As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 23, 2004

Registration No. 333-______

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

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FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

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Associated Banc-Corp

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Wisconsin	39-1098068
(State or Other Jurisdiction of	(I.R.S. Employer
Incorporation or Organization)	Identification No.)
1200 Hansen Road
Green Bay, Wisconsin	54307
(Address of principal executive offices)	(ZIP Code)

FIRST FEDERAL CAPITAL CORP

1997 STOCK OPTION AND INCENTIVE PLAN

(Full title of the plan)

Brian R. Bodager, Esq. Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Associated Banc-Corp 1200 Hansen Road Green Bay, Wisconsin 54307 (Name and address of agent for service)      920-491-7000    (Telephone number, including area code of agent for service) Copy to: Benjamin G. Lombard, Esq. Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. 1000 North Water Street Suite 2100 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202    414-298-1000

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CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Title of Securities to be Registered	Amount to be Registered	Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Share	Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price	Amount of Registration Fee
Common Stock, $.01 par value per share	161,363 (1)(2)	$16.25 (3)	$2,622,149 (3)	$332.23 (3)

(1) This Registration Statement also covers any additional shares of Common Stock which become issuable under the First Federal Capital Corp 1997 Stock Option and Incentive Plan by reason of any stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar transaction effected without the receipt of consideration by Associated Banc-Corp (the "Registrant") which results in an increase in the number of the outstanding shares of the Registrant's Common Stock.

(2) Reflects shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the First Federal Capital Corp 1997 Stock Option and Incentive Plan.

(3) Pursuant to Rule 457(h)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the proposed maximum offering price per share and the registration fee have been estimated based on the weighted average exercise price of $16.25 for 161,363 shares of Common Stock covered by options outstanding under the plan as of November 23, 2004.

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT NOT FORMING PART OF THE PROSPECTUS

This Registration Statement registers 161,363 shares of common stock of the Registrant that may be issued upon exercise of outstanding stock options previously granted by First Federal Capital Corp ("First Federal"), under the First Federal Capital Corp 1997 Stock Option and Incentive Plan (the "Plan"). Effective October 29, 2004, the Registrant acquired First Federal through a merger of First Federal with and into the Registrant (the "Merger") pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of April 27, 2004, as amended (the "Merger Agreement"), between the Registrant and First Federal. Pursuant to a Stock Option Conversion Agreement, as of the effective time of the Merger, each holder of previously granted options to purchase First Federal common stock then outstanding under the Plan could elect to receive either a cash payment for such options or an option to purchase shares of the Registrant's common stock in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement. This Registration Statement covers the options issued under the Plan that were converted into options to purchase shares of the Registrant's common stock pursuant to the Merger Agreement and the Stock Option Conversion Agreements.

PART II - INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents filed by the Registrant with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") pursuant to section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") are incorporated herein by reference:

(a) The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003.

(b) All other reports filed by the Registrant pursuant to section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the Annual Report on Form 10-K referred to in paragraph (a) above.

(c) The description of the Registrant's Common Stock contained in the registration statement filed pursuant to section 12 of the Exchange Act and all amendments thereto or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.

All reports and other documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes hereof to the extent that a statement contained in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part hereof.

Item 4.    Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not applicable.

Item 6.    Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

The Registrant is incorporated under the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law (the "WBCL"). Under Section 180.0851 of the WBCL, the Registrant shall indemnify a director or officer, to the extent such person is successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of a proceeding, for all reasonable expenses incurred in the proceeding, if such person was a party to such proceeding because he or she was a director or officer of the Registrant. In all other cases, the Registrant shall indemnify a director or officer against liability incurred in a proceeding to which such person was a party because he or she was a director or officer of the Registrant; unless liability was incurred because he or she breached or failed to perform a duty owed to the Registrant and such breach or failure to perform constitutes: (i) a willful failure to deal fairly with the Registrant or its shareholders in connection with a matter in which the director or officer has a material conflict of interest; (ii) a violation of criminal law, unless the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was lawful or no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful; (iii) a transaction from which the director or officer derived an improper personal profit; or (iv) willful misconduct. Section 180.0858 of the WBCL provides that subject to certain limitations, the mandatory indemnification provisions do not preclude any additional right to indemnification or allowance of expenses that a director or officer may have under the Registrant's articles of incorporation, bylaws, a written agreement between the director or officer and the Registrant or a resolution adopted by the Board of Directors or adopted by a majority vote of the Registrant's shareholders.

Section 180.0859 of the WBCL provides that it is the public policy of the State of Wisconsin to require or permit indemnification, allowance of expenses and insurance to the extent required or permitted under Sections 180.0850 to 180.0858 of the WBCL for any liability incurred in connection with a proceeding involving a federal or state statute, rule or regulation regulating the offer, sale or purchase of securities.

The Registrant's Articles of Incorporation provide no provisions in relation to the indemnification of directors and officers of the Registrant.

Article XI of the Registrant's Bylaws ("Article XI") authorizes indemnification of officers and directors of the Registrant consistent with the description of the indemnification provisions in Section 180.0851 of the WBCL as described above. Article XI provides that the Registrant shall indemnify a director, officer, employee or agent of the Registrant to the extent such individual has been successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of any threatened, pending, or completed civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative action, suit, arbitration, or other proceeding, whether formal or informal (including, but not limited to, any act or failure to act alleged or determined (i) to have been negligent; (ii) to have violated the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974; or (iii) to have violated Sections 180.0832, 180.0833 and 180.1202 of the WBCL, or any successor thereto, regarding loans to directors, unlawful distributions and distributions of assets, which involves foreign, federal, state, or local law and which is brought by or in the right of the Registrant or by any other person or entity, to which the director, officer, employee, or agent was a party because he or she is a director, officer, employee, or agent). In all other cases, the Registrant shall indemnify a director, officer, employee, or agent of the Registrant against liability and expenses incurred by such person in a proceeding unless it shall have been proven by final judicial adjudication that such person breached or failed to perform a duty owed to the Registrant under the circumstances described above as set forth in Section 180.0851 of the WBCL. Article XI defines a "director, officer, employee, or agent" as (i) a natural person who is or was a director officer, employee, or agent of the Registrant, (ii) a natural person who, while a director, officer, employee, or agent of the Registrant, is or was serving either pursuant to the Registrant's specific request or as a result of the nature of such person's duties to the Registrant as a director, officer, partner, trustee, member of any governing or decision making committee, employee, or agent of another corporation or foreign corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, and (iii) a person who while a director, officer, employee, or agent of the Registrant, is or was serving an employee benefit plan because his or her duties to the Registrant also impose duties on, or otherwise involve services by, the person to the plan or to participants in or beneficiaries of the plan. Unless the context requires otherwise, Article XI indemnification extends to the estate or personal representative of a director, officer, employee or agent.

All officers, directors, employees, and agents of controlled subsidiaries of the Registrant shall be deemed for purposes of Article XI to be serving as such officers, directors, employees, and agents at the request of the Registrant. The right to indemnification granted to such officers and directors by Article XI is not subject to any limitation or restriction imposed by any provision of the Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws of a controlled subsidiary. For purposes of Article XI, a "controlled subsidiary" means any corporation at least 80% of the outstanding voting stock of which is owned by the Registrant or another controlled subsidiary of the Registrant.

Upon written request by a director, officer, employee or agent who is a party to a proceeding, the Registrant shall pay or reimburse his or her reasonable expenses as incurred if the director, officer, employee or agent provides the Registrant with: (i) a written affirmation of his or her good faith belief that he or she is entitled to indemnification under Article XI; and (ii) a written undertaking to repay all amounts advanced without interest to the extent that it is ultimately determined that indemnification under Article XI is prohibited. The Registrant shall have the power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is a director, officer, employee or agent against any liability asserted against or incurred by the individual in any such capacity arising out of his or her status as such, regardless of whether the Registrant is required or authorized to indemnify or allow expenses to the individual under Article XI.

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The right to indemnification under Article XI may be amended only by a majority vote of the shareholders and any reduction in the right to indemnification may only be prospective from the date of such vote.

Item 7.    Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

Item 8.    Exhibits.

4.1          Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant

4.2         By-Laws of the Registrant

5             Opinion of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. as to the legality of the stock being registered

23.1        Consent of KPMG LLP

23.2        Consent of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. (included in its opinion filed as Exhibit 5 hereto)

24          Powers of Attorney

99.1        First Federal Capital Corp 1997 Stock Option and Incentive Plan

99.2        Form of Stock Option Conversion Agreement

Item 9.    Undertakings.

1. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes as follows:

(a) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933.

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement.

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement.

Provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(a)(i) and (1)(a)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

(b) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

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2. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant's annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

3. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Green Bay, State of Wisconsin, on November 18, 2004.

ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP

BY  /s/ Paul S. Beideman                                                               

         Paul S. Beideman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature	Title	Date
/s/ Paul S. Beideman Paul S. Beideman	President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director (Principal  Executive Officer)	November 18, 2004
/s/ Joseph B. Selner Joseph B. Selner	Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)	November 18, 2004
* Karen T. Beckwith	Director	November 18, 2004
* Harry B. Conlon	Director	November 18, 2004
* Ruth M. Crowley	Director	November 18, 2004
* Robert C. Gallagher	Director	November 18, 2004
* Ronald R. Harder	Director	November 18, 2004
* William R. Hutchinson	Director	November 18, 2004
* Richard T. Lommen	Director	November 18, 2004
* John C. Meng	Director	November 18, 2004
* J. Douglas Quick	Director	November 18, 2004

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* Jack C. Rusch	Director	November 18, 2004
* John C. Seramur	Director	November 18, 2004
/s/ Brian R. Bodager Brian R. Bodager *Attorney-in-Fact		November 18, 2004

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ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP

(Commission File No. 0-5519)

EXHIBIT INDEX

TO

FORM S-8 REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Exhibit Number	Description	Incorporated Herein by Reference to	Filed Herewith
4.1	Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant	The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1997 (File No. 0-5519)
4.2	By-Laws of the Registrant	The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1997 (File No. 0-5519)
5	Opinion of Counsel		X
23.1	Consent of KPMG LLP		X
23.2	Consent of Counsel		Contained in Opinion filed as Exhibit 5
24	Powers of Attorney		X
99.1	First Federal Capital Corp 1997 Stock Option and Incentive Plan		X
99.2	Form of Stock Option Conversion Agreement		X

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