WTFC Wintrust Financial Corporation

Wintrust Financial Corporation ("Wintrust") (Nasdaq:WTFC) announced today the opening of its downtown Chicago lending office. Branded Wintrust Commercial Banking, the office currently has a dozen commercial lenders in place as well as additional wealth management staff.

Temporarily housed in Wintrust's Wayne Hummer Wealth Management offices at 222 South Riverside Drive in Chicago, the group will move to dedicated office space in July, filling the 22^nd floor at 190 South LaSalle Street.

The new lending group further expands Wintrust's targeting of mid-market businesses and brings the commercial lending and Treasury Management services typically provided at Wintrust's suburban banks into Chicago.

"The time was right to fill the void of homegrown banks in Chicago," said Edward Wehmer, President and CEO of Wintrust. "Wintrust has been built upon Midwestern values and client service and we are ready and well poised to bring old fashioned banking to Chicago's commercial sector."

The group will be led by John McKinnon, who has been brought in as Chairman of the group. McKinnon joins Wintrust after more than 40 years with JP Morgan Chase. He will lead a strong group of veteran commercial bankers, all with extensive experience and prior success.

Joining the team as Executive Vice President after 26 years with JP Morgan Chase, Paul Carlisle will provide strategic day-to-day leadership for the Chicago lending group.

Carlisle will be supported by a team of experienced Managing Directors, including John Dvorak, Bill Ryan, Chris Newton and Bob Shanahan, who currently leads Wintrust's Asset-Based Lending Team, Wintrust Business Credit. Each will lead a specialized lending team in order to provide specific expertise, extensive coverage and exceptional customer service.

Additional lenders include David Wyent, Kyle Rosborg, Tim Kramer, Kam Kniss, Dan Harvey, Jason Girardin and John Hoppe. William Robin and Jack Myers from Wintrust Business Credit are also joining the group. Rounding out the office are Commercial Loan Officer Troy Pierce and Credit Analyst Michael Bragg.

Joining the new lending teams will be a specialized wealth management team focused on meeting the needs of mid-market business owners. Led by Braden Smith, as Executive Vice President-Wealth Management, the team includes Patrick Rule, Vice President-Wealth Management and Scott Fortiano, Vice President of Investments.

"We are excited to see our new downtown lending office unfold," concluded Wehmer. "We have brought on experienced and successful bankers and we are going to allow them to do what makes them successful."

ABOUT WINTRUST

Wintrust is a financial holding company with assets of approximately $13 billion whose common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq:WTFC). Wintrust operates fifteen community bank subsidiaries that are located in the greater Chicago and Milwaukee market areas. Additionally, the Company operates various non-bank subsidiaries including one of the largest commercial insurance premium finance companies operating in the United States, a company providing short-term accounts receivable financing and value-added out-sourced administrative services to the temporary staffing services industry, companies engaging primarily in the origination and purchase of residential mortgages for sale into the secondary market throughout the United States, and companies providing wealth management services including broker-dealer, money management services, advisory services, and trust and estate services. Currently, Wintrust operates more than 80 banking offices.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking information can be identified through the use of words such as "intend," "plan," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "contemplate," "possible," "point," "will," "may," "should," "would" and "could." Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts, are premised on many factors and assumptions, and represent only management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. Similarly, these statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, which may include, but are not limited to, those listed below and the Risk Factors discussed under Item 1A of the Company's 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in any of the Company's subsequent SEC filings. The Company intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and is including this statement for purposes of invoking these safe harbor provisions. Such forward-looking statements may be deemed to include, among other things, statements relating to the Company's future financial performance, the performance of its loan portfolio, the expected amount of future credit reserves and charge-offs, delinquency trends, growth plans, regulatory developments, securities that the Company may offer from time to time, and management's long-term performance goals, as well as statements relating to the anticipated effects on financial condition and results of operations from expected developments or events, the Company's business and growth strategies, including future acquisitions of banks, specialty finance or wealth management businesses, internal growth and plans to form additional de novo banks or branch offices. Actual results could differ materially from those addressed in the forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, including the following:

• negative economic conditions that adversely affect the economy, housing prices, the job market and other factors that may affect the Company's liquidity and the performance of its loan portfolios, particularly in the markets in which it operates;                                        

• the extent of defaults and losses on the Company's loan portfolio, which may require further increases in its allowance for credit losses;                          

• estimates of fair value of certain of the Company's assets and liabilities, which could change in value significantly from period to period;                                  

• changes in the level and volatility of interest rates, the capital markets and other market indices that may affect, among other things, the Company's liquidity and the value of its assets and liabilities;                               

• a decrease in the Company's regulatory capital ratios, including as a result of further declines in the value of its loan portfolios, or otherwise;                                   

• effects resulting from the Company's participation in the Capital Purchase Program, including restrictions on dividends and executive compensation practices, as well as any future restrictions that may become applicable to the Company;                            

• legislative or regulatory changes, particularly changes in regulation of financial services companies and/or the products and services offered by financial services companies;                              

• increases in the Company's FDIC insurance premiums, or the collection of special assessments by the FDIC;                       

• competitive pressures in the financial services business which may affect the pricing of the Company's loan and deposit products as well as its services (including wealth management services);                            

• delinquencies or fraud with respect to the Company's premium finance business;                                

• the Company's ability to comply with covenants under its securitization facility and credit facility;                          

• credit downgrades among commercial and life insurance providers that could negatively affect the value of collateral securing the Company's premium finance loans;                          

• any negative perception of the Company's reputation or financial strength;                              

• the loss of customers as a result of technological changes allowing consumers to complete their financial transactions without the use of a bank;                                

• the ability of the Company to attract and retain senior management experienced in the banking and financial services industries;                           

• failure to identify and complete favorable acquisitions in the future, or unexpected difficulties or developments related to the integration of recent acquisitions, including with respect to any FDIC-assisted acquisitions;                       

• unexpected difficulties or unanticipated developments related to the Company's strategy of de novo bank formations and openings, which typically require over 13 months of operations before becoming profitable due to the impact of organizational and overhead expenses, the startup phase of generating deposits and the time lag typically involved in redeploying deposits into attractively priced loans and other higher yielding earning assets;                          

• changes in accounting standards, rules and interpretations and the impact on the Corporation's financial statements;              

• significant litigation involving the Company; and                                  

• the ability of the Company to receive dividends from its subsidiaries.

Therefore, there can be no assurances that future actual results will correspond to these forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement made by or on behalf of Wintrust. Any such statement speaks only as of the date the statement was made or as of such date that may be referenced within the statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to release revisions to these forward-looking statements or reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.   Persons are advised, however, to consult further disclosures management makes on related subjects in its reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in its press releases.

CONTACT:  Wintrust Financial Corporation

          Edward J. Wehmer, President & Chief Executive Officer

          David A. Dykstra, Senior Executive Vice President

           & Chief Operating Officer

          (847) 615-4096

          www.wintrust.com