Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000712534-25-000077
Chunk: 66

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 66
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’s death or total and permanent disability (as defined in Code §22(e)(3)); or (iv) the date of a change of control, as defined in the Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan (“ LTEIP ”). If the director’s service as a director ends before the restrictions lapse, the director forfeits the restricted shares. The director is deemed to be the beneficial owner of the restricted shares, with the right to vote and receive all dividends and other distributions with respect to the shares, unless and until they are forfeited.

Effective as of January 1, 2015, based in part on a recommendation from Conduent Human Resource Services ( "Conduent" ), the Board increased the percentage of the non-employee directors’ compensation that is payable in restricted shares from 50% to 62.5%, thus reducing the percentage that is payable in cash from 50% to 37.5%. This change in the structure of the non-employee directors’ compensation further aligns their interests with long-term shareholder interests.

50 First Merchants Corporation 2025 Proxy Statement

Also based in part on a recommendation from Conduent, effective as of January 1, 2015, the Board amended the LTEIP to eliminate a provision in that plan for an automatic annual award to non-employee directors of an option to purchase FMC common stock. Under that provision, the non-employee directors received a stock option grant each July 1 to purchase 1,500 shares of FMC common stock at the closing market price of the shares on the date of the grant. Thus the non-employee directors were awarded the stock options on July 1, 2014 but not on or after July 1, 2015. The Company had already ceased awarding stock options to any of its executive officers and other employees beginning in 2014, as recommended by Conduent, instead relying on restricted stock grants as the sole form of equity awards to employees. The 2015 elimination of stock option awards to the non-employee directors, coupled with the increased emphasis on restricted stock in the makeup of the directors’ compensation, mirrored the changes previously made in the structure of the employees’ equity compensation.

A Board-established stock ownership guideline applies to all non-employee directors, under which they are to acquire and hold shares of FMC common stock equal in value to at least three times their total annual compensation for their services as directors. Directors are expected to meet this guideline as soon as reasonably possible, and in