Company: BWFG
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001505732-25-000079
Chunk: 34

Company: Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 34
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 30%                                              |     |                       96,000 |

Annual cash bonuses are an integral part of the Company’s compensation program and are intended to reward executives for achieving annual financial and strategic goals. Awards are based upon specific operating results and individual performance. Accordingly, when making final award decisions, the Compensation Committee takes a holistic view of performance results and considers the following key factors:

• Relative financial performance;

• Financial performance compared to prior year and internal budget expectations;

• General economic conditions and degree of difficulty in attaining budget goals;

• One time, or non-recurring events, whether positive or negative; and

• Input from the Chief Executive Officer on the individual performance of the other NEOs.

In addition to the compensation peer group described above, the Compensation Committee uses various other groups of competitors against which it tracks and assesses our relative performance to ensure a balanced perspective (i.e., regulatory, business/strategy mode, geographic, etc.).

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Although the Company has adopted a more formulaic approach to incentive compensation for 2025 which it intends to follow in subsequent years, the Compensation Committee may use its business discretion to increase or decrease the recommended bonuses based on all available information, including performance relative to peers, individual performance, and any other relevant factor.

2024 Results and Award Payouts . For 2024, actual annual bonus award payouts were based on a combination of specific financial results and strategic achievements as assessed by the Compensation Committee. In conducting its assessment, the Committee considered 2024 performance in the following areas:

• Return on average assets: 0.31%

• Return on average tangible common equity: 3.64%

• Noninterest expense to average assets: 1.60%

• Net interest margin: 2.70%

• Total capital ratio (Bank): 12.70%

• CET1 ratio (Company): 9.60%

• Fully diluted tangible book value: $34.09

Based on the Company's performance described above, and the impact of credit charge-offs during 2024, the Compensation Committee approved below target annual incentive awards for Messrs. Gruseke and McNeill and Ms. Chivily as indicated below.

| Name                   |     | Target Award Opportunity (as a % of Base Salary) |     | Target Award Opportunity ($) |     | Actual Award (as a % of Target Award) |     | Actual Award ($) |
| Christopher R. Gruseke |     | 45%                                              |     |