Wintrust - Committed to Local Communities

Paul Liska is a private investor who served in senior leadership roles with some of the biggest public companies in the United States. Paul Liska is also a member of the board of directors of 11 public companies, including Wintrust Financial Corporation.

Wintrust opened its first location in 1991 in a northern suburb of Chicago with an overarching goal of providing financial services (different from the big banks) to the community. Today, the Rosemont, Illinois-based company is in over 175 locations, providing commercial and personal banking services to communities across Chicago, northwestern Indiana, and southern Wisconsin.

The company organizes community events, provides financial education services, and hosts neighborhood cookouts. It also supports its communities by collaborating with local organizations, sponsoring local events, and sitting on local boards.

Wintrust has assets totaling over $36 billion. In April 2020, the company stated that its platform for the Paycheck Protection Program from the US Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration, to help businesses affected by the COVID 19 pandemic, received loan inquires from over 7,700 small business totaling over $3.1 billion. Wintrust proudly noted that over 50 percent of the PPP inquiries were so far for loans below $100,000, which indicates the loans would go to local small businesses as intended.