Exhibit 1.4
NATIONAL CITY CORPORATION
6,000,000 Depositary Shares
(Each of Which Represents 1/4,000 th Interest in a
Share of Fixed-to-Floating Rate
Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock)
Underwriting Agreement
January 24, 2008
Goldman,
Sachs & Co.
85 Broad Street,
New York, New York 10004.
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
National
City Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “
Company ”), proposes, subject to the terms and
conditions stated herein, to issue and sell to you, as the
underwriter (the “ Underwriter ”) the Preferred
Shares that are specified in Schedule I (the “
Preferred Shares ”) and are represented by Depositary
Shares (the “ Depositary Shares ”) deposited
against delivery of Depository Receipts (the “ Depositary
Receipts ”) evidencing the Depositary Shares that are to
be issued by Wilmington Trust Company as depositary (the “
Depositary ”) under the Deposit Agreement to be
entered into before the First Time of Delivery among the Company,
the Depositary and the holders from time to time of the Depositary
Receipts issued thereunder (the “ Deposit Agreement
”). Each Depositary Share represents beneficial ownership of
a fraction of a Preferred Share, as specified in Schedule I.
The Depositary Shares and the Preferred Shares represented thereby
are collectively called the “ Securities. ” The
Depositary Shares and the Preferred Shares consist of (i) an
aggregate of 6,000,000 Depositary Shares and the 1,500 Preferred
Shares represented thereby (collectively, the “ Firm
Shares”) ; and (ii) at the election of the
Underwriter, up to an aggregate of 900,000 Depositary Shares and
the 225 Preferred Shares represented thereby as provided in
Section 2 (collectively, the “ Optional Shares
”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined
but that are defined in the Pricing Prospectus (as defined in
Section 1(a)), have the meanings specified in the Pricing
Prospectus.
1.
Representations and Warranties . The Company represents and
warrants to, and agrees with, the Underwriter as follows:
(a) An “automatic shelf
registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Act
”), on Form S-3 (File No. 333-148769) in respect of the
Securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “ Commission ”) not earlier than
three years prior to the date hereof; pursuant to the Act, such
registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto,
became effective on filing; no stop order suspending the
effectiveness of such
registration
statement or any part thereof has been issued, no proceeding for
that purpose has been initiated or, to the Company’s
knowledge, threatened by the Commission and no notice of objection
of the Commission to the use of such registration statement or any
post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2)
under the Act has been received by the Company (the base prospectus
filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which
it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to
the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “
Basic Prospectus ”; any preliminary prospectus
(including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the
Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under
the Act is hereinafter called a “ Preliminary
Prospectus ”; the various parts of such registration
statement, including all exhibits thereto but excluding any
Trustee’s Statement of Eligibility of Form T-1 (each a
“ Form T-1 ”), and including any prospectus
supplement relating to the Securities that is filed with the
Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B to be part of
such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part
of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter
collectively called the “ Registration Statement
”; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented
immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section
1(c)), is hereinafter called the “ Pricing Prospectus
”; the form of the final prospectus relating to the
Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under
the Act in accordance with Section 5(A)(a) is hereinafter
called the “ Prospectus ”; any reference herein
to the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary
Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and
include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to
Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, as of the date of such
prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the
Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus
shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective
amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement
relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to
Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “
Exchange Act ”), and incorporated therein, in each
case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, such Preliminary
Prospectus, or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to
any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to
refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed
pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the
effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated
by reference in the Registration Statement; and any “issuer
free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under
the Act relating to the Securities is hereinafter called an “
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus ”).
(b) No order preventing or suspending
the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary
Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all
material respects to the requirements of the Act and the Trust
Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “ Trust Indenture
Act ”), and the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material
fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein
or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
provided , however , that this representation and
warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made
in
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reliance upon
and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the
Company by the Underwriter expressly for use therein.
(c) For the purposes of this
Agreement, the “ Applicable Time ” is 3:00 P.M.
(New York City time) on the date of this Agreement; the Pricing
Prospectus as supplemented by the final term sheet prepared and
filed pursuant to Section 5(A)(a), taken together
(collectively, the “ Pricing Disclosure Package
”) as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of
the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and
each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Schedule I(a)
does not conflict with the information contained in the
Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus
and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by
and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package as of the
Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material
fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make
the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under
which they were made, not misleading; provided ,
however , that this representation and warranty shall not
apply to statements or omissions made in an Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information
furnished in writing to the Company by the Underwriter expressly
for use therein.
(d) The documents incorporated by
reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, when they
became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may
be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the
Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such
documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or
omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; any
further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the
Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when
such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission,
as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the
requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the
rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not
contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the statements therein not misleading; provided ,
however , that this representation and warranty shall not
apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in
conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by
the Underwriter expressly for use therein; and no such documents
were filed with the Commission since the Commission’s close
of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of
this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except
as set forth on Schedule I(b).
(e) The Registration Statement
conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or
supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will
conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act
and the Trust Indenture Act and the rules and regulations of the
Commission thereunder and do not and will not,
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as of the
applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration
Statement and as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus
and any amendment or supplement thereto, contain an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not misleading; provided , however , that
this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements
or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with
information furnished in writing to the Company by the Underwriter
expressly for use therein.
(f) Neither the Company nor any of
its “significant subsidiaries” (as such term is used in
Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act;
and together with National City Bank, each a “ Significant
Subsidiary ” and collectively, the “ Significant
Subsidiaries ”) has sustained since the date of the
latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by
reference in the Pricing Prospectus any material loss or
interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other
calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor
dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, other
than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus; and,
since the respective dates as of which information is given in the
Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus, there has not
been any change in the capital stock of the Company or any of its
Significant Subsidiaries (other than (i) the repurchases of
common stock of the Company in an aggregate amount that is less
than 1% of the number of outstanding shares of common stock on the
date hereof and (ii) issuances or other transfers of capital
stock in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the
Company’s employee benefit plans), any increase in the
long-term debt of the Company and its subsidiaries, or any material
adverse change, or any development that is reasonably likely to
involve a prospective material adverse change, in the condition,
financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or
business prospects of the Company and the consolidated subsidiaries
of the Company considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising
in the ordinary course of business, other than as set forth or
contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus.
(g) The Company has been duly
incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good
standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, is duly
registered as a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company
Act of 1956, as amended, with corporate power and authority to own,
lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as
described in the Pricing Prospectus, and has been duly qualified as
a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing
in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required,
whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the
conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to
be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate,
have a Material Adverse Effect.
(h) Each Significant Subsidiary has
been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in
good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its
incorporation, and has corporate power and authority to own, lease
and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described
in the Pricing Prospectus and is duly
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qualified as a
foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in
each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether
by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of
business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good
standing would not have a Material Adverse Effect; except as
otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, all of the
issued and outstanding capital stock of each such Significant
Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully
paid and non-assessable (subject to the provisions of
Section 55 of Title 12 of the United States Code in the case
of Significant Subsidiaries that are national banking associations
or similar provisions applicable to other depository institution
subsidiaries or the Company under the laws of the respective
jurisdictions in which they are organized) and, except for any
director’s qualifying shares, is owned by the Company,
directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security
interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity;
none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any Significant
Subsidiary was issued in violation of the preemptive or similar
rights of any securityholder of such Significant Subsidiary; and
100% of its capital stock, other than any director’s
qualifying shares, is owned by the Company, directly or through
subsidiaries, free and clear of any mortgage, pledge, lien,
encumbrance, claim or equity.
(i) The authorized, issued and
outstanding capital stock of the Company is as set forth in the
Pricing Prospectus (except for subsequent issuances, if any
pursuant to reservations, agreements or employee benefit, employee
stock purchase or dividend reinvestment plans referred to in the
Pricing Prospectus or pursuant to the exercise of convertible
securities or options referred to in the Pricing Prospectus, as
described in the Pricing Prospectus), and all of the issued and
outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly
authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and
non-assessable; all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital
stock of each Significant Subsidiary of the Company have been duly
authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable
and (except for directors’ qualifying shares) are owned
directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens,
encumbrances, equities or claims; and none of the outstanding
shares of capital stock of the Company was issued in violation of
the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the
Company.
(j) The Preferred Shares and the
Depositary Shares have been duly and validly authorized, and, when
the Firm Shares are issued and delivered pursuant to this Agreement
and, in the case of any Optional Shares, when the Underwriter
exercises its option under Section 2 with respect to such
Optional Shares, such Securities will be duly and validly issued
and fully paid and non-assessable; and the Securities conform to
the descriptions thereof in the Pricing Prospectus and will conform
to the descriptions thereof in the Prospectus.
(k) This Agreement has been duly
authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(l) The Deposit Agreement has been
duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and
constitutes a valid and legally binding agreement of the
Company
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enforceable in
accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency,
fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws of
general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’
rights and to general equity principles.
(m) The issue and sale of the
Securities and the compliance by the Company with all of the
provisions of the Securities, this Agreement and the Deposit
Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein and
therein contemplated by the Company will not, whether with or
without the giving of notice or lapse of or both, conflict with or
constitute a breach or violation of, or default or Repayment Event
under or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge
or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any
subsidiary of the Company pursuant to any material contract,
indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note,
lease or any other agreement or instrument to which the Company or
any subsidiary of the Company is a party or by which it or any of
the them may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of
the Company or any such subsidiary is subject, nor will such action
result in any violation of the provisions of the Amended and
Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, or First
Restatement of By-laws of the Company or other organizational
documents of any subsidiary, or any applicable law, statute, rule,
regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government,
government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having
jurisdiction over the Company or any subsidiary of the Company or
any of their properties, assets or operations; and no filing with,
or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration,
qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or
agency, domestic or foreign (other than under the Securities Act,
which have been obtained, or as may be required under the
securities or Blue Sky laws of the various states) is necessary or
required in connection with the issue and sale of the Securities by
the Company or the consummation by the Company of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement, except
such as have been obtained under the Act and such consents,
approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may
be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection
with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the
Underwriter. As used herein, a “ Repayment Event
” means any event or condition that gives the holder of any
note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person
acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the
repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such
indebtedness by the Company or any subsidiary of the Company.
(n) Neither the Company nor any of
its Significant Subsidiaries is in violation of its charter,
by-laws or other organizational documents, as applicable, or in
default in the performance or observance of any material
obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any
contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit
agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it
is a party or by which it or any of its properties or assets may be
bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or
any subsidiary of the Company is subject.
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(o) The statements set forth in the
Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the captions
“Description of the Preferred Stock” and
“Description of the Depositary Shares,” respectively,
insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the
Securities, to describe contracts, agreements or other legal
documents or to describe Federal statutes, rules and regulations,
and under the caption “Underwriting,” insofar as they
purport to describe the provisions of the documents referred to
therein, constitute an accurate summary of the matters set forth
therein; the statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the
Prospectus under the caption “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax
Consequences,” insofar as they purport to constitute a
summary of matters of U.S. federal income tax law, as amended, and
regulations or legal conclusions with respect thereto, constitute
an accurate summary of the matters set forth therein.
(p) There is no action, suit,
proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any court
or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, now pending,
or, to the knowledge of the Company or any subsidiary of the
Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any
subsidiary of the Company, that is required to be disclosed in the
Registration Statement (other than as disclosed therein), or that
would, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse
effect on the current or future consolidated financial position,
stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company
and its subsidiaries (a “ Material Adverse Effect
”), or that would materially and adversely affect the
properties or assets thereof, the performance by the Company of its
obligations hereunder and under the Deposit Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby; the
aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which
the Company or any subsidiary of the Company is a party or of which
any of their respective property or assets is the subject that are
not described in the Registration Statement, including ordinary
routine litigation incidental to the business, would not have a
Material Adverse Effect.
(q) The Company is not and, after
giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the
application of the proceeds thereof, will not be an
“investment company,” as such term is defined in the
Investment Company Act.
(r) (A)(i) At the time of filing the
Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent
amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with
Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by
post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to
Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of
prospectus), and (iii) at the time the Company or any person
acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of
Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the
Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the
Act, the Company was a “well-known seasoned issuer” as
defined in Rule 405 under the Act (“
Rule 405 ”); and (B) at the earliest time
after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or
another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the
meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Securities,
the Company was not an “ineligible issuer” as defined
in Rule 405 under the Act.
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(s) The Company and the subsidiaries
of the Company possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents
and other authorizations (collectively, “ Governmental
Licenses ”) issued by the appropriate federal, state,
local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct
the business now operated by them, except where the failure so to
possess would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a
Material Adverse Effect; the Company and the subsidiaries of the
Company are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such
Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would
not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse
Effect; all of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full
force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental
Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full
force and effect would not, individually or in the aggregate, have
a Material Adverse Effect; and neither Company nor any of the
subsidiaries of the Company has received any notice of proceedings
relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental
Licenses which, individually or in the aggregate, if the subject of
an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would have a Material
Adverse Effect.
(t) Ernst & Young LLP, the
accounting firm that certified the audited financial statements and
supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement is an
independent registered public accountant firm as required by the
Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder.
(u) The Company maintains a system of
internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined
in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that complies with
the requirements of the Exchange Act and has been designed by the
Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial
officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The
Company’s internal control over financial reporting is
effective and the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses
in its internal control over financial reporting. Except as
disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, since the date of the latest
audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference
in the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no change in the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect,
the Company’s internal control over financial reporting,
except such changes as, individually or in the aggregate, would not
reasonably be expect to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(v) The Company maintains disclosure
controls and procedures (as such term is defined in
Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply with the
requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and
procedures have been designed to ensure that material information
relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the
Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial
officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure
controls and procedures are effective.
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(w) The operations of the Company and
its subsidiaries have been conducted at all times i
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