MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF COMMUNITY ADVANTAGE®? Community Advantage was started in 1999 as a niche division of Barrington Bank & Trust Company. We realized there was a need for banking solutions geared towards community associations that other banks weren’t filling. Our specific scope was to cater to the needs of associations, their Boards and the management companies that serve them.

WHAT SERVICES DO YOU OFFER COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS? Community Advantage® is one of the Midwest’s leading provider of financial services to condominium, townhouse and homeowner associations. Everything a community association or property management company needs to manage their finances is our specialty.

We offer a complete suite of financial solutions and services to assist associations in managing their cash and operations, such as assessment collections, a variety of lending options, reserve investments, disbursement services and account management services. If your members would rather pay assessments online, we can facilitate that. If you’d rather take out a loan for a new roof instead of depleting your reserve funds or issuing a special assessment, we can tailor a lending solution for your situation.

To meet the more sophisticated financial needs of our clients, we also offer i-BusinessBanking, an integrated, web-based treasury management application. i-BusinessBanking provides 24-hour access to an extensive array of account information. Many of the services mentioned above are also initiated through this online banking system – giving the management companies and associations more time to focus on other matters.

HOW DOES YOUR BANK DIFFER FROM OTHER BANKS? The senior management team has over 100 years of combined expertise in banking. Community Advantage only services the community association and property management industry. Our solutions are built specifically for this industry and tailored to each association.

With our level of knowledge and niche focus, we’re able to offer the customer service that you’d expect from a community bank – setting the standard for service within the industry. Our community bank-based service is paired with the backing of our parent company, Wintrust Financial. Wintrust is a well capitalized, multi- billion dollar financial services company, giving us the strength and stability that are so sought after in today’s economy.

WHAT HAS YOUR INVOLVEMENT BEEN WITH THE ILLINOIS CHAPTER OF CAI? Community Advantage fully realizes the benefits of CAI and what it does for the associations and management companies in Illinois. We participate in many chapter and educational events throughout the year, including the annual conference and exposition. Many of our staff members are also active in various committees with the chapter, providing their expertise where they can. Tony Dister, Community Advantage Vice President, CMCA serves on the CAI-ILBoard as treasurer as well as the co- chair of the finance committee.

Personally, I’ve been involved with the Illinois Chapter of CAI since 2001. I’m currently serving as Treasurer of the Illinois Legislative Action Committee, and as a board member on CAI- National Foundation for Community Association Research. I also hold the honor of being a past Chapter President. We hope to continue being active in CAI for many years to come. – Peter J. Santangelo, President

201 S. Hough St. | Barrington, IL 60010 847-304-5940 | www.communityadvantage.com Community Advantage is a division of Barrington Bank & Trust Co., N.A., a Wintrust Community Bank.  |