Recent Accounting Developments (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Accounting

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, 2021 (“2021 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 2021 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

Debt

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, “Debt-Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging-Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity,” which includes provisions for reducing the number of accounting models used in accounting for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock, amending derivatives and earnings-per-share (EPS) guidance and expanding disclosures for convertible debt instruments and EPS. The Company adopted ASU No. 2020-06 as of January 1, 2022. Adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Issuer’s Accounting for Modifications or Exchanges of Freestanding Equity-Classified Written Call Options

In May 2021, the FASB issued ASU No. 2021-04, “Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Debt—Modifications and Extinguishments (Subtopic 470-50), Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718), and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Issuer’s Accounting for Certain Modifications or Exchanges of Freestanding Equity-Classified Written Call Options,” which requires an issuer to account for any modification or exchange of the terms or conditions of a freestanding written call option classified as equity, such as warrants, that remains classified as equity as an exchange of the original instrument for a new instrument and provides a framework for measuring and recognizing the effect of the exchange as an adjustment to either equity or expense. The Company adopted ASU No. 2021-04 as of January 1, 2022 under a prospective approach. Adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Leases - Certain Leases with Variable Lease Payments

In July 2021, the FASB issued ASU No. 2021-05, “Leases (Topic 842): Lessors – Certain Leases with Variable Lease Payments” which amends lessor lease classification requirements to allow leases with variable lease payments that are not dependent on a reference index or rate to be classified and accounted for as an operating lease, provided the lease would have been classified as a sales-type or direct financing lease and the lessor would have otherwise recognized a day-one loss. The Company adopted ASU No. 2021-05 as of January 1, 2022. As the Company has adopted ASC Topic 842, this guidance was applied retrospectively to leases that commenced or were modified after the adoption of ASC Topic 842 and prospectively to leases that will commence or be modified after January 1, 2022. 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. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods therein, and is to be applied under a prospective approach. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the updated guidance 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. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods therein, with early adoption permitted. If the Company elects to early adopt in an interim period, the guidance should be applied as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes the interim period. The Company may elect to early adopt the amendments related to TDRs separately from the amendments related to vintage disclosures. The amendments related to disclosures for loan modifications and the vintage disclosures should be applied under a prospective approach, while the guidance on TDRs should be applied using either a prospective or modified retrospective approach. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the updated guidance on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and plans to adopt the new guidance as of January 1, 2023.

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 is currently evaluating the impact of the updated guidance 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.