Company: CVBF
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000950170-25-051966
Chunk: 100

Company: CVB FINANCIAL CORP
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 100
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 group of covered employees. Notably, “covered employee” was formerly limited to a public company's five executive officers, plus former covered executive officers. By contrast, under the expanded definition, the next five highest-compensated employees are included, even if they are not executive officers, do not work directly for the publicly held corporation, or were employed for only part of

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the year. Comments on the proposed regulations must be submitted by March 17, 2025. If finalized, the changes are set to take effect for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026 (or the date the final regulations are published in the Federal Register, if later).

The Compensation Committee believes that shareholder interests are best served if the Committee has discretion and flexibility to award compensation to our executives that is not restricted to $1 million annually, even though some compensation awards may result in non-deductible compensation expenses. Therefore, the Committee has approved bonus compensation and equity grants for our NEOs that may not be fully deductible because of the Section 162(m) limitation and may approve other compensation that is not deductible for income tax purposes.

The Compensation Committee will continue to modify our compensation practices and programs as necessary to maintain our ability to attract and retain key executives while taking into account the tax deductibility of our compensation programs. The Committee has retained the flexibility, however, to pay compensation that is not deductible for tax purposes, because it believes that doing so permits it to take into consideration factors that are consistent with good corporate governance, retention of key executives, and the best interests of our shareholders.

CompensationGovernance and Risk Management

The Compensation Committee considers risk management to be an essential component of a properly conceived executive compensation program.

First, the Committee takes into account the structure of the compensation plans pursuant to which incentive awards are made. In this regard, the Committee notes that, while CVB Financial Corp.’s cash incentive awards reward associates, including senior executives, based in part on their business line performance and the achievement of certain performance objectives, specifically profit and expense metrics, loan growth and retention, and deposit growth and retention, which presented the potential for excessive risk taking, CVB Financial Corp. also has a practice of paying long-term compensation as a significant portion of total compensation and an emphasis on overall performance in making incentive award and bonus compensation decisions.

Second, the Committee has implemented a compensation plan review and oversight process that is designed to help identify, manage and monitor compensation-related risks. With respect to Board oversight, the Compensation Committee believes that CV