Company: NSTS
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001437749-25-011792
Chunk: 29

Company: NSTS Bancorp, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 29
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North Shore Trust and Savings sponsors a noncontributory profit-sharing plan covering all employees who have worked more than 1,000 hours during the plan year and remain employed as of the year-end. Funds are fully vested after two years of employment. There was no profit sharing expense for each of the years ended 2024, 2023 or 2022.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

North Shore Trust and Savings established the ESOP for its employees which became effective upon completion of the mutual-to-stock conversion. Employees who have been credited with at least 1,000 hours of service during a 12-month period and who have attained age 18 are eligible to participate in the employee stock ownership plan.

As part of the mutual-to-stock conversion, in order to fund the purchase of up to 8.0% of the Common Stock issued in the mutual-to-stock conversion offering (including shares contributed to the charitable foundation), or 431,836 shares, the ESOP borrowed funds from NSTS Bancorp, Inc. The loan to the ESOP has a term of 25 years, to be repaid principally from North Shore Trust and Savings contributions to the ESOP, and the collateral for the loan is the Common Stock purchased by the ESOP. The interest rate for the ESOP loan is 3.25%. NSTS Bancorp, Inc. may, in any plan year, make additional discretionary contributions for the benefit of plan participants in either cash or shares of Common Stock, which may be acquired through the purchase of outstanding shares in the market or from individual stockholders, upon the original issuance of additional shares by NSTS Bancorp, Inc. or upon the sale of treasury shares by NSTS Bancorp, Inc. Such purchases, if made, would be funded through additional borrowings by the ESOP or additional contributions from North Shore Trust and Savings. The timing, amount and manner of future contributions to the ESOP will be affected by various factors, including prevailing regulatory policies, the requirements of applicable laws and regulations and market conditions.

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Shares purchased by the ESOP with the loan proceeds are held in a suspense account and released for allocation to participants on a pro rata basis as debt service payments are made. Shares released from the ESOP will be allocated to each eligible participant’s ESOP account based on the ratio of each such participant’s compensation, consisting of salary and bonus, to the total of such compensation of all eligible ESOP participants. Forfeitures may be used for several purposes such