Company: ASB
Filing Date: 2025-10-28
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0000007789-25-000179
Chunk: 270

Company: ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP
Filing Date: 2025-10-28
Form: 10-Q
Item: Part I, Item 8
Chunk 270
---
974 10,496 8,659 (24)%(15)%Total noninterest expense$636,173 $594,115 7 %$216,202 $209,352 $210,619 $224,282 $200,597 3 %8 %Average FTEs excluding overtime3,990 4,045 (1)%3,982 3,980 4,006 3,982 4,041 — %(1)%Annualized noninterest expense / average assets1.96 %1.93 %1.95 %1.93 %2.00 %2.12 %1.93 %

Notable Contributions to the Change in Noninterest Expense

•Legal and professional expense increased $3.2 million from the first nine months of 2024, primarily driven by increased consultant and IT staff augmentation expenses in the current year.

•Other noninterest expense increased $9.4 million from the first nine months of 2024 primarily due to OREO write downs in 2025 as compared to a gain on the sale of OREO properties in 2024 and higher donation expenditures in 2025 as compared to 2024.

58

Income Taxes

The Corporation records income tax expense during interim periods based on the best estimate of the full year's effective tax rate as adjusted for discrete items, if any, taken into account in the relevant interim period. Each quarter, the Corporation updates its estimate of the annual effective tax rate and the effect of any change in the estimated rate is recorded on a cumulative basis. The Corporation recognized income tax expense of $77.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, compared to income tax expense of $27.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024. The Corporation's effective tax rate from continuing operations was 18.64% and 8.79% for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, and 2024, respectively. The increase in income tax expense of $49.9 million and higher effective tax rate during the first nine months of 2025 as compared to the same period of 2024 were primarily due to a strategic reallocation of the investment portfolio and the adoption of a legal entity rationalization plan that resulted in the recognition of deferred benefits in 2024 and increased net income in 2025.

Income tax expense recorded on the consolidated