The Feb. 1 acquisition of Brown Deer-based Bank Mutual Corp. helped boost first quarter earnings at Green Bay-based Associated Banc-Corp.
“The addition of Bank Mutual was the primary driver of the first quarter’s results,” said Philip Flynn, chief executive officer of Associated Banc-Corp, in a call with analysts.
Associated reported first-quarter net income of $69.5 million, or 40 cents per share, up 23 percent from $56.3 million, or 35 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2017.
Net interest income was $209.9 million, up from $180.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Average deposits were $23.7 billion, up 10 percent from the first quarter of 2017. Total noninterest income was $90.4 million, up from $79.8 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Associated Banc-Corp now has $33.4 billion in total assets, up from $29.1 billion in the first quarter of 2017.
Net loans were $22.6 billion, up from $19.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. The acquisition of Bank Mutual added $1.9 billion in loans. Consumer lending grew $1.5 billion, commercial real estate lending was up $399 million, and commercial and business lending increased $114 million year-over-year.
The company incurred $21 million of Bank Mutual acquisition-related costs in the quarter. Associated also acquired Diversified Insurance in March, and said it expects $40 million in acquisition-related costs for the year.
“During the quarter, we completed the rollout of our new online platform and our new mobile application,” Flynn said. “The successful implementation gives us confidence that the Bank Mutual system conversion, scheduled for June 23, should go well.”
Associated Banc-Corp completed a survey and found Bank Mutual customer satisfaction rate is at more than 85 percent, so it expects high retention rates after it converts customers’ accounts on June 23, Flynn said.
Associated Bank N.A. currently has 162 Associated Bank branches and offices and 58 Bank Mutual branches and offices in Wisconsin, with plans to consolidate 36 branches located near each other as it integrates Bank Mutual.
