Associated Banc NYSE: ASB highlighted multi-year strategic progress, recent financial performance, and growth initiatives during its 2026 Annual Shareholder Meeting, while shareholders approved all proposals presented, including director elections, executive compensation, and auditor ratification.
Company outlines strategic progress and growth momentum
President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Harmening, speaking during the meeting, marked his five-year anniversary in the CEO role and said the company has been executing a strategic plan aimed at strengthening its franchise through “sustainable organic growth momentum and improved profitability.” He said the bank has invested in leadership and talent, enhanced its consumer and small business value proposition, expanded commercial capabilities, and repositioned the balance sheet to reduce reliance on “low-yielding non-customer Resi mortgage loans and higher-cost wholesale funding sources.”
On the consumer side, Harmening said the bank has modernized its digital banking experience, launched a mass affluent program, upgraded products, and added features including early pay and credit monitoring. He said these efforts have helped reverse “a multiyear headwind of net customer attrition” into a tailwind, citing net primary checking household growth of 1% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025, with 2% growth expected for 2026.
Commercial growth, margin improvement, and credit discipline
Harmening said Associated has expanded its commercial platform by adding leadership roles, launching new verticals, and increasing relationship managers by 44% in key growth markets including Milwaukee, Chicago, the Twin Cities, and Kansas City. He said the company opened a new C&I office in Kansas City in March of last year.
He reported commercial and industrial loan growth of more than $800 million in 2024 and more than $1.2 billion in 2025, with an expectation of another $1.2 billion in growth in 2026. Since 2020, he said C&I loans have grown by over $4 billion, a more than 50% increase, as relationship C&I loans replace lower-yielding non-relationship residential mortgage balances.
Harmening said the company reduced its concentration of mortgage loans by 11 percentage points since 2020 and that the ongoing mix shift contributed to improved profitability, including “three consecutive quarters of record NII” in 2025 and a net interest margin above 3% for the year, 50 basis points higher than 2020. He added that capital generation improved, with a CET1 ratio up more than 100 basis points since the fourth quarter of 2023.
He also pointed to expense discipline, saying the adjusted efficiency ratio declined by over 700 basis points from 2020 to 2025, while return on tangible common equity increased to 13.6% in 2025 and rose above 15% in the fourth quarter of 2025. On credit, he said net charge-offs were 12 basis points in 2025, “well below the 35 basis points target provided in 2023.” Harmening said 2025 produced “the strongest net income in company history.”
First-quarter update and American National acquisition
Harmening said the bank reported first-quarter earnings of $117 million, an 18% increase from the same period a year earlier. He said the quarter included more than $500 million in C&I loan growth, 2.2% annualized household growth, and 7 basis points of annualized net charge-offs.
He also discussed the closing of Associated’s acquisition of American National Corporation on April 1. Harmening said the combination adds new customers and colleagues in Nebraska, Iowa, and the Twin Cities, and that the partnership is expected to complement and accelerate growth in markets such as Omaha and the Twin Cities. He said the company expects to complete the conversion process late in the third quarter of this year.
2026 growth investments: marketing, new offices, and new verticals
Looking ahead, Harmening said Associated is “doubling down” on metropolitan growth, identifying the Twin Cities, Omaha, Kansas City, and Dallas as priority areas. He said the company is increasing acquisition-focused marketing spend by 25% across the broader footprint and by more than 100% in the Twin Cities and Omaha.
He also described steps to expand commercial capabilities. After adding three colleagues to the Kansas City team in the first quarter, Harmening said Associated launched a new C&I office in Dallas, with the market leader hired and relationship manager hiring expected to begin in May. He also said the company recently announced “a new nationally focused franchise banking vertical” and is targeting a 10% increase in commercial relationship managers over the course of the year.
Shareholder votes and governance updates
Chairman of the Board Jay Williams said more than 87% of shares were represented by proxy as of 10:00 a.m. at the meeting. General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Randy Erickson reported that each director nominee received more than 93% of votes cast. Erickson also said more than 96% of votes cast supported the advisory approval of executive compensation, and more than 97% of votes cast ratified KPMG as auditor of the company’s 2026 financial statements.
Williams formally welcomed new board member Wende Kotouc and recognized retiring directors R. Jay Gerken, Robert A. Jeffe, and Gale E. Klappa. He said the company would make a $25,000 contribution to a charitable organization of each retiring director’s choice.
During the Q&A portion, Erickson addressed a question about why the company did not offer an in-person option for the annual meeting, saying Associated determined a completely virtual meeting would “provide expanded access, improved communication, and cost savings” and was in the best interest of shareholders.
About Associated Banc NYSE: ASB
Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.
On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.
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