8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report:	March 18, 2011
(Date of earliest event reported):	March 15, 2011

FULTON FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

Pennsylvania	0-10587	23-2195389
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification Number)

P.O. Box 4887, One Penn Square Lancaster, Pennsylvania	17604
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:                                                                                                           717-291-2411

Former name or former address, if changed since last Report:                                                                                            N/A

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act

o Pre-commencement to communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act

Item 5.02 - Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

2010 Variable Compensation Plan Awards

On March 15, 2011, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Fulton Financial Corporation (“Fulton”), based on the recommendations of the Human Resources Committee (the “HR Committee”) of the Board, approved awards for Fulton’s senior executive officers (the “Executives”) under the Variable Compensation Plan (the “VCP”).

In making its recommendations to the Board for awards to the Executives under the VCP, the HR Committee confirmed that Fulton had achieved the designated earnings per share threshold when compared to a performance peer group as selected by the HR Committee. The HR Committee based its recommendations of individual awards under the VCP on its assessment of each of the Executives’ overall 2010 performance and their performance in relation to specific performance factors established under the VCP. The HR Committee determined that each of the Executives had achieved a level of performance in 2010 to qualify for an award under the VCP. Based on the HR Committee’s assessment of each Executives’ performance, the HR Committee recommended that Messrs. Smith, Wenger, Nugent, Shreiner and Hill receive awards under the VCP of $480,214, $179,988, $208,955, $127,040 and $96,135, respectively for 2010 performance. Because Fulton was a participant in the Capital Purchase Program (the “CPP”), which was authorized under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, for a portion of 2010 Fulton was prohibited from making certain bonus payments to the Executives, including a portion of the awards under the VCP for 2010. Because of these prohibitions, approximately 54% of the VCP awards, which relate to performance before July 14, 2010, when Fulton repaid the CPP funds in full, have been forfeited by the Executives. The 2010 cash award payments to Messrs. Smith, Wenger, Nugent, Shreiner and Hill under the VCP are set forth in the table below.

Office	Title	2010 VCP Award Payment
R. Scott Smith, Jr.	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer	$220,898
E. Philip Wenger	President and Chief Operating Officer	$82,794
Charles J. Nugent	Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer	$96,119
James E. Shreiner	Senior Executive Vice President	$58,438
Craig H. Hill	Senior Executive Vice President	$44,222

2011 Variable Compensation Plan Summary

On March 15, 2011, the Board, based on the recommendations of the HR Committee, approved amendments to the VCP, to be effective January 1, 2011, for the Executives and other eligible Fulton officers. A Summary Description of the VCP, as amended, is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated by reference, which updates and replaces Fulton’s previously filed VCP Summary Description.

Item 7.01 - Regulation FD Disclosure; Item 8.01 - Other Events

On March 15, 2011, Fulton announced that the Board authorized an increase in the regular quarterly cash dividend.  The regular quarterly cash dividend, which will increase to four cents per share, will be payable on April 15, 2011 to shareholders of record as of March 28, 2011. This amount is a one cent increase per share over the three cents per share paid in January of 2011. The March 15, 2011 cash dividend press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2 and incorporated by reference. It is being furnished to the SEC and shall not be deemed to be "filed" for any purpose.

Item 9.01 - Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits
Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Fulton Financial Corporation Variable Compensation Plan Summary Description, as of January 1, 2011
99.2	Fulton Financial Corporation Press Release dated March 15, 2011

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 18, 2011 Fulton Financial Corporation     By:  /s/ Charles J. Nugent Charles J. Nugent Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer  

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

FULTON FINANCIAL CORPORATION

VARIABLE COMPENSATION PLAN

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

AS OF JANUARY 1, 2011

Objective/Purpose

                On May 30, 2006, the Fulton Financial Corporation (“Fulton”) Board of Directors (“Board”) first approved an annual cash incentive compensation structure, the Variable Compensation Plan (the “Variable Plan.”) The Variable Plan is designed to: (i) assist Fulton and its subsidiaries in attracting, motivating, and retaining the key employees critical to the long-term success of Fulton and its subsidiaries; (ii) align the interest of these employees with those of Fulton’s shareholders; and (iii) enable Fulton to recognize the individual effort of these employees by paying them annual cash bonuses, which are subject to the achievement of specified levels of organizational and individual goals.  This summary description of the Variable Plan is to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This document may be amended, from time to time, to reflect subsequent amendments to the Variable Plan.

Administration

                The Variable Plan is administered by the committee of the Board that is responsible for executive compensation matters.  Currently this committee is the Human Resources Committee (the “Committee”).  The Committee shall have authority, in its sole discretion, to construe, interpret and administer the Variable Plan, establish rules and administrative procedures thereunder, make all determinations, including the determination of the Performance Target and the Individual Goals (as such terms are defined below) and compensation awards under the Variable Plan, and delegate the review of awards for participants other than Senior Executive Officers (defined below), as the Committee may deem appropriate. All determinations made by the Committee shall be reflected in meeting minutes or written consents and, unless modified or rejected by the Board, shall be final and binding. Awards under the Variable Plan for the Senior Executive Officers shall be disclosed in Fulton’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, to the extent required.

Eligible Participants

In addition to any Fulton employee that the Committee may specifically designate as an eligible participant, the following categories of personnel are all “Participants” who are eligible to participate in the Variable Plan:

q   Tier 1 Participants consist of Fulton’s Chief Executive Officer and other named executive officers included in Fulton’s annual proxy statement (“Senior Executive Officers”).

q   Tier 2 Participants consist of the Presidents and CEOs of Fulton’s bank subsidiaries and the regional presidents of Fulton Bank, N.A.

q   Tier 3 Participants consist of Fulton’s Department Heads/Managers and Commercial and Retail Banking Heads at Fulton’s subsidiary banks.

q   Tier 4 Participants consist of Market Managers at Fulton Bank, N.A.’s Fulton Financial Advisors Division, and the Commercial Lending Officers, Leasing Officers, Cash Management Sales, and Branch Managers of Fulton’s subsidiary banks.

New hires and employees promoted into a position in one of the above tiers prior to October 1st of a plan year may be eligible for pro-rated participation for that specific plan year. Individuals hired or promoted after October 1st shall be eligible for plan participation effective January 1st of the following year.  A plan year is based on a calendar year.

Annual Threshold Performance Target Hurdle

Prior to the commencement of each plan year, the Committee establishes an annual threshold organizational performance target hurdle (the “Performance Target”), which must be achieved by Fulton for any award to be made under the Variable Plan. The Committee determines whether the Performance Target has been achieved in each plan year.

The new Performance Target is Fulton’s return on equity based on a number set by the Committee. However, the Committee may use a different performance target or performance peer group in future years.

If the Committee determines that the Performance Target for a plan year has been achieved, each Participant is eligible to receive a cash bonus, the amount of which is based on their achievement of their respective individual performance goals.

Individual Participant Performance Goals

In each plan year, individual performance goals (the “Individual Goals”) will be set for each Participant in the Variable Plan.  The Individual Goals of all Tier 1 Participants shall be reviewed and approved by the Committee.  The Individual Goals of the Participants in Tiers 2, 3 and 4 shall be reviewed and approved by their respective managers.

Specifically, each Participant is eligible to receive a cash bonus equal to a percentage of base salary, with the possibility of achieving a higher amount for superior individual and company performance.  These payouts are substantially based on the results of each Participant’s individual scorecard of critical performance factors that are tailored to his or her position and job responsibilities and different weights are given to each participant’s performance factors.  Generally, performance factors that are more directly aligned with the interests of shareholders are given greater weight.

Variable Compensation Awards

The Committee approves awards for Tier 1 Participants up to a pre-set maximum. The Tier 1 threshold, target or maximum award percentages are set for different levels of achievement of Individual Goals.  The Committee may delegate award determinations for the Participants in Tiers 2, 3 and 4 to the Senior Executive Officers or other senior officers who may consult with the managers and supervisors of these Participants in determining the amount of each such Participant’s award.

The Board, based on the recommendation of the Committee but in its sole discretion, shall approve the amount of each individual’s Variable Plan award for the Tier 1 Participants, as well as the aggregate amount of the annual variable compensation awards to be granted. Individual Variable Plan awards, expressed as an annual percentage, will be made in accordance with an established payout matrix set by the Committee for Tier 1 Participants. The current payout matrix of awards set by the Committee for Tier 1 Participants is:

Tier 1 Participant	Threshold	Target	Maximum
Fulton CEO	37.5%	75.0%	150.0%
Other Senior Executive Officers	25.0%	50.0%	100.0%

The Committee may delegate award determinations for the Participants in Tiers 2, 3 and 4 to the Senior Executive Officers or other senior officers who may consult with the managers and supervisors of these Participants in determining the amount of each such Participant’s award.

EX-99.2

Exhibit 99.2

Fulton Financial Corporation Increases Quarterly Cash Dividend

Company Release - 03/15/2011

LANCASTER, Pa., March 15, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fulton Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:FULT) will pay a quarterly cash dividend of four cents per share on its common stock on April 15, 2011 to shareholders of record as of March 28, 2011. This amount is a one cent increase per share over the three cents per share paid in January of 2011.

Fulton Financial Corporation, a $16.3 billion Lancaster, Pa.-based financial holding company, has 3,850 employees and operates 271 branches in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia through seven affiliate banks.

Additional information on Fulton Financial Corporation can be found on the Internet at www.fult.com.

CONTACT: Laura J. Wakeley          717-291-2616

Source: Fulton Financial Corporation