Company: WAL-PA
Filing Date: 2025-04-23
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000950170-25-057334
Chunk: 51

Company: WESTERN ALLIANCE BANCORPORATION
Filing Date: 2025-04-23
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 51
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 to business-related functions and responsibilities. The cost of these benefits has historically been a small percentage of an NEOs’ overall compensation package. Please see footnote 4 to the Summary Compensation Table below for more information regarding perquisites offered to our NEOs.

Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan

NEOs may voluntarily defer cash compensation as part of the Western Alliance Bancorporation Nonqualified 401(k) Restoration Plan (“Restoration Plan”). The Restoration Plan was adopted in order to allow the executive officers to defer a portion of their compensation because they face statutory limits under the Company’s 401(k) Plan. We believe the Restoration Plan is a cost-effective method of providing a market-competitive benefit to the NEOs. For more information on the Restoration Plan, including amounts deferred by the NEOs in 2023, see the Deferred Compensation Plan table and accompanying narrative below.

Tax Considerations

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (Section 162(m)) generally disallows a tax deduction to a company for compensation in excess of one million dollars paid to certain executive officers. The Compensation Committee views the availability of a tax deduction as a relevant consideration, subject to its primary responsibility of providing a compensation program that attracts, retains and rewards the executive talent necessary for the Company’s success, and it retains the flexibility to award compensation consistent with the goals of the executive compensation program described above.

The Compensation Committee also takes into consideration other tax and accounting provisions in developing the pay programs for the Company’s NEOs. These included special rules applicable to nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements under Code Section 409A and the accounting treatment of various types of equity-based compensation under FASB ASC Topic 718, as well as the overall income tax rules applicable to various forms of compensation.

Evaluation of Company Compensation Plans and Risk

The Compensation Committee engages in a comprehensive review of the Company’s employee incentive plans no less often than annually. In May 2024, the Compensation Committee met with the Company’s CRO, CHRO and Chief Legal Officer to discuss, evaluate and review all of the Company’s incentive compensation plans. The Compensation Committee and CRO identified potential risks posed to the Company and risk mitigating factors within the plans. Based on input regarding long-term and short-term risks to the Company, the Compensation Committee ensured the plans include guiding principles, limitations on eligibility, clawbacks and other features, as necessary, to focus employees on long-term value creation rather than short-term results. Based on its most recent review of the compensation plans, an evaluation of the amount of payments