Associated Bank is turning up the heat on its Dallas–Fort Worth ambitions, quietly locking in office space in North Dallas and lining up hires to plant a deeper commercial banking flag in Texas. The Green Bay-based lender says it wants to reuse the local office plus relationship banker model it has leaned on in other metros as it chases corporate clients in fast-growing regions.
Associated Bank's North Dallas Move
As part of that push, the bank has leased additional office space in North Dallas’ Preston Center and plans to use that address as a launchpad for expanding commercial lending and deposit gathering, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal. The report notes that Associated Bank is aiming to replicate the playbook it used in Kansas City, built around on the ground offices paired with selectively hired relationship bankers.
Hiring Push Includes Dallas Relationship Managers
Company executives told investors earlier this year that another wave of selective relationship manager hiring is underway in key growth metros, with roughly four new Dallas-based RMs slated to jump-start a commercial and industrial lending presence. That plan surfaced on the bank’s fourth quarter earnings call, according to a transcript posted by The Motley Fool.
Preston Center's Office Market
Preston Center is one of North Dallas’ tighter, higher-end office pockets, with a vacancy rate of 11.3 percent and asking rents near $49 per square foot. Those fundamentals help make amenity-rich Class A space appealing to tenants looking for a polished suburban location. Research from Cushman & Wakefield also highlights Dallas–Fort Worth’s continuing population growth and gains in office-using employment as longer-term tailwinds for the area.
How This Fits Into Associated's Plan
The Dallas move folds into a broader strategy the bank laid out after a strong 2025 performance and a planned acquisition meant to deepen its Midwest footprint. In its January earnings release, Associated Bank said it would keep investing in local teams, marketing and product upgrades to speed up household and commercial growth, and noted that it already operates loan production offices in Texas.
What It Means For Dallas
For Dallas–Fort Worth landlords and local businesses, a fresh regional banking player means more competition for middle-market loans and another institutional tenant eyeing high-quality office space. The expansion also underscores a wider pattern of banks and corporate tenants favoring suburban, amenity-heavy buildings as they staff up customer-facing teams in growth markets.
Associated Bank’s Dallas campaign is still in the early innings, and the next clues will likely show up in lease filings and job postings as the bank builds a small commercial team on the ground. The Milwaukee Business Journal report casts Dallas as a repeatable market where a focused commercial bench and a modest office footprint can generate outsized lending and deposit growth.
