Illinois holding company gathers eighth subsidiary

Northwestern Financial Review, Feb 15-Feb 29, 2004

Wintrust Financial Corp., Lake Forest, Ill., has completed acquisition of the $79 million Village Bancorp, Inc., in a stock merger transaction. Village is the parent company of Village Bank and Trust-Arlington Heights, which has locations in Arlington Heights and Prospect Heights, Ill.

Village Bank, which opened in 1995, will be operated as a separately chartered bank subsidiary of Wintrust. The merger allows Wintrust to expand its presence in the northwest Chicago metropolitan area. Including the two Village locations, Wintrust now operates eight Illinois bank subsidiaries - which range from $200 million to $1 billion - and 36 offices.

Edward J. Wehmer, president and CEO of Wintrust, said both he and Thomas H. Roth, Village's president, are "excited about the opportunity to combine the resources of Village with Wintrust. We clearly see benefits for Village's customers, shareholders and employees. Village Bank's customers will not only retain high levels of customer service but will also gain access to a wider range of products and services through the strength of Wintrust."

"Wintrust is impressed with Village's dedicated management team and an operating culture that is well positioned for future growth," said Roth.