Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) Business Profile

What it does

Associated Banc-Corp is a bank holding company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Through Associated Bank and nonbank subsidiaries, it provides banking and other financial services to individuals and businesses, primarily in the upper Midwest. Its banking roots go back to 1861. Andrew J. Harmening is president and chief executive officer.

Associated Bank accepts deposits and makes loans. It also holds investment securities, which generate interest income alongside its loans. Other businesses provide financial services that generate fees, including services connected to loans and deposits. The company also has a nationally chartered trust company and subsidiaries engaged in activities related or incidental to banking.

The business is organized into three reporting segments: Corporate and Commercial Specialty; Community, Consumer, and Business; and Risk Management and Shared Services. Its operations include commercial and business lending, consumer lending, residential mortgages, capital markets and mortgage banking. The company describes its business as primarily relationship-driven.

As of December 31, 2025, Associated served more than 100 communities through 184 banking branches, primarily in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri. It had approximately 4,000 colleagues at that date. Associated Bank’s deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to applicable limits. The bank and trust company are supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

How it makes money

Associated’s primary revenue source is net interest income: the interest it earns on loans and investment securities, less interest paid on deposits and other borrowings used to fund assets and activities. The result depends on the amounts and mix of those assets and funding sources, as well as their interest rates. Fixed or variable rates, maturities, repricing dates and loan prepayments all affect the calculation.

Customer deposits fund part of the bank’s activities. Associated also uses other borrowings, including advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits and shareholders’ equity also support earning assets without directly generating interest expense. The company measures the return on earning assets using net interest margin.

Associated also earns noninterest income, principally fees and other revenue from financial services and services tied to loans and deposits. Its capital markets activities include syndications, interest rate swaps and foreign currency services. Mortgage banking income includes gains on sales of loans originated for sale and the effects of mortgage servicing rights. These sources can vary with customer and market activity.

For 2025, net interest income was $1.2 billion and noninterest income was $286.4 million. Average loans were $30.6 billion and average deposits were $34.8 billion for the full year of 2025.

The business is reported through Corporate and Commercial Specialty; Community, Consumer, and Business; and Risk Management and Shared Services. At the holding-company level, a substantial portion of cash flow comes from dividends paid by Associated Bank. Those payments are subject to regulatory restrictions and, in certain circumstances, require prior approval.

Customers and how it sells

Associated serves individuals and businesses, primarily in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri. Its nationally chartered commercial bank is headquartered in Green Bay, and its nationally chartered trust company is headquartered in Milwaukee. At December 31, 2025, the company had 184 branches serving more than 100 communities, primarily within its four-state branch footprint.

Customers use Associated for deposits, loans and other financial services. Lending activities include commercial and business lending, auto finance, commercial real estate and residential mortgages. Business customers can also use capital markets services such as syndications, interest rate swaps and foreign currency services. The company describes its business as primarily relationship-driven.

Associated says it is not dependent on a single customer or a few customers whose loss would have a material adverse effect. It accepts insured deposits through Associated Bank; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures deposits up to applicable limits. The bank also has funding options outside ordinary customer deposits, including institutional and brokered certificates of deposit.

The company had approximately 4,000 colleagues at December 31, 2025, none represented by unions.

Suppliers and costs

Associated’s funding costs include interest paid on interest-bearing deposits and other borrowings. It also uses advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank and has access to collateralized borrowing from the Federal Reserve. Associated Bank pays deposit insurance premiums to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on a quarterly basis.

Noninterest expense was $855.6 million in 2025. Personnel expense increased in that year, reflecting higher variable compensation and healthcare costs. Other increases included advertising, legal and professional expenses, including spending on consultants and additional information technology staff. The company also incurred write-downs on other real estate owned.

Associated had approximately 4,000 colleagues at December 31, 2025. Its operations are subject to banking supervision and consumer protection requirements, and it incurs costs to comply with those requirements. The company also maintains risk-management processes for relationships with third parties, including due diligence, contract negotiation and ongoing monitoring.

Competitive position

Associated competes for loans, deposits and financial services in its principal markets. Its competitors include banks and nonbank institutions within those markets, internet-based and out-of-market banks, money market and other mutual funds, brokerage houses, credit unions, nonbank lenders and financial technology companies. It also faces competition from subsidiaries of bank holding companies with greater assets and resources. Associated identifies no individual competitors by name.

Competition involves retaining existing customers and obtaining new loans and deposits. The range of services offered, interest rates paid on deposits and charged on loans, and other aspects of banking are also competitive factors. Associated says its ability to compete depends in part on maintaining long-term customer relationships, its market position, product scope and pricing, and customer satisfaction.

Our reading: Associated’s local relationships and branch network provide a basis for customer retention, but their protective strength is limited by the range of banks and nonbank providers competing for the same business. Our reading: Its deposit relationships support lending and investment activity, but deposit rates are a competitive factor, limiting the protection that funding alone provides.

Growth opportunities

Associated’s lending and deposit businesses expanded in 2025. Average loans increased $892.7 million, or 3%, from 2024, driven primarily by commercial and business lending and auto finance loans. Average deposits increased $1.5 billion, or 4%, from 2024, with increases in all deposit types except money market and brokered certificates of deposit. Average investments also increased, reflecting investment activity.

The company’s 2025 net interest income increased from 2024, helped by lower interest expense on interest-bearing deposits and a balance-sheet repositioning. That repositioning involved sales of lower-yielding residential mortgage loans and investment securities. Capital markets revenue also increased, reflecting activity in syndications, interest rate swaps and foreign currency services.

Associated agreed in November 2025 to acquire American National in an all-stock transaction. At that time, the company expected the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Following completion, Associated would need to integrate the acquired business’s operations, systems and procedures.

The company also identifies expanding its market position and introducing products and services as factors in its ability to compete. Its workforce development activities include training, coaching and recruitment.

Structural risks

• Credit and economic conditions: Changes or instability in economic conditions, geopolitical matters and financial markets, including a contraction in economic activity, could adversely affect Associated’s business, results and financial condition. Its credit-loss estimates consider borrower and industry concentrations, collateral values and economic forecasts.

• Liquidity and interest rates: Impaired access to liquidity could affect Associated’s ability to meet obligations. Net interest income is affected by changes in rates and by differences in the maturities and repricing of loans, securities, deposits and other funding.

• Operations: Associated faces operational risks from the volume and value of transactions it processes. It must also identify and manage risks in its relationships with third parties throughout selection, contracting, monitoring and termination.

• Acquisitions: Acquiring businesses can involve difficulties estimating asset values and evaluating credit and operating risks. Integration can bring unexpected costs, disruption, customer or employee losses, and an inability to realize expected benefits.

• Regulation and capital: Associated and its subsidiaries are subject to extensive supervision, capital requirements and consumer protection rules. Failure to meet capital requirements can lead to regulatory action, and changes in laws or regulations could affect profitability and competition.

• Competition: Associated must retain customers and obtain loans and deposits while competing on rates, services and other features. Its competitors include institutions with greater assets and resources.

Bottom line

Our reading

Associated is a regional banking business built around customer deposits, lending and other financial services. Its earnings depend heavily on the difference between interest earned on assets and interest paid for funding, while its branch network and customer relationships operate in competitive markets. Credit conditions, liquidity, regulation and the execution of acquisitions are central exposures to the business.