Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Florida Business Corporation Act (the “FBCA”). The FBCA permits, under certain circumstances, the indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents of a corporation with respect to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, and whether formal or informal, to which such person was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party, by reason of his or her being an officer, director, employee or agent of a corporation, or is or was serving at the request of, such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against liability incurred in connection with such proceeding, including appeals thereof; provided, however, that the officer, director, employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The termination of any such third-party action by judgment, order, settlement, or conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent does not, of itself, create a presumption that the person (1) did not act in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation or (2) with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.
In the case of proceedings by or in the right of the corporation, the statute permits indemnification of any person by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of, such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses and certain amounts paid in settlement in connection with such proceeding, including appeals thereof; provided, however, that the officer, director, employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification is made where such person is adjudged liable, unless, and only to the extent that, the court in which such proceeding was brought, or any other court of competent jurisdiction, determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such court shall deem proper.
To the extent that such person is successful on the merits or otherwise in defending against any such proceeding, the statute provides that he or she shall be indemnified against expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection therewith.
Also, under the statute, expenses incurred by an officer or director in defending a civil or criminal proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if he or she is ultimately found not to be entitled to indemnification by the corporation pursuant to this section. Expenses incurred by other employees and agents may be paid in advance upon such terms or conditions that the board of directors deems appropriate.
Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. The amended and restated articles of incorporation of Amerant Bancorp Inc. provide that its officers and directors will be indemnified by it to the fullest extent authorized by Florida law and any other applicable law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. Additionally, the amended and restated bylaws of Amerant Bancorp Inc. contain indemnification provisions similar to the FBCA, and further provide that Amerant Bancorp Inc. may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of its directors, officers, employees and agents in their capacities as such, or serving at the request of us, against any liabilities asserted against such persons and incurred by such persons in any capacity, or arising of such persons status as such, whether or not we would have the power to indemnify such persons against such liability under its amended and restated bylaws.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted for the directors and officers of Amerant Bancorp Inc., or for persons controlling such entity, pursuant to the articles of incorporation, bylaws or the FBCA, we acknowledge that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
In addition to the authority granted to us by the FBCA to indemnify our directors, certain other provisions of the FBCA have the effect of further limiting the personal liability of the directors of Amerant Bancorp Inc. For example, a director of a Florida corporation cannot be held personally liable for monetary damages to the corporation or any other person for any statement, vote, decision or failure to act regarding corporate management or policy except in the case of certain qualifying breaches of the director’s duties.
Item 9. Undertakings.
(a)The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1)To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
(i)To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
(ii)To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement;
(iii)To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i) and (1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.
(2)That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3)To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(b)That, for purposes of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(c)Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in
the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.