Recent Accounting Developments (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

The interim consolidated financial statements of Wintrust Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Wintrust” or the “Company”) presented herein are unaudited, but in the opinion of management, reflect all necessary adjustments of a normal or recurring nature for a fair presentation of results as of the dates and for the periods covered by the interim consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying interim consolidated financial statements are unaudited and do not include information or footnotes necessary for a complete presentation of financial condition, results of operations or cash flows in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The interim unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (“2022 Form 10-K”). Operating results reported for the period are not necessarily indicative of the results which may be expected for the entire year. Reclassifications of certain prior period amounts have been made to conform to the current period presentation.

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities. Management believes that the estimates made are reasonable; however, changes in estimates may be required if economic or other conditions develop differently from management’s expectations. Certain policies and accounting principles inherently have a greater reliance on the use of estimates, assumptions and judgments and as such have a greater possibility of producing results that could be materially different than originally reported. Management views critical accounting policies to be those which are highly dependent on subjective or complex judgments, estimates and assumptions, and where changes in those estimates and assumptions could have a significant impact on the financial statements. Management currently views the determination of the allowance for credit losses, including the allowance for loan losses, the allowance for unfunded commitment losses and the allowance for held-to-maturity securities losses, estimations of fair value, the valuations required for impairment testing of goodwill, the valuation and accounting for derivative instruments and income taxes as the accounting areas that require the most subjective and complex judgments, and as such could be the most subject to revision as new information becomes available. Descriptions of the Company’s significant accounting policies are included in Note (1) “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the 2022 Form 10-K. In preparation of these financial statements, subsequent events were evaluated through the time the financial statements were issued. Financial statements are considered issued when they are widely distributed to all shareholders and other financial statement users or filed with the SEC.

Recent Accounting Developments

Business Combinations

In October 2021, the FASB issued ASU No. 2021-08, “Business Combinations (Topic 805), Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers,” which clarifies diversity in practice related to recognition and measurement of contract assets and liabilities related to revenue contracts with customers which are acquired in a business combination by aligning business combination accounting with the subsequent accounting for contract assets and liabilities by requiring entities to apply ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, in order to recognize and measure deferred revenue in a business combination. The guidance also creates an exception to the general recognition and measurement principle in ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations, under which such amounts are recognized by the acquirer at fair value on the acquisition date by providing two practical expedients for acquirers. The Company adopted ASU No. 2021-08 as of January 1, 2023. Adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Fair Value Hedging - Portfolio Layer Method

In March 2022, the FASB issued ASU No. 2022-01, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Fair Value Hedging - Portfolio Layer Method” which expands the current last-of-layer method by allowing multiple hedged layers to be designated for a single closed portfolio of financial assets or one or more beneficial interests secured by a portfolio of financial instruments. The Company adopted ASU No. 2022-01 as of January 1, 2023. Adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures

In March 2022, the FASB issued ASU No. 2022-02, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures” which eliminates the separate recognition and measurement guidance for troubled debt restructurings (“TDRs”) by creditors, while enhancing disclosure requirements for certain loan refinancing and restructurings by creditors when a borrower is experiencing financial difficulty, and requiring entities to disclose current-period gross write-offs by year of origination for certain financing receivables and net investments in leases. The Company adopted ASU No. 2022-02 as of January 1, 2023. Guidance was adopted under a modified retrospective approach and, at January 1, 2023, the Company recognized a cumulative-effect adjustment to the allowance for loan losses of $741,000 representing the change in methodology of estimating expected credit losses for loans previously classified as TDRs. This amount was a positive adjustment to the allowance for loan losses, presented separately on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Condition, with an offsetting negative adjustment recorded directly to retained earnings, net of taxes.

Fair Value Measurement - Equity Securities with Contractual Sale Restrictions

In June 2022, the FASB issued ASU No. 2022-03, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Fair Value Measurement of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions” which clarifies the guidance in ASC 820 when measuring the fair value of an equity security subject to contractual restrictions that prohibit the sale of an equity security, and also requires specific disclosures related to these types of securities. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods therein, and is to be applied under a prospective approach. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect this guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Legislation Issued Related to Stock Repurchases

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”) was signed by the President of the United States. Among other things, the IRA imposes a 1% excise tax on the fair market value of stock repurchased after December 31, 2022. With certain exceptions, the value of stock repurchased is determined net of stock issued in the year, including shares issued pursuant to compensatory arrangements. This new legislation did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Equity Method and Joint Ventures - Investments in Tax Credit StructuresIn March 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-02, “Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323): Accounting for Investments in Tax Credit Structures Using the Proportional Amortization Method,” which allows reporting entities the option to apply the proportional amortization method to other tax credit programs besides the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit structures. The guidance requires application of the proportional amortization method on a tax-credit-program-by-tax-credit-program basis rather than electing the method at the reporting level entity level. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods therein, and is to be applied under either a modified retrospective or retrospective approach. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect this guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

For purposes of the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, the Company considers cash and cash equivalents to include cash on hand, cash items in the process of collection, non-interest bearing amounts due from correspondent banks, federal funds sold and securities purchased under resale agreements with original maturities of three months or less. These items are included within the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Condition as cash and due from banks, and federal funds sold and securities purchased under resale agreements.