Document:

Exhibit 10.04

 

WAIVER

 

WAIVER, dated as of April 13, 2009 (this “Waiver”),
to the Credit Agreement, dated as of December 14, 2006 (as amended,
supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”),
among Southwestern Public Service Company, a New Mexico corporation (the “Borrower”),
the several banks and other financial institutions from time to time parties
thereto (the “Lenders”), JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative
agent for the Lenders (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”),
and the other Agents party thereto.

 

W I T N E S S E T H:

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower, the Lenders and the
Administrative Agent are parties to the Credit Agreement;

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower has requested that certain
provisions of the Credit Agreement be waived as set forth herein to effect the
termination of the Revolving Commitment of Lehman Brothers Bank, FSB (“Lehman”)
without the pro rata reduction of the Revolving Commitment of any other Lender;
and

 

WHEREAS, the Lenders are willing to agree to such
waivers on the terms set forth herein;

 

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises
herein contained and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of
which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

 

28.   Defined Terms.  Unless otherwise defined herein, capitalized
terms used herein which are defined in the Credit Agreement are used herein as
therein defined.

 

29.   Waiver and Consent. (a) The
parties hereto hereby agree that effective as of the Effective Date (as defined
below), the Revolving Commitment of Lehman shall be permanently terminated in
full (the “Lehman Termination”) and waive compliance with Section 2.11
of the Credit Agreement with respect to the Lehman Termination. From and after
the Effective Date, Lehman shall have no further rights or obligations under
the Credit Agreement, other than those rights and obligations which, by their
terms, survive the termination of any of the Revolving Commitments and/or the
repayment in full of the Obligations.

 

(b) Other
than with respect to the Lehman Termination, this Waiver shall in no way be
deemed to waive, alter or otherwise modify the pro rata sharing of payments
provisions of Section 2.11 of the Credit Agreement, all of which remain in
full force and effect as written. For avoidance of doubt, the Borrower shall
not be required to make any payment under Section 2.3(a) or otherwise
in respect of the Revolving Commitment of Lehman for any period after January 1,
2009.

 

30.   Amendment.  (a)  As of the effective date, Schedule
1.1A shall be amended to remove Lehman as a Lender under the Credit Agreement
and change the amount of the Total Revolving Commitments to $247,861,111.10.

 

(b)  For the purpose of determining the
Revolving Percentages of the L/C Participants (or other ratable treatment
calculations) with respect to matters relating to any Letter of Credit
outstanding as of the Effective Date (each, an “Existing Letter of Credit”)
and funding obligations in connection therewith, (i) the amount of Lehman’s
outstanding Revolving Commitment shall be deemed to be zero and (ii) effective
as of the Effective Date, each L/C Participant’s Revolving Percentage of the
Total Revolving Commitments shall be calculated after giving effect to the
termination of Lehman’s Revolving Commitment contemplated by this Waiver.  For avoidance of doubt, as of and after the
Effective Date (x) Lehman shall have no obligation to purchase an interest
in any Existing Letter of Credit and (y) Lehman shall not receive any
share of any payment made pursuant to Section 3.4(c) of the Credit
Agreement in respect of any Existing Letter of Credit.

 

(c)  In the event of any inconsistency between
the terms of the Credit Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 2.11
thereof) and the terms of this Waiver, the terms of this Waiver shall
govern.  The Administrative Agent is
authorized to make administrative changes to the manner in which amounts are
funded or paid under the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents to the
extent necessary to effectuate the intent of this paragraph.

 

31.   Effectiveness; Fees.  This Waiver shall become effective as of the
date hereof (the “Effective Date”) when the Administrative Agent shall
have received (a) counterparts hereof duly executed by the Borrower and
the Administrative Agent and (b) 

 

 

consent letters authorizing
the Administrative Agent to enter into this Waiver from the Required
Lenders.  The parties hereto hereby agree
that the Borrower is not required to pay any fee in connection with this Waiver.

 

32.   Representations and Warranties.  The Borrower hereby represents and warrants
that, after giving effect to this Waiver, (a) each of the representations
and warranties of the Borrower in or pursuant to the Loan Documents (other than
the representations and warranties contained in Sections 4.2 and 4.6 of the
Credit Agreement, which representations and warranties are true and correct on
and as of the Closing Date) is true and correct in all material respects, as if
made on and as of the date hereof, except to the extent any such representation
or warranty is stated to relate solely to an earlier date, in which case such
representation or warranty is true and correct in all material respects as of
such earlier date, and (b) no Default or Event of Default has occurred and
is continuing.

 

33.   Continuing Effect of Credit Agreement.  This Waiver shall not be construed as a
waiver or consent to any further or future action on the part of the Borrower
that would require a waiver or consent of the Administrative Agent and/or the
Lenders.  Except as amended hereby, the
provisions of the Credit Agreement are and shall remain in full force and
effect.

 

34.   Counterparts.  This Waiver may be executed in counterparts
and all of the said counterparts taken together shall be deemed to constitute
one and the same instrument.  Delivery of
an executed signature page of this Waiver by facsimile or other electronic
transmission shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart
hereof.

 

35.  GOVERNING LAW.  THIS WAIVER SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND
CONSTRUED AND INTERPRETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW
YORK.

 

36.   Expenses.  The Borrower agrees to pay or reimburse the
Administrative Agent for all of its reasonable out-of-pocket attorney fees and
disbursements of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP incurred in connection
with the preparation, negotiation and execution of this Waiver.

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused
this Waiver to be executed and delivered by their duly authorized officers as
of the date first written above.

 

 

	
   

  	
   

  	
  SOUTHWESTERN
  PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  	
  /s/
  GEORGE E. TYSON, II

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Name:
  George E. Tyson, II

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Title:
  Vice President and Treasurer

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  JPMORGAN
  CHASE BANK, N.A., as

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Administrative
  Agent

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  	
  /s/
  MICHAEL DEFORGE

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Name:
  Michael DeForge

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Title:
  Executive DirectorExhibit 10.2

 

SEVERANCE AGREEMENT AND RELEASE

 

This Severance Agreement and Release (the “Agreement”)
is between Zsolt K. Bessko, the undersigned employee (hereinafter referred to
as “Employee”), and Guaranty Bancorp (the “Bank”) regarding
Employee’s separation from employment with the Bank.  The term “Bank” is deemed to include
Guaranty Bancorp and its affiliates, subsidiaries, related companies and any
employee benefit plans sponsored Guaranty Bancorp or any such entities, and
their respective directors, trustees, officers, employees, administrators, attorneys,
representatives and agents.

 

In
exchange for the releases and other agreements specified in this Agreement,
Employee and the Bank agree as follows:

 

1.             Termination
Date.  Employee’s employment with the
Bank will terminate effective April 15, 2009 due to job elimination.  Employee will be paid all wages or salary,
all accrued, unused Flexible Time Off (FTO) and any other compensation due and
owing to Employee through the end of employment.

 

2.             Severance
Payment.  The Bank also agrees to pay
Employee post-termination severance of $220,000, less appropriate deductions
for federal and state withholdings, other applicable taxes and appropriate
benefit deductions.  Employee
acknowledges that this severance payment is additional consideration that would
not otherwise be payable to Employee upon termination of employment.

 

3.             Release.  Employee understands this Agreement is a
knowing and voluntary waiver of claims by Employee related to Employee’s
employment with and separation from the Bank. 
In exchange for the consideration set forth in this Agreement, and
except for matters specifically reserved in this Agreement, Employee, and
Employee’s representatives, successors and assigns, release and forever
discharge the Bank from any and all claims, demands, damages, losses,
obligations, rights and causes of action, whether known or unknown, including
but not limited to, all claims, causes of action that Employee now has or has
ever had against the Bank relating in any way to Employee’s employment at the
Bank.  Employee agrees not to bring any
lawsuits against the Bank relating to the claims that Employee has released nor
will Employee allow any to be brought or continued on his or her behalf or in
his or her name.  This Agreement does not
affect Employee’s right to file a charge with or participate before the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission; however, Employee is waiving the right to
recover damages and attorney’s fees from such a proceeding.

 

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing terms, the scope of
Employee’s release under this Agreement specifically includes, but is not
limited to, all claims for breach of contract, any other claim under the common
law of the State of Colorado, including claims for tort, breach of implied
contract, wrongful discharge, breach of a covenant of good faith and fair
dealing, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, injunctive
relief, compensatory damages, punitive damages, equitable relief, attorney’s fees
and costs, and any claims under the following statutes: Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000 (e) et seq.),
the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), the
Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 201 et seq., including the
Equal Pay Act), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981 and C.R.S. Sec. 24-34-301 et seq.
(1973), C.R.S. Sec. 8-4-101 et seq. (1973), the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, (as amended) (29 U.S.C. Sec. 791 et seq.), or under any state or
federal wage, labor, employment, or anti-discrimination act, rule or
regulation, or under any common law theory, either legal or equitable.

 

	
   

  Initials

  	
  ZKB

  	
   

  	
  LC

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Employee

  	
   

  	
  Employer

  	
   

  	
   

  

 

1

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement shall
not release, revoke, supersede or amend any rights the Employee may have under
the Bank’s Change in Control Severance Plan, as such plan may be amended from
time to time.

 

4.             Non-Disparagement.  Employee agrees
not to disparage the business, products or reputation of the Bank.  The Bank in like manner, agrees not to
disparage the reputation of the employee.

 

5.             Confidentiality.  Employee agrees not to disclose to anyone
payroll, personnel, financial or other confidential information that Employee
obtained or had access to as an employee of the Bank.  In addition, Employee agrees to keep this
Agreement strictly confidential and not to disclose the terms of this Agreement
to anyone other than the Employee’s spouse, tax advisor and attorney.

 

6.             Consideration
Period.  Employee expressly acknowledges that the Bank has
given him or her a period of at least seven (7) days within which to
consider this Agreement.

 

7.             Consultation with Counsel. 
Employee expressly acknowledges that the Bank has advised him or her to
discuss all aspects of this Agreement with an attorney before signing this
Agreement and that he or she has discussed, or in the alternative, has freely
elected to waive any further opportunity to discuss, this Agreement with an attorney
before signing it.

 

8.             Complete
Understanding.  It is expressly
understood that this
Agreement reflects the complete understanding between the parties and there is no
agreement or understanding between Employee and the Bank about or pertaining to
the termination of Employee’s employment with the Bank or the Bank’s obligation
to Employee with respect to such termination except what is set forth in this
Agreement.

 

9.             Voluntary Execution.  Employee
understands that it is his or her choice whether or not to enter into this
Agreement and that his or her decision to do so is voluntary and is made
knowingly.  Employee certifies that he or
she has read this Agreement and that he or she fully understands and
voluntarily agrees to the same.

 

10.           Governing Law. 
This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in
accordance with, the laws of the State of Colorado.

 

11.           Counterparts. 
This Agreement may be signed in counterparts, each of which shall have
full force and effect.

 

 

	
  EMPLOYEE:

  	
   

  	
  BANK:

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  /s/ Zsolt K. Bessko

  	
   

  	
  By:

  	
  /s/ Laurie Clyne

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
  Name: Laurie Clyne

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
  Title: SVP Human Resources

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Date:

  	
  April 10, 2009

  	
   

  	
  Date:

  	
  April 10, 2009

  
					

 

	
   

  Initials

  	
  ZKB

  	
   

  	
  LC

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Employee

  	
   

  	
  Employer

  	
   

  	
   

  

 

2

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