Chicago’s Bank I S ANSWER IS BELOW Wintrust hasn’t always been a financial services company with $15 billion in assets. In fact, almost 20 years ago we started by opening a single community bank in a Chicago suburb. Just as your business has grown, so has ours.
AN IDEA The idea of opening an old-fashioned community bank began in early 1991. At that time, many of the banks had become owned and operated by giant corporations with headquarters in other cities, other states, even other countries. That meant these banks were now charging fees for things that used to be free. They even started to charge for talking to a teller. Major corporations and large “preferred” customers took priority over local businesses and most local residents. Employees didn’t know their customers, and the customers didn’t even recognize the employees. What happened then, seems to be happening now. The local neighborhood bank with friendly personal service has almost become a thing of the past.
Parade watchers gather outside the original Lake Forest Bank & Trust, the first bank we opened.
TRUE COMMUNITY BANKING People want the kind of bank that will service them for life – where parents can take their kids to learn about banking and saving, and maybe even meet the bank’s president. They want a bank where older kids can get help all the way through
college; where all of a family’s financial events, from the household checking account to trust and estate planning, will be as important to the bank as they are to the family. The bank should become an important part of the community, help it solve its problems and plan for its future.
CHICAGO’S BANK
Other divisions of Wintrust offer complimentary and specialized financial services for which our customers and prospects have expressed a need. This includes: t Wintrust Commercial Banking: a C&I lending powerhouse to middle market companies via offices located in many Chicago suburbs and at 190 South LaSalle Street; t Wintrust Mortgage: now one of the largest mortgage originators in Illinois; and, t Wintrust Wealth Management: with nearly $13 billion in anticipated assets under management or administration after the close of its acquisition of Great Lakes Advisors.
Wintrust is big enough to handle nearly any financial need, no matter the size, but small enough to actually care about each and every customer.
We became the bank that Chicagoans were and are looking for. We have and always will be rooted in the communities we serve. Our banks are big enough to handle $50 million loans to businesses in the area, yet small enough to hand out cookies and coffee when you come in the As it turns out, local bank, lollipops to kids, and residents wanted a even dog biscuits to “man’s community bank like best friend”. We’re large ours. enough to handle the most complex Trust and Wealth WHAT WE’VE Management issues or able BECOME to provide you a simple Wintrust has grown FREE checking account, and into a consortium of when you call, we’ll answer community banks and the phone and know you by Our most recent bank financial services providers. name. Whether your business needs opening: Naperville Throughout the area, more Bank & Trust. to refinance its office building or your than 90 Wintrust Community daughter needs a mortgage for her first Banks have been opened and staffed with home, we’ll get it done for you. Our banks talented people who had the same “customer have the resources of the big banks (at least the and community first” philosophy that has same, if not better solutions) paired with the proven so successful for us. best customer service.
Today, Wintrust is the second largest banking group headquartered in Illinois. But, we’ll never forget how we got here.
Ultimately, we became the bank our customers were looking for. Wintrust is your community bank. Wintrust is your commercial bank. Wintrust is Chicago’s Bank. So now that you know our story, we’d like to hear yours. It’s how we like to start all of our relationships.
www.wintrust.com
Banking products provided by Wintrust Financial Corp. banks (Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender). Securities and insurance offered through Wayne Hummer Investments (Member FINRA/SIPC), founded in 1931. Trust and Asset Management services offered by The Chicago Trust Company, N.A. and Great Lakes Advisors, LLC, respectively. Investment products such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are not insured by the FDIC or any federal government agency, not bank guaranteed or a bank deposit, and may lose value.