Associated Banc-Corp Spent $100 Million On Buybacks As Its Loan Cushion Thinned
The bank's allowance covers 267.60% of nonaccrual loans, down from 329.75% in the prior quarter.
Associated Banc-Corp, the Green Bay, Wisconsin, bank holding company behind Associated Bank, repurchased $100.0 million of its own stock in the third quarter, the same period its nonaccrual loans climbed to $183.4 million, its 10-Q filed Tuesday shows. Its reserve cover for those loans fell to 267.60% from 329.75% in the prior quarter.
Soured loans rise, cushion shrinks
Nonaccrual loans are loans on which the bank has stopped booking interest. Their balance stood at $183.4 million at September 30, against $150.0 million at June 30 and $106.2 million a year earlier. The nonaccrual loans-to-total-loans ratio rose to 0.50% from 0.41%.
The allowance for credit losses stood at 1.34% of loans, per the 10-Q, against 1.36% in the prior quarter's filing. The quarterly provision for credit losses fell to $14.0 million from $19.4 million.
Commercial and industrial nonaccruals jumped to $64.96 million from $44.39 million in June and $12.80 million a year ago. Accruing auto loans 30-89 days past due rose to $46.2 million from $20.4 million. Of all nonaccrual loans, 46% were still current on payments, versus 31% at December 31, 2025.
The buyback and book value
The repurchase was done through an accelerated share repurchase agreement executed during the quarter. The company's earnings release said the $100 million bought 3.2 million shares at a weighted average price of $30.88. Tangible book value per share slipped to $21.67 from $22.15 at June 30.
CEO Andy Harmening said in the release that deposit growth, margin expansion and fee income gave the company the confidence to carry out the buyback. Net income was $146.6 million, up from $123.6 million in the second quarter, and the net interest margin widened to 3.20% from 3.17%.
American National's credit footprint
Associated closed its purchase of American National on April 1, 2026, paying in stock and adding $3.7 billion of net loans. It adopted an accounting standard early, so expected losses on many acquired loans went through purchase accounting rather than a first-day provision. Per the 10-Q, the rise stems partly from American National's acquired nonaccrual loans and partly from organic growth in commercial and industrial, residential mortgage and auto finance lending.
The bank operates 184 branches in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri, per its annual report as of December 31, 2025. Its market value was $5.7 billion as of Tuesday's report.
The American National purchase allocation remains preliminary and can be adjusted for up to a year after the April 1 closing.
Sources
- 10-Q Filing — Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) — SEC EDGAR
- 10-Q Filing — Associated Banc-Corp (ASB), Q2 FY2026 filed 2026-08-04 (comparison basis) — SEC EDGAR
- Earnings release (8-K Item 2.02, asb09302026ex991.htm) — Associated Banc-Corp, filed 2026-10-22 — SEC EDGAR
- Associated Banc-Corp: Q3 Earnings Snapshot – WTOP News — wtop.com
- Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) Reports Q3 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say — Yahoo Finance
- Associated Banc Corp (ASB) Q3 Earnings Reinforce Its Margin Expansion Story — Yahoo Finance
- Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Margin Expansion, $100 ... — Yahoo Finance
- Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) Q3 Earnings Meet Estimates — Yahoo Finance
