— LETTER TO sHAREHOLdERs  — — 3 — delivering on Our Commitment to Shareholders delivering on Our Strategy  Our Commercial Bank continues to be successful across all of our  major markets. During the year, we added over 60 commercial  lenders and grew commercial and business loans strongly over  the prior year. In 2011, we promoted Donna Smith to lead the  Commercial Banking group. Commercial Deposit and Treasury Management, Specialized  Industries and Commercial Financial Services have now all been  aligned under the leadership of John Utz. John has a broad  background in specialized commercial lending and treasury  management and is leading the charge on our efforts to grow  commercial deposits. Our Commercial Real Estate business, under the leadership  of Breck Hanson, continues to provide us with numerous  opportunities to work with seasoned and experienced  developers. During the past year, we have expanded this  business to new markets, including Cincinnati and Indianapolis,  by bringing on board seasoned real estate lending teams with  local experience. In 2012, we will further expand our Commercial  Real Estate business into Michigan. We have continued to invest in our Retail Bank under the  leadership of David Stein. During 2011, we launched a multi- year project to improve customer experience in our branches,  with more than 30 relocated, remodeled or new offices and new  signage in most locations. Our plans for 2012 include remodeling  another 50 branches, while at the same time consolidating  more than 20 branches into other nearby locations. We have  enhanced product offerings and elevated service levels for our  Premier Banking clientele. In addition, we have made major  We also set out to grow our core businesses within our markets  and to expand into new markets. We are pleased by our  accomplishments on these fronts. We continued to enhance the  customer experience by making investments in our people, our  infrastructure and our facilities. Our performance this year was  supported by strong loan growth across many of our portfolios,  resulting from increases in both the number and depth of  customer relationships. We also benefited from a strong credit  recovery in all of our portfolios. This performance was achieved  in spite of revenue headwinds, including the current low interest  rate environment, as well as increased regulation from the  implementation of the Dodd-Frank legislation. As we look back, we are proud of having delivered on each of  these commitments during 2011.  In 2011, the goals we set forth for Associated Banc-Corp were attained. Earnings increased each  quarter. The credit quality of our loan portfolio continued to improve. Our loans outstanding increased  substantially, with balanced growth across the major categories. Associated’s credit ratings improved  and our capital levels remain very strong. We successfully repaid our TARP funds in September, without  raising additional common equity. We dedicated ourselves to a renewed customer-centric focus. We  celebrated 150 years of serving our communities this past year, and we reflect on this long history as  we work to ensure continued growth in 2012 and beyond. We set out in 2011 with a few specific goals, including: • Returning the company to sustained and growing  profitability –  We achieved four consecutive quarters of  growing profitability and delivered full-year net income available  to common shareholders of $115 million. • Repaying TARP funds in an efficient and shareholder- friendly manner and addressing open regulatory matters –  In April and September, we repaid TARP funds  without raising additional common equity and the OCC  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was terminated. •  growing the loan portfolio throughout 2011 –  We grew  loans and gained market share throughout the year; total loans  grew 11% year-over-year, and commercial and business loans  grew 17% year-over-year. To our shareholders: