Page 1

News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wintrust Financial Corporation 9700 W. Higgins Road , Suite 800 , Rosemont , Illinois 60018 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT : Exhibit 99.1 April 19 , 2021 Edward J. Wehmer , Founder & Chief Executive Officer David A. Dykstra , Vice Chairman & Chief Operating Officer ( 847 ) 939-9000 Web site address : www.wintrust.com Wintrust Financial Corporation Reports Record First Quarter 2021 Net Income of $ 153.1 million ROSEMONT , ILLINOIS Wintrust Financial Corporation ( " Wintrust ” , “ the Company " , " we " or " our " ) ( Nasdaq : WTFC ) announced record net income of $ 153.1 million or $ 2.54 per diluted common share for the first quarter of 2021 , an increase in diluted earnings per common share of 56 % compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 and an increase of 144 % compared to the first quarter of 2020 . Highlights of the First Quarter of 2021 : Comparative information to the fourth quarter of 2020 • • • • • • • Total assets increased by $ 601 million . Total loans , excluding Paycheck Protection Program ( " PPP " ) loans , increased by $ 515 million . о Originated $ 1.3 billion of PPP loans in the first quarter of 2021 which generated fees of $ 51.2 million , net of $ 1.8 million of deferred costs , to be recognized over the estimated life of the loans . PPP loans originated in 2020 declined by $ 667 million in the first quarter of 2021 primarily as a result of processing forgiveness payments . As of April 16 , 2021 , approximately 42 % of PPP loan balances originated in 2020 have been forgiven , approximately 40 % of balances are in the forgiveness review or submission process , and approximately 18 % of balances have yet to apply for forgiveness . Total deposits increased by $ 780 million . Total investment securities increased by $ 1.0 billion as the Company deployed a portion of its excess liquidity . Net interest income increased by $ 2.5 million primarily due to earning asset growth and increased PPP loan fee accretion , despite two less days in the first quarter of 2021. Each day has an approximately $ 3 million impact on net interest income . ° The Company recognized $ 19.2 million of PPP loan fee accretion in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to $ 16.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. As of March 31 , 2021 , the Company had approximately $ 64.6 million of net PPP loan fees that have yet to be recognized in income . The loans to deposits ratio ended the first quarter of 2021 at 87.6 % as compared to 86.5 % as of December 31 , 2020 . Excluding PPP loans , the loans to deposits ratio ended the first quarter of 2021 at 78.9 % . Mortgage banking revenue increased by $ 26.7 million to $ 113.5 million for the first quarter of 2021 as compared to $ 86.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 . о Recorded an increase in the value of mortgage servicing rights related to changes in fair value model assumptions of $ 18.0 million in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to a decrease of $ 5.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 . Recorded a negative provision for credit losses of $ 45.3 million in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to $ 1.2 million of expense in the fourth quarter of 2020 . Recorded net charge - offs of $ 13.3 million in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to net charge - offs of $ 10.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Net charge - offs as a percentage of average total loans totaled 17 basis points in the first quarter of 2021 on an annualized basis compared to 13 basis points on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter of 2020 . The allowance for credit losses on our core loan portfolio is approximately 1.62 % of the outstanding balance as of March 31 , 2021 , down from 2.00 % as of December 31 , 2020. See Table 11 for more information . Non - performing loans declined significantly and totaled $ 99.1 million , or 0.30 % of total loans , as of March 31 , 2021 as compared to $ 127.5 million , or 0.40 % of total loans , as of December 31 , 2020 . The outstanding balance of COVID - 19 related modified loans totaled approximately $ 254 million or 0.8 % of total loans , excluding PPP loans , as of March 31 , 2021 as compared to $ 345 million or 1.2 % as of December 31 , 2020 .