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AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY 1998 INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN PERFORMANCE GRANT (ALSO KNOWN AS THE 20 INCENTIVE AWARD)

Performance Unit Award Agreement

AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY 

1998 INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN 

PERFORMANCE GRANT 

(ALSO KNOWN AS THE 20     INCENTIVE AWARD)
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AMERICAN EXPRESS CO

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Title: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY 1998 INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN PERFORMANCE GRANT (ALSO KNOWN AS THE 20 INCENTIVE AWARD)
Date: 3/6/2006
Industry: Consumer Financial Services     Sector: Financial

AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY 

1998 INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN 

PERFORMANCE GRANT 

(ALSO KNOWN AS THE 20     INCENTIVE AWARD)
, Parties: american express co
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EXHIBIT 10.7

AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

1998 INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN

PERFORMANCE GRANT

(ALSO KNOWN AS THE 20      INCENTIVE AWARD)

TO

 

 


Name of Employee

 

 

 

 

                          , 20     

  

December 31, 20     

Award Date

  

Expiration Date of Performance Period

 

  

(See Paragraphs 2,4,5,6, et. al. for

 

  

payment and vesting date)

We are pleased to inform you that, pursuant to the Company’s 1998 Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended (the “Plan”), the Compensation and Benefits Committee (the “Committee”) of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of American Express Company (the “Company”), made an award of a performance grant (also known as the 20      Incentive Award) to you as hereinafter set forth (the “Award”) under the Plan as of the award date specified above (the “Award Date”).

1. General . You have been granted the Award subject to the provisions of the Plan and the terms, conditions and restrictions set forth in this agreement (this “Agreement”). The period beginning on the first day of the fiscal year of the Company in which the Award Date occurs and ending on the Expiration Date specified above being the “Award Period.” The Schedule A Value (as that term is defined below in Subparagraph 3(b)), if any, will be determined as specified in Paragraph 3.

2. Requirement of Employment . Your rights to the Cash Value and the Number of Restricted Shares or Letters of Intent, if any (as those terms are defined below) under Subparagraph 4(b) hereof, shall be provisional and shall be canceled if your continuous employment with the Company and its Affiliates or your Related Employment (as defined in the Plan) (as that term is defined in the Plan) (hereinafter collectively referred to as “employment with the American Express companies”), terminates for any reason on or before the payment date as set forth in Subparagraph 4(b). Whether and as of what date your employment with the American Express companies shall terminate if you are granted a leave of absence or commence any other break in employment intended by the Company to be temporary, shall be determined by the Committee.

 

Page 1 of 10


3. Determination of the Schedule A Value, Cash Value and the Number of Restricted Shares or Letters of Intent.

(a) Except as otherwise provided below in this Paragraph 3 and in Paragraphs 2 and 5 hereof, there shall be paid to you in accordance with Paragraph 4 hereof, the Schedule A Value (the “Schedule A Value”) as of the last day of the Award Period, if any, as provided in Subparagraph 3(b).

(b) Schedule A Value .

(i) Except as otherwise provided in this Paragraph 3, the Schedule A Value as of the last day of the Award Period will be equal to the amount, if any, determined by the Committee based on the performance (i.e., 20      Return on Equity, and 20      Earnings Per Share) of the Company, pursuant to Schedule A to this Agreement. However, in no event will the Schedule A Value be greater than the maximum value as set forth in Schedule A to this Agreement.

(ii) In the application of Schedule A to this Agreement after the end of the Award Period for purposes of determining the Schedule A Value pursuant to this Subparagraph 3(b), (A) if the 20      Return on Equity or the 20      Earnings Per Share is less than the level needed to have some Schedule A Value, there shall be no Schedule A Value, and (B) if the 20      Return on Equity and the 2006 Earnings Per Share are equal to or greater than those levels needed to have some Schedule A Value and less than or equal to the maximum specified levels and are not represented on the table, the Schedule A Value shall be determined by straight-line interpolation from the amounts specified in such table immediately less than and greater than the amounts actually attained.

(iii) The Committee shall determine in its own discretion what portion of the Schedule A Value, if any (as adjusted in accordance with Subparagraph 3(c) below), shall be payable in cash (the “Cash Value”), and what portion shall be denominated in restricted shares or letters of intent of the Company (“the RSA” or “the LOI”), in accordance with Paragraph 4 below. The RSA or the LOI shall have the terms substantially as set forth in the form of restricted stock or letter of intent award granted generally under the Plan, or its successor, except that the RSA or the LOI shall vest pursuant to a period determined in the Committee’s discretion, except that such vesting period shall not be less than one year from date of grant, and (B) be forfeitable only if your employment with the American Express companies terminates by reason of voluntary resignation or terminates for cause (that is, violation of the Code of Conduct as in effect from time to time) prior to the applicable vesting dates. The number of restricted shares or letters of intent of the Company comprising the RSA or the LOI (the “Number of Restricted Shares” or the “Number of Letters of Intent”) shall be determined by dividing such portion of the Schedule A value so designated by the Committee, if any, by the average of the high and low market value of the shares on                             , 20      or such other date that the Committee approves payout of the Awards, and shall be payable in the form of an RSA or an LOI in accordance with Paragraph 4 below.

 

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(iv) For purposes of this Award, all accounting terms are defined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as set forth in the Company’s annual audited financial statements, except as otherwise provided below (which will take into account, in each case, the expenses and other financial effect for the applicable year(s) of performance grants under the Plan):

(A) “Net Income” means, for any given year, the after-tax net income (or loss) of the Company or of a segment or other part of the Company, as the case may be, for such year as adjusted below, as determined by the Company in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a basis comparable to that used for the purpose of reporting industry segment data in the Company’s annual audited financial statements. The calculation of Net Income, for any given year, will be adjusted to exclude:

 

 

 

reported cumulative effect of accounting changes,

 

 

 

reported income and losses from discontinued operations, and

 

 

 

reported extraordinary gains and losses as determined under generally accepted accounting principles.

(B) “Average Annual Shareholders’ Equity” means, for any given year, the sum of the total shareholders’ equity of the Company or of a segment or other part of the Company, as the case may be, as of the first day of such year and as of the end of each month during such period (each as determined by the Company in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles but excluding the effect of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Nos. 115 and 133 (relating to mark-to-market treatment of certain investments and accounting for derivatives, respectively) and adjustments made to Net Income pursuant to Subparagraph 3(b)(iv)(A)), divided by 13.

(C) “Return on Equity” means, for any given year, the Net Income for such year divided by the Average Annual Shareholders’ Equity for such year.

(D) “Earnings Per Share” means, for any given year, the diluted earnings (or loss) per share of the Company for such year, as determined by the Company in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for inclusion in the Company’s annual audited financial statements. The calculation of Earnings Per Share, for any given year, will be adjusted in the same fashion as Net Income for such year.

(v) To the extent permissible for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), in the event of any change in

 

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the corporate capitalization of the Company, such as by reason of any stock split, or a material corporate transaction, such as any merger of the Company into another corporation, any consolidation of the Company and one or more corporations into another corporation, any separation of the Company (including a spin-off or other distribution of stock or property by the Company), any reorganization of the Company (whether or not such reorganization comes within the definition of such term in Section 368 of the Code), or any partial or complete liquidation by the Company, other than a normal cash dividend, if the Committee shall determine that such a change equitably requires an adjustment in the calculation or terms of Return on Equity and/or Earnings Per Share, on the grounds that any such change would produce an unreasonable value, such equitable adjustment will be made by the Committee. Any such determination by the Committee to reflect such change under this subparagraph 3(b)(v) shall be final, binding and conclusive.

(c) As soon as practicable after the last day of the Award Period, the Committee may determine, in its sole discretion, that the Schedule A Value, if any (as determined above in Subparagraph 3(b)), may be adjusted downward, but in no event upward, by a percentage from 0-100% (that is, to a value of zero). In no event may the Committee amend any provision hereof so as to increase or otherwise adjust upward the Schedule A Value. In exercising its discretion to make a downward adjustment, the Committee may take into account factors such as the increase in shareholder value (as indicated, for example, by shareholder return, earnings growth and return on equity), customer satisfaction (as indicated, for example, by customer satisfaction measures, client retention and growth in products and services), employee satisfaction (as indicated, for example, by the employee values survey results), implementation of AEQL initiatives (as indicated, for example, by process changes that achieve significant results), achievement of reengineering initiatives (as indicated, for example, by cost savings), and such other factors deemed relevant by the Committee; provided that any such determination by the Committee need not be made in a uniform manner and may be made selectively among holders of awards of performance grants, whether or not such award holders are similarly situated.

(d) The Committee’s determinations as to the Schedule A Value, the Cash Value and the Number of Restricted Shares or the Number of Letters of Intent pursuant to this Agreement shall be final, binding and conclusive upon you and all persons claiming under or through you.

4. Payment of Award .

(a) As soon as practicable after the last day of the Award Period, the Committee shall determine whether the conditions of Paragraphs 2 and 3 hereof have been met and, if so, shall ascertain the Schedule A Value (and any negative adjustment thereto), Cash Value and the Number of Restricted Shares or the Number of Letters of Intent, if any, in accordance with Paragraph 3 hereof.

(b) If the Committee determines that there is no Schedule A Value, this Award will be canceled. If the Committee determines that there is some Schedule A Value, however, the Cash Value as determined pursuant to Paragraph 3 hereof shall become payable to you in cash, and the

 

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Number of Restricted Shares or the Number of Letters of Intent shall be issued to you in the form of a restricted stock or letter of intent award under the Plan, within fifteen business days following the regularly scheduled payroll payment date of the applicable pay period beginning after January 31 of the year following the Award Period (or at such other time or times as the Committee shall determine as provided in Paragraph 6 below).

5. Termination of Employment after the Award Period but on or before the Payment Date . If, after the last day of the Award Period and on or before the date specified above in Subparagraph 4(b), but during a period when you have been in continuous employment with the American Express companies since the Award Date, you terminate your employment with the American Express companies for any reason, then you and all others claiming under or through you shall not be entitled to receive any amounts or awards under this Award, except as otherwise determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.

6. Deferral or Acceleration of Payment of Award . Any payments to be made under this Award may be deferred or accelerated in such manner as the Committee shall determine; provided, however, that any such deferral or acceleration must comply with the applicable requirements of Section 409A of the Code. As to such a deferral of payment, any such payment in excess of the amount that was originally payable to you under this Agreement will be based on a reasonable interest rate or on one or more predetermined actual investments (whether or not assets associated


 
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