History
Wintrust was founded by Ed Wehmer. Wintrust was among the recipients of capital from the United States government through the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program.[3][6] The bank used the 2008 financial crisis to acquire small troubled banks in the Chicago area, backed by its pre-crisis capital supplemented by TARP funds. This positioned it to become one of the area's largest retail banks by eliminating costs and deepening its geographical footprint in the area.[7] Wintrust Financial continues to expand within its footprint area.[7][8][9][10]
In 2018, Wintrust completed its acquisition of Veterans First Mortgage, a Utah-based corporation with approximately 400 employees.[11]
In May 2019, Wintrust acquired Rush-Oak Corporation, the parent company of Oak Bank, an Illinois state-chartered bank which had approximately $201 million in assets.[12] In October 2019, Wintrust acquired STC Bancshares Corp, the parent company of STC Capital Bank, an Illinois state-chartered bank with approximately $275 million in assets.[13]
In 2021, the Hinsdale Bank, a Wintrust Bank, opened the Oak Park Bank in what had been a restaurant space in a historic building.[14][15] The Oak Park Bank built a second location, new facility, in the village.[16]
In 2022, Wintrust announced a deal to acquire the U.S. asset management arm of Rothschild & Co, which held around $8 billion in assets under management at the time.[17]
On August 1, 2024, it was announced that Wintrust had completed the merger of its operations with Macatawa Bank Corporation, a company based in Holland, Michigan.[18]
