EX-10.52






EXHIBIT 10.52




LONG TERM INCENTIVE AWARD AGREEMENT




     THIS LONG TERM INCENTIVE AWARD AGREEMENT is made as of the 29th day of January,
2009 (the “Grant Date”), by and between Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) and the
undersigned (“Grantee”), pursuant to the Citizens Banking Corporation Stock Compensation Plan, as
amended (“Plan”). Capitalized terms not defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings ascribed
to them in the Plan.



     WHEREAS, the Company desires to encourage Grantee to have a long term focus with regard to the
Company’s financial success, motivate and encourage Grantee to achieve financial success for the
Company and to better align Grantee’s long term financial interests with the interests of the
Company’s shareholders;



     WHEREAS, the Company desires to grant this long term incentive award to Grantee pursuant to
the Plan;



     NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is
hereby acknowledged, it is agreed between the parties as follows:



     1. Grant of Award. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, including without
limitation the restrictions set forth in paragraph 2 of this Agreement, the Company hereby grants
to Grantee (a) a total of ___shares of the Company’s Common Stock (the “Restricted Stock
Award”) and (b) a total of $___in cash (the “Cash Award”).



     2. Vesting.



          (a) The shares subject to the Restricted Stock Award will not be earned and shall not be
transferred, pledged, assigned, or otherwise alienated or hypothecated except as follows, if
Grantee is still employed with the Company or an Affiliate on the applicable date(s):



               (i) The restrictions on 50% of the shares subject to the Restricted Stock Award (the “First
Installment”) will lapse, and such shares will be vested and earned, at the close of business on
January 29, 2011 if both of the following performance measures are met:




          (A) The Company earns net income of at least $1.00 (determined
in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles
consistently applied) for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2010;
and




          (B) The Company’s Pre-Tax/Pre-Provision Income for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2010 is higher than its
Pre-Tax/Pre-Provision Income (as defined below) for the fiscal year
ending December 31, 2009.



               (ii) The restrictions on the remaining 50% of the shares subject to the Restricted Stock Award
(the “Second Installment”) and on the First Installment, if the conditions



 









 







for vesting and earning the First Installment pursuant to paragraph 2(a)(i) were not
satisfied, will lapse, and such shares will be vested and earned, at the close of business on
January 29, 2012 if both of the following performance measures are met:




          (A) The Company earns net income of at least $1.00 (determined
in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles
consistently applied) for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011;
and




          (B) The Company’s Pre-Tax/Pre-Provision Income for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2011 is higher than its
Pre-Tax/Pre-Provision Income for the fiscal year ending December 31,
2010.



               (iii) Shares subject to the Restricted Stock Award that are not vested and earned pursuant to
paragraph 2(a)(i) or (ii) will be canceled.



               (iv) “Pre-Tax/Pre-Provision Income” means net income (loss) (determined in accordance with
U.S. generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied) excluding income tax provision
(benefit), the provision for loan losses, and impairment charges (such as goodwill, credit
writedowns and fair-value adjustments), as disclosed in the Company’s earnings release.



          (b) Except as set forth in paragraph 2(c), the Cash Award shall be vested and earned and
become payable in three equal installments at the close of business on each of the one year, two
year and three year anniversaries of the Grant Date, if Grantee is still employed with the Company
or an Affiliate on the applicable date(s).



          (c) If Grantee ceases to be employed with the Company or an Affiliate, the following shall
apply:



               (i) If termination of employment is due to Grantee’s retirement or resignation, or Grantee’s
employment is terminated by the Company for Cause, the unvested portions of the Restricted Stock
Award and Cash Award on the date of termination shall be cancelled and forfeited on such date.



               (ii) If termination of employment is due to elimination by the Company of Grantee’s position,
then (A) the unvested portion of the Cash Award shall be cancelled and forfeited on the date of
termination; and (B) a pro-rata portion of the shares subject to the Restricted Stock Award shall
remain available for vesting if the applicable conditions in paragraph 2(a) are satisfied,
determined as follows: (I) as to the First Installment, a number of shares equal to the product of
(x) the number of shares in the First Installment, and (y) a fraction, the numerator of which is
the number of days that have elapsed from the Grant Date through the date of such termination up to
a maximum of 365, and the denominator of which is 365; and (II) as to the Second Installment, a
number of shares equal to the product of (x) the number of shares in the Second Installment, and
(y) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days that have elapsed from the Grant Date
through the date of such termination up to a maximum of 730, and the denominator of which is 730.
Any shares not remaining available for vesting under (B)



2









 







shall be cancelled and forfeited on the date of termination. Shares remaining available for
vesting under (B) shall become vested and earned only if the conditions specified in paragraph 2(a)
have been satisfied.



               (iii) If termination of employment is due to Grantee’s death, Disability, or a termination of
employment by the Company without Cause, then (A) a pro-rata portion of the unvested Cash Award
shall become vested and earned equal to the product of (i) the amount of the Cash Award subject to
vesting on the next anniversary of the Grant Date and (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is
the number of days that have elapsed from the later of the previous vesting date or the Grant Date
through the date of such termination, and the denominator of which is 365, and such amount shall be
payable on the next vesting date; and (B) a pro-rata portion of the shares subject to the
Restricted Stock Award shall remain available for vesting if the applicable conditions in paragraph
2(a) are satisfied, determined as follows: (I) as to the First Installment, a number of shares
equal to the product of (x) the number of shares in the First Installment, and (y) a fraction, the
numerator of which is the number of days that have elapsed from the Grant Date through the date of
such termination up to a maximum of 365, and the denominator of which is 365; and (II) as to the
Second Installment, a number of shares equal to the product of (x) the number of shares in the
Second Installment, and (y) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days that have
elapsed from the Grant Date through the date of such termination up to a maximum of 730, and the
denominator of which is 730. Any shares not remaining available for vesting under (B) and any
other unvested portion of the Cash Award at the date of termination shall be cancelled and
forfeited on the date of termination. Shares remaining available for vesting under (B) shall
become vested and earned only if the conditions specified in paragraph 2(a) have been satisfied.



               (d) In the event of a Change in Control, vesting shall occur as provided in the Plan and in
accordance with any Amended and Restated Change in Control Agreement between the Company and
Grantee.



               (e) Until the lapse of all restrictions provided in paragraph 2(a) on the shares subject to
the Restricted Stock Award, any certificate evidencing unvested shares subject to the Restricted
Stock Award shall carry the following restrictive legend:




The sale or other transfer of the shares of stock represented by
this certificate, whether voluntary, involuntary or by operation of
law, is subject to certain restrictions on transfer set forth in the
Citizens Banking Corporation Stock Compensation Plan (the “Plan”),
rules and administrative guidelines adopted pursuant to such Plan
and an Agreement dated January 29, 2009. A copy of the Plan, such
rules and such Agreement may be obtained from the Secretary of the
Company.



     The Company shall also have the right to place stop transfer instructions on certificates
representing unvested shares which are subject to the Restricted Stock Award. Grantee shall be
entitled to removal of such legend and stop transfer instructions at the time or times provided by,
and in accordance with, Section 3.05 of the Plan.



3









 





     3. Restrictive Covenants.



     As consideration for the grant of this restricted stock award, Grantee agrees to comply with
and be bound by the following restrictive covenants:



          (a) Non-Disclosure of Confidential Information. All “Confidential Information”
concerning Company and its customers will be kept strictly confidential and will not be disclosed
by Grantee to any third parties or used by Grantee in a manner contrary to Company’s interests at
any time without the prior consent of Company, except as required by law. “Confidential
Information” includes customer and client lists and all customer, technical, business, marketing,
financial, systems and personnel information from whatever source, the disclosure of which might be
contrary to the interests of Company, excluding information which is or becomes publicly available
other than by Grantee’s acts or omissions. All Confidential Information and all other property of
Company will be returned to Company on or before the date Grantee’s active status terminates, and
Grantee will not retain any copies in any form.



          (b) Non-Solicitation of Employees and Customers. During Grantee’s employment and for a
period of one year following Grantee’s termination of employment for any reason, including
retirement, Grantee will not, without the prior written consent of Company:



               (i) on his/her own behalf or on behalf of any third party, whether directly or indirectly,
hire or employ, attempt to hire or employ, or solicit, encourage or induce to leave employment with
Company or to accept employment elsewhere than Company, any person who was employed by Company at
any time during the 18-month period beginning six months prior to the termination of Grantee’s
employment and ending one year after such termination.



               (ii) on his/her own behalf or on behalf of any third party, whether directly or indirectly,
provide, sell, market or endeavor to provide, sell or market any Competing Services to any
Restricted Customers (as such terms are defined below), or otherwise solicit or communicate with
any Restricted Customers for the purpose of selling or providing any Competing Services. “Competing
Services” means any products or services that are similar to or competitive with the products and
services sold or offered by Company. “Restricted Customers” means any of Company’s current, former,
or prospective customers to whom Grantee provided services, with whom Grantee had business contact
on behalf of Company, with respect to whom Grantee has confidential information, or with whom
Grantee had any responsibilities during the last two years of Grantee’s employment with Company.



          (c) Non-disparagement. During Grantee’s employment and following Grantee’s termination
of employment for any reason, including retirement, Grantee will not publicly or privately make
disparaging comments with respect to Company or its management in general and specifically with
respect to any of Company’s personnel, operations, products, policies or practices.



          (d) Non-Competition. During Grantee’s employment and for a period of one year
following Grantee’s termination of employment for any reason, including retirement, Grantee will
not, without the prior written consent of Company, become employed by (including self-



4









 







employment) or otherwise provide services to or on behalf of any person or entity whose
business competes with Company where both:



               (i) Grantee will be called to perform the same or substantially similar functions to those
which Grantee performed while employed by Company during the one-year period prior to the
termination of Grantee’s employment, and



               (ii) Grantee will, by virtue of the new business relationship, be acting in a manner which is
or may reasonably be expected to be prejudicial to or in conflict with the interests of Company, as
determined in the reasonable discretion of the chief executive officer of Company or his or her
designee.


The restrictions set forth in this paragraph 3(d) shall not apply following a termination of
Grantee’s employment that would entitle Grantee to severance payments pursuant to the provisions of
the Company’s Severance Pay Plan.




          (e) Subsequent Assistance. Following Grantee’s termination of employment for any
reason, (other than death and in certain instances, Disability) Grantee shall furnish such
reasonable subsequent assistance requested by Company that is deemed material to the transition of
responsibilities from Grantee to his or her successor.



          (f) Reformation. If any portion of these restrictive covenants is found to be
unenforceable, any court of competent jurisdiction may reform the restrictions as to time,
geographical area or scope to the extent required to make the provision enforceable under
applicable law.



          (g) Disclosure of Information. Grantee hereby agrees that he/she will provide Company
with any information reasonably requested to determine compliance with these restrictive covenants
and authorizes Company to disclose the covenants and the remedies for their violation to any third
party who might be affected thereby, including Grantee’s prospective employer.



          (h) Cancellation and Other Remedies. If Grantee violates the restrictive covenants
described in paragraphs 3(a) through 3(e) above:



               (i) the unvested portions of any Cash Award and Restricted Stock Award will be forfeited
immediately,



               (ii) Any vested portion of the Cash Award and Restricted Stock Award that became vested and
earned within the period beginning one year prior to the termination of Grantee’s employment, net
of any taxes withheld (whether withheld in cash or shares), shall be canceled immediately for no
consideration, and



               (iii) Grantee will be required to reimburse Company in an amount equal to any gain realized by
Grantee (determined as of the sale date) with respect to the sale of any shares originally covered
by the Restricted Stock Award within the period beginning one year prior to the termination of
Grantee’s employment and ending six (6) months after the termination of Grantee’s employment, net
of any taxes withheld (whether withheld in cash or shares).



5









 




Grantee acknowledges that a violation or attempted violation on his or her part of the restrictive
covenants set forth in paragraph 3 will cause immediate and irreparable damage to Company, and
therefore agrees that Company will be entitled as a matter of right to an injunction from any court
of competent jurisdiction restraining any violation or further violation of such terms, such right
to an injunction, however, will be cumulative and in addition to whatever other remedies Company
may have under law or equity. In any action or proceeding by Company to enforce these restrictive
covenants where Company is the prevailing party, Company shall be entitled to recover from Grantee
its reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in such action or proceeding.




     4. Non-Assignability of Award. The awards hereby granted shall not be transferable. No
purported assignment or transfer of these awards, or of the rights represented thereby, whether
voluntary or involuntary, by operation of law or otherwise, shall vest in the purported assignee or
transferee any interest or right whatsoever. For the avoidance of doubt, the parties acknowledge
that this paragraph 4 applies to the awards themselves, not to the shares subject to the Restricted
Stock Award, and that the transferability of the shares subject to the Restricted Stock Award shall
be governed by paragraph 2 of this Agreement.



     5. Adjustments. In the event of any stock dividend, reclassification, subdivision or
combination, or similar transaction affecting the shares covered by the Restricted Stock Award, the
rights of Grantee are subject to adjustment as provided in Section 6.01 of the Plan to the extent
deemed necessary by the Committee.



     6. Rights as Shareholder. Until shares subject to the Restricted Stock Award are
vested or cancelled, Grantee shall be considered the record owner of such shares and shall have all
the rights of a shareholder (including voting and dividend rights) with respect to such shares
commencing on the Grant Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any dividends or distributions are
paid in shares of Common Stock during such time, the dividend or other distribution in shares shall
be subject to the same restrictions on transferability as the shares of restricted stock with
respect to which they were paid.



     7. Withholding. No later than the date as of which an amount first becomes includible
in the gross income of Grantee for federal income tax purposes with respect to any of the awards
hereunder, Grantee shall pay to the Company, or make arrangements satisfactory to the Company
regarding the payment of, all federal, state and local income and employment taxes that are
required by applicable laws and regulations to be withheld with respect to such amount. Grantee
authorizes the Company to withhold from his or her compensation to satisfy any income and
employment tax withholding obligations in connection with the award. If Grantee is no longer
employed by the Company at the time any applicable taxes are due and must be remitted by the
Company, Grantee agrees to pay applicable taxes to the Company, and the Company may delay removal
of the restrictive legend until proper payment of such taxes has been made by Grantee. Grantee may
satisfy such obligations under this paragraph 7 by any method authorized under Section 7.06 of the
Plan.



     8. Notices. Every notice relating to this Agreement shall be in writing and if given
by mail shall be given by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested. All notices
to the Company shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Company at the Company’s headquarters.
All



6









 







notices by the Company to Grantee shall be delivered to Grantee personally or addressed to
Grantee at Grantee’s last residence address as then contained in the records of the Company or such
other address as Grantee may designate. Either party by notice to the other may designate a
different address to which notices shall be addressed. Any notice given by the Company to Grantee
at Grantee’s last designated address shall be effective to bind any other person who shall acquire
rights hereunder.



     9. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with
the laws of the State of Michigan without giving effect to conflicts of laws.



     10. Provisions of Plan Controlling. Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this
Agreement, in the event of any conflict between the provisions of this Agreement and the provisions
of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall control.



     11. Code Section 409A. It is intended that the awards granted hereunder shall be
exempt from or in compliance with Code Section 409A. The Committee reserves the right to amend this
Agreement if necessary to exempt such awards from Code Section 409A or comply with the requirements
of Code Section 409A, as applicable. Further, if Grantee is a “Specified Employee” (as defined
under Code Section 409A and IRS guidance issued thereunder), Grantee shall be required to delay
payment of any award hereunder for six (6) months after separation from service to the extent such
award is governed by Code Section 409A and the delay is required thereunder.



     12. Clawback. Grantee acknowledges that the awards made pursuant to this Agreement are
subject to the Company’s Executive Compensation Clawback Policy and to any requirements to which
the Company may be subject under applicable law or regulation to recover or “clawback” amounts
received by Grantee, including without limitation restrictions imposed by the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act of 2008, the Troubled Asset Relief Program and applicable amendments thereto. In
addition, notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, in the event it is
determined by outside legal counsel to the Company in a written opinion addressed to the Board that
any portion of the awards made pursuant to this Agreement violates any applicable law or
regulation, such portion shall be null and void ab initio and the remaining portion of the awards
hereunder shall continue in effect.



7









 





     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day and year
first above written.



	 	 	 	 	 
	 
	GRANTEE
	 
	 
	CITIZENS REPUBLIC BANCORP, INC.

 	 
	 
	By:  
	Its: 
	 	 	 	 
	 




8