Company: WTFCN
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001015328-25-000093
Chunk: 201

Company: WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 201
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 high ethical standards;

•the scope, relevance and pricing of products and services offered to meet customer needs and demands;

•the ability to expand our market position;

•the ability to uphold our reputation in the marketplace;

•the rate at which we introduce new products and services relative to our competitors;

•customer satisfaction with our level of service; and

•industry and general economic trends.

If we are unable to compete effectively, our market share and income from deposits, loans and other products may be reduced. This could adversely affect our profitability and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Damage to our reputation may harm our business.

Maintaining trust in the Company is critical to our ability to attract and maintain customers, investors and employees. If our reputation is damaged, our business could be significantly harmed. Harm to our reputation could arise from numerous sources, including, among others, employee misconduct, security and cybersecurity breaches, compliance failures, litigation or regulatory outcomes or governmental investigations. Our reputation could also be harmed by the failure or perceived failure of an affiliate or a vendor or other third party with which we do business, to comply with applicable laws or regulations. In addition, our reputation or prospects could be significantly damaged by adverse publicity or negative information regarding the Company, whether or not true, that may be posted on social media, non-mainstream news services or other parts of the internet, and this risk can be magnified by the speed and pervasiveness with which information is disseminated through those channels.

Actions by the financial services industry generally or by certain members of or individuals in the industry can also affect our reputation. For example, the role played by financial services firms during and after the financial crisis, including concerns that consumers have been treated unfairly by financial institutions or that a financial institution had acted inappropriately with respect to the methods employed in offering products to customers, have damaged the reputation of the industry as a whole. 

Should any of these or other events or factors that can undermine our reputation occur, there is no assurance that the additional costs and expenses that we may need to incur to address the issues giving rise to the damage to our reputation would not adversely affect our earnings and results of operations, or that damage to our reputation will not impair our ability to retain our 

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existing customers and employees or attract new customers and employees. Harm to our reputation or the reputation of our industry may also result in greater regulatory or legislative scrutiny, which may lead to changes in laws or regulations that could constrain our business or operations.