DIRECTOR
DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
Amended
and Restated Effective as of December 15, 2008
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3
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3
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2.20
Participation Agreement
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3
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3
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3
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4
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2.24
Separation from Service
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4
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2.25
Stated Interest Rate
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4
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4
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4
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4
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ARTICLE
III—PARTICIPATION IN THE PLAN
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4
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4
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4
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3.3
Initial Year of Eligibility
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5
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5
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5
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5
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5
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5
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(i
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PAGE
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6
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4.5
Transfers Among Investment Funds and Between Accounts
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6
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8
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5.1
Distributions upon Separation from Service (Other Than
Death)
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8
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5.2
Distributions from Cash Accounts and Asset Accounts
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8
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5.3
Distributions from Stock Accounts
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5.5
In-Service Distributions
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5.6
Accelerated Distribution
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10
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5.7
Distribution upon Death
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11
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ARTICLE
VI—BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION
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11
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6.1
Beneficiary Designation
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11
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11
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6.3
No Beneficiary Designation or Death of Beneficiary
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11
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12
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ARTICLE
VII—THE COMMITTEE
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12
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12
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12
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12
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7.4
Binding Effect of Decisions
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12
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7.5
Indemnity of Committee
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12
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ARTICLE
VIII—SHARES AVAILABLE
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12
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12
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9.2
Non-alienation of Benefits
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9.5
Amendment, Modification and Termination of the Plan
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9.7
Status as Shareholders
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9.10
Statement of Accounts
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15
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9.11
Compliance with Laws
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15
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15
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(ii)
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PAGE
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9.13
Headings Not Part of Plan
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15
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9.14
Extension of Plan to Affiliates
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15
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ARTICLE
X—CODE SECTION 409A
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15
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10.1
Compliance with Code Section 409A
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15
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10.2
Payments Upon Income Inclusion Under Code
Section 409A
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(iii)
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DIRECTOR
DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
AMENDED AND RESTATED AS OF DECEMBER 15, 2008
This
Plan is hereby amended and restated as of December 15, 2008 in
order to comply with the requirements of Code Section 409A, to
increase the number of shares of Common Stock available for
issuance under the Plan and to combine into a single plan the
FirstMerit Corporation Director Deferred Compensation Cash Plan and
the FirstMerit Corporation Director Deferred Compensation Stock
Plan, both of which were effective as of January 1,
2001.
The
purposes of the Plan are (i) to provide Directors with
flexibility with respect to the form and timing of the payment of
Compensation, (ii) to more closely align the interests of
Directors with the interests of the Corporation’s
shareholders, and (iii) to assist the Corporation and its
Affiliates in attracting and retaining qualified individuals to
serve as Directors.
Whenever
used in the Plan, the following terms shall have the meaning set
forth or referenced below:
“Accounts”
means a Participant’s Cash Accounts, Stock Accounts and Asset
Accounts.
“Affiliates”
means affiliated or subsidiary entities of the Corporation as
defined in Code Sections 414(b) and (c). An Affiliate may elect to
participate in the Plan and the Board may approve such election in
its sole discretion.
“Aggregated
Plan” means any agreement, method, program or other
arrangement that, along with the Plan, would be treated as a single
nonqualified deferred compensation plan under Code Section
409A.
“Asset
Account” means the sub-account(s) maintained by the Committee
in the name of a Participant pursuant to
Section 4.4.
PAGE 1
— DIRECTOR DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
“Beneficiary”
means the person, persons, or entity (including without limitation
any trustee) last designated by the Participant to receive benefits
specified hereunder in the event of the Participant’s
death.
“Board”
means the Board of Directors of the Corporation.
“Business
Day” means a day, except for a Saturday, Sunday, a legal
holiday or a day when the primary stock exchange on which the
Common Stock is traded is not open.
“Cash
Account” means the sub-account(s) maintained by the Committee
in the name of a Participant pursuant to
Section 4.2.
“Closing
Price” means the closing price of the Common Stock as
reported on the National Association of Securities Dealers
Automated Quotation System.
“Code”
means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and including
any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.
“Committee”
means the Compensation Committee of the Board.
“Common
Stock” means the common shares, no par value, of the
Corporation.
“Compensation”
means all fees payable to a Director for services to the
Corporation and/or an Affiliate as a director, including retainer
fees for service on, and fees for attendance at meetings of, the
Board and any committees thereof, as established by the Board from
time to time, but excluding reimbursements for expenses.
PAGE 2
— DIRECTOR DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
“Corporation”
means FirstMerit Corporation, an Ohio corporation, and any
successor to the business thereto.
“Deferral
Election” means an irrevocable annual election to defer
Compensation and the corresponding distribution elections, made by
a Participant pursuant to Articles III, IV and V and for which a
Participation Agreement has been submitted by the Participant to
the Committee.
“Director”
means any individual serving on the Board or on the board of
directors of an Affiliate, who is not an employee of the
Corporation or an Affiliate, or any individual serving as a
Community Board Advisor (or like designation).
“Exchange
Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended.
“Investment
Fund” means an investment fund in which Accounts may be
deemed to be invested. An Investment Fund may be any open-ended
fund, closed-end fund, a fund which is deemed to be invested in a
particular stock or other investment except Common Stock, or a fund
which credits a fixed or variable interest rate determined by the
Committee.
“Participant”
means a Director who has made a Deferral Election, or a former
Director who has an Account.
2.20
Participation Agreement
“Participation
Agreement” means the agreement, whether written or provided
through electronic means, to make a Deferral Election, which,
except as provided in Section 3.3, must be submitted by a
Director to the Committee or its delegates prior to the Plan Year
to which the Deferral Election applies.
“Plan”
means the FirstMerit Corporation Director Deferred Compensation
Plan, as amended from time to time.
“Plan
Year” means the calendar year.
PAGE 3
— DIRECTOR DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
“Reamortization
Date” means the date on which benefit payments are
recalculated to account for changes in investment performance or
interest rates. This date shall be the last Business Day of
October, effective on January 1 of the next Plan Year.
2.24
Separation from Service
“Separation
from Service” means the Participant’s “separation
from service” (as defined in Code Section 409A) with the
Corporation and all Affiliates.
2.25
Stated Interest Rate
“Stated
Interest Rate” means, with respect to any calendar month, two
(2) percentage points over the average of the composite yield
on Moody’s Average Corporate Bond Yield for the month of
October immediately preceding the Plan Year as determined from
Moody’s Bond Record published by Moody’s Investors
Services, Inc. (or any successor thereto), or, if such monthly
yield is no longer published, a substantially similar average
selected by the Corporation. The Committee shall establish the
Stated Interest Rate effective as of January 1 of each Plan Year,
which, once established, shall be used for all interest
determinations during such Plan Year.
“Stock
Account” means the sub-account(s) maintained by the Committee
in the name of a Participant pursuant to
Section 4.3.
“Stock
Credit” means a credit to a Participant’s Stock
Account, calculated pursuant to Section 4.3(b) of this
Plan.
“Valuation
Date” means the last Business Day of the month in which the
Participant has a Separation from Service or dies.
ARTICLE
III—PARTICIPATION IN THE PLAN
All
Directors of the Company and a participating Affiliate shall be
eligible to participate in the Plan.
A
Director may elect to participate in the Plan each Plan Year by
filing with the Committee a Deferral Election in a Participation
Agreement prior to January 1 of the Plan Year in which Compensation
is earned for services performed during such Plan Year, except as
set forth in Section 3.3 herein. Such
PAGE 4
— DIRECTOR DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
Deferral
Election shall be irrevocable as of the December 31
immediately preceding the Plan Year for which the election is made
and shall remain in effect for one (1) Plan Year
only.
3.3
Initial Year of Eligibility
An
individual who becomes a Director between January 1 and
June 30 shall be eligible to participate in the Plan on the
July 1 immediately following the date he becomes a Director. Such
Director may elect to participate in the Plan by filing with the
Committee a Deferral Election in a Participation Agreement no later
than thirty (30) days after the date on which the individual
becomes a Director. Such Deferral Election shall be applicable only
with respect to Compensation for services performed after the later
of July 1 or the date such election is made, and shall be
irrevocable thirty (30) days after the date on which the
individual becomes a Director. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this
Section 3.3 shall not apply if, at the time the individual
becomes a Director, the individual also is eligible to participate
in any Aggregated Plan.
Except
as provided in Section 3.3, a Director may make a Deferral
Election with respect to Compensation earned for services performed
during the immediately succeeding Plan Year by filing a
Participation Agreement with the Committee pursuant to
Section 3.2. The amount to be deferred shall be stated as a
whole percentage up to one hundred percent (100%) of
Compensation.
A
Director’s deferred Compensation shall be credited to such
Director’s Account(s) as of the date such amount, absent the
Deferral Election, would otherwise have been paid to such
Director.
(a)
Establishing a Cash Account. A Participant may elect to
establish an annual Cash Account which shall be maintained solely
for recordkeeping purposes pursuant to a Deferral Election. A
Participant shall be one hundred percent (100%) vested in his Cash
Account at all times.
(b)
Earnings. As of the last day of each calendar month, the
Participant’s Cash Account(s) shall be credited with earnings
equal to the product of the average daily balance of the Cash
Account(s) during such month (determined after adjustment for any
deferred Compensation credited thereto and any amount distributed
therefrom) and an interest rate equal to the Stated Interest
Rate.
(a)
Establishing a Stock Account. A Participant may elect to
establish an annual Stock Account which shall be maintained solely
for recordkeeping purposes pursuant to a Deferral Election. A
Participant shall be one hundred percent (100%) vested in his Stock
Account(s) at all times.
PAGE 5
— DIRECTOR DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
(b)
Stock Credits. Each Participant’s Stock Account shall
be credited with Stock Credits equal to the number of shares of
Common Stock (including fractions of a share) that could have been
purchased with the amount of such Compensation the Participant
elected to allocate to the Stock Account at the Closing Price on
the day as of which such Stock Account is so credited.
(c)
Dividends. As of the date any cash dividend is paid to
holders of shares of Common Stock, a Participant’s Stock
Account(s) shall be credited with additional Stock Credits equal to
the number of shares of Common Stock (including fractions of a
share) that could have been purchased at the Closing Price on such
date with the amount that would have been paid as dividends on that
number of shares of Common Stock (including fractions of a share)
which is equal to the number of Stock Credits attributable to the
Participant’s Stock Account(s) as of the record date of such
dividend. In the case of dividends paid in shares of Common Stock,
the Participant’s Stock Account(s) shall be credited with
additional Stock Credits equal to the number of dividend shares
that would have been received with respect to that number of shares
of Common Stock (including fractions of a share) which is equal to
the number of Stock Credits attributable to the Participant’s
Stock Account(s) as of the record date of such dividend.
(a)
Establishing an Asset Account. With respect to each Plan
Year commencing on or after January 1, 2009, a Participant may
elect to establish an annual Asset Account, which shall be
maintained solely for recordkeeping purposes, pursuant to a
Deferral Election allocation to one (1) or more Investment
Funds. A Participant shall be one hundred percent (100%) vested in
his Asset Account at all times.
(b)
Selection of Investment Funds. The Committee shall have sole
discretion in the selection, number and types of Investment Funds
for this Plan and may change or eliminate Investment Funds from
time to time in its sole discretion.
(c)
Investment Fund Performance. The deemed earnings, gains and
losses of each Investment Fund shall be determined by the
Committee, in its reasonable discretion, based on the performance
of the Investment Funds themselves. The balance of a
Participant’s Asset Accounts shall be credited or debited on
a daily basis based on the performance of each Investment Fund in
which a Participant’s Asset Accounts are deemed to be
invested, such performance and the crediting of such performance
being determined by the Committee in its sole
discretion.
4.5
Transfers Among Investment Funds and Between Accounts
(a)
No Transfers. No amount credited to any Stock Account or
Cash Account may be transferred and credited to any Investment
Fund, and no amount credited to an Investment Fund may be
transferred and credited to any Stock Account or Cash
Account.
(b)
Investment Funds. Any amount credited to an Investment Fund
may be transferred and credited to any other Investment Fund at the
direction of the Participant. Any such direction from a Participant
will become effective as of the first day of the next month
following the Participant’s request for a change.
(c)
Committee Procedures. The Committee may establish such rules
and procedures as it determines to be appropriate for the crediting
of deferrals and transfers to Investment Funds, for
PAGE 6
— DIRECTOR DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
transfers
among Investment Funds and for crediting deemed earnings, gains and
losses of an Investment Fund.
PAGE 7
— DIRECTOR DEFERRED COMPENSATION
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