Town Bank to expand presence in city
Wintrust Financial Corp., the parent company of Town Bank, is planning to boost its Milwaukee presence in a big way.
The Hartland-based lender said Monday it will establish a downtown Milwaukee headquarters office for commercial banking at 731 N. Jackson St. this fall.
The bank has signed a long-term lease for 20,000 square feet on two floors there. The office will by staffed by about 40 employees.
In addition, Wintrust is opening two branches in Milwaukee — one at the corner of East Kilbourn Avenue and North Milwaukee Street and the other across the street from the Al McGuire Center on the ground floor of the Catholic Financial Life building at 1100 W. Wells St.
Jay Mack, chairman and CEO of Town Bank, said the agreement for the North Jackson Street facilities also includes building naming rights and prominent signage on all four sides of the nine-story structure. The building will be known as the Wintrust Financial
Center, and signage is scheduled to go up this summer.
“There are a lot of exciting changes happening in southern Wisconsin and downtown Milwaukee, and we want to be a part of them,” said Mack.
Mack said Town Bank’s expanded efforts in southern Wisconsin will allow the bank to address the growing needs of middle market businesses, commercial real estate developers and larger corporations, as well as serve the Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Madison markets.
Most of Town Bank’s branches are in the suburbs or other parts of the state. Mack said Hartland will remain the official headquarters of Town Bank, while the new North Jackson Street office will give it a very visible anchor for its commercial banking operations.
The office, which won’t have a lobby retail branch, will offer a full range of commercial banking services, such as commercial real estate lending, asset-based lending, commercial finance, wealth services and treasury management services. The commercial banking division also specializes in a number of niche industries, including franchise services; construction; engineering; property management; agribusiness; professional practices; municipalities; government entities; nonprofits; health care providers; and property, casualty and life insurance premium financing.
“We’re proud to offer financial expertise tailored to this area’s industries,” Edward J. Wehmer, president and chief executive of Rosemont, Ill.-based Wintrust, said in a statement Monday.
Town Bank recently was named the exclusive bank at Marquette University, which includes establishing a branch at Alumni Memorial Union and providing ATMs throughout campus. That deal runs for 10 years.
The student union branch is expected to open in early July. The new branch in the Catholic Financial Life building should open within the next couple of weeks, and the 401 E. Kilbourn Ave. branch is slated for a mid-June opening, Mack said. Town Bank also is opening a branch in Racine this week.
Town Bank, with assets of about $2 billion, currently has 21 branches throughout southern Wisconsin. Wintrust, with about $28 billion, also operates branches under various bank brand names in Illinois.