Company Name:Wintrust Financial Corporation

Stock Market: NASDAQ (WTFC)
Industry Sector: State Commercial Banks
Market Capitalisation: $321.8 million (as of January 29, 2009)
Yearly Revenue: $691.6 million (as of December 2007)
Operating Income: $138.9 million
Net Income: $55.7 million
Total Assets: $9.4 billion

Key People: Edward J. Wehmer (president and CEO), David L. Stoehr (EVP and CFO), John S. Lillard (chairman)
Headquarters Address: 727 North Bank Lane,Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Number of Employees: 1, 964 (as of December 31, 2007)
Website Address: www.wintrust.com

Company Overview
Wintrust Financial Corporation (“Wintrust” or the “Company”) is a financial holding company that provides traditional community banking services, short-run accounts receivable funding, commercial insurance premium financing, wealth management services, mortgage origination, and certain administrative services, like data processing of payrolls, billing, and treasury management services. Through its completely owned bank subsidiaries, the Company provides community-oriented, personal and commercial banking services to its clients, which are residing in southern Wisconsin and the greater Chicago, Illinois, areas.

The Company’s subsidiary banks provide banking and financial services to individuals, local governmental units, small businesses, and institutional clients who reside primarily in the banks' local service areas. They also provide commercial and industrial loans, as well as treasury management services to their networks. In addition, the Company’s community banks offer home mortgage, home equity, real estate and commercial loans, safety deposit facilities, trust services, online banking and bill pay, and other services specially tailored to meet the needs of customers in its market areas. The Company has grown rapidly since its inception and its subsidiary banks have been among the fastest growing community-oriented de novo or from the scratch banking operations in the country, particularly in Illinois.

As of December 31, 2007, the Company had several banking locations. It has 15 completely owned banking subsidiaries in Wisconsin; nine Illinois-based chartered banks, one Wisconsin-based chartered bank, and five national chartered banks.

Current Financial Overview
On November 1, 2007, the Company completed the acquisition of Broadway Premium Funding Corporation (“Broadway”). Broadway provides financing for casualty and professional insurance premiums, commercial property, through its insurance agents and brokers in California, and the United States. It was organised in 1999 and had about $60 million of premium finance receivables outstanding during the time of acquisition.

The Company’s net income for the year ending December 31, 2007 and 2006, were $55.7 million, or $2.24 per diluted common share, and $66.5 million, or $2.56 per diluted common share, respectively. In 2007, net income decreased by 16% while earnings per diluted common share declined by 13%. During 2006, net income remained essentially the same, decreasing 1%, while earnings per diluted common share decreased 7%.

Net interest margin, which reflects net interest income as a percent of average earning assets, remained relatively flat at 3.11% in 2007 compared to 3.10% in 2006. In 2007, the Company’s focus on retail deposit pricing and changing the mix of deposits helped offset the competitive pricing of retail certificates of deposit. Net interest income and net interest margin were also affected by the amortisation of valuation adjustments to earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities of acquired businesses. The provision for credit losses amounted to $14.9 million in 2007 and $7.1 million in 2006. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans for the 2007 and 2006 fiscal years were 0.74% and 0.71%, respectively.