kornhaber is also a former trial lawyer who represented plaintiffs in personal injury, medical malpractice, and mass tort litigations.

Gary Lax, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary

Gary Lax was hired as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. in September 2023. He has more than 35 years of financial services experience. Most recently, Mr. Lax was a partner at Luse Gorman, PC, specializing in regulatory enforcement, transaction law, and capital planning. He also served on the faculty of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council for over 10 years and began his legal career as an attorney with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C.

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1. Concentration Risk: Esquire Financial's success is deeply tied to the health of the legal and litigation industries, particularly its focus on law firm operating and escrow accounts and commercial litigation-related loans. This specialization creates significant concentration risk, making the company vulnerable to adverse changes within the legal landscape, such as tort reform or a decline in litigation cases. Additionally, the bank's operations are geographically concentrated in New York, exposing it to regional economic downturns. A substantial portion of its loan portfolio is also in multifamily and commercial real estate, which is sensitive to market fluctuations.
2. Interest Rate Risk: Fluctuations in interest rates pose a significant risk to Esquire Financial's net interest income. A sustained high-interest-rate environment can increase the cost of retaining its rate-sensitive deposit base, predominantly from law firm accounts, thereby compressing its Net Interest Margin (NIM). While the company has variable rate commercial loans with interest rate floors, a decline in interest rates could still impact profitability.
3. Liquidity Risk: The company faces liquidity risks due to a significant portion of its deposits being uninsured. Any substantial reduction in these deposit balances could necessitate a reliance on more expensive funding sources, impacting the bank's financial stability.

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Esquire Financial (ESQ) serves two primary national markets with identified addressable market sizes:

• Litigation Market: The addressable market for Esquire Financial's services to the legal community is estimated at $443 billion in the United States.
• Small Business Payment Processing Market: The addressable market for small business payment processing solutions is approximately $11 trillion in the United States.

Esquire Financial also offers traditional banking products and services to commercial and retail customers in the New York metropolitan market. However, the specific size of this regional market has not been identified in the provided information.

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Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (ESQ) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next two to three years through several key strategies:

1. Growth in Higher-Yielding Commercial Loans: The company's focus on expanding its portfolio of higher-yielding, variable-rate commercial loans, particularly within its national litigation platform, is a primary revenue driver. This strategy has consistently contributed to an increase in net interest income and overall earnings. Esquire Financial's average loans grew by 16.5% to $1.27 billion in Q3 2024, with a notable increase in higher-yielding variable rate commercial loans. Similarly, loan growth in Q2 2025 was $78.7 million, or 22% annualized, reaching $1.49 billion. Management anticipates 2025 loan growth to be commensurate with prior years, fueled by increases in higher-yielding variable rate commercial loans from its national litigation platform.
2. Expansion of Low-Cost Core Deposits: Esquire Financial's ability to attract and retain low-cost core deposits, especially IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) and escrow accounts, is crucial for funding its loan growth and maintaining a strong net interest margin. Total deposits increased by 19.8% to $1.54 billion in Q3 2024, largely driven by these low-cost core deposits. In Q2 2025, deposit growth was $94.2 million, or 22% annualized, reaching $1.78 billion. This consistent growth in low-cost core deposits provides a stable and cost-effective funding base for the bank's interest-earning assets.
3. Leveraging the Payment Processing Platform: The company's diversified revenue streams benefit significantly from its merchant processing or payments platform. This platform provides stable fee-based income and serves a vast market of small businesses. In Q2 2025, the payment processing vertical continued to show robust growth, with fee income increasing to $29.3 million and the number of merchants served growing to 92,000. Processing volume increased from $14.8 billion to $40 billion during the same period (2020 through Q2 2025). For Q3 2025, the tech-enabled payments platform processed $10.1 billion in credit and debit card payment volume for 93,000 small business clients.
4. Strategic National Expansion within Specialized Verticals: Esquire Financial's "dual-vertical strategy" focuses on serving the legal industry and small businesses nationwide with tailored financial solutions. Strategic initiatives, such as a joint venture with Fortress Investment Group and the opening of a Los Angeles private banking branch, are positioning the company for sustained growth by expanding its national footprint and reach within these specialized markets. This targeted expansion aims to capitalize on the substantial litigation market and the large small business payment processing market.

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Share Repurchases

• As of December 31, 2020, Esquire Financial repurchased 34,306 shares at a cost of $567 thousand under a program that authorized up to 300,000 shares.
• As of December 31, 2021, the company reported that 34,306 shares had been repurchased under the existing plan.
• In March 2024, a new $500.0 million share repurchase program was proposed and made subject to stockholder approval, with a condition that a certain institutional investor's ownership not exceed 50%.

Share Issuance

• By December 31, 2021, all shares authorized under the 2019 issuance plan had been fully issued.
• The 2021 Equity Incentive Plan authorized the issuance of up to 400,000 shares of common stock, with 275,750 shares remaining available for grant under this plan.
• The number of common shares outstanding increased from 7,652,170 at January 1, 2020, to 8,354,753 at December 31, 2024.

Outbound Investments

• In 2023, the company recorded a $4.0 million pre-tax gain from the partial sale of a fintech investment.
• During the second quarter of 2025, Esquire Financial recognized a $0.4 million gain from the sale of an equity investment.

Capital Expenditures

• Esquire Financial consistently invested in technology, digital marketing, and personnel, along with other branchless infrastructure, to support its growth initiatives and enhance client services from 2020 through 2024.
• In 2023, non-interest expenses rose by $11.1 million, or 26.5%, partially attributed to key investments in people and technology to facilitate future expansion.
• The company's investment in technology and risk management systems contributed to its strong efficiency ratio in 2024, despite continuous resource allocation for future growth.