Wintrust Financial buying back shares

LAKE FOREST -- Wintrust Financial Corp. on Thursday announced it has authorized the repurchase up to 1 million shares over the next year, or about 4 percent of its shares. "We believe that our current share price does not reflect the long-term prospects of the company and therefore represents an attractive investment," said Edward J. Wehmer, the bank chain's chief executive officer. The program follows its 1 million share repurchase program last year.