Holy Cow! Is Wintrust’s Ed Wehmer Responsible for the Cubs’ Bad Start?

Though “win” is part of its name, Wintrust Financial has yet to bring good luck to the Chicago Cubs.

An 18-month-old effort by the $16 billion-asset multi-bank holding company in Lake Forest, Ill., to ratchet up its profile has included billboards across Chicago and advertisements at the Cubs’ friendly confines, Wrigley Field.

But the Cubs are off to a poor start again (8-15 after a loss Monday), and Wintrust Chief Executive Edward Wehmer joked in a recent conference call that he hopes Wintrust is not compounding the team’s notorious curse.  The Cubs last won the World Series in 1908, and their ever-upbeat fans live by the mantra "Wait till next year."

“Go to Wrigley Field, and our name's up all over there,” Wehmer said. “I hope we're not a Jonah to them. But I guess they haven't done well in a long time, so they can't blame us.”

The biblical reference was to those who bring bad luck. Of course, Wehmer will have to stand in line behind the Cubs’ famous scapegoats, including foul ball-snatching fan Steve Bartman and the Billy Goat himself. William "Billy Goat" Sianis, the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, was said to have cursed the team when he and his smelly goat were kicked out of a World Series game against the Detroit Tigers in 1945. The Cubs lost that Series and have never returned.

Wehmer made his remarks while answering analysts’ questions whether the company’s new “Wintrust Banking Center”-- the first branch to prominently display the company name -- would make an impression on consumers. Most customers are familiar with the names of the banks that Wintrust owns, not the Wintrust brand. Wehmer acknowledged that it is a test, but he said he is expecting the branch on West Madison Street in downtown Chicago would bring in $200 million of deposits.