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DATE

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

  • President and Chief Executive Officer — Timothy S. Crane
  • Vice Chairman — David Alan Dykstra
  • Chief Financial Officer — David L. Stoehr
  • Chief Legal Officer — Kate Bogie
  • Chief Credit Officer — Richard B. Murphy

TAKEAWAYS

  • Net Income -- $227 million, the fifth consecutive record quarter, up from $223 million in the prior quarter and $189 million in Q1 2025.
  • Deposit Growth -- $1.2 billion for the quarter, translating to 8% annualized growth, supporting ongoing loan expansion.
  • Loan Growth -- $1 billion for the quarter, a 7% annualized increase, with period-end balances $1.2 billion above the quarterly average indicating strong closing momentum.
  • Net Interest Margin -- 3.56% for the quarter, two basis points higher due to two fewer days in the period, and remaining within a historical range of 3.50%-3.59% over the past nine quarters.
  • Net Interest Income -- Declined slightly compared to 2025, as increased average earning assets and a 2 basis point margin uptick nearly offset the impact of two fewer days in the quarter.
  • Noninterest Income -- $134.1 million, up from $130.4 million prior quarter, led by increases in wealth management and operating lease revenue, with mortgage banking activity unchanged.
  • Noninterest Expense -- $382.6 million, slightly down from $384.5 million prior quarter, as higher salary and benefits were offset by reductions in OREO, travel, and other minor expenses.
  • Efficiency Ratio -- Improved slightly sequentially, reflecting disciplined expense control relative to revenue growth.
  • Credit Quality -- Charge-offs decreased from 17 to 14 basis points sequentially, and nonperforming loans declined from $185.8 million (0.35% of loans) to $182.8 million (0.34%) with stable special mention and substandard levels.
  • Commercial Loan Growth -- $719 million added, including $286 million in mortgage warehouse; commercial real estate grew $222 million and Wintrust Life Finance expanded $103 million.
  • CRE Office Exposure -- Portfolio steady at $1.7 billion, representing 11.7% of CRE loans and 3.1% of total loans; CRE NPLs decreased from 0.18% to 0.12%.
  • Exposure to Nondepository Financial Institutions -- $3.2 billion (6% of portfolio), with $1.8 billion tied to mortgage warehouse and $341 million in capital call facilities, both described as areas of longstanding experience.
  • Expense Growth Guidance -- Mid-single-digit increase forecast for full-year 2026 versus 2025, with Q2 expenses expected to rise seasonally due to full-quarter salary increases and higher marketing spend.
  • Loan Growth Guidance -- Management stated, "we expect outsized loan growth in the second quarter largely from our property and casualty premium finance business" and indicated a full-year outlook for mid- to high-single-digit growth.
  • Capital Levels -- The quarter ended with CET1 at 10.4%, and management expects "an approximate 6%-7% reduction in risk-weighted assets" if new regulatory proposals are adopted as drafted, potentially adding "about a 60 to 70 basis point improvement in CET1."

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RISKS

  • Chief Credit Officer Richard B. Murphy confirmed, "That is accurate; it is in the commercial portfolio. It is hard when you look at those numbers because levels are low, so periodic increases draw attention. We are very active in our loan ratings, and when customers have a bit of a miss in a quarter, we will adjust. There is nothing systemic here—more one-off situations across a couple of customers, not concentrated by industry. We anticipate it will probably hang around this level for the next few quarters. Customers generally are operating with reasonable results, so nothing to read into it."

SUMMARY

Wintrust Financial Corporation (WTFC 1.58%) reported another record quarter of net income, with deposit growth exceeding 7% annualized, loan growth at 7% annualized, and net interest margin maintained at 3.56%.

Management provided guidance for mid- to high-single-digit loan growth through the year, with Q2 expected to benefit significantly from seasonal strength in premium finance lending. The company expects mid-single-digit expense growth in 2026, seasonally higher in Q2, but anticipates expense discipline will deliver operating leverage for the year. New regulatory proposals could reduce risk-weighted assets and strengthen CET1 if adopted in current form. The commercial special mention category rose 20% this quarter, with management characterizing the increase as due to isolated events rather than systemic weakness.

  • Chief Financial Officer David Alan Dykstra cited a stable capital position, noting, "Our ratings have stayed stable and our capital has been growing. Even if we did a buyback and brought that down a little, we have room. We are comfortable with our capital levels and with how the rating agencies look at it."
  • Management reported, "pipelines in the C&I space right now are probably as good as they have ever been," supporting the outlook for sustained lending activity.
  • Chief Executive Officer Timothy S. Crane indicated, "we will open several branches to continue to expand market share and to build franchise value in key communities," aligning with ongoing deposit growth efforts.
  • In the mortgage segment, David Alan Dykstra projected revenue to remain in the "$20 million to $30 million range," with about half from servicing, unless mortgage rates fall meaningfully below 6%.
  • New branch expansion and associated marketing are included in the expense forecast, with management signaling aggressive deposit-building strategies for these locations but not expecting significant overall financial impact from the openings near term.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

  • CRE: Commercial real estate; loans secured by income-producing property such as office buildings, retail centers, industrial facilities, and multi-family housing.
  • Mortgage Warehouse: Short-term lending facility provided to mortgage originators, allowing them to fund and hold loans prior to sale on the secondary market.
  • OREO: Other Real Estate Owned; property acquired by a bank through foreclosure and held pending sale.
  • DDA: Demand Deposits Account; non-interest bearing accounts that allow for withdrawals and transfers at any time.
  • C&I: Commercial and Industrial; loans made to businesses for general purposes not secured by real estate.
  • CET1: Common Equity Tier 1 capital, a key regulatory measure of a bank's core equity capital compared with its risk-weighted assets.
  • Special Mention: Loan category indicating potential credit weaknesses that deserve management's close attention but do not yet warrant classification as substandard or impaired.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Timothy S. Crane: Good morning, and thank you for joining us for Wintrust Financial Corporation's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. In addition to the introductions that the operator made, I am joined by our Chief Financial Officer, David L. Stoehr, and our Chief Legal Officer, Kate Bogie. We will follow our usual format this morning. I will begin with a few highlights. David Alan Dykstra will review the financial results. Richard B. Murphy will share some thoughts on loan activity and credit quality. I will be back with some closing thoughts, including a look at expectations for the second quarter and generally for the remainder of the year. As always, we will be happy to take your questions.

Before we begin, I would like to bring your attention to some changes to the presentation document that accompanies the release of our results. We have modified the design, making some updates to how we present the data based on valuable feedback we have received from many of you. We hope you find the format helpful and informative as we continue to try to provide clear information that highlights our strong market position and our disciplined operating approach. Looking at the first quarter 2026 results, I am very pleased that we delivered a fifth consecutive quarter of record net income. Overall, it was a very solid and straightforward quarter.

We continue to focus on our strategic priorities: providing an exceptional customer experience, delivering disciplined and strategic growth across our businesses with a focus on prudent risk management, and investing to build upon our foundation to drive a successful future. That said, despite two fewer days in the quarter, we achieved net income of $227 million, up from $223 million last quarter and $189 million in 2025. While David Alan Dykstra and Richard B. Murphy will provide more detail, in summary, net interest income, net interest margin, and both loan and deposit growth were in line with our expectations. We delivered solid growth in noninterest income, led by our wealth management business.

Expenses were well managed, and credit quality remained stable. I would highlight that all of our growth is organic. We continue to see good new customer acquisition and market momentum as our clients appreciate our differentiated approach and relentless focus on customer service. In fact, during the quarter, we were recognized once again by J.D. Power for Illinois banking services and by Coalition Greenwich with multiple awards for our commercial middle market banking services. These awards are evidence of our continued success in delivering for our clients in ways that many of our competitors cannot. Overall, a solid quarter. Let me turn it over to David.

David Alan Dykstra: Great. Thanks, Tim. Let me start with the balance sheet. Specifically, deposit growth was right at $1.2 billion during the quarter, representing an 8% increase over the prior quarter on an annualized basis. This deposit growth helped to fund continued solid first quarter loan growth of approximately $1 billion, representing a 7% growth rate on an annualized basis. Yields and rates on the major balance sheet categories were slightly lower because of the recent market declines in short-term interest rates, with loan yields moving down 13 basis points in the first quarter from the prior quarter, while interest-bearing deposit costs declined 16 basis points from the prior quarter, thus resulting in a slightly improved gross spread.

I would like to note that loan growth during the quarter was heavily back-end loaded; accordingly, period-end loans were approximately $1.2 billion higher than average loans for the first quarter. That is giving us a great start on achieving higher average earning assets in 2026. Turning to the income statement, this was a very solid operating quarter, producing record levels of quarterly net income. Net interest income declined slightly compared to 2025. The benefit to net interest income from an increase of $555 million in average earning asset growth and a 2 basis point increase in the net interest margin was almost enough to offset having two fewer days in the quarter.

The net interest margin was 3.56% for the first quarter, and the two fewer days in the quarter positively impacted net interest margin by 2 basis points. The net interest margin has ranged from 3.50% to 3.59% during the last nine quarters, exhibiting sustainability of our net interest margin. The provision for credit losses was relatively consistent with prior quarters, remaining in the $20 million to $30 million range experienced in all the quarterly periods of 2025 as the overall credit environment or asset quality has remained stable as we enter 2026.

Regarding other noninterest income and noninterest expense sections, total noninterest income amounted to $134.1 million in the first quarter, which was an increase from the $130.4 million recorded in the prior quarter. The increase was primarily a result of strong wealth management and operating lease revenues. Mortgage banking activity continued to be subdued, and production-related volumes and revenue were essentially unchanged from the prior quarter. As to the noninterest expense categories, total noninterest expenses were $382.6 million in the first quarter, which was slightly lower than the $384.5 million recorded in the prior quarter.

Increases in salaries and employee benefits were primarily due to annual merit increases and were offset by lower OREO expenses, travel and entertainment, and various other small expense decreases. Overall, expenses were very well controlled. Additionally, both the quarterly net overhead ratio and efficiency ratio improved slightly relative to the prior quarter. In summary, I will reiterate this was a very solid quarter. The company accomplished good loan and deposit growth, a stable net interest margin, a record level of net income, sustained growth in tangible book value per share, and a continued low level of nonperforming assets. With that, I will conclude my comments and turn it over to Richard B. Murphy to discuss credit.

Richard B. Murphy: Thanks, David. As detailed on slide 6 of the investor presentation, the solid loan growth of approximately $966 million, or 7% on an annualized basis, was broad-based. Commercial loans grew by $719 million, including growth in mortgage warehouse of approximately $286 million. Commercial real estate loans grew by $222 million. The Wintrust Life Finance team continued to build their portfolio by $103 million. Our residential mortgage group also had a very solid quarter. From a credit quality perspective, as detailed on slide 14, we continue to see strong credit performance across the portfolio. This can be seen in a number of metrics.

Nonperforming loans decreased slightly from $185.8 million, or 0.35% of total loans, to $182.8 million, or 0.34% of total loans, and remain at very manageable levels. Charge-offs for the quarter were 14 basis points, down from 17 basis points in the prior quarter. We believe that the level of NPLs and charge-offs in the first quarter reflects a stable credit environment as evidenced by the chart of historical nonperforming asset levels on slide 15 and the consistent level of our special mention and substandard loans on slide 14. This quarter is another example of our commitment to identify problems early and charge them down where appropriate. Our goal, as always, is to stay ahead of any credit challenges.

Turning to slide 21, I want to briefly highlight our exposure to nondepository financial institutions, which totals approximately $3.2 billion, or about 6% of our overall loan portfolio. Importantly, the majority of this exposure is in areas where we have longstanding experience and strong performance. Of our $3.2 billion exposure, approximately $1.8 billion is tied to our mortgage warehouse business, a line of business we have been in for over 30 years with deep client relationships, robust operating systems, and well-established risk management practices. In addition, about $341 million consists of capital call facilities, which are structured with strong underlying investor support and have historically demonstrated very favorable credit characteristics.

The balance of the portfolio is broadly diversified across a granular group of relationships with leasing companies, captive finance companies associated with commercial borrowers, insurance carriers, and broker-dealers. Overall, we view this portfolio as well diversified and aligned with our disciplined approach to specialty finance focused on areas where we have expertise, strong structures, and a track record of consistent performance. Also, as noted in the last few earnings calls, we continue to be highly focused on our exposure to commercial real estate loans, which comprise roughly one quarter of our total loan portfolio.

As detailed on slide 18, we continue to see signs of stabilization during the first quarter as CRE NPLs remained at very low levels, decreasing from 0.18% to 0.12%, and CRE charge-offs continue to remain at historically low levels. On slide 24, we continue to provide enhanced detail on our CRE office exposure. Currently, this portfolio remains steady at $1.7 billion, or 11.7% of our total CRE portfolio and only 3.1% of our total loan portfolio. We monitor this portfolio very closely, and we will continue to perform deep-dive analysis on a quarterly basis. The most recent deep-dive analysis showed very consistent results when compared to prior quarters.

Finally, as we have discussed on previous calls, our team stays in very close contact with our customers, and those conversations continue to reflect measured optimism around the business climate. That concludes my comments on credit, and I will turn it back to Tim.

Timothy S. Crane: Great. Thank you, Rich. At the beginning of the call, I briefly mentioned our three strategic priorities: delivering exceptional customer service; generating disciplined and strategic growth across our businesses with prudent risk management—and I would add through all market cycles; and investing in our foundation and the future of our bank. I want to spend just one minute on the first one. Whether high-tech or high-touch, we offer a more personalized level of service than our larger bank or money center bank competitors. And relative to our smaller competitors, we offer more tools and sophistication to meet their needs.

As a result, we occupy a unique and advantaged position in what we believe to be attractive markets and in attractive businesses. In the second half of the year, we will open several branches to continue to expand market share and to build franchise value in key communities. We will also supplement that with continued investment in the digital capabilities that provide flexibility and convenience for our customers. For us, it is all about the customer. This unwavering focus is largely what has led to the consistent results we have delivered. So what does this mean for the second quarter, and to a degree for the remainder of the year?

We expect outsized loan growth in the second quarter largely from our property and casualty premium finance business, which is seasonally very strong in Q2. Longer term, our pipelines are solid, and we expect to deliver mid- to high-single-digit loan growth for the remainder of the year. Combined with the stable margin David mentioned earlier at around 3.5%, we expect solid net interest income growth in the coming quarters. As always, we will work hard to fund our loan growth with a similar level of deposit growth, expanding our base of deposit clients and building franchise value.

Expenses will be seasonally higher in Q2 as a result of a full quarter of annual salary increases, increased marketing expense, and you can expect a normalized tax rate for the remainder of the year. That said, we expect overall expenses will be well managed in line with our revenue growth and will result in operating leverage for the year. With respect to capital, we have reviewed the new proposals. With the proposed standardized approach, we estimate an approximate 6% to 7% reduction in risk-weighted assets, or said differently, about a 60 to 70 basis point improvement in CET1 if adopted in their present form.

We are evaluating the ERBA approach, which is a bit more involved and requires some assumptions at this point. If it turns out to be more beneficial, it would likely be a result of the treatment on investment grade loans and some of the retail activity. Overall, we feel good about our momentum and believe we are well positioned for the remainder of 2026. One final note, I would like to take a moment to thank two of our longstanding board members who will conclude their service at our annual meeting next month. Pat Hackett joined our board in 2008 and has served as chairman of the board for the past nine years.

And Bill Doyle joined the board in 2017. Both Pat and Bill have provided invaluable guidance over the years, and we are grateful for all they have done to help us deliver value for our shareholders. I also want to congratulate Brian Kenny, who is expected to succeed Pat as chairman pending his reelection at the upcoming annual meeting. We are very fortunate to have an engaged and thoughtful group of directors. Their perspective and insights are helpful to me and our entire management team and are certainly a big part of our success. We will now open the call for questions.

Operator: Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. Our first question comes from the line of Jon Glenn Arfstrom of RBC Capital Markets. Your line is open, Jon.

Jon Glenn Arfstrom: Good morning. Maybe, Rich or Tim, a question on the period-end loan growth you talked about, with period-end being higher than average. Anything you would call out in terms of the trends from early in the quarter versus the period-end strength? And then any impacts you have seen from some of the macro uncertainty in terms of the pipelines?

Richard B. Murphy: We had some payoffs at the first part of the year that subdued some of that growth. It was just timing, nothing more than that. We had good momentum through the quarter. We did have some strong warehouse line growth right at the end of the quarter that helped as well. I would not say anything atypical—just timing on prepayments and some end-of-quarter warehouse line growth. As it relates to overall sentiment, we still feel pretty good. The customers we talk to feel the economy, certainly in the Midwest, still feels pretty good. Our pipelines in the C&I space right now are probably as good as they have ever been.

Part of that is optimism; part of it is where we sit relative to the competition in Chicago. Right now, it feels like we are in a pretty good spot there.

Jon Glenn Arfstrom: Maybe for you, David, on mortgage. It is probably the quarter to ask about mortgage given some of the typical seasonality, but I think it was a little better than I expected. What outlook do you have for the typical seasonal increase in volumes, and warehouse balances as well?

David Alan Dykstra: It was a little bit better first quarter than we might expect because during part of the quarter, rates got down below 6% for a little bit of time, so applications picked up. Then rates popped back up and applications came down to scraping the bottom again. We are hopeful about a good spring buying season again this year, but given current rates, we are not seeing a huge pickup yet. We think rates have to get down around 6% or below for there to be any meaningful pickup.

Barring that, we probably stick with mortgage revenue in the $20 million to $30 million range, as we have been fairly consistently for a number of quarters; about half of that is servicing income. For mortgage warehouse, that will depend on rates. If the 10-year comes down and mortgage rates get close to 6%, we should do pretty well; if they stay in the mid-6% range, it is probably subdued.

Timothy S. Crane: I would only add on the mortgage warehouse that our growth is a little larger there than mortgage in general because we have taken share from some competitors and continue to add very high-quality, generally larger, mortgage originators.

Jon Glenn Arfstrom: Appreciate it.

Timothy S. Crane: Thanks, Jon.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Nathan James Race of Piper Sandler.

Nathan James Race: Tim, going back to your comments around the insurance finance portfolio and the outsized growth that you expect in Q2. Overall loan growth was, I think, 19% in-quarter annualized in the second quarter of last year led by the P&C portfolio. Are you seeing any softening in volumes given what is going on in the P&C market these days? And what are you seeing within pricing as well within that book?

Timothy S. Crane: We do not have as much tailwind as we have had from premium growth in prior years. I think premiums are pretty flat to maybe up slightly as opposed to up quite a bit in prior periods, so that will play a little role. But we continue to grow units, which is encouraging for the growth of our business. Pricing is fairly rational in that market. A lot of these are smaller loans where clients are managing cash flow, and small rate differences do not move it much. We continue to expect a good second quarter from a volume standpoint, and pricing is rational.

David Alan Dykstra: We have made significant investments in technology associated with that business, and the volume reflects that. Our customers see us as the go-to provider in that space. The overall market can move up or down; our job is to be the premier provider in that space, and it continues to show in the numbers.

Nathan James Race: Great. For David, could you provide a guidepost for expenses in light of seasonality and the full-quarter impact of increases within the comp line for the second quarter? Are you still thinking about mid-single-digit year-over-year growth for 2026?

David Alan Dykstra: The first quarter tends to be a low expense quarter. The last three years, we have seen it dip a little from the fourth quarter—that trend is consistent. Our outlook is mid-single-digit year-over-year expense growth, 2026 versus 2025. We generally have a pickup in the second and third quarters because of advertising and marketing spends for baseball and summertime sponsorships. We also have a full quarter of the base salary increase that went into effect February 1 versus two months in Q1. T&E is seasonally low in Q1, so expect a little increase there. If you look at increases from prior years’ second quarters directionally, that is a guide to what to expect.

Nathan James Race: On the margin, can it grind higher from here if the Fed remains on pause, particularly with some hedges rolling off and more rational deposit pricing competition? I imagine new loan production is accretive to the portfolio yield of about 6.14% coming out of the quarter.

David Alan Dykstra: We think we are fairly neutral on the margin now even if rates go up or down one or two times. You will notice in the deck we added three new swaps during the quarter, with swap rates in the mid-3% range up into the 3.60s—very close to one-month SOFR. We continue to replace swaps out into the future to manage the margin to stay neutral in the 3.50s range, which we think is prudent. Loans are coming on in the low 6% range and deposits will be relatively flat, so we think we hold yields and rates and keep the margin relatively flat in the 3.50s going forward.

Nathan James Race: And just to clarify, is incremental deposit growth neutral to your all-in interest-bearing deposit costs?

David Alan Dykstra: I would think loan rates and deposit rates will be relatively consistent next quarter barring some move by the Fed and market rates.

Nathan James Race: Understood. Appreciate the color. Congrats on another great quarter.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Analyst from TD Cowen. Please go ahead.

Analyst: Not only are your period-end loans almost $1.2 billion above your average for the quarter, but your period-end noninterest-bearing deposits are also $1.1 billion above the average. I would assume a lot of that is you taking market share with your service as a differentiator. Should we expect any adjustments in the second quarter, or is that a good run rate heading into Q2?

Timothy S. Crane: A couple of things. You are correct—we continue to win business in the market and grow our deposit base. Quarter-end is a little bit lumpy with respect to noninterest-bearing deposits, and the better way to look at that is average noninterest-bearing deposits over the period. It will continue to move around a little bit, but we had a very nice quarter-end and continue to build the deposit franchise.

Analyst: Thank you. With NIM in the 3.5% handle for the rest of 2026, NII in Q2 should benefit a lot from strong period-end balances. Double-digit NII growth in 2026 does not seem unrealistic. Is there anything I am missing? Would you still look for mid-single-digit expense growth if that were the case? How should we think about the level of POL you want to achieve for the year?

David Alan Dykstra: If we have stronger loan growth, we do not expect a significant increase in expenses. Our infrastructure can handle that. Q2 will be a very strong quarter because of the seasonality of premium finance loans—generally plus or minus $1 billion in Q2 just from premium finance. We expect a very strong Q2, which should be above our range. Looking out to the third and fourth quarters, given the volatile interest rate environment, we still stay within mid- to high-single-digit year expectations for the year.

It is possible the economy keeps plugging along and we do better than expected, but we have consistently thought the pipelines and business plan produce at least mid- to high-single-digit loan growth, likely the higher end of that range given results so far.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of David John Chiaverini of Jefferies. Please go ahead, David.

David John Chiaverini: Thanks. I wanted to drill into deposit competition. We are hearing mixed messages, with one of the larger banks in the Midwest saying competition is fairly intense. Is this impacting Wintrust Financial Corporation much?

Timothy S. Crane: It is still fairly reasonable in Chicago. We have strong market share in three markets: Southeastern Wisconsin, Northern Illinois/Chicago area, and Grand Rapids. Pricing is rational—promotional CDs around 4%, promotional money market in the low 3% range. We are not seeing anything atypical at this point, though we appreciate that some other Midwest markets may be a little frothy. It feels okay to us.

David John Chiaverini: Thanks. On expenses and positive operating leverage, I think you have spoken previously about approximately 200 basis points for this year. Is that still the expectation or could we do better?

Timothy S. Crane: We had a strong first quarter and expect a good second quarter. We will see. We continue to invest to position the bank for growth. The 200 basis points is not out of the question, and we would work to improve on that.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Analyst from Stephens Inc. Please go ahead.

Analyst: Good morning. On credit, I noticed special mention increased about 20% during the quarter. It looks like it stemmed from the commercial portfolio. Is that accurate? If not, could you expand on that increase?

Richard B. Murphy: That is accurate; it is in the commercial portfolio. It is hard when you look at those numbers because levels are low, so periodic increases draw attention. We are very active in our loan ratings, and when customers have a bit of a miss in a quarter, we will adjust. There is nothing systemic here—more one-off situations across a couple of customers, not concentrated by industry. We anticipate it will probably hang around this level for the next few quarters. Customers generally are operating with reasonable results, so nothing to read into it.

Analyst: Thanks. On fees, operating lease income stepped up. Historically it is not abnormal to see one or two quarters step up and then go back down. On a go-forward basis, should we look at that as more of a $15–$16 million run rate, or is this $19 million the new rate?

David Alan Dykstra: It is probably somewhere between $16 million and $19 million. Occasionally, you get gains on sales during the quarter—normal course of business. They happen on a recurring basis, but you cannot always judge the size of them each quarter. Not out of the question it could be $19 million again next quarter, but somewhere in between is a good bet.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Jeffrey Allen Rulis of D.A. Davidson. Please go ahead, Jeff.

Jeffrey Allen Rulis: Good morning. Sticking on fee income, the wealth management side was pretty impressive. At about $42 million, that is strong. What is the outlook from here for this year?

Timothy S. Crane: A really nice quarter in a business we like and are growing steadily. There is a seasonal element to the strong growth this quarter that accounts for a little more revenue than we would expect in coming quarters. Overall, good news and momentum. As a better go-forward number, look for something between the fourth quarter and the first quarter.

Jeffrey Allen Rulis: Thanks. And checking in on M&A conversations as you target smaller institutions—what is the appetite and level of conversations?

Timothy S. Crane: Not much change since we last spoke. Some high-level conversations that I would characterize as exploration. No change to our posture—we are a disciplined and skilled acquirer. We will look at opportunities with good strategic and cultural fit and are well positioned to take advantage if they present themselves.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Benjamin Tyson Gerlinger of Citi. Please go ahead, Ben.

Benjamin Tyson Gerlinger: In your prepared remarks, I think you said “several” branches. Were these in Chicago? And for David, I am assuming that is in the expense guide you provided?

Timothy S. Crane: I said “several,” not seven. We have new branch activity in each of our three markets for the second half of the year. In some cases, these are sub-markets we are not in; in other cases, opportunistic builds as populations move. These are nice opportunities that help build out the franchise and deposit base.

David Alan Dykstra: And they are included in our expense forecast.

Benjamin Tyson Gerlinger: With these new branches, should we expect intentional marketing or over-market rates to spin up deposits faster given branches take roughly three to four years to breakeven?

Timothy S. Crane: When we enter new markets, we want to be aggressive and build the size of those branches quickly. I do not think on an overall basis it will change the trajectory of the financials in a way that is easily recognizable, but we will be aggressive in those markets.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Jared David Shaw of Barclays. Please go ahead, Jared.

Jared David Shaw: Listening to the optimism around loan growth and a stable margin, mid- to high-single-digit revenue growth feels conservative. Is that the right way to think about it, with a little conservatism built in on economic uncertainty? Or as we get through Q2 and the premium finance benefits, do Q3 and Q4 tail off a bit?

Timothy S. Crane: We have visibility to a very good start to Q2 and the seasonal P&C business. Pipelines look good for the second half. If that continues, we might be on the high end—we are certainly working to be on the high end. But there is uncertainty with some geopolitical issues. Our clients are cautiously optimistic, but beyond six months, visibility gets less clear.

Jared David Shaw: On capital, how should we think about capital continuing to grow from here? If there is not a deal, is there a limit to how high you want it to go near to mid-term?

Timothy S. Crane: We ended the quarter with CET1 at 10.4%. With substantial growth in the second quarter, that number probably will not move much, and if we do really well, it might move down a little. We would expect to grow CET1 the remainder of the year at mid- to high-single-digit loan growth. Once we cross about 10.5%, and depending on what happens with the proposals, we will evaluate appropriate capital levels and make decisions. Our order remains: organic growth; if we find an appropriate acquisition, we may need capital; and we have an authorization in place for stock buybacks if we ended up with a lot more capital.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Analyst from Truist. Your line is open.

Analyst: If no M&A emerges, with some activity around your markets, are there opportunities you are watching for team hires, de novo market expansion, or opportunistic client acquisitions? Any benefit from M&A happening around you right now?

Timothy S. Crane: We always look for talented people to hire; that tends to happen when someone is frustrated with their ability to take care of customers at their institution. We have had some success there, though we typically do not highlight it on these calls. We are excited about de novo expansion; the communities we will enter are attractive and represent good opportunities. On M&A, it happens when it happens—we will continue to talk to institutions that are a cultural and strategic fit. I would characterize the current state as more exploration than serious conversation, though that can change.

Analyst: On expenses, to clarify, the mid-single digits is full-year 2026 versus full-year 2025, not off the fourth-quarter annualized base?

David Alan Dykstra: Correct—full year 2026 versus full year 2025, mid-single digits.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Christopher Edward McGratty of KBW. Your line is open, Christopher.

Christopher Edward McGratty: Good morning. On capital, rating agencies are one of the constituents to be mindful of as you consider Basel III opportunities. How important is the TCE ratio over the next couple of years? Any thoughts on balancing the ratios?

David Alan Dykstra: The rating agencies acknowledge that our capital levels are sufficient given our risk profile. About a third of our portfolio is premium finance, which is low risk, and life finance, which has been zero basis points of loss over the years. From a risk-adjusted perspective, our capital is more than sufficient, and the rating agencies understand that. Our ratings have stayed stable and our capital has been growing. Even if we did a buyback and brought that down a little, we have room. We are comfortable with our capital levels and with how the rating agencies look at it.

Christopher Edward McGratty: Within the NII expectations, what is your deposit mix outlook? DDA has grown on an unaveraged basis pretty solidly in the last six months. Any seasonal patterns and expectations?

David Alan Dykstra: As Tim said, the better way to look at DDA is averages, because at quarter- and year-ends there are fluctuations. I would suspect the mix will stay relatively the same. In good growth quarters, we tend to add more interest-bearing deposits than noninterest-bearing deposits, but the absolute dollar amount of DDA should stay relatively consistent on an average basis and then grow as we bring more customers in. Beyond that, interest-bearing growth will be a little faster than noninterest-bearing simply to support loan growth. I would not expect big changes in the mix.

Operator: I would now like to turn the conference back to Timothy S. Crane for closing remarks.

Timothy S. Crane: Thank you. Again, a good start to the year. We feel good about the outlook for 2026, and that is really a tribute to the great team we have at Wintrust Financial Corporation. They are very focused on our strategic priorities. I want to thank them for all they do for the customers and communities in which we operate and, most importantly, our shareholders. Thank you, and hope everybody has a nice day.

Operator: Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.