Wintrust Executive Adopts 10b5-1 Plan

LAKE FOREST, Ill., Jan. 31, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wintrust Financial Corporation ("Wintrust") (Nasdaq:WTFC) today announced that Edward J. Wehmer, its President and Chief Executive Officer, adopted a prearranged trading plan in accordance with guidelines specified by Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Wintrust's policies with respect to insider sales.

Rule 10b5-1 allows officers and directors to adopt written, prearranged stock trading plans when they do not have material, non-public information. Once established, the officers do not retain or exercise any discretion over sales of stock under the plan and the pre-planned trades can be executed at later dates as set forth in the plan, without regard to any subsequent material non-public information that the director or officer may receive.

The purpose of the plan is to provide Mr. Wehmer, who receives a substantial portion of his compensation in the form of equity awards and options, with the ability to exercise certain expiring stock options and sell the underlying common stock in an orderly manner and avoid concerns about the timing of those transactions. Appropriate filings reporting the sales will be made with the Securities and Exchange Commission when the sales are completed under the trading plan.

Under his trading plan, Mr. Wehmer may sell up to 180,000 shares of Wintrust common stock upon exercise of expiring stock options.

WINTRUST SUBSIDIARIES AND LOCATIONS

Wintrust is a financial holding company whose common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq:WTFC). Its 15 community bank subsidiaries are: Lake Forest Bank & Trust Company, Hinsdale Bank & Trust Company, North Shore Community Bank & Trust Company in Wilmette, Libertyville Bank & Trust Company, Barrington Bank & Trust Company, Crystal Lake Bank & Trust Company, Northbrook Bank & Trust Company, Advantage National Bank in Elk Grove Village, Village Bank & Trust in Arlington Heights, Beverly Bank & Trust Company in Chicago, Wheaton Bank & Trust Company, State Bank of The Lakes in Antioch, Old Plank Trail Community Bank, N.A. in New Lenox, St. Charles Bank & Trust Company and Town Bank in Hartland, Wisconsin. The banks also operate facilities in Illinois in Algonquin, Bloomingdale, Buffalo Grove, Cary, Chicago, Clarendon Hills, Deerfield, Downers Grove, Frankfort, Geneva, Glencoe, Glen Ellyn, Gurnee, Grayslake, Highland Park, Highwood, Hoffman Estates, Island Lake, Lake Bluff, Lake Villa, Lincoln Park, Lindenhurst, McHenry, Mokena, Mount Prospect, Mundelein, Naperville, North Chicago, Northfield, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Ravenswood, Ravinia, Riverside, Roselle, Sauganash, Skokie, Spring Grove, Vernon Hills, Wauconda, Western Springs, Willowbrook and Winnetka, and in Delafield, Elm Grove, Madison, Wales, Wisconsin.