Industry Vet Expands Lending Practice

Associated Bank's Breck Hanson is taking a somewhat contrarian approach to lending: Lend now, while few others are, and while interest rates are low and chances to gain value are high. It's not a rookie move. He spent more than 19 years at LaSalle Bank (later BofA) working on commercial real estate lending. After retiring in 2009, Breck came back for one more opportunity: to create a  strong,middle-market institution  for real estate lending in the Midwest, a void left when BofA bought up LaSalle, he tells us. The bank, which is well-capitalized at 19%, has $23B in assets and about $2B to lend to the right borrowers. Breck says he's looking for good credit history as well as good character. While office, industrial, and healthcare in the Midwest are the bank's core competencies, Breck wants to grow organically to include more product.