Company: SYBT
Filing Date: 2025-03-12
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001437749-25-007118
Chunk: 54

Company: Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-12
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 54
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 compensation consultant to assist it in the performance of its duties and responsibilities. The Committee has retained an independent executive compensation consultant to assist in evaluating the compensation practices at the Company and to provide advice and ongoing recommendations regarding executive compensation consistent with our business goals and pay philosophy.

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In 2024, the Committee continued to engage, Aon’s Human Capital Solutions, a division of Aon plc (“Aon”), to provide executive compensation consulting services regarding our compensation programs and pay levels. The scope of Aon’s executive compensation consulting assignment included the ongoing evaluation of the appropriateness of our peer group of banks as well as a comparison of management’s base salaries, annual cash incentive awards and equity-based compensation to those paid by the banks in the peer bank group. The Committee used data developed by Aon among the various factors that informed its determination of executive officer pay. While the Committee takes into consideration the review and recommendations of Aon when making decisions about our executive compensation program, ultimately, the Committee makes its own independent decisions about compensation matters.

Aon reports directly to and performed services solely on behalf of the Committee and has no other relationship with the Company or its management. The Committee has assessed the independence of Aon consistent with SEC rules and Nasdaq listing standards and has concluded that Aon’s work did not involve any conflicts of interest.

Peer Selection Process

Each year, the Committee re-evaluates and updates the peer group, with the consultant’s guidance, to ensure ongoing relevance. The Committee uses this information for making compensation decisions, such as changes to base salaries, annual cash incentive awards, and long-term equity awards.

For 2024 compensation, the Committee worked with the consultant in 2023 to select peer banks using the criteria below as of March 31, 2023. The chosen criteria were essentially consistent with the prior year and took into consideration the Company’s size given the possibility of future acquisitions and growth in certain criteria:

| ● | Non-thrift institutions located in the continental United States excluding California; |
| ● | Total revenue from $240 to $660 million;                                               |
| ● | Total assets between $3 and $16 billion;                                               |
| ● | Insider ownership less than 30%;                                                       |
| ● | Publicly traded for at least one calendar year;                                        |
| ● | Non-interest income greater than 13% of total revenue;                                 |
| ● | Market capitalization greater than $275 million;                                       |
| ● | Located in markets with populations greater than