EXHIBIT 97.1
M&T Bank Corporation Executive Compensation Recoupment Policy
Effective Adoption Date: October 2, 2023
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M&T Bank Corporation (the “Company”) has adopted this Compensation Recoupment Policy (this “Policy”) to implement a mandatory clawback policy in the event of a Restatement in compliance with the applicable rules of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”).
Any capitalized terms used, but not immediately defined, in this Policy have the meanings set forth in Section 14.
This Policy shall be administered in the sole discretion of the Committee. The Committee shall have the discretion to interpret this Policy and make all determinations with respect to this Policy, consistent with applicable law and this Policy. Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to the Applicable Rules, the Board may assume any or all powers and authority of the Committee with respect to this Policy, in which case references to the Committee shall be deemed to include the Board, as applicable.
Without limiting the foregoing, this Policy shall be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of the Applicable Rules, and compliance with this Policy shall not be waived by the Committee, the Board or the Company in any respect. Any interpretations and determinations made by the Committee shall be final and binding on all affected individuals.
This Policy is effective as of October 2, 2023 (the “Effective Date”) and applies to Incentive-Based Compensation that is Received by any Executive Officer on or after the Effective Date as described in Section 7 below.
The Committee may amend this Policy from time to time in its discretion, subject to any limitations under applicable law or listing standards, including the Applicable Rules, and shall report such amendments to the Board. Without limiting the forgoing, the Committee may amend this Policy as it deems necessary to reflect any amendment of the Applicable Rules or regulations or guidance issued under the Applicable Rules.
Any right of recoupment under this Policy is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other remedies or rights that may be available to the Company pursuant to (a) the M&T Bank Corporation 2019 Equity Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended and restated from time to time, or any successor plan thereto, the Company’s annual bonus plan, or any other incentive plan of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (b) the terms of any recoupment or forfeiture policy as in effect from time to time, whether or not adopted by the Company before or after the Effective Date, or any provision
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in any employment agreement, compensation agreement or arrangement, or other agreement, or (c) any other legal remedies available to the Company under applicable law.
In addition to recovery of compensation as provided for in this Policy, the Company may take any and all other actions as it deems necessary, appropriate and in the Company’s best interest in connection with the Committee determining that this Policy should apply, including termination of the employment of, or initiating legal action against, an Executive Officer, and nothing in this Policy limits the Company’s rights to take any such appropriate actions.
In the event that the Company is required to prepare a Restatement, the Company shall reasonably promptly recover from an Executive Officer the amount of any erroneously awarded Incentive-Based Compensation that is Received by such Executive Officer during the Recovery Period. The amount of erroneously Received Incentive-Based Compensation will be the excess of the Incentive-Based Compensation Received by the Executive Officer (whether in cash or shares) based on the erroneous data in the original financial statements over the Incentive-Based Compensation (whether in cash or in shares) that would have been Received by the Executive Officer had such Incentive-Based Compensation been based on the restated results, without respect to any tax liabilities incurred or paid by the Executive Officer.
Recovery of any erroneously awarded compensation under this Policy is not dependent on fraud or misconduct by any Executive Officer in connection with a Restatement.
Without limiting the foregoing, for Incentive-Based Compensation based on the Company’s stock price or total shareholder return, where the amount of erroneously awarded compensation is not subject to mathematical recalculation directly from the information in the Restatement, (a) the amount shall be based on the Company’s reasonable estimate of the effect of the Restatement on the stock price or total shareholder return upon which the Incentive-Based Compensation was Received and (b) the Company shall maintain documentation of the determination of that reasonable estimate and provide such estimate to the NYSE as required by the Applicable Rules.
In addition to the foregoing, in the event that an Executive Officer fails to repay or reimburse erroneously awarded compensation that is subject to recovery, the Committee may require an Executive Officer to reimburse the Company for any and all expenses reasonably incurred (including legal fees) by the Company in recovering erroneously awarded compensation under this Policy.
This Policy covers all persons who are Executive Officers at any time during the Recovery Period for which Incentive-Based Compensation is Received. Incentive-Based Compensation shall not be recovered under this Policy to the extent Received by any person before the date the person served as an Executive Officer. Subsequent changes in an Executive Officer’s employment status, including retirement or termination of employment, do not affect the Company’s right to recover Incentive-Based Compensation pursuant to this Policy.
This Policy shall apply to Incentive-Based Compensation that is Received by any Executive Officer on or after the Effective Date and that results from attainment of a Financial Reporting
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Measure based on or derived from financial information for any fiscal period ending on or after the Effective Date. For the avoidance of doubt, this will include Incentive-Based Compensation that may have been approved, awarded, or granted to an Executive Officer on or before the Effective Date if such Incentive-Based Compensation is Received after the Effective Date.
The Committee shall determine, in its sole discretion, the method of recovering any Incentive-Based Compensation subject to this Policy, including those methods set forth in Section 10.
No recovery shall be required if any of the following conditions are met and the Committee determines that, on such basis, recovery would be impracticable:
The Company shall make all required disclosures and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the NYSE with respect to this Policy in accordance with the requirements of the Applicable Rules, and any other requirements applicable to the Company, including the disclosures required in connection with SEC filings.
Subject to Section 8, in the event that the Committee determines that this Policy should apply, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the Company shall, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion, take any such actions as it deems necessary or appropriate to recover Incentive-Based Compensation. The actions may include, without limitation (and as applicable):
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In addition, the Committee may authorize legal action for breach of fiduciary duty or other violation of law and take such other actions to enforce the obligations of the Executive Officer to the Company as the Committee deems appropriate.
Before the Company determines to recover compensation pursuant to this Policy from an Executive Officer, the Company shall take commercially reasonable steps to provide such individual with advance written notice of such clawback; provided that this notice requirement shall not in any way delay the reasonably prompt recovery of any erroneously awarded Incentive-Based Compensation.
The Company shall not indemnify any current or former Executive Officer against the loss of erroneously awarded compensation, and shall not pay or reimburse any such person for premiums incurred or paid for any insurance policy to fund such person’s potential recovery obligations.
This Policy and all determinations made and actions taken pursuant hereto, to the extent not otherwise governed by mandatory provisions of the Applicable Rules, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to choice of law principles. If any provision of this Policy shall be held illegal or invalid for any reason, such illegality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining parts of this Policy, but this Policy shall be construed and enforced as if the illegal or invalid provision had never been included in this Policy.
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The following capitalized terms used in this Policy have the following meanings:
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