Compensation Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

COMPENSATION PLANS

COMPENSATION PLANS 

The Company offers a defined contribution 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan (the "Plan") which covers substantially all employees who meet certain age and service requirements. The Plan allows employees to make voluntary pre-tax salary deferrals to the Plan. The Company, at its discretion, may elect to make an annual contribution to the Plan equal to a percentage of each participating employee’s salary. Such discretionary contributions must be approved by the Company’s board of directors. Employees are fully vested in the Company contributions after six years of service. In 2021 and 2020, the Company made total contributions of $1.4 million and $1.1 million to the Plan, respectively.

Colony Bank, the wholly-owned subsidiary, has deferred compensation plans covering certain former directors and certain officers choosing to participate through individual deferred compensation contracts. In accordance with terms of the contracts, the Bank is committed to pay the participant’s deferred compensation over a specified number of years, beginning at age 65. In the event of a participant’s death before age 65, payments are made to the participant’s named beneficiary over a specified number of years, beginning on the first day of the month following the death of the participant.

Liabilities accrued under the plans totaled $1.2 million and $698,000 as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Benefits accrued monthly under the contracts totaled $43,000 in 2021 and $75,000 in 2020. Payments were $136,000 in 2021 and were $153,000 in 2020.

The Company has purchased life insurance policies on the plans’ participants and uses the cash flow from these policies to partially fund the plan. There was no fee income recognized in 2021 and $212,000 in 2020.

On July 1, 2021, the Company granted total awards of 187,600 restricted shares of the Company's common stock to various bank employees, with a market price of $18.41 per share. The restricted shares vest in equal installments on each of July 1, 2022, 2023, and 2024, subject to continued service through each applicable vesting date, or earlier upon the occurrence of a change in control. With the restricted stock, there will be no cash consideration to the Company for the shares. The employees will have the right to vote all shares subject to such grant and receive all dividends with respect to such shares, whether or not the shares have vested.

In August 2018, the Company granted an award of 5,650 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock to T. Heath Fountain, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), with a market price of $17.73 per share. The restricted shares vest in equal installments on each of July 30, 2019, 2020 and 2021, subject to continued service by Mr. Fountain through each applicable vesting date, or earlier upon the occurrence of a change in control. At December 31, 2021 the shares were fully vested. With the restricted stock, there will be no cash consideration to the Company for the shares. The CEO will have the right to vote all shares subject to such grant and receive all dividends with respect to such shares, whether or not the shares have vested.

Compensation expense for restricted stock is based on the market price of the Company stock at the time of the grant and amortized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. Total compensation expense unrecognized for the restricted shares granted for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $2.8 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.5 years. Compensation expense recognized for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $599,000 and $33,000, respectively.