Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (‘Nicolet’) conducts its primary operations through its wholly owned subsidiary, Nicolet National Bank (the ‘Bank’), a commercial bank.
As of December 31, 2024, the company also wholly owned a registered investment advisory company, Nicolet Advisory Services, LLC, which provides brokerage and investment advisory services to customers, and Nicolet Insurance Services, LLC, to facilitate the delivery of a crop insurance product associated with Nicolet’s agricultural lendin...
Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (‘Nicolet’) conducts its primary operations through its wholly owned subsidiary, Nicolet National Bank (the ‘Bank’), a commercial bank.
As of December 31, 2024, the company also wholly owned a registered investment advisory company, Nicolet Advisory Services, LLC, which provides brokerage and investment advisory services to customers, and Nicolet Insurance Services, LLC, to facilitate the delivery of a crop insurance product associated with Nicolet’s agricultural lending. As of December 31, 2024, the bank wholly owned an investment subsidiary based in Nevada, as well as an entity that owned the building in which Nicolet is headquartered. Other than the bank, these subsidiaries are closely related to, or incidental to, the business of banking, and none are individually or collectively significant to Nicolet’s financial position.
Products and Services
Nicolet’s principal business is banking, consisting of lending and deposit gathering, as well as ancillary banking-related products and services, to businesses and individuals of the communities it serves, and the operational support to deliver, fund, and manage such banking products and services. Additionally, trust, brokerage, and other investment management services predominantly for individuals, and retirement plan services for business customers are offered. Nicolet delivers its products and services principally through various bank branch locations, online banking, mobile banking, and an interactive website. Nicolet’s call center also services customers.
Nicolet offers a variety of loans, deposits, and related services to business customers (especially small and medium-sized businesses, and professional concerns), including but not limited to: business checking and other business deposit products, cash management services, international banking services, business loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, agricultural real estate or production loans, and letters of credit, as well as retirement plan services. Similarly, Nicolet offers a variety of banking products and services to consumers, including but not limited to residential mortgage loans, mortgage refinancing, home equity loans and lines of credit, residential construction loans, personal loans, checking, savings, and money market accounts, various certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, safe deposit boxes, and personal brokerage, trust, and fiduciary services. Nicolet also provides online services, including commercial, retail, and trust online banking, automated bill payment, mobile banking deposits and account access, remote deposit capture, and other services, such as wire transfers, debit cards, credit cards, pre-paid gift cards, direct deposit, and official bank checks.
Nicolet seeks creditworthy borrowers principally within the geographic area of its branch locations. As a community bank with experienced commercial, agricultural, and residential mortgage lenders, the company’s primary lending function is to make loans in the following categories:
Commercial-related loans, consisting of commercial, industrial, and business loans and lines; owner-occupied commercial real estate; agricultural production and agricultural real estate; commercial real estate investment loans; construction and land development loans;
Residential real estate loans, consisting of residential first lien mortgages; residential junior lien mortgages; home equity loans and lines of credit; residential construction loans; and other loans (mainly consumer in nature).
Market Area
The bank is a full-service community bank, providing services ranging from commercial, agricultural, and consumer banking to wealth management and retirement plan services. Nicolet primarily operates in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. Nicolet markets its services to owner-managed companies, the individual owners of these businesses, and other residents within its market areas. As of December 31, 2024, the company’s network consisted of various branches located principally within its geographic market areas.
Deposits
As of December 31, 2024, the company’s deposits included noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, money market, savings, and time.
Investment Portfolio
As of December 31, 2024, the company’s investment portfolio included U.S. Treasury securities; U.S. government agency securities; state, county, and municipal securities; mortgage-backed securities; and corporate debt securities.
Supervision and Regulation
The company is extensively regulated, supervised, and examined under federal and state law. Generally, these laws and regulations are intended to protect the company’s Bank’s depositors, the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund, and the broader banking system, and not its shareholders.
Because Nicolet owns all of the capital stock of the bank, it is a bank holding company under the federal Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended. As a result, Nicolet is primarily subject to the supervision, examination, and reporting requirements of the Bank Holding Company Act and the regulations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. As a bank holding company located in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions also regulates and monitors all significant aspects of its operations.
Nicolet must continue to be considered well managed and well capitalized by the Federal Reserve, and the bank must continue to be considered well managed and well capitalized by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and have at least a satisfactory rating under the Community Reinvestment Act. Under Federal Reserve policy and the Dodd-Frank Act, Nicolet is expected to act as a source of financial strength for the bank and to commit resources to support the bank.
Because the bank is chartered as a national bank, it is primarily subject to the supervision, examination, and reporting requirements of the National Bank Act and the regulations of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC regularly examines the bank’s operations and has the authority to approve or disapprove mergers, the establishment of branches, and similar corporate actions. The OCC also has the power to prevent the continuance or development of unsafe or unsound banking practices or other violations of law. Because the bank’s deposits are insured by the FDIC to the maximum extent provided by law, it is also subject to certain FDIC regulations, and the FDIC also has examination authority and backup enforcement power over the bank. The bank is also subject to numerous state and federal statutes and regulations that affect Nicolet, its business, activities, and operations.
National banks are required by the National Bank Act to adhere to branching laws applicable to state banks in the states in which they are located. Under Wisconsin law and the Dodd-Frank Act, and with the prior approval of the OCC, the bank may open branch offices within or outside of Wisconsin, provided that a state bank chartered by the state in which the branch is to be located would also be permitted to establish a branch.
The bank is thus subject to FDIC deposit premium assessments. The cost of premium assessments is impacted by, among other things, a bank’s capital category under the prompt corrective action system.
Additionally, the bank must publicly disclose the terms of various Community Reinvestment Act-related agreements. The bank received an outstanding CRA rating in its most recent evaluation.
The bank is subject to the provisions of Regulation W promulgated by the Federal Reserve, which implements Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act. Regulation W places limits and conditions on the amount of loans or extensions of credit to, investments in, or certain other transactions with, affiliates and on the amount of advances to third parties collateralized by the securities or obligations of affiliates. Regulation W also prohibits, among other things, an institution from engaging in certain transactions with certain affiliates unless the transactions are on terms substantially the same, or at least as favorable to such institution or its subsidiaries, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with nonaffiliated companies. Federal law also places restrictions on the bank’s ability to extend credit to its executive officers, directors, principal shareholders, and their related interests. These extensions of credit must be made on substantially the same terms, including interest rates and collateral, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with unrelated third parties, and must not involve more than the normal risk of repayment or present other unfavorable features.
The bank is also subject to consumer laws and regulations intended to protect consumers in transactions with depository institutions, as well as other laws or regulations affecting customers of financial institutions generally. While the list set forth herein is not exhaustive, these laws and regulations include the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act, among others.
Under privacy protection provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 and related regulations, the company is limited in its ability to disclose non-public information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties.
The Dodd-Frank Act centralized responsibility for consumer financial protection, including implementing, examining, and enforcing compliance with federal consumer financial laws with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Depository institutions with less than $10 billion in assets, such as the bank, are subject to rules promulgated by the CFPB but will continue to be examined and supervised by federal banking regulators for consumer compliance purposes.
History
The company, a Wisconsin corporation was incorporated in 2000. The company was formerly known as Green Bay Financial Corporation and changed its name to Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. in 2002.