— LETTER TO sHAREHOLdERs  — enhancements to our mobile banking and online banking  platforms for all customers. We remain the number one mortgage  lender and Small Business Administration lender in Wisconsin. We continue to be pleased with the success of our Private  Banking, Trust and Asset Management efforts. During the year,  we strengthened this team with key hires in Milwaukee and more  recently in Minneapolis. We appreciate and thank our recently  retired Vice Chairman, Mark McMullen, for his many years  of leadership in this area and are pleased that the group has  continued to thrive with Tim Lau as its new leader. During the course of the year, we also added key talent to our  support teams. Arthur Heise joined the company as Chief Risk  Officer to facilitate our work toward navigating the increased  compliance and risk management demands of the industry. Patrick Derpinghaus joined the company and assumed the position  of Chief Audit Executive, following the retirement of Art Olsen. In July, we welcomed John (Jay) B. Williams to the Board. Jay  currently serves as the President and CEO of the Milwaukee  Public Museum, following a 37-year career in commercial banking  in Wisconsin and Chicago, and brings a wealth of banking  experience to our Board. Over the course of the year, our colleagues continued to show  dedication to our local communities and combined to volunteer  over 13,000 hours of service to nonprofit groups throughout  Thank you for your continued support of Associated Banc-Corp. We believe that by delivering for our customers and communities  we can drive value for our shareholders over time. We are pleased  to have delivered improving results for our shareholders over the  course of this year and are proud to have recently announced  an increase to our common dividend. Despite the challenging  environment, we remain optimistic and are committed to building  shareholder value through our long-term strategy for growth at Associated. Early in 2010, we launched our Vision and Values statement that  set the foundation for how we approach our business. We have  recently launched our Customer Promise that builds on our Vision  and Values by making a commitment to our customers of what  they can expect from Associated in everyday interactions. We have  included a copy of our Customer Promise on the following page of  the annual report. all of our markets. Additionally, this year we are proud to have  raised over $1 million for United Way chapters through our annual  workplace giving campaign. delivering Value for Customers delivering Value for Shareholders  delivering Value for Communities  Philip B. Flynn,  President and Chief Executive Officer William R. Hutchinson,  Chairman March 6, 2012 — 4 —