Registration No. 333-________

As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 22, 2022

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

PACIFIC PREMIER BANCORP, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)   33-0743196 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

17901 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 1200

Irvine, California 92614

(949) 864-8000

(Address, including zip code, of Principal Executive Offices)

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. Amended and Restated 2022 Long-Term Incentive Plan

(Full title of the plan)

Ronald J. Nicolas, Jr. Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. 17901 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 1200 Irvine, California 92614 (949) 864-8000 (Name, address, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service) Copies to: Jeffrey D. Haas, Esq. Shawn M. Turner, Esq. Holland & Knight LLP 800 17th Street, NW, Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: (202) 955-3000

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	x	Accelerated filer	¨
Non-accelerated filer	¨	Smaller reporting company	¨
		Emerging growth company	¨

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.

¨

This Registration Statement shall become effective upon filing in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and 17 C.F.R. § 230.462.

PART I.

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The information specified in Item 1 and Item 2 of Part I of Form S-8 is omitted from this Registration Statement on Form S-8, which is referred to as the Registration Statement, in accordance with the provisions of Rule 428 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and the introductory note to Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be delivered to the participants in the equity benefit plans covered by this Registration Statement as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act.

PART II.

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents previously or concurrently filed with the Commission are hereby incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement:

(a) The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the Commission on February 25, 2022 pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act;

(b) The Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on January 20, 2022, March 21, 2022, March 30, 2022, April 26, 2022, May 24, 2022, July 21, 2022, August 1, 2022 and October 20, 2022 (other than the portions of those documents deemed not to be filed);

(c) The Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2022, filed with the Commission on May 6, 2022, June 30, 2022, filed with the Commission on August 5, 2022, and September 30, 2022, filed with the Commission on November 4, 2022;

(d) All other reports filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the year covered by the Annual Report on Form 10-K referred to in (a) above; and

(e) The description of the Company's common stock contained in Exhibit 4.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the Commission on February 28, 2020.

All documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, on or after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement that indicate that all securities offered have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the Commission shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed document which also is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

None.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

The following is a summary of relevant provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and certain provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL. We urge you to read the full text of these documents, forms of which have been filed with the Commission, as well as the referenced provisions of the DGCL because they are the legal documents and provisions that will govern matters of indemnification with respect to our directors and officers.

We are incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware. Section 145 of the DGCL provides that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. A similar standard is applicable in the case of derivative actions, except that indemnification only extends to expenses (including attorneys' fees) incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such action, and the statute requires court approval before there can be any indemnification where the person seeking indemnification has been found liable to the corporation.

The DGCL provides that any indemnification must be made by us only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct. Such determination must be made, with respect to person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (i) by a majority of our directors who are not parties to the action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (ii) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (iii) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (iv) by our stockholders.

The statute provides that it is not exclusive of other indemnification that may be granted by a corporation's bylaws, disinterested director vote, stockholder vote, agreement or otherwise.

Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for the indemnification of directors, officers and certain of our authorized representatives to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, except that indemnification in an action, suit or proceeding initiated by a director, officer or our authorized representative is permitted only if our board of directors authorized the initiation of that action, suit or proceeding. In addition, as permitted by the DGCL, our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our directors shall have no personal liability to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except (i) for any breach of the director's duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or knowing violation of the law, (iii) the unlawful payment of dividends or unlawful stock purchase or redemption, or (iv) for any transaction in which the director derived improper personal benefit.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description
5.1	Opinion of Holland & Knight LLP*
10.1	Amended and Restated 2022 Long-Term Incentive Plan, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on May 24, 2022
23.1	Consent of Holland & Knight LLP (contained in Exhibit 5.1)
23.2	Consent of Crowe LLP*
24.1	Power of Attorney (contained on signature page)
107	Filing Fee Table*

* Filed herewith

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Item 9. Undertakings.

(a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

1.                  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement:

(i)              to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”);

(ii)             to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) (section 230.424(b)) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fees” table in the effective registration statement;

(iii)            to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs 1(i) and 1(ii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by these paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Company pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

2.             That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof;

3.             To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering;

(b)The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c)Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Irvine, State of California, on December 22, 2022.

PACIFIC PREMIER BANCORP, INC.
By:	/s/ STEVEN R. GARDNER
	Steven R. Gardner
	Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each individual whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Steven R. Gardner and Ronald J. Nicolas, Jr., and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for the undersigned and in the undersigned’s name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement on Form S-8, and to file the same, with exhibits and any and all other documents filed with respect thereto, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (or any other governmental or regulatory authority), granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and to perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature	Title	Date
/s/ STEVEN R. GARDNER	Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer	December 22, 2022
Steven R. Gardner	(Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ RONALD J. NICOLAS, JR	Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer	December 22, 2022
Ronald J. Nicolas, Jr	(Principal Financial Officer)
/s/ LORI R. WRIGHT	Senior Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Financial Officer	December 22, 2022
Lori R. Wright	(Principal Accounting Officer)
/s/ M. CHRISTIAN MITCHELL	Director	December 22, 2022
M. Christian Mitchell
/s/ AYAD A. FARGO	Director	December 22, 2022
Ayad A. Fargo
/s/ JOSEPH L. GARRETT	Director	December 22, 2022
Joseph L. Garrett
/s/ STEPHANIE HSIEH	Director	December 22, 2022
Stephanie Hsieh
/s/ JEFFREY C. JONES	Director	December 22, 2022
Jeffrey C. Jones
/s/ ROSE E. MCKINNEY-JAMES	Director	December 22, 2022
Rose E. McKinney-James
/s/ GEORGE M. PEREIRA	Director	December 22, 2022
George M. Pereira
/s/ BARBARA S. POLSKY	Director	December 22, 2022
Barbara S. Polsky
/s/ ZAREH H. SARRAFIAN	Director	December 22, 2022
Zareh H. Sarrafian
/s/ JAYNIE M. STUDENMUND	Director	December 22, 2022
Jaynie M. Studenmund
/s/ RICHARD C. THOMAS	Director	December 22, 2022
Richard C. Thomas

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