Five years ago, intent on transforming the bank’s commercial unit, Associated Bank CEO Andy Harmening interviewed every relationship manager and team lead for the lender’s commercial bank.  

“I was trying to convince them of a story that we hadn't built yet,” Harmening said. 

Since then, the regional bank has grown commercial and business lending by about 43%, to $12.3 billion in the first quarter, and hired about three dozen relationship managers. The Green Bay, Wisconsin-based lender has launched a commercial and industrial lending team in Dallas, after adding a three-person Kansas City team last year, and last week said it’s rolling out a franchise banking vertical.  

Now, “if we want to recruit somebody, we just say, just go talk to this person or this person or this person,” he said in a recent interview. “We won't sell you. Just ask them what the experience has been like. That's been a game-changer for us.”

Kansas City, the first market the bank entered without a branch network, has been so successful, Associated added three extra bankers after a year, Harmening noted. The bank plans to add about 11 new relationship managers this year, in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Kansas City and Dallas. 

“If Dallas operates the same way, we've proven that we can get the right leaders and they can grow the market,” Harmening said. “There's no shortage of competition anywhere. The question is, how do you go to market, and who goes to the market with you?” 

In the five years Harmening has been the bank’s CEO, Associated has embarked on a multi-phase strategic plan that involved job cuts, branch closures and remixing the bank’s loan portfolio, as well as technology investments, targeted hiring in newer markets and a sharper focus on deposit-gathering and lending. 

During Harmening’s tenure, Associated’s assets have grown from $33 billion to $50 billion, with a recent boost from the acquisition of Omaha, Nebraska-based American National Bank. 

That deal closed April 1, and Harmening is eager to arm American National employees with Associated’s product set and digital platform, to better serve customers in the Omaha and Twin Cities areas. Associated is targeting slightly higher consumer account growth in Omaha than other markets, he said.  

As Associated works to complete the American National integration, it’s also laying the groundwork for its next story: driving growth in private banking.

Associated recently hired Lisa Buetow, who previously worked at Wells Fargo, as a senior vice president of private banking for major metro markets.

After bolstering Associated’s foundation in Wisconsin, establishing its ability to compete in other metro areas, and improving the consumer and commercial banks, “all the business leads to private wealth,” Harmening said.

“It’s logical, it’s the third leg of the stool,” he said. “We have billions of dollars in assets under management, but I've wanted to build the first two – the consumer and the commercial first – because then it becomes a bit of a highway into private wealth.” 

The bank grew C&I lending by $540 million from the fourth quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of this year, and reported annualized checking household growth of 2.2% in Q1. 

“If you see our commercial growth stay on a similar path, and you see our household growth on a similar path, you can pretty much bet you're going to hear about private wealth in 2027,” he said.  

To expand commercial banking in Dallas, Associated hired a former Comerica leader, Harmening said. Hiring people with a deep knowledge of the market is challenging, but it’s “where we've had probably, as a company, our greatest success the last few years,” he said. 

“Commercial banking is a relationship game,” he said. “If you don't have the right player that knows the market, that has a long-standing tenure with the customer base, you're probably not going to have success.”

Associated’s interest in Texas doesn’t extend to branches, Harmening said. Larger Midwestern regionals Fifth Third and Huntington are among the lenders pushing into Texas markets. 

“That is a hotbed of competition, and a little too expensive, I think, for the return that we’d want to get, and it's farther away from home,” he said. 

As the bank expands, maintaining a local focus is crucial, Harmening said. He noted Associated’s town halls occurring in different markets each quarter, where senior leaders engage with employees in person.

“I will be on the road a little bit more,” he said. “As we get a little bit bigger, we want to make sure that we stay connected and we keep it personal.”

Associated’s acquisition of American National was its first in seven years, so it’s not a serial acquirer, Harmening said. But he didn’t rule out further acquisitions. 

“We like to make good business decisions that feed our organic growth strategy,” he said. 

As far as whether the bank could be an acquisition target for a bigger lender, Harmening said he was brought on to keep Associated independent, and that’s the goal. 

Amid industry consolidation and the pursuit of scale, the bank faces no shortage of competitors across its markets, as well as from fintechs. But Harmening highlighted Associated’s “Goldilocks” size as an asset, offering a “collaborative environment without sharp elbows.” 

“It can be so personal. You can be so close to the customer, and we're big enough to have the capabilities that the big guys have,” Harmening said. “A lot of the people on my leadership team came, on purpose, from a larger bank. They wanted to build something.”