FORM OF POPULAR, INC.
1
Exhibit 10.1
FORM OF POPULAR, INC.
2023 LONG-TERM EQUITY INCENTIVE
AWARD
AND
AGREEMENT
Recipient:
The Talent and Compensation
Committee of the Board of Directors of
Popular, Inc. (the
“
Committee
”) awarded
you on February
27, 2023
(the
“Grant
Date”
)
a
Long-Term Incentive Award
consisting of Restricted Stock
(“
Restricted
Stock
”) and Performance Shares
(“
Performance
Shares
” and, in
conjunction with the Restricted Stock, the
“
Award”
).
This award agreement (the
“
Award
Agreement
”), dated as of the Grant Date, sets forth the
terms and conditions of
your Award. This Award is made under the Popular, Inc. 2020
Omnibus Incentive
Plan, as
amended (the
“
Plan
”),
and, except as otherwise provided herein, is subject to the
terms of the Plan.
Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined in
this Award Agreement have the meanings given in the
Plan.
1.
Award.
The number of shares of Restricted Stock and
Performance Shares subject
to this Award is set forth in Annex 1
hereto. The Award will vest as set forth
below.
2.
Vesting;
Payout.
Subject to Section 6 of this Agreement, you will be
entitled to the following
:
(a)
Restricted
Stock Vesting. Except as otherwise stated
in this Section 2, your Restricted Stock
shall vest in
four substantially equal annual installments on
each of the dates specified in Annex
1 (each of the dates described therein, a
“Restricted
Stock
Vesting
Date
”).
(b)
Performance Shares
Vesting . Except as otherwise stated in
this Section 2, you shall become
vested in the Performance Shares on
the day of the first scheduled meeting of the Committee
taking place in the month of February 2026, subject to the achievement by
Popular, Inc. of the
Performance Goals
specified
in Annex 1 during
the Performance Cycle,
as certified by the
Committee in such meeting (hereinafter
the
and, together
with
the Restricted Stock Vesting Date,
the
. The Performance Goals will be
based on
two performance metrics weighted
equally: the Relative Total Shareholder Return
(the
“
TSR
”)
and the Absolute Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (the
“
ROATCE
”)
goals. The Performance Cycle is a three
(3) year period beginning on January 1 of the calendar
year of the Grant Date and ending on December 31 of the third year. Each
Performance Goal
will have a defined minimum threshold (i.e., minimum result for which an incentive would be
earned),
target (i.e., result at
which 100% of the incentive
would be earned) and maximum
level of performance (i.e., result at which 1.5 times the incentive target
would be
earned).
(c)
Approved
Retirement. Upon an Approved Retirement after attaining (x) age 55 with 10 years
of service with Popular, Inc. or its subsidiaries (the
“
Corporation
”)
or (y) age 60 with 5 years
of service with the Corporation: (1) your outstanding Restricted Stock shall fully vest; and (2)
your outstanding
Performance Shares shall
continue outstanding and
vest in full on
the
2
Performance Shares
Vesting Date in
accordance with the
actual results of
the Performance
Goals during the Performance
Cycle.
(d)
Vesting
upon Retirement on or after age 50
before attaining age 55 and 10
years of service.
The
Committee, at its discretion, may accord
the same treatment accorded in Section
2(c) above
if you
retire from your employment on or after age 50,
and before attaining age 55 and 10 years
of service, provided the sum of your age and years of service is at least 75.
(e)
Death. Provided
that on the date of your death you are still employed by the Corporation
and
your rights in respect of your
Award have not been previously terminated, any then unvested
outstanding Award
shall immediately vest
and be paid to
the representative of
your estate
promptly after your
death. In the case of the Performance Shares, the number of shares
will be
calculated as if the target number of Performance Shares had in fact
been
earned.
(f)
Disability.
If you become subject to
Disability while you are still employed
by the Corporation,
any then unvested outstanding Award shares shall vest
and shall be paid to you promptly after
you become subject to Disability. In
the case of the Performance Shares, the number of shares
will be calculated as if the target number of Performance Shares had in fact
been
earned.
(g)
Change
of Control. If your
employment is terminated by the Corporation
or any successor
entity thereto
without Cause, or if you terminate your employment for Good
Reason, in each
case upon or within two
years after a Change of Control, prior to a Vesting Date, and provided
your rights in respect of
the shares of your unvested Award have not previously terminated, the
shares of your unvested Award shall immediately vest and be delivered
to you promptly after
such termination
of employment;
provided
that
, as
of the Change of
Control date, any
outstanding Performance Shares
shall be deemed earned at the
greater of the target level or
actual performance level through the Change of Control date (or if no target level is specified,
the maximum level)
with respect to all open performance periods
and such Performance Shares
shall be subject
to time-based vesting through the end
of the original Performance Cycle for
each
such Award, subject to accelerated
vesting in accordance with the first
sentence of this
clause.
(h)
Termination
without Cause. If the Corporation terminates your
employment without Cause
you will receive
payment of the Award on a prorated basis based on the number of full months
in the vesting
schedule in which you were an
active employee (with a partial month worked
counted as a full month if you were an active employee for 15 days or more
in the month) and
such reduced Award will vest immediately
upon your termination of employment, calculated
in the case
of Performance Shares as if the target
number of Performance Shares had in fact
been earned, as provided in the Plan.
(i)
Payout.
The transfer restrictions on the applicable number of whole shares
of Restricted Stock
shall lapse on each Vesting Date or such other vesting
date as determined in this Section 2 and
in the terms of
the Plan. The payout with respect to vested Performance Shares shall be made
on the Performance
Shares Vesting Date, on which
date the Committee shall determine the
total number
of shares earned
based upon the
actual performance results
during the
Performance
Cycle. The vested shares will be
delivered to you as soon
as administratively
practicable, generally within 45 days following each
Vesting
Date.
3.
Termination
of Award .
3
(a)
Except
as provided herein,
your rights in
respect of your
outstanding unvested
Award shares
shall immediately terminate, and no shares
shall be paid in respect thereof,
if at any time
prior to the respective Vesting Date you terminate your
employment.
(b)
If
the Corporation
terminates your employment
for
Cause, your Award shares shall be cancelled and the provisions under
the Plan will apply.
4.
Non-transferability.
This Award (or any rights and obligations
hereunder) may not
be
sold, exchanged, transferred, assigned, pledged, hypothecated
or otherwise disposed of or hedged, in
any manner (including through the
use of any cash-settled instrument), whether voluntarily or involuntarily
and whether by operation of law or otherwise, other
than by will or by the laws of descent and
distribution.
5.
Withholding,
Consents and Legends.
(a)
You
shall be solely
responsible for any
applicable taxes (including, without
limitation, income
and excise taxes)
and penalties, and
any interest that
accrues thereon, incurred in
connection with your Award. The Corporation will withhold shares of Common
Stock for the payment of
taxes in
connection with the
vesting of your
Award or upon the
occurrence of any
other event that, in
accordance with applicable law, will generate a tax liability with regards
to your Award. The Corporation
will withhold
shares of Common Stock
with a value equal
to the amount of
taxes that the Corporation
determines it is required to withhold
under applicable laws (with such withholding obligation determined
based on any applicable minimum statutory withholding
rates). The Corporation will use the Fair Market
Value of the Common
Stock on the Vesting Date or such other date,
as applicable, in order to determine
the number of
shares to be withheld. If you
wish to remit cash to the
Corporation (through payroll deduction
or otherwise),
in each case in
an amount sufficient
in the opinion of
the Corporation to
satisfy such
withholding obligation,
you must notify the
Corporation in advance
and do so in
compliance with all
applicable laws and pursuant to such rules
as the Corporation may establish from time to time, including,
but not limited to, the Corporation’s Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Policy.
(b)
Your
right to receive shares pursuant to the Award is conditioned on the receipt to
the reasonable satisfaction
of the Committee of any required consent that the
Committee may reasonably
determine to be necessary
or advisable. By accepting delivery of the shares, you acknowledge that
you are
subject to the Corporation’s Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx Policy.
6.
Restrictive
Covenants.
(a)
In
consideration of the terms of the Award, you agree to the restrictive covenants
and associated remedies as set forth below, which exist independently of and
in addition to any obligation
to which you are subject under
the terms of any other agreement you may have with the
Corporation or any
of its subsidiaries
(“
Popular
”).
(b)
For
a period of one year immediately following termination of your employment
with Popular for any reason,
you will not do any of the following, either directly
or indirectly or through
associates, agents, or
employees:
(i)
solicit,
recruit or assist
in the solicitation
or recruitment of
any employee or
consultant of
Popular (or who
was an employee or
consultant of Popular
within the prior six
months) for the purpose of encouraging that employee or consultant to leave
Popular’s employ or
sever an agreement for services; or
4
(ii)
solicit,
participate in or
assist in the
solicitation of any
of Popular’s customers
serviced by
you or with whom
you had Material
Contact and/or regarding
whom you received
Confidential Information (as
defined in Popular’s Code of Ethics)
during the three-year period prior
to your
employment termination who
were still customers
of Popular during
the immediately
preceding 12-month period, for the purpose
of providing products or services in competition with
Popular’s
products or services. "Material Contact" means
interaction between you and the customer
within the three-year prior to your last day
as a team member which takes place to manage, service
or further the business
relationship.
The term “Solicit”, when used in this section, will
mean any direct or indirect communication of any kind
regardless
of who initiates it, that in
any way invites, advises, encourages or
requests any person to take
any action;
provided that such
term will not be
deemed to include
solicitation by public advertisement
media of general distribution (i.e., not targeted to present employees, consultants or customers of Popular)
without specific instruction or direction by you.
If you breach any
of the terms of this restrictive
covenant, all outstanding Restricted Stock and Performance
Xxxxxx awarded hereunder, whether vested or unvested, held by you shall
be immediately and irrevocably
forfeited
for no consideration. For any Restricted
Stock and Performance Shares awarded hereunder that
vested within one (1) year
prior to the termination of your employment with Popular
or at any time between
your termination of employment
and the date of said breach, you
shall be required to repay or otherwise
reimburse Popular an amount having a value equal to the
aggregate fair market value (determined as of the
date of vesting) of such
vested shares. This paragraph does not constitute Popular’s exclusive
remedy for
violation of your restrictive covenant obligations,
and Popular may seek any additional legal or equitable
remedy, including injunctive relief, for any such violation.
7.
Section
409A. Shares awarded under
this Award Agreement are intended
to be
exempt
from Section 409A of the U.S.
Code, to the extent applicable, and
this Award Agreement is intended
to, and shall
be interpreted, administered and construed
consistent therewith. The Committee shall have
full authority to give effect to the intent of this Section 7.
8.
No
Rights to Continued Employment. Nothing in this Award Agreement shall be
construed as giving
you any right to continued employment
by the Corporation or any of
its affiliates or
affect
any right that the Corporation or
any of its affiliates may have
to terminate or alter the terms and
conditions of your
employment.
9.
Successors
and Assigns of
the Corporation. The
terms and conditions
of this
Award Agreement shall be
binding upon, and shall inure to the benefit of,
the Corporation and its successor
entities.
10.
Committee
Discretion. Subject to the terms of the Plan, the Committee shall have
full discretion with respect to any actions to be taken or determinations to be made in connection with this
Award Agreement, and its determinations shall be final, binding and conclusive.
11.
Amendment.
The Committee reserves the right
at any time to amend the terms
and conditions set
forth in this Award Agreement;
provided
amendment shall
materially adversely affect
your rights and
obligations under this
Award Agreement
without your
consent (or the
consent of your
estate, if such
consent is obtained
after your death), and
provided
,
further
,
that the Committee may not postpone the payout of shares to occur at any time after the
applicable time provided for in this Award
Agreement. Any amendment of this Award Agreement shall be
in writing
signed by an authorized
member of the Committee
or a person or
persons designated by the
Committee.
5
12.
Adjustment;
Other Plan Provisions. Subject to Section
11, the Committee shall
adjust equitably the terms of
this Award in accordance with Section 5.3 of the Plan, if applicable.
Subject
to the
terms of this Award
Agreement, the Restricted
Stock shall be
subject to the
terms of the Plan,
including, but
not limited to,
the provisions of Section
8.4 related to dividends
and voting rights. Cash
dividends paid on the Restricted Stock and on all of
the Common Stock that may be subsequently acquired
with such cash
dividends, will be invested in the
purchase of additional shares of Common
Stock of the
Corporation in
accordance
with the Popular, Inc.
Dividend
Reinvestment and Stock
Purchase Plan (the
“
DRIP
”); such shares are not subject
to the restrictions and are immediately vested. The Restricted Stock
shall be held in custody by the Fiduciary Services Division of Banco
Popular de Puerto Rico.
Performance Shares
will accrue Dividend
Equivalents prior to
the Performance Shares
Vesting Date.
Accrued Dividend Equivalents
with respect to the Performance Shares will be invested in additional
shares
of Common Stock of the Corporation
in accordance with the formula set forth in the
DRIP. All shares of
Common Stock
acquired pursuant to
the reinvestment of
dividends will be
subject to the terms
and
conditions of Section 2 and
will be paid out on the Performance Shares
Vesting Date based on the actual
number of Performance Shares earned on that date.
13.
Governing
Law. This award shall be governed
by and construed in accordance
with the laws of Puerto Rico, without regard to principles of conflicts
of laws.
14.
Incentive Recoupment Guideline in effect as of
the Xxxxx Date and as such guideline may be required to be
modified in accordance with applicable law or
regulation.
15.
Headings.
The headings in
this Award Agreement
are for the
purpose of
convenience only and are not intended to define or limit the
construction of the provisions hereof.
be duly executed and delivered as of the Grant Date.
POPULAR,
INC. ACCEPTED:
By: [Insert Name of
Representative] By: [Insert Name of Recipient]
Title: [Insert Name of
Representative] Title: [Insert Name of Recipient]
_________________________ ___________________________
Signature Signature
6
ANNEX 1
2023 LONG-TERM EQUITY INCENTIVE AWARD
Recipient:
Employee
Number:
Grant Date: February 27, 2023
Total Dollar Value of
Award:
Common Stock Market Price as of closing on Grant
Date:
Restricted
Stock
Dollar Value of Restricted Stock
Award:
Common Stock Market Price as of closing on Grant
Date:
Total Shares of Restricted Stock
Awarded:
Restricted Stock Vesting
Dates:
Shares
Shares
Shares
Shares
February 23,
2024
February 23, 2025
February 23, 2026
February 23, 2027
7
Performance
Shares
Dollar
Value of Performance Shares
Award:
Common Stock Market Price as of closing on Grant
Date:
Total
Target Number of
Shares:
(50% Total Shareholder Return / 50%
ROATCE)
Relative Total Shareholder Return
(TSR)
1
Opening Price
=
Percentile Rank among
Comparator Group
Shares Earned
(% of Target)
75
th
(maximum)
(1.5x target shares)
50th Percentile
(target)
(1x target
shares)
25
th
(threshold)
(0.5x target
shares)
Below
25
th
0
Absolute
Return on Average
Tangible Common Equity
(ROATCE)
2
ROATCE
Shares Earned
(% of Target)
3-year simple average ROATCE 2023-2025
15.0% or above
(maximum)
(1.5x
target shares)
13.0%
(target)
(1x
target shares)
9.8%
(threshold)
(0.5x
target shares)
Lower than 9.8%
0
Results between threshold, target and maximum
performance
will be interpolated to
determine vesting award
1
beginning of period] – 1
●
Closing
Price and Opening Price are based on the preceding 60 trading days average daily close price to mitigate against share
price volatility of
point-in-time metrics.
o
Opening
price = average price 10/06/2022 – 12/31/2022
o
Closing
price = average price based on the 60-day trading period ending December 31, 2025
●
TSR
calculations shall assume that dividends are reinvested on the ex-dividend date (i.e., the date a dividend asset is guaranteed).
Comparator Group -- U.S. Banks (GICS Code 401010) with
Assets between $25B - $500B – Performance will be based on the composition of the group at
the beginning of the 3-year Performance Cycle.
If Popular’s absolute TSR is negative, payout will be
limited to a maximum of 100% of target.
2
3-year
simple average ROATCE for 3 years (2023-2025). The Committee may adjust the goal or results to reflect a core profitability that
would not be
unduly inflated or deflated by certain
transactions that do not reflect the underlying performance of Popular’s ongoing operations,
including, but not limited
to, the impact of significant
tax reform, sales of non-earning assets, sales of branches or other businesses, unanticipated
changes in capital actions, certain
business acquisition
costs and revenues, extraordinary events or charitable contributions, severance costs and certain
litigation and settlement costs, among
others.