Wintrust Financial
A U.S. financial holding company built around locally branded community banks in the greater Chicago area and surrounding Midwest markets.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Wintrust Financial is a publicly traded U.S. financial holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. The company operates a network of separately chartered community banks, principally in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, while also maintaining specialized businesses in mortgage lending, wealth management, insurance premium finance, equipment finance, treasury services, and information technology. The company’s defining model is a combination of centralized resources and local bank identities. Rather than replacing the names of acquired institutions with a single national banking brand, Wintrust generally preserves their community-bank names and relationships. These institutions typically use the endorsement “A Wintrust Community Bank,” allowing them to retain local recognition while benefiting from the holding company’s capital, technology, product capabilities, risk infrastructure, and specialist subsidiaries. Wintrust provides conventional retail and commercial banking services, including deposits, consumer lending, commercial credit, cash-management support, and other services for individuals, businesses, and local institutions. Its broader platform includes wealth management through affiliated businesses, insurance premium financing, commercial and life insurance-related financing, mortgage banking, equipment financing, payroll and billing data processing, and investment services. The company has also expanded beyond a branch-centered model through dealer-linked equipment financing and specialized financial-service businesses. Wintrust’s growth strategy has relied heavily on acquisitions and market expansion within an identifiable geographic footprint. During and after the 2008 financial crisis, the company used its existing capital and support received through the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program to acquire or absorb smaller troubled banks in the Chicago area. This approach allowed it to add deposits, customers, branches, and local market positions while maintaining the identities of the institutions it acquired. The strategy helped establish Wintrust as one of the largest banking companies in the Chicago market and a medium-sized banking institution by U.S. standards. The company continued expanding through acquisitions in mortgage lending, community banking, asset management, and regional banking. Notable transactions included the purchase of Veterans First Mortgage in 2018, Rush-Oak Corporation and STC Bancshares in 2019, an agreement involving Rothschild & Co’s U.S. asset-management business announced in 2022, and the completion of the combination with Macatawa Bank Corporation in 2024. Wintrust has also developed new local branches, including Oak Park Bank, demonstrating that its growth has combined acquisitions with organic community-bank expansion. Wintrust’s brand visibility extends beyond financial services. It has developed prominent sports partnerships in the Chicago market, including an official banking relationship with the Chicago Cubs and a sponsorship associated with the team’s Wrigley Field video board. It has also partnered with the Chicago White Sox through naming rights connected with club seating at Rate Field. These activities reinforce the company’s regional identity and its positioning as a locally embedded banking organization. Today, Wintrust remains an active financial holding company whose competitive proposition is based on community relationships, localized decision-making, multiple banking charters, and a diversified portfolio of financial businesses. Its principal strategic tension is balancing the personalized identity of local banks with the scale, integration, and regulatory demands of a larger banking group.
History
Wintrust Financial was established in 1991 by Ed Wehmer as a financial holding company focused on community banking in the Chicago region. From its beginning, the company pursued a structure different from that of a typical national bank: it organized operations around multiple local bank charters and sought to preserve the identities and relationships of the community institutions within its network. The company’s early development was tied to the growth of locally oriented banks in northern Illinois. Its model gave local institutions access to centralized capital, technology, management support, and specialized financial products without requiring them to abandon their established names. This approach enabled Wintrust to present itself as a larger financial group while allowing customers and businesses to continue dealing with familiar community-bank organizations. The 2008 financial crisis became an important turning point. Wintrust was among the financial institutions that received capital from the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. It used its pre-crisis capital base, supplemented by the TARP funds, to acquire or support smaller troubled banks in the Chicago area. These transactions enabled the company to add customers, deposits, branches, and market coverage at a time when many smaller institutions were under pressure. The crisis-era acquisition strategy helped Wintrust deepen its geographic presence and become one of the most significant banking companies in the Chicago market. After the crisis, Wintrust continued to combine acquisitions with organic expansion. Its community-bank network grew across Chicago’s suburbs and adjacent markets, while the group added non-bank businesses serving specialized customer needs. These businesses included wealth management, investment services, insurance premium financing, mortgage banking, equipment finance, treasury-management support, and information-technology services. In 2015, the company began expanding into equipment financing through both its banking network and dealer relationships. Wintrust also developed local branches under preserved or newly created community identities. In 2021, Hinsdale Bank & Trust opened Oak Park Bank in a historic building that had previously housed a restaurant, followed by plans for an additional facility. Such projects illustrated the company’s continued emphasis on local market presence rather than relying exclusively on large centralized branches. The company’s acquisition program continued during the late 2010s and 2020s. In 2018, Wintrust completed the acquisition of Veterans First Mortgage, a Utah-based mortgage company. In 2019, it acquired Rush-Oak Corporation, the parent of Oak Bank, and STC Bancshares Corp., the parent of STC Capital Bank. In 2022, Wintrust announced an agreement concerning the U.S. asset-management business of Rothschild & Co, extending the group’s wealth-management and investment-management capabilities. On August 1, 2024, Wintrust completed the merger of its operations with Macatawa Bank Corporation, based in Holland, Michigan. Alongside its financial operations, Wintrust built a strong regional marketing presence. It became the official banking partner of the Chicago Cubs and sponsored prominent signage at Wrigley Field, including a display that activates after Cubs victories. The company also partnered with the Chicago White Sox through naming rights connected with club seating at Rate Field. These affiliations support Wintrust’s broader positioning as a Chicago-area institution with strong community ties. Wintrust trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol WTFC. Its operating structure includes 15 chartered community banks in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, together with specialized subsidiaries such as Great Lakes Advisors, The Chicago Trust Company, First Insurance Funding, Tricom, Wintrust Investments, Wintrust Information Technology Services Company, and Wintrust Mortgage. The company remains active and continues to operate as a diversified regional financial-services organization centered on community banking.
- 2024
Macatawa Bank merger completed
[1]Wintrust completed the merger of its operations with Macatawa Bank Corporation on August 1, 2024.
- 2022
Rothschild U.S. asset-management transaction announced
[1]Wintrust announced a deal involving the U.S. asset-management arm of Rothschild & Co.
- 2021
Oak Park Bank opens
[1]Hinsdale Bank & Trust, part of the Wintrust network, opened Oak Park Bank in a historic Oak Park building and subsequently developed a second location.
- 2019
Rush-Oak Corporation acquisition
[1]Wintrust acquired Rush-Oak Corporation, the parent company of Oak Bank in Illinois.
- 2019
STC Bancshares acquisition
[1]Wintrust acquired STC Bancshares Corp., parent of STC Capital Bank.
- 2018
Veterans First Mortgage acquisition
[1]Wintrust completed the acquisition of Veterans First Mortgage, broadening its mortgage-finance operations.
- 2015
Expansion into equipment financing
[1]Wintrust began expanding its equipment-financing activities through bank branches and dealer-based channels.
- 2008
Wintrust receives TARP capital during the financial crisis
[1]Wintrust received capital through the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program and used the additional capital alongside its existing resources during a period of banking-sector stress.
- 1991
Wintrust Financial is founded
[1]Ed Wehmer founded Wintrust Financial as a financial holding company focused on community banking in the Chicago region.
Products and positioning
A Midwest community-banking platform that combines local bank brands and relationship-based service with the scale and specialized capabilities of a diversified financial holding company.
Banking · 1991
Community banking
Wintrust’s core offering is delivered through multiple locally branded community banks. These institutions provide deposit accounts, consumer services, residential and commercial lending, payment services, and relationship-based support for households, entrepreneurs, and established businesses. The local names are generally retained after acquisition and presented as part of the Wintrust Community Bank network.
Banking
Commercial banking
Commercial banking services include business deposits, credit facilities, working-capital support, commercial real-estate finance, treasury services, and other banking products for small and middle-market companies. The model combines local relationship managers with the lending capacity and operational infrastructure of the wider Wintrust organization.
Wealth management
Wealth management and investment services
Wintrust offers wealth-management and investment capabilities through businesses including Great Lakes Advisors, Wintrust Investments, and The Chicago Trust Company. These activities extend the group beyond deposit-taking and lending into investment management, trust-related services, and financial planning for individuals and institutions.
Mortgage lending
Wintrust Mortgage
Wintrust Mortgage is the group’s mortgage-lending business, operated through a Wintrust bank subsidiary. It provides residential mortgage products and related lending services, supported by the company’s community-bank distribution and broader financial-services platform.
Specialty finance
Insurance premium financing
First Insurance Funding and related Wintrust activities provide financing for commercial and life-insurance premiums. This specialty-finance business serves policyholders, agents, and insurance-related intermediaries by helping spread premium payments over time.
Specialty finance · 2015
Equipment financing
Beginning in 2015, Wintrust expanded into equipment financing through direct banking channels and dealer relationships. The offering supports businesses acquiring machinery, vehicles, and other productive assets, adding an asset-finance capability to the company’s traditional commercial-banking portfolio.
Business services
Treasury and data-processing services
Wintrust provides selected treasury-management and business-processing services, including systems associated with payroll and billing data. These capabilities complement commercial banking relationships by helping business customers manage payments, collections, and administrative workflows.
Marketing campaigns
- Chicago Cubs banking partnership
Chicago metropolitan area
Wintrust serves as an official banking partner of the Chicago Cubs and sponsors prominent branding at Wrigley Field. The partnership includes a left-field video-board presence, with the Wintrust W featured after Cubs victories.
Outcome. The partnership increases regional brand visibility and connects Wintrust’s community-banking identity with a major Chicago sports institution.
- Chicago White Sox club-seat partnership
Chicago metropolitan area
Wintrust partnered with the Chicago White Sox through naming rights associated with club seats at Rate Field.
Outcome. The arrangement supports awareness of Wintrust across the Chicago sports market and reinforces its regional positioning.
Brand decisions
2022
Agreement to acquire Rothschild’s U.S. asset-management businessM&ABackground
Wintrust was expanding its wealth-management and investment-management capabilities alongside its community-banking operations.
Action taken
The company announced a deal to acquire the U.S. asset-management arm of Rothschild & Co.
Aftermath
The transaction was intended to strengthen Wintrust’s position in asset management and broaden its non-bank financial-services activities.
2015
Expansion into equipment financeStrategyBackground
Wintrust sought to broaden its commercial-finance capabilities beyond conventional deposits and lending.
Action taken
The company began offering equipment financing through its bank branches and indirect dealer channels.
Aftermath
Equipment finance became an additional specialty-business line within Wintrust’s diversified financial-services platform.
2008
Use of crisis-era capital to expand through troubled-bank acquisitionsStrategyBackground
The U.S. financial crisis created pressure on smaller banks in the Chicago area. Wintrust had received capital through the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program in addition to its pre-crisis resources.
Action taken
The company used its capital position to acquire or support smaller troubled institutions and deepen its local banking footprint.
Aftermath
The strategy helped Wintrust add local markets and become one of the largest banking companies in the Chicago area while preserving the identities of many community banks.
Recent events
- 2024
Wintrust completes merger with Macatawa Bank Corporation[1]
M&A
Wintrust completed the merger of its operations with Macatawa Bank Corporation, a banking company based in Holland, Michigan.
- 2022
Wintrust announces agreement involving Rothschild & Co’s U.S. asset-management business[1]
M&A
Wintrust announced a transaction to acquire the U.S. asset-management arm of Rothschild & Co, broadening its wealth-management and investment-management activities.
- 2019
Wintrust acquires Rush-Oak Corporation[1]
M&A
Wintrust acquired Rush-Oak Corporation, the parent company of Oak Bank, an Illinois state-chartered bank.
- 2019
Wintrust acquires STC Bancshares[1]
M&A
Wintrust acquired STC Bancshares Corp., the parent company of STC Capital Bank, extending its community-banking footprint in Illinois.
- 2018
Wintrust completes acquisition of Veterans First Mortgage[1]
M&A
Wintrust completed its acquisition of Veterans First Mortgage, a Utah-based mortgage company, expanding its presence in mortgage lending and adding a specialized operating platform.
Wintrust expands its sports-marketing partnerships in Chicago[1]
Campaign
Wintrust has maintained prominent banking and sponsorship relationships with the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox, using regional sports properties to strengthen brand visibility.
Sources2 sources
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