Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call January 18, 2024 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Tim Crane - President & CEO

David Dykstra - Vice Chairman & COO

Richard Murphy - Vice Chairman & Chief Lending Officer

Conference Call Participants

Jon Arfstrom - RBC Capital Markets

Chris McGratty - KBW

Casey Haire - Jefferies

Jeff Rulis - D.A. Davidson

Brandon King - Truist

Ben Gerlinger - Citi

Terry McEvoy - Stephens Inc.

Brody Preston - UBS

Operator

Welcome to Wintrust Financial Corporation's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Earnings Conference Call. A review of the results will be made by Tim Crane, President and Chief Executive Officer; David Dykstra, Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer; and Richard Murphy, Vice Chairman and Chief Lending Officer. As part of their reviews, the presenters may make reference to both the earnings press release and the earnings release presentation. Following their presentations, there will be a formal question-and-answer session.

During the course of today's call, Wintrust management may make statements that constitute projections, expectations, beliefs, or similar forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated or projected in any such forward-looking statements. The company's forward-looking assumptions that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the information discussed during this call are detailed in our earnings press release and in the company's most recent Form 10-K and any subsequent filings with the SEC.

Also, our remarks may reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. Our earnings press release and earnings release presentation include a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest comparable GAAP financial measure. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Tim Crane.

Tim Crane

Good morning, and thank you for joining us for the fourth quarter and full year call. For those we haven't spoken to recently, Happy New Year. In addition to Dave Dykstra and Rich Murphy who the host introduced, Dave Stoehr, our Chief Financial Officer; and Kate Boege, our General Counsel are with me.

In terms of an agenda, I'll share some high level highlights. Dave Dykstra will speak to the financial results, and Rich will add some additional information and color on credit performance. I'll wrap up with some summary thoughts on 2024, and as always, we'll do our best to answer some questions.

For the year, we reported record net income of just over $622 million, up 22% over 2023. The results reflect our conservative approach to managing and growing our franchise. Specifically, we target steady growth in both loans and deposits, sound and conservative liquidity and risk management, and an unwavering commitment to taking care of our clients.