Company: NSTS
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001437749-25-011792
Chunk: 30

Company: NSTS Bancorp, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 30
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 as the payment of expenses or be reallocated among remaining participating employees. Account balances of participants in the ESOP plan will be 100% vested after five years of service. Credit is given for years of service with North Shore Trust and Savings prior to adoption of the ESOP. In the case of a “change in control,” as defined in the ESOP, however, participants will become immediately fully vested in their account balances. Participants will also become fully vested in their account balances upon death, disability or retirement. Benefits may be payable upon retirement or separation from service.

U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) require that any third-party borrowing by the ESOP be reflected as a liability on our statement of financial condition. Since the ESOP is borrowing from NSTS Bancorp, Inc., the loan will not be treated as a liability but instead will be excluded from stockholders’ equity.

Our ESOP will be subject to the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the applicable regulations of the IRS and the Department of Labor.

2023 Equity Incentive Plan

At our Annual Meeting held on May 24, 2023, the Company’s stockholders approved the NSTS Bancorp, Inc. 2023 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2023 Equity Incentive Plan”), which provides for the grant of stock-based awards to our directors and executive officers. The 2023 Equity Incentive Plan authorized the issuance or delivery to participants of up to 755,714 shares of NSTS Bancorp, Inc. common stock pursuant to grants of incentive and non-qualified stock options and restricted stock awards. Of this number, the maximum number of shares of NSTS Bancorp, Inc. common stock that may be issued under the 2023 Equity Incentive Plan pursuant to the exercise of stock options is 539,796, and the maximum number of shares of NSTS Bancorp, Inc. common stock that may be issued as restricted stock awards is 215,918.

Policy Regarding the Timing of Option Awards

The Company provides the following disclosure regarding the timing of stock option awards in relation to the disclosure of material nonpublic information, as required by Item 402(x) of Regulation S-K. While the Company does not have a formal written policy in place with regard to the timing of awards of stock options in relation to the disclosure by the Company of material nonpublic information, the Compensation Committee does not seek to time equity grants to take advantage of information,