Company: ABR-PF
Filing Date: 2025-04-17
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001628280-25-018236
Chunk: 36

Company: ARBOR REALTY TRUST INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-17
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 36
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4, the Compensation Committee engaged FPL Associates, its independent compensation consultant, to assist the committee in evaluating the Company's practices regarding non-employee director compensation. Following that evaluation, the Compensation Committee determined to make no changes to the amount or structure of non-employee director compensation, and we continued to apply the principles previously developed with FPL Associates in their evaluations performed in 2014 and 2021. FPL Associates has no other relationships with us and is considered an independent third-party advisor. The Compensation Committee conducted a specific review of its relationship with FPL Associates and determined that its work for the committee did not raise any conflicts of interest, consistent with the requirements promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), by the SEC and by the NYSE. The Compensation Committee continues to monitor the independence of its compensation consultant on a periodic basis.

Stock Ownership Guidelines

Our Board of Directors believes that stock ownership by our directors and certain executive officers is important to further align the interests of these individuals with those of our stockholders and expects these individuals to acquire significant ownership of equity in the Company. Our Board of Directors previously adopted minimum equity ownership guidelines for our directors requiring each director to maintain a minimum level of equity ownership equal to five times the level of total cash compensation received by such director in the prior calendar period. These mandatory ownership guidelines are intended to create a clear standard that encourages independent directors to remain invested in the performance of the Company. New directors have five years to reach the required level of equity ownership. If any director should fall below the required level of equity ownership, such director will have one year to come into compliance with the policy.

Upon further evaluation regarding the application of stock ownership guidelines, our Board of Directors determined that it was appropriate to adopt stock ownership guidelines for employees with a title of Executive Vice President and higher, plus other employees who, without regard to title, are a Section 16 reporting officer ("Section 16 Officer"), as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) under the Exchange Act (each such employee, a "Covered Officer"). On March 6, 2025, our Board adopted equity ownership guidelines requiring our NEOs to maintain a value of our stock equal to five times their base salary, with all other Covered Officers being required to maintain a value of our stock equal to two times their base salary. For purposes of the ownership guidelines, stock ownership includes any vested and/or unvested class of our equity securities, whether held directly or