Wintrust Financial reports Q4 EPS $2.23, consensus $2.58

Reports Q4 revenue $550.65M, consensus $553.28M. Q4 allowance for credit losses totaled $357.9M, up $42.6M vs. $315.3M as of September 30. CEO Edward Wehmer commented, "Wintrust finished the year with great momentum as our Q4 results were highlighted by strong net income and record quarterly pre-tax, pre-provision income. Net interest income and net interest margin expanded meaningfully and our loan portfolio continued to grow while exhibiting low levels of net charge-offs. The fourth quarter caps an extraordinary year for Wintrust, and we believe that we are well-positioned to reach even higher levels of financial performance in 2023.The company experienced robust loan growth as loans increased by $1.0B, or 11% on an annualized basis, in 4Q22. The loan growth was spread across all of our material loan portfolios as we experienced growth in commercial, commercial real estate, commercial insurance premium finance receivables and life insurance premium finance receivables. We remain prudent in our review of credit prospects ensuring our loan growth stays within our conservative credit standards. Loan growth in 4Q22 outpaced deposit growth which resulted in our loans to deposits ratio ending the quarter at 91.4%. Strategically growing deposits is among our most important objectives in 2023 and we believe we are well positioned to accomplish that without compromising our net interest margin guidance."