Company: WTFCN
Filing Date: 2025-04-03
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-031671
Chunk: 101

Company: WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORP
Filing Date: 2025-04-03
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 101
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 with regard to awards granted to persons who are subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act. To the extent deemed necessary or advisable, including for purposes of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, the independent members of the Board may act as the committee under the 2025 Plan. Awards . The following types of awards may be granted under the 2025 Plan: Stock Options . Stock options may be granted in the form of incentive stock options within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code or stock options not meeting such Code definition (“nonqualified stock options”). The 2025 Plan permits 1,000,000 of the shares available under the 2025 Plan to be awarded in the form of incentive stock options if the Compensation Committee so determines. The exercise period for any stock option will be determined by the Compensation Committee at the time of grant which may provide that stock options may be exercisable in installments, provided that no stock option will be exercised later than ten years after its date of grant. Except in the case of substitute awards granted in connection with a corporate transaction, the exercise price per share of Common Stock of any stock option may not be less than the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant. Each stock option may be exercised in whole, at any time, or in part, from time to time, 69 TABLE OF CONTENTS after the grant becomes exercisable. The Compensation Committee will provide for the exercise price to be payable in cash, payable in shares of already owned Common Stock, payable through the withholding of Common Stock which would otherwise be delivered to the participant, or in any combination of cash, already owned or withheld Common Stock, pursuant to a broker-assisted cashless exercise program, or by such methods as the Compensation Committee may deem appropriate. Stock Appreciation Rights . SARs may be granted independently of any stock option or in tandem with all or any part of a stock option granted under the 2025 Plan, upon such terms and conditions as the Compensation Committee may determine. Upon exercise, a SAR entitles a participant to receive the excess of the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on the date the SAR is exercised over the base price of the SAR. Except in the case of substitute awards granted in connection with a corporate transaction, the base price of a SAR will not be less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant. The Compensation Committee will determine whether a SAR will be settled in cash, Common Stock or