Company: WTFCN
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001015328-25-000093
Chunk: 217

Company: WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 217
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 the Company may foreclose on and take title to properties securing certain loans. In doing so, there is a risk that hazardous or toxic substances could be found on these properties. If hazardous or toxic substances are found, the Company may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage and may suffer reputational harm as a result.  In addition, we own and operate a number of properties that may be subject to similar environmental liability risks.

Environmental laws may require the Company to incur substantial expenses and could materially reduce the affected property's value or limit the Company's ability to use or sell the affected property. The costs associated with investigation and remediation activities could be substantial and increase over time. In addition, if we are the owner or former owner of a contaminated site, we may be subject to common law claims by third parties based on damages and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from the property. Although the Company has policies and procedures to perform an environmental review before initiating any foreclosure action on real property, these reviews may not be sufficient to detect all potential environmental hazards. The remediation costs and any other financial liabilities associated with an environmental hazard could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition, reputation and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Niche Businesses

Our premium finance business may involve a higher risk of delinquency or collection than our other lending operations, and could expose us to losses.

We provide financing for the payment of property and casualty insurance premiums and life insurance premiums on a national basis through FIRST Insurance Funding and Wintrust Life Finance, respectively, and financing for the payment of property and casualty insurance premiums in Canada through our wholly-owned subsidiary, FIFC Canada. Property and casualty insurance premium finance loans involve a different, and possibly higher, risk of delinquency or collection than life insurance premium finance loans and the loan portfolios of our bank subsidiaries because these loans are issued primarily through relationships with a large number of unaffiliated insurance agents and because the borrowers are located nationwide. As a result, risk management and general supervisory oversight may be difficult. As of December 31, 2024, we had $7.3 billion of property and casualty insurance premium finance loans outstanding, of which $6.4 billion related to the Company's U.S. operations at FIRST Insurance Funding and $824.4 million related to the Company's Canadian operations at FIFC Canada. Together, these loans represented 15% of our total loan portfolio as of such date.

FIRST Insurance Funding