# Nicolet Bankshares: AI strategy

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/nicolet
Last updated: Oct 5, 2026

*A Green Bay community bank that doubled in size by buying MidWestOne in February 2026; it has not disclosed an AI programme and treats AI in its 10-K as a cyber, fraud and competition risk.*

## How is Nicolet National Bank using AI?

Nicolet Bankshares, the Green Bay, Wisconsin parent of Nicolet National Bank (about $15.4 billion in lead-bank assets at June 30, 2026), has not disclosed an AI programme. Its 2025 10-K, filed on February 27, 2026, mentions artificial intelligence only among risks: new technologies such as AI 'present new and significant cybersecurity safety risks that must be analyzed and addressed before implementation', AI and quantum computing could worsen card, check and social-engineering fraud, and companies offering AI-based applications are beginning to compete directly in personal financial advice. The bank's attention in 2026 has been its acquisition of MidWestOne Financial Group, announced in October 2025 and closed on February 13, 2026, adding about $6 billion of assets; it sold MidWestOne's Denver branches to Sunwest Bank and planned a core conversion for the summer of 2026, after which CEO Mike Daniels expects the planned cost savings. No AI tool, vendor, use case, budget or executive has been named.

*Thin public record: No AI programme, tool, vendor or AI leader on the public record; the 10-K's AI passages are generic risk factors and 2026 disclosures concern the MidWestOne merger and its core conversion.*

## At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Lead bank | Nicolet National Bank |
| Ticker | NIC |
| Headquarters | Green Bay, WI |
| Consolidated assets | $15,391 million (Jun 30, 2026) |
| Federal Reserve rank | 110 |
| Charter | National bank (OCC) |

## Key points

- No disclosed AI programme: no named tool, vendor, use case, spend or AI leader as of October 2026.
- 10-K (February 2026): AI must be assessed for cybersecurity risk 'before implementation'; AI could exacerbate fraud; AI-based advice apps compete in financial planning and wealth management.
- MidWestOne: announced October 23, 2025, closed February 13, 2026, adding about $6 billion of assets and taking Nicolet past $15 billion.
- Integration is the technology agenda: core conversion 'later this summer' (2026), then full cost savings; Denver branches sold to Sunwest Bank, completed July 29, 2026.

## Timeline

- Jul 29, 2026 — **Sunwest completes the Denver branch purchase** The former MidWestOne and Bank of Denver branches in Colorado transfer to Sunwest Bank. ([Sunwest Bank (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunwest-bank-completes-acquisition-of-former-midwestone-and-bank-of-denver-colorado-branches-from-nicolet-national-bank-302838328.html))
- Jul 21, 2026 — **Q2 2026: core conversion due later in the summer** The CEO says completing the conversion will let the bank fully realise planned cost savings. ([Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/nicolet-bankshares-inc-announces-second-201500387.html))
- Apr 22, 2026 — **Denver branches sold to Sunwest** About $390 million of loans and $380 million of deposits acquired with MidWestOne. ([Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/nicolet-sells-denver-locations-sunwest-midwestone/818206/), [Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260421530305/en))
- Feb 27, 2026 — **10-K treats AI as a risk to assess before use** AI presents 'new and significant cybersecurity safety risks that must be analyzed and addressed before implementation'; AI could exacerbate fraud. ([Nicolet Bankshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1174850/000117485026000077/nic-20251231.htm))
- Feb 13, 2026 — **MidWestOne acquisition closes** Adds approximately $6 billion in assets; MidWestOne shareholders receive 0.3175 Nicolet shares per share. ([Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260421530305/en))
- Jan 20, 2026 — **Record 2025 earnings; 'the real work' of integration ahead** The CEO expects the MidWestOne transaction to close in the first quarter. ([Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120842782/en/Nicolet-Bankshares-Inc.-Announces-Record-Earnings))
- Oct 24, 2025 — **Deal to buy MidWestOne** Nicolet ($9.03 billion of assets at September 30, 2025) agrees to buy MidWestOne ($6.2 billion), projecting a combined $15.7 billion. ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/wisconsin-bank-makes-deal-to-speed-past-10b-asset-mark))

## Where AI runs

| Use case | What | Status | Detail | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Cybersecurity](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#cybersecurity) | Pre-implementation cyber review of AI | Announced | The 10-K says AI's cybersecurity risks must be analysed and addressed before implementation; no AI system in use is named. | [Nicolet Bankshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1174850/000117485026000077/nic-20251231.htm) |
| [Fraud detection](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#fraud) | AI as a fraud accelerant | Announced | The 10-K warns AI and quantum computing could exacerbate card, check and social-engineering fraud; no AI-based defence is described. | [Nicolet Bankshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1174850/000117485026000077/nic-20251231.htm) |

## Disclosed numbers

| Measure | Value | As of | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Lead-bank assets (Fed release) | $15,391 million | Jun 30, 2026 | [Federal Reserve Board](https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/lbr/current/) |
| Assets added by MidWestOne | Approximately $6 billion | Feb 13, 2026 | [Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260421530305/en) |
| Denver branches sold | About $390 million of loans and $380 million of deposits | Apr 21, 2026 | [Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260421530305/en) |

## Quotes

> "As we complete our conversion later this summer and begin fully realizing our planned cost savings, we'll be in a stronger position to restore the high level of profitability and returns" — Mike Daniels, Chairman, President and CEO, Jul 21, 2026 ([Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/nicolet-bankshares-inc-announces-second-201500387.html))

## Who runs AI

- **Mike Daniels** — Chairman, President and CEO ([Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/nicolet-bankshares-inc-announces-second-201500387.html), [Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120842782/en/Nicolet-Bankshares-Inc.-Announces-Record-Earnings))

## Regulators it answers to

- [OCC](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/occ) — Nicolet National Bank is a national bank; a post-merger core conversion and any AI introduced with it fall under OCC third-party and model-risk guidance. See [OCC Bulletin 2023-17](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/occ-bulletin-2023-17), [OCC Bulletin 2011-12](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/occ-bulletin-2011-12).
- [Federal Reserve](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/federal-reserve) — Nicolet Bankshares is a bank holding company, now above the $10 billion threshold after MidWestOne. See [SR 11-7](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fed-sr-11-7).
- [FinCEN](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/fincen) — The 10-K's warning that AI could worsen social-engineering fraud corresponds to FinCEN's deepfake-media alert. See [FIN-2024-Alert004 (Deepfake Media)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fincen-alert-2024-deepfake-media).

## What the record suggests

### A merger year, not an AI year

Nicolet's 2026 disclosures are about closing and converting MidWestOne; AI tools, if adopted, are likely to arrive with the post-conversion platform rather than before it.

### A cautious stance on paper

Requiring cybersecurity analysis 'before implementation' is a gatekeeping statement; it reads as a bank that has not yet put AI into material use, or has not chosen to say so.

### Crossing $10 billion raises the bar

At more than $15 billion, Nicolet now faces closer supervisory attention to model risk and third-party oversight, which would apply to any AI it introduces.

## FAQ

### Does Nicolet National Bank use AI?

Nicolet has not disclosed an AI programme, tool or vendor. Its 2025 10-K discusses AI only as a risk, saying AI's cybersecurity risks must be analysed and addressed before implementation.

### When did Nicolet acquire MidWestOne?

The deal was announced in October 2025 and closed on February 13, 2026, adding about $6 billion of assets; Nicolet then sold MidWestOne's Denver branches to Sunwest Bank, completed on July 29, 2026.

## Sources (8)

1. Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 — Nicolet Bankshares (SEC filing), Feb 27, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1174850/000117485026000077/nic-20251231.htm
2. Wisconsin bank makes deal to speed past $10B asset mark — American Banker, Oct 24, 2025. https://www.americanbanker.com/news/wisconsin-bank-makes-deal-to-speed-past-10b-asset-mark
3. Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. Announces Record Earnings — Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire), Jan 20, 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120842782/en/Nicolet-Bankshares-Inc.-Announces-Record-Earnings
4. Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2026 Earnings — Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire), Apr 21, 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260421530305/en
5. Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2026 Earnings — Nicolet Bankshares (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance), Jul 21, 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/nicolet-bankshares-inc-announces-second-201500387.html
6. Nicolet sells Denver locations to Sunwest — Banking Dive, Apr 22, 2026. https://www.bankingdive.com/news/nicolet-sells-denver-locations-sunwest-midwestone/818206/
7. Sunwest Bank Completes Acquisition of Former MidWestOne and Bank of Denver, Colorado Branches from Nicolet National Bank — Sunwest Bank (PR Newswire), Jul 29, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunwest-bank-completes-acquisition-of-former-midwestone-and-bank-of-denver-colorado-branches-from-nicolet-national-bank-302838328.html
8. Large Commercial Banks (data as of June 30, 2026) — Federal Reserve Board, Oct 2, 2026. https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/lbr/current/

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