Company: WTFCN
Filing Date: 2025-08-06
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001015328-25-000188
Chunk: 63

Company: WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORP
Filing Date: 2025-08-06
Form: 10-Q
Item: Item 1
Chunk 63
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. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the assets or liabilities. The following is a description of the valuation methodologies used for the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis.Available-for-sale debt securities, trading account securities and equity securities with readily determinable fair value—Fair values for available-for-sale debt securities, trading account securities and equity securities with readily determinable fair value are typically based on prices obtained from independent pricing vendors. Securities measured with these valuation techniques are generally classified as Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. Typically, standard inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades for similar securities, issuer spreads, benchmark securities, bids, offers and reference data including market research publications are used to determine the fair value of these securities. When these inputs are not available, broker/dealer quotes may be obtained by the vendor to determine the fair value of the security. We review the vendor’s pricing methodologies to determine if observable market information is being used, versus unobservable inputs. Fair value measurements using 

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significant inputs that are unobservable in the market due to limited activity or a less liquid market are classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value of U.S. Treasury securities and certain equity securities with readily determinable fair value are based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical securities. As such, these securities are classified as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy.The Company’s Investment Operations Department is responsible for the valuation of Level 3 available-for-sale debt securities. The methodology and variables used as inputs in pricing Level 3 securities are derived from a combination of observable and unobservable inputs. The unobservable inputs are determined through internal assumptions that may vary from period to period due to external factors, such as market movement and credit rating adjustments.At June 30, 2025, the Company classified $116.1 million of municipal securities as Level 3. These municipal securities are bond issues for various municipal government entities primarily located in the Chicago metropolitan area, southern Wisconsin and west Michigan and are privately placed, non-rated bonds without CUSIP numbers. The Company’s methodology for pricing these securities focuses on three distinct inputs: equivalent rating, yield and other pricing terms. To determine the rating for a given non-rated investment debt security, the Investment Operations Department references a rated, publicly issued bond by the same issuer if available. A reduction is then applied to the rating obtained from the comparable bond, as