Company: WTFCN
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001015328-25-000093
Chunk: 209

Company: WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 209
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representative of our actual practices. Additional risks could arise in connection with any failure or perceived failure by us, our service providers or other third parties with which we do business to provide adequate disclosure or transparency to our customers about the personal information collected from them and its use, to receive, document or honor the privacy preferences expressed by our customers, to protect personal information from unauthorized disclosure, or to maintain proper training on privacy practices for all employees or third parties who have access to personal information in our possession or control. 

Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our privacy policies, or applicable data privacy and cybersecurity laws, regulations, rules, standards or contractual obligations, or any compromise of security that results in unauthorized access to, or unauthorized loss, destruction, use, modification, acquisition, disclosure, release or transfer of personal information, may result in requirements to modify or cease certain operations or practices, the expenditure of substantial costs, time and other resources, proceedings or actions against us, legal liability, governmental investigations, enforcement actions, claims, fines, judgments, awards, penalties, sanctions and costly litigation (including class actions). Any of the foregoing could harm our reputation, 

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distract our management and technical personnel, increase our costs of doing business, adversely affect the demand for our products and services, and ultimately result in the imposition of liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For more information regarding data privacy and cybersecurity laws and regulations, see “Protection of Client Information” under Supervision and Regulation in Item 1.

Financial reform legislation and increased regulatory rigor around consumer protection and mortgage-related issues may reduce our ability to market our products to consumers and may limit our ability to profitably operate our mortgage business.

The CFPB has broad rulemaking authority over a wide range of federal consumer protection laws applicable to the business of our subsidiary banks and some other operating subsidiaries, including the authority to prohibit “unfair, deceptive or abusive” acts and practices, but examination and supervision of our subsidiary banks is carried out by the primary federal banking agency and, where applicable, state banking agencies. Consumer protection is an area of significantly heightened regulatory focus, and the CFPB has promulgated a number of specific regulatory requirements and regulatory guidance in this area. These actions have increased and may further increase the costs of doing business for all market participants, including our subsidiaries.

In particular, the mortgage-related rules issued by the CFPB have materially restructured the origination, servicing and se