Company: PFIS
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-030614
Chunk: 27

Company: PEOPLES FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP.
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 27
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. The board also considered whether there
were any transactions or relationships between any director or any member of his or her immediate family (or any entity of which a director
or an immediate family member is an executive officer, general partner or significant equity holder) and members of our senior management
or their affiliates.

As a result of this review,
the board affirmatively determined that William E. Aubrey II, Sandra L. Bodnyk, William G. Bracey, Joseph Coccia, William P. Conaboy, Esq.,
Joseph L. DeNaples, Esq., Louis A. DeNaples, Sr., Keith W. Eckel, Ronald G. Kukuchka, Kathleen McCarthy Lambert, CPA, Richard
S. Lochen, Jr., CPA, Thomas J. Melone, CPA, James B. Nicholas, Elisa Zúñiga Ramirez and Joseph T. Wright, Jr., Esq.
are independent under the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC. In addition, the board determined that each member of our
nominating and governance, audit, and compensation committees is independent in accordance with the additional independence criteria applicable
to such committee members under the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC, including the additional independence standards
applicable to members of the audit and compensation committees. Craig W. Best, our former chief executive officer who also served as a
director until December 31, 2024 was determined to be not independent.

In determining the independence
of our independent directors, we considered loan transactions, as more particularly described in “Certain Relationships and Related
Transactions,” deposits with Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, certain lease agreements and certain arm’s-length purchases
of products from companies at which some of our directors or their immediate family members were officers or employees. The board determined
that none of these relationships impaired the independence of the independent directors.

Board Meetings

During 2024, the board of
directors held twelve meetings. Each of our directors attended at least 75 percent of the aggregate number of meetings held by the board
of directors and the committees on which he or she served during the period of his or her service.

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We have no formal policy with
respect to director attendance at our annual meeting of shareholders. All of our then-serving directors attended our 2024 annual meeting
of shareholders.

Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight

The board of directors of
the Company