ASB vs KEY: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ASB and KEY share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ASB and KEY exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Associated Banc-Corp is a bank holding company based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and is the largest bank headquartered in the state. Its Associated Bank subsidiary operates roughly 180 to 200 branches across Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and neighboring Midwest states, with loan production offices reaching into markets like Omaha, Dallas, Texas and beyond. The company runs three reportable segments: Corporate and Commercial Specialty (commercial loans, commercial real estate, asset-based lending and cash management), Community, Consumer and Business (retail deposits, consumer lending, wealth and retirement services), and Risk Management and Shared Services. It carries roughly $50 billion in total assets, making it a mid-size regional bank rather than a national money-center institution.

Full ASB guide

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is the Cleveland, Ohio holding company for KeyBank National Association, one of the larger regional banks in the United States, with roughly $189 billion in assets as of early 2026. It operates through two segments: the Consumer Bank, which offers deposits, mortgages, home equity, credit cards, student-loan refinancing (through its national Laurel Road digital brand), and financial-wellness services to individuals and small businesses across a 15-state branch footprint, and the Commercial Bank, which serves middle-market clients in seven industry verticals (consumer, energy, healthcare, industrial, public sector, real estate, and technology) with lending, treasury management, and capital-markets services. Like other banks, KeyCorp makes money in two broad ways: net interest income, the spread between what it earns on loans and securities and what it pays on deposits, and noninterest fee income from investment banking, payments, wealth management, and service charges.

Full KEY guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ASB drivers: Loan growth and the American National acquisition; Net interest income and margin.
• KEY drivers: Net interest income and margin recovery; Fee income and investment banking.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: As a regional bank, ASB is heavily exposed to interest-rate movements: a sharp change in rates or an inverted yield curve can compress the net interest margin that drives most of its profit. For KEY, keyCorp is highly sensitive to interest rates: net interest income is its largest revenue line, so falling rates, an inverted yield curve, or deposit repricing can compress the net interest margin and earnings.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ASB if you believe its drivers more; KEY if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ASB and KEY guides.

ASB. ASB trades around $31 per share with a market cap near $5.7 billion, a low double-digit P/E (roughly 10 to 11 times earnings) typical of value-priced regional banks. Q1 2026 net income available to common was about $117 million, or $0.70 per share, beating estimates and up from $0.59 a year earlier. The quarterly dividend of about $0.24 supports a yield above 3%.

KEY. KeyCorp trades as a mid-cap regional bank, with a market value near $25 billion on roughly 1.08 billion shares and a dividend yield around 3.7%. Earnings have been recovering sharply off a weak 2024, so year-over-year growth rates look large partly because of the low base. As with all banks, valuation multiples like price-to-book and price-to-earnings are best read against peer regional banks and the direction of interest rates and credit costs.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): ASB shows net interest income (q1 2026) ~$307M, total revenue (q1 2026) ~$387M, diluted eps (q1 2026) ~$0.70, market cap ~$5.7B; KEY shows total assets ~$189 billion (Q1 2026), q1 2026 total revenue ~$1.95 billion (up ~10% YoY), q1 2026 net income to common ~$486 million, q1 2026 diluted eps ~$0.44 (up ~33% YoY).

ASB and KEY are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ASB and KEY exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.