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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14A

(RULE 14A-101)

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENTProxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.          )

 

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATIONFiled by the Registrant

PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(A) OF THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 (AMENDMENT NO.)

Filed by the Registrantx

Filed by a Party other than the Registranto

 

Check the appropriate box:

xPreliminary Proxy Statement

oConfidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

oDefinitive Proxy Statement

oDefinitive Additional Materials

oSoliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

Preliminary Proxy Statement

o

Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

o

Definitive Proxy Statement

o

Definitive Additional Materials

o

Soliciting Material Pursuant to ‘240.14a-12

 

WSFS FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

 

Payment of filing fee (Check the appropriate box):

xNo fee required

oFee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.

No fee required

o

Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.

 

(1)Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

 

(2)Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

 

(3)Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11.  (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):

 

(4)Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

 

(5)Total fee paid:

o

Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

o

Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

(1)         Amount previously paid:

 

oFee paid previously with preliminary materials.

oCheck box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

(1)Amount previously paid:

 

(2)Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

 

(3)Filing Party:

(4)Date Filed:



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WSFS Bank Center

 

(3)         Filing Party:

500 Delaware Avenue

 

Wilmington, Delaware 19801

(4)         Date Filed:GRAPHIC

302-792-6000

www.wsfsbank.com

 

 

 

Notice of 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

 


 

WSFS Bank Center

500 Delaware Avenue

Wilmington, Delaware 19801

302-792-6000

www.wsfsbank.com

March 25, 2009

_________, 2015

 

Dear Stockholder:

 

The WSFS Financial Corporation 2009(the “Company” or “WSFS”) 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held on April 23, 2009, 2015 beginning at 4:00 p.m. at the Hotel duPontdu Pont located at Eleventh and Market Streets in Wilmington, Delaware.  Parking validation will be provided for garage or valet parking at the hotel.

 

At the meeting, stockholders will act on the following matters:

 

·The election of six directors. Twothree directors to hold office untilfor a term ending at the 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and four directors to hold office until the 20122018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders;

·                 The Amendment of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock from 20,000,000 to 65,000,000;

·The ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as the independent registered public accountantsaccounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009;2015;

The approval of amendments to the WSFS Financial Corporation Certificate of Incorporation;

·An advisory (non-binding) vote on the compensation of our named executive compensation;officers; and

·Such other matters as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.

 

All stockholders of record holding shares of WSFS Financial Corporation common stock at the close of business on March 5, 20092, 2015 are entitled to vote at the meeting.  This proxy statement and the enclosed proxy card were mailed to stockholders on or about March 25, 2009., 2015.

 

Your vote is important regardless of how many shares of WSFS common stock you own.  Even if you plan to attend the meeting, we urge you to ensure that your shares are represented at the meeting by returning the enclosed proxy card.  A return envelope with pre-paid postage is enclosed for your convenience.  Mark on your proxy card how you wish your shares to be voted, and please be sure to sign and date your proxy card.  Returning your vote by proxy will not prevent you from later voting in person if you do come to the meeting.  Please note, however, that if the stockholder of record for your shares is a broker, bank or other nominee and you wish to vote at the meeting, you will need to obtain a proxy issued in your own name from your stockholder of record.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

GRAPHIC



 

Marvin N. Schoenhals

Chairman

 

 

 



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GRAPHIC

 

Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials

1

 

 

1.

About the Annual Meeting

1

 

 

 

 

MATTERS TO BE VOTED ON AT THE ANNUAL MEETING

 

 

 

 

2.

PROPOSAL NO. 1: Election of Directors

6

 

Director Nominees

6

 

Current Directors and Executive Management

7

 

 

 

 

Corporate Governance

10

 

Director Independence

10

 

Board of Directors Leadership Structure

10

 

Executive Sessions

11

 

Our Director Nomination and Selection Process

11

 

Diversity

12

 

Board Principles and Guidelines

12

 

Stockholder Nominations and Stockholder Proposals

13

 

Stock Ownership and Retention Guidelines

13

 

Succession Planning

13

 

Attendance at Board of Directors and Committee Meetings, Annual Meeting

13

 

Transaction with Our Insiders

13

 

Board of Directors Role in Risk Oversight

13

 

Board of Directors Committees

15

 

Executive Committee

15

 

Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee

16

 

Audit Committee

16

 

Audit Committee Report

18

 

Personnel and Compensation Committee

18

 

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

19

 

Trust Committee

19

 

Corporate Development Committee

19

 

Other Corporate Governance Matters

20

 

Exclusive Forum Selection

20

 

Classified Board Structure

20

 

Access to Communication with the Board of Directors

21

 

 

 

3.

PROPOSAL NO. 2: Amendment of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the Number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock from 20,000,00 to 65,000,000

21

 

 

 

4.

PROPOSAL NO. 3: Ratification of the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

23

 

 

 

5.

PROPOSAL NO. 4: Advisory (non-binding) vote on executive compensation

24

 

 

 

6.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

25

 

Forward Looking Statements

25

 

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

25

 

Executive Summary

25

 

Named Executive Officers (NEOs)

28

 

The Role of the Personnel and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors

28

 

The Role of Management in Executive Compensation

28

 

The Role of Stockholder Say-on-Pay Votes

29

 

The Role of Consultants

29

 

Peer Group and Benchmarking

29

 

Elements of Compensation

31

 

Base Salaries

31

 

Annual Incentives

32

 

Timing of MIP Annual Awards and IRS Section 409A Requirements

34

 

Measuring Actual Performance and Calculating Incentive Payments

35

 

Equity/Long-Term Incentives

35

 

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Contents (continued)

 

 

 

 

 

Multi-Year, High-Performance Awards

36

 

CEO Equity Incentive Compensation

36

 

Timing and Pricing of Equity Awards

37

 

Associate Service Bonus Plan

37

 

Reverse Mortgage Related Assets Bonus

37

 

Benefits

37

 

Development Allowance

37

 

Employment Agreements

38

 

Tax Considerations Related to Our Executive Compensation

38

 

Summary

38

 

Summary Compensation Table

39

 

Grant of Plan-Based Awards

40

 

Outstanding Equity Awards Value at Fiscal Year-End

42

 

Exercises of Options and Vesting of Shares during 2014

43

 

Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control

43

 

Termination without Cause

43

 

Change in Control

43

 

Retirement Plans

45

 

 

 

7.

COMPENSATION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

45

 

Director and NEO Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan

47

 

Director Compensation Table

47

 

Compensation of Mr. Cheleden as Lead Director

47

 

Compensation of Mr. Schoenhals

47

 

 

 

8.

PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT

48

 

 

 

9.

SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

48

 

 

 

10.

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

48

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ContentsGRAPHIC

 

1.

About the Annual Meeting

1

2.

Matters to be Voted on at the Meeting

5

3.

Directors and Officers of WSFS Financial Corporation and Wilmington

Savings Fund Society, FSB

8

4.

The Proposed Amendments to the Restated Certificate of Incorporation

14

5.

Compensation

16

6.

Committees of the Board of Directors

45

Executive Committee

Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee

Audit Committee and

Audit Committee Report

Personnel and Compensation Committee

Trust Committee

7.

Compensation of the Board of Directors

50

8.

Other Information

52

Appendix A – Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation

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1. About the Annual Meeting

Important Notice Regarding Internet

Availability of Proxy Materials

For the ShareholderStockholder Meeting to be

Held on April 23, 2009_______, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.

The Proxy Statement and Annual Report on Form 10-K

are available at www.wsfsbank.com, by calling us at 888-973-7226

www.wsfsbank.comor by sending an e-mail request to: stockholderrelations@wsfsbank.com

 

About the Annual Meeting

 

This proxy statement is being furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors of WSFS Financial Corporation the “Company” to be used at the 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders which will be held at the Hotel du Pont, Eleventh and Market Streets in Wilmington, Delaware on _______, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.  Directions to the Hotel du Pont are available on its website: www.hoteldupont.com.

What is the purpose of the Annual Meeting?

The WSFS Financial Corporation 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will beis being held atto consider the Hotel duPont, Eleventh and Market Streets in Wilmington, Delaware on April 23, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. The business to be conducted at the meeting isfollowing proposals: (i) the election of three directors for a term ending at the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, (ii) the amendment of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized to be issued by the Company from 20,000,000 shares to 65,000,000 shares, (iii) the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accountants,accounting firm for the approval of an amendment to the our 2005 Incentive Plan,fiscal year ending December 31, 2015, (iv) an advisory (non-binding) vote on the compensation of our named executive compensationofficers, and (v) such other matters as may properly come before the approvalmeeting or any adjournment thereof.

The Board of amendments toDirectors is divided into three classes and each class serves for a term of three years.  There are three seats on our CertificateBoard of Incorporation. There will be six board seatsDirectors up for election at this year’s meetingthe Annual Meeting and wethe following persons have been nominated by the persons currently filling those seats for reelection: Linda C. Drake, David E. Hollowell,Board: Anat Bird, Jennifer W. Davis and Donald W. Delson, Scott E. Reed and Claibourne D. Smith. Mrs. Drake and Mr. Hollowell haveeach of whom currently serves on the Board of Directors.  Each has been nominated for a one-yearthree-year term and Ms. Davis, Mr. Delson, Mr. Reed and Dr. Smith have been nominated for three-year terms. Each is a current directorexpiring on the date of WSFS Financial Corporation.our annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2018.    You can find information about all of our current directors and director nominees beginning on page 8.six.

 

Why are you sending me a proxy card? What are you going to do with it?

In orderThe Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR each of the three nominees for director, FOR amendment of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized to be issued by the Company from 20,000,000 shares to 65,000,000 shares, FOR ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm, and FOR the advisory (non-binding) vote on executive compensation.

Why are you sending me a proxy card?  What am I going to do with it?

To hold the meeting,Annual Meeting, we need to have present, in person or by proxy, the holders of a majority of WSFS common stock outstanding as of March 5, 2009, which was selected by the Board of Directors as2, 2015, the record date for the Annual Meeting, to determine which stockholders will receive notice of the meetingAnnual Meeting and be entitled to vote at the meeting. Annual Meeting.  As of that date, there were 6,165,0999,411,308 shares of WSFS common stock outstanding.  We are providing you with a proxy card so that your shares can be counted as present at the meetingAnnual Meeting and can be voted at the meeting even if you do not attend the meetingAnnual Meeting in person.

 

Your shares will be voted in accordance with your instructions you provide on the proxy card to vote either for or to withhold your vote regarding each of the nominees for election as directors,directors; and to vote for, against or abstain on the ratification

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Table of the appointment of the independent registered public accountants and for each of the other proposals to be voted on at the meeting.Contents

remaining proposals.  If you sign and return the proxy card to us without indicating how you wish to vote, we will vote your shares for each of the nominees, for amendment of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock from 20,000,000 to 65,000,000, for ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm, and for the ratification of

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advisory (non-binding) vote on executive compensation.  If you hold your WSFS common stock in “street name” through a bank or broker, you must direct your bank or broker to vote in accordance with the appointment of the independent registered public accountants and for each of the other proposalsinstructions you have received from your bank or broker.  “Street name” stockholders who wish to be voted onvote at the meeting.Annual Meeting will need to obtain a voting instruction form from the institution that holds their shares.

 

For those shares that we have been given a proxy, we will have discretionary authority to vote as we see fit on any procedural matters relating to the conduct of the meeting.Annual Meeting.  Furthermore, in the event that one or more of our nominees is unable to stand for election as the result of an unexpected occurrence, we may vote shares thatfor which we hold a proxy for in favor of anyone we select to be a substitute nominee.  Alternatively, we may reduce the size of the Board of Directors to eliminate the vacancy.

 

If I hold my shares through a broker, will my broker vote my shares without my instructions?

If you fail to instruct your broker how you want your shares voted, your broker may only use discretionary authority to vote your shares on “routine” matters.  The election of directors, amendment of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock, and the advisory vote on executive compensation are not considered “routine” matters.  As such, your broker cannot vote your shares with respect to those proposals if you do not give instructions.

Why did I receive more than one proxy card?

If you hold your shares of WSFS common stock in more than one account or name, you will receive multiple proxy cards and you must return a proxy card for each account or name in order to vote all of your shares.

 

Can I revoke my proxy or change my vote?

Yes.  YouIf you are a registered holder of WSFS common stock, you can change your vote at any time by completing and returning a new proxy card before the meeting. You may also revoke your proxyAnnual Meeting by sending a written notice to WSFS Financial Corporation, Attention: Corporate Secretary, WSFS Bank Center, 500 Delaware Avenue, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, or providing written notice in person at the meeting.  If you vote by proxy and then attend the meeting,Annual Meeting, you do not need to vote again in person unless you want to change your prior vote.  Attending the meeting in personAnnual Meeting will not cancel your proxy unless you vote in person at the meeting.Annual Meeting. Please note that if your shares are not registered in your own name, you will need additional documentation from your broker to vote in person at the meeting.Annual Meeting.

 

What constitutes a “quorum” for the Annual Meeting?

A quorum is necessary to conduct business at the Annual Meeting.  We require the presence, whether in person or through the prior submission of a proxy, of the holders of WSFS common stock representing a majority of the shares outstanding and entitled to vote on the record date.  Because there were 9,411,308 shares of WSFS common stock issued and outstanding as of the record date, at least 4,705,654 shares must be present or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting for a quorum to exist.

How many votes does a nominee need in order to be elected?

Directors are elected by plurality vote, meaning that the nominees who receive the greatest number of votes are elected.  You may vote for a nominee or you may withhold your vote for a nominee.  In a contested election, the number of seats up for election is less than the number of persons nominated for election as directors and thenominated.  The winning nominees are the ones who receive more votes than the other nominees.  In an uncontested election, there are enough seats up for election for all of the nominees, so all will be elected as directors regardless of the number of votes they each receive.  ItIn an uncontested election, it is our policy however, that in an uncontested election any directornominees who was elected by less thanreceive a majoritynumber of votes in favor of their election which is less than a majority of total votes cast should promptly offer to resign from the Board of Directors and request the Board of Directors to accept or reject thetheir resignation offer at the Board’s discretion.discretion of the Board of Directors.  The Board’s Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors will consider resignation offers and make its recommendation to the full Board. Theentire Board of Directors.  Our policy provides that the Board of Directors will accept or

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reject theeach director’s resignation offer within 90 days.days of the date the resignation offer is submitted to the Board of Directors.

 

How many votes do I have?

Each share of WSFS Financial Corporation common stock is entitled to one vote.  We do, however, permit cumulative voting infor the election of directors, meaning that if you have 100 shares andbecause there are sixthree seats up for election, if you own 100 shares, you have 600300 votes to distribute among the nominees as you see fit.  You can distribute them equally and cast 100 votes for each

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nominee or you may give more votes to certain nominees, even giving all 600300 votes to a single nominee if you wish. You must attend the meeting and vote in person if you want to cumulate your vote for directors.

 

If you give us a proxy to vote your shares at the meeting,Annual Meeting, we will distribute your votes among the nominees as we see fit.  If you do not want us to use cumulative voting for your shares, you may state that on your proxy card.

 

How many votes are required to ratifyapprove the appointmentother proposals put before stockholders in this proxy?

The proposed amendment of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock must receive a favorable vote of a majority of the independent registered public accountants?

To be ratified,outstanding shares of common stock.  Abstentions and broker non-votes are treated as present for quorum purposes only and therefore have the same effect as a vote against the proposal.   The advisory vote on executive compensation must receive a favorable vote of a majority of the votes cast on the proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes are treated as present for quorum purposes only and therefore have no effect on the proposal.  The appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accountantsaccounting firm must receive a majority of the votes cast on thatthe proposal to be ratified.  Abstentions and broker non-votes are treated as present for quorum purposes only and therefore have no effect on the outcome of the proposal.

 

What are stockholders being asked to approve regarding executive compensation?

Stockholders are being asked to approve the following resolution:

 

“Resolved, that the stockholders approve the compensation of the Company’s executivesnamed executive officers as disclosed pursuant to the compensation disclosure rulesof the Securities and Exchange Commission.”

 

This advisory proposal must receive a favorable vote of a majority of the votes cast on the proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes are treated as present for quorum purposes only and therefore have no effect on the proposal.

Is the stockholder vote on executive compensation binding on the Company?

ThisNo, this is an advisory vote only.  Neither we, nor the Board of Directors, will be bound to take any action based uponon the outcome.  The Personnel and Compensation Committee will consider the vote of the stockholders when considering future executive compensation arrangements.compensation.

 

How many votesWhat are requiredstockholders being asked to approve regarding authorized shares of the amendmentsCorporation’s Common Stock?

Stockholders are being asked to approve an amendment of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized to be issued by WSFS Financial Corporation Certificatefrom 20,000,000 to 65,000,000 shares.

The Board of Incorporation?

To be amended,Directors authorized the WSFS Financial Corporationamendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock primarily because of the Board of Directors’ authorization of a three-for-one stock split in the form of a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock.  Currently there are insufficient authorized but unissued shares of common stock to effect the proposed dividend.  The Board of Directors has considered studies, including those published by Keefe Bruyette & Woods, The Ambassador Financial Group and Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC, concluding that stock splits improve stockholder liquidity and market valuation.  The Board of Directors believes that a stock split also will increase attractiveness of the shares to retail stockholders.  Finally, the Board considered the cost of effecting a stock split and believes the cost to be insignificant in light of the benefits to be obtained.   As a result the Board of Directors approved the stock split in the form of a dividend payable in shares of common stock, subject to stockholder approval of this proposal.

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In addition to effecting the three-for-one stock split, the Board of Directors believes it is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock to provide the Company with flexibility to consider and plan for future general corporate needs, including, but not limited to, capital raising, financing transactions, possible merger and acquisition transactions, or other general corporate purposes. The additional authorized shares of our common stock would enable the Company to pursue strategic, financial or capital opportunities as they may be presented and to take timely advantage of market conditions as they may arise, without the delay and expense associated with calling and convening a special meeting of stockholders, unless required by Delaware law or NASDAQ rules.

The proposed amendment of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock must receive a favorable vote byof a majority of allthe outstanding shares of WSFSour common stock outstandingstock.  Abstentions and broker non-votes are treated as ofpresent for quorum purposes only and therefore have the March 5, 2009 record date.same effect as a vote against the proposal.

 

Will members of management and the Board of Directors be at the meeting?Annual Meeting?

Yes.  Our policypractice is that all members of the Board of Directors, director nominees and all senior management officers should attend the annual meeting,Annual Meeting and except for Mr. Reed, all current directors were present at last year’s annual meeting.  We expect that all directors will attend the Annual Meeting this year.

 

Can I ask questions at the meeting?

Can I ask questions at the Annual Meeting?

Yes.  We seeconsider the annual meeting asAnnual Meeting an opportunity for stockholders to have access to the Board of Directors and senior management in a public forum, and we invite stockholders to submit questions or comments in advance of the meeting.Annual Meeting.  This is an important part of the process, and we have established a procedure for stockholders to send communications to the Board of Directors as well as to management.

 

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While legal considerations and timing issues may prevent us from answering all questions or addressing all comments, we believe this dialogue is helpful in increasing communication with our stockholders.

 

Please send questions to:

WSFS Financial Corporation

Investor Relations

WSFS Bank Center

500 Delaware Avenue

Wilmington, Delaware 19801

Investor Relations

WSFS Bank Center

500 Delaware Avenue

Wilmington, Delaware 19801

 

or:

stockholderrelations@wsfsbank.com

 

WeAt the Annual Meeting, we will attempt to respond to as many of the questions and comments we receive as possible.  TheAny questions, comments, and responses deemed relevant to the larger stockholder base will be posted on our website at www.wsfsbank.com.

 

The Board of Directors strongly encourages communications from stockholders.  Stockholders who wish to send communications to the Board of Directors during the year may do so by writing to the attention of Charles G. Cheleden, Vice Chairman and Lead Director, WSFS Bank Center, 500 Delaware Avenue, Wilmington, Delaware 19801.  In addition, all written communications from stockholders received by management are shared with the Board no later than the next regularly scheduled Board meeting.of Directors.

 

If I have a proposal that I want the stockholders to vote on, how do I get it on the agenda for the meeting?Annual Meeting?

The deadline has passed for this year’s annual meeting – it is too lateyou to give us notice of a proposal that you would like to be brought before the stockholders for a vote at the 20092015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.  We expect to hold the 20102016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in April 20102016 and to mail our proxy statement during March 2010.2016.  To get your proposal on the agenda for the 20102016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, you must give us notice no earlier than November 26, 2009___________, 2015 and no later than December 26, 2009. If you want your proposal to be included in our proxy statement and on our proxy card for the 2010 Annual Meeting, we must receive your proposal by November 23, 2009.________, 2015.  All notices and proposals should be addressed to the attention of the Corporate Secretary, WSFS Financial Corporation, WSFS Bank Center, 500 Delaware Avenue, Wilmington, Delaware 19801.  Any such notice must set forth, as to each matter you propose to bring before the meeting: (1) a brief description of the business desired to be brought

 

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before the meeting and the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting, (2) your name and address and the name and address of the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made, (3) the class and number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by you and by the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made, and (4) any material interest you or such beneficial owner has in the proposal.

Can I obtaincopies of the proxy statement and relatedmaterials over the Internet?

Copies of this proxy statement and the Annual Report on Form 10-K (without exhibits) are available on the internetInternet at www.wsfsbank.com.  Stockholders can elect to receive future proxy statements and annual reports over the Internet rather than in printed form.  Stockholders of record can make this election either by calling toll-free to 1 (800) ___-____,(888) WSFSBANK (or (888) 973-7226), by sending an email to _____@__________________.com,stockholderrelations@wsfsbank.com, or by following the instructions at www.__________________.com.at: investors.wsfsbank.com.  Stockholders may request copies of any exhibits to the Annual Report on Form 10-K through our telephone number and email address as well.   If you hold your shares in street name, please refer to the information provided by your broker, bank or other nominee for instructions on how to elect to access future proxy materials over the internet.

4Internet.

 

Who is Soliciting Proxies?

Some of WSFS’ directors and officers, who will receive no additional compensation, may solicit proxies in person, and by telephone, telegraph, telecopy, facsimile, or mail, from brokerage houses and other institutions, nominees, fiduciaries, and custodians, who will be required to forward the proxy materials to beneficial owners of WSFS common stock.  WSFS will, upon request, reimburse such intermediaries for their reasonable expenses in forwarding proxy materials but will not pay fees, commissions, or other compensation.

 

To assist the Board of Directors, WSFS has retained Alliance Advisors, LLC to provide proxy solicitation services for a fee of $16,500 plus customary expenses. Alliance Advisors, LLC is expected to communicate in person, or by telephone, telegraph, telecopy, facsimile, or mail with those stockholders who have not responded within a reasonable time to urge them to return their proxies. The cost of solicitation of proxies will be borne by WSFS.

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2. Matters to be Voted on at the MeetingTable of Contents

 

Proposal NumberPROPOSAL NUMBER 1:  Election of Directors

The Board of Directors is divided into three classes and each class serves for a term of three years.  This year there are six directorships to be filledThree directors have terms of office that expire at the meeting. We have nominated the following six persons for election:

Linda C. Drake, for a one-year term

David E. Hollowell, for a one-year term

Jennifer W. Davis, for a three-year term

Donald W. Delson, for a three-year term

Scott E. Reed, for a three-year term

Claibourne D. Smith, for a three-year term

The Board of Directors recommends a vote in favor of these nominees.

Proposal Number 2: Ratification of the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

KPMG LLP has served as our independent registered public accounting firm since 1994.2015 Annual Meeting.  The Board of Directors has appointed KPMG LLPnominated each of these three directors for election to continuethree-year terms expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders to be our independent registered public accounting firmheld in 2018:

·Ms. Anat Bird

·Ms. Jennifer W. Davis

·Mr. Donald W. Delson

The election of each nominee requires the affirmative vote of a plurality of the votes cast, meaning that the nominees who receive the greatest number of votes are elected.  Executed proxies received from holders of WSFS common stock will be voted for the current fiscal year ending December 31, 2009. The Audit Committee evaluated the selectionelection of KPMG LLP and gave a recommendationsuch nominees unless marked to the Board in favorcontrary.  All of KPMG LLP. We are asking the stockholders to ratify the Board’s decision to appoint KPMG LLP for the 2009 fiscal year.

Representatives of KPMG LLP are expectednominees have consented to be present atnamed and have indicated their intent to serve if elected.  If any nominee becomes unable to serve, which is not anticipated, the Annual Meetingproxy will be voted for a substitute nominee to respond to appropriate questions and will havebe designated by the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so.

The Board of Directors recommendsor the number of directors will be reduced.  Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as either an affirmative vote or a negative vote in favorregarding the election of the ratification of KPMG LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm.

Proposal Number 3:Advisory (non-binding) Vote on Executive Compensation

The American Recoverydirectors, and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law on February 17, 2009, includes a provision requiring Capital Purchase Program (“CPP”) participants, during the period in which any obligation arising from assistance provided under the CPP remains outstanding, to permit a separate shareholder vote to approve the compensation of executives as disclosed pursuant to the compensation rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. This requirement applies to any proxy, consent, or authorization


for an annual or other meeting of the participant’s stockholders. Under this law, the stockholder vote is not bindingtherefore, will have no effect on the board of directors of the CPP participant, and may not be construed as overruling any decision by the participant’s boardelection of directors.

 

Therefore, stockholders are being given the opportunity to vote on an advisory (non-binding) resolution at the Annual Meeting to approve the compensation of our executives as described under “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” and tabular disclosure of Named Executive Officer compensation in our 2009 proxy statement and related material. This proposal, commonly known as a “say-on-pay” proposal, gives stockholders the opportunity to endorse or not endorse our executive compensation.

The purpose of our compensation policies and procedures is to attract, motivate and retain experienced, highly-qualified executives critical to our long-term success and enhancement of stockholder value. The Board of Directors believes our compensation policies and procedures achieve this objective, and therefore recommend stockholders vote “For” the proposal.

Stockholders are being asked to approve the following resolution:

“Resolved, that the stockholders approve the compensation of the Company’s executives as disclosed pursuant to the compensation disclosure rulesof the Securities and Exchange Commission.”

This is an advisory vote only. Neither we, nor the Board of Directors, will be bound to take action based upon the outcome. The Compensation Committee will consider the vote of the stockholders when considering future executive compensation arrangements.

The Board of Directors recommends a vote in favor of the resolution approving executive compensation.

Proposal Number 4: Approval of Amendment to Article Fourth, Paragraph A of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation

We are asking stockholders to approve the deletion of a portion of Article Fourth, Paragraph A of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation. It is not required by Delaware General Corporation Law and is applicable only to federal savings banks, not to Delaware Business Corporations like ours.

A more detailed discussion of this amendment can be found beginning on page 14.

The Board of Directors recommends a vote in favor of the amendment to Article Fourth, Paragraph A of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation.

Proposal Number 5: Approval of Amendment to Delete Article Fourth, Paragraph C of our Restated Corporation Certificate of Incorporation


We are asking stockholders to approve the deletion of Article Fourth, Paragraph C of the our Restated Certificate of Incorporation. This paragraph has, by its terms, expired and is no longer applicable.

A more detailed discussion of this amendment can be found on page 15.

The Board of Directors recommends a vote in favor of the amendment to delete Article Fourth, Paragraph C of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation in its entirety.

Proposal Number 6: Approval of Amendment to Delete Article Fifth of our Restated Corporation Certificate of Incorporation

We are asking stockholders to approve the deletion of Article Fifth of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation. This article has, by its terms, expired and is no longer applicable.

A more detailed discussion of this amendment can be found on page 15.

The Board of Directors recommends a vote in favor of the amendment to delete Article Fifth of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation in its entirety.


3. Directors and Officers of WSFS Financial Corporation and Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB

Listed below isBiographical information about our directors, director nominees and executive management officers.officers is provided below.  Currently, all directors of WSFS Financial Corporation also serve as directors for itsof our subsidiary, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB (which we generally refer to as WSFS Bank).

Current  Each director was selected to be a member of the Board of Directors:Marvin N. Schoenhals, Charles G. Cheleden, Jennifer W. Davis, Donald W. Delson, John F. Downey, Linda C. Drake, David E. Hollowell, Joseph R. Julian, Dennis E. Klima, Calvert A. Morgan, Jr., Thomas P. Preston, Scott E. Reed, Claibourne D. Smith based on his or her particular background and Mark A. Turner.expertise.  Immediately following the description of the background of each person is a description of the particular experience, skills and qualifications that were instrumental in the determination by the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee that he or she should serve as our director.   For additional information, see “Our Director Nomination and Selection Process” and “Diversity” beginning on page eleven.

 

Marvin N. SchoenhalsDirector Nominees

Chairman

Anat Bird, 63, became a director of WSFS Financial Corporation and WSFS Bank since 1992

Age 61

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 1990;in 2010. Her current term expires at the 20102015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Mr. SchoenhalsStockholders.  Ms. Bird is President and Chief Executive Officer of SCB Forums, LTD which she founded in 1994.  Her banking background includes being President and CEO of California Community Bancshares; Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank; Group Head and Executive Vice President of Norwest Bank; Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Board Member of Roosevelt Financial Group; and Managing Director in charge of Strategic Planning, Product Development and Management, the Balance Sheet Advisory Group of Marine Midland Bank.  She also servesfounded the Financial Institutions Consulting Group at BDO Seidman.  Ms. Bird has taught Financial Markets and Institutions at the University of California at Davis and MBA courses at Temple University.  She has spoken at over 400 national and regional forums in banking and other industries.  In addition to her contribution as a directorcolumnist for the American Banker, she contributes articles to other leading industry publications.  She serves on the board of Delaware State Chamberdirectors for MidFirst Bank in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She also has served on the Boards of Commerce

Charles G. Cheleden

Attorney

Age 65

Vice ChairmanSterling Bank (2002-2011), Sun Bancorp, Inc. (2008-2009), First Indiana Bank (2002-2007) and AmTrust Bank (2008-2009).  Ms. Bird received a BA in International Relations and an MA in International Relations and Psychology from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  She also received an MBA in Finance from American University and a Diploma in Corporate Strategic Planning from the University of WSFS Financial Corporation since 1992

Lead DirectorPennsylvania’s Wharton School of WSFS Financial Corporation since 2004

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 1990; current term expires atBusiness.  Ms. Bird brings a broad range of banking experience as well as strategic planning, financial and executive management experience to the 2011 Annual MeetingBoard of StockholdersDirectors.

 

Jennifer W. Davis

Vice President, 44, has been a director of Administration – University of Delaware

Age 38

WSFS Financial Corporation director since February 2009;2009. Her current term expires at the 20092015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

From 2002 to 2008,Stockholders.  Ms. Davis is Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance for George Mason University. Her portfolio includes the areas of finance, human resources, accounting, treasury, facilities, public safety and auxiliary services.  From 2008 to 2013, she was Budget Director thenemployed by the University of Delaware as Vice President for Finance and Administration.  Previously, Ms. Davis served as Cabinet Secretary forSecretary-Director of the Office of Management and Budget for the State of Delaware.  She also served the State of Delaware as Budget Director, Deputy Secretary of Education and Associate Secretary of Education for policy and administrative services.    Ms. Davis earned her undergraduate degree in political science and her Master’s degree in policy analysis

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from Pennsylvania State University.  Ms. Davis is also Presidentbrings knowledge of “For Grace’s World,” a non-profit organization.human resource issues, as well as finance, risk management and executive leadership expertise to the Board of Directors.

 

Donald W. Delson

, 63, has been a director of WSFS Financial Corporation since 2009. His current term expires at the 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.  He was a Senior Advisor for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. since, a New York investment banking firm, from February 2009

to September 2011, when he retired.  From 1997 to 2009, he was a Managing Director of the Investment Banking Division, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. responsible for mergers and acquisitions and raising capital for banks and thrifts.  His past employment also includes being a Managing Director, Investment Banking Division, for Alex. Brown & Sons, Inc.  Prior to that, he was an attorney with Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia, PA.  He is President of the Board of Trustees for the Chester Charter School for the Arts, an ex officio director for The Chester Fund for Education and the Arts, co-publisher of the Swarthmorean, Inc. (a weekly newspaper) and member of the Finance Committee for Crozer Keystone Health System.  In addition, he is a director of the Swarthmore Co-op (a food market) and serves as a director of Resource America, Inc.  Mr. Delson received his A.B. from 1997Brown University, his Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia.  Mr. Delson brings legal, financial, and executive leadership expertise to 2009.the Board of Directors.

Age 57

The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR each of these nominees.

Current Directors and Executive Management

Current Directors:

Charles G. Cheleden, 71, has been a director of WSFS Financial Corporation director since February 2009;1990, serving as Vice Chairman since 1992 and Lead Director since 2004. His current term expires at the 20092017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Stockholders.  He is an Attorney at Law with emphasis on estate planning, trusts, estate settlement and elder law.  Mr. Delson also serves as a directorCheleden is the former Chairman and President of Atlas America,Liberty Financial Group, Inc. (an ASE Co.) and Liberty Savings Bank, Philadelphia, PA, which were acquired, and former Chairman of Manor College, Jenkintown, PA and Nazareth Hospital, Philadelphia, PA.  Mr. Cheleden earned his undergraduate degree from Villanova University and his Juris Doctor from Temple University Law School.  Mr. Cheleden brings legal, risk management, financial and executive management expertise to the Board of Directors.


 

John F. DowneyFrancis B. Brake, Jr.

Executive Director, 51, joined the WSFS Board of the Office of Thrift Supervision from 1989 to 1998

Age 71

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 1998;Directors in 2014.  His current term expires at the 20102017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders       Stockholders.  Since 2007 he has been President, Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder of Epic Research, LLC, a privately-held marketing services firm with principal interests in multiple consumer-facing industries, driving marketing and product innovation in areas such as: travel loyalty, consumer electronics, student lending and small business marketing.  From 2000 to 2007 he served as Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer for Juniper Bank/Barclaycard US.  Prior to that, he held various positions at First USA Bank from 1994 to 2000 including Executive Vice President, Marketing.  Mr. Brake serves on the Board of Directors of Smarter Agent, LLC, a privately-held technology firm, The Chester Fund for Education and the Arts and is a past director of Barclays Bank Delaware.  He received a Bachelor of Arts in Government from The College of William and Mary and a Master of Business Administration from The Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia.  Mr. Brake brings well-established expertise in marketing, entrepreneurship, innovation, product development, business partnerships and executive leadership to the Board of Directors.

 

Linda C. DrakeEleuthère I. du Pont

Founder and Chair, 48, has been a director of TCIM Services, Inc. (a business services and software technology provider)

Age 60

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 1999;2013.  His current term expires at the 20092016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

David E. Hollowell

Consultant

Executive Vice President and University TreasurerStockholders.  Since 2008, he has been president of the University of Delaware from 1988 to 2007

Age 61

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 1996; current term expires at the 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Joseph R. Julian

Chairman and CEO of JJID, Inc,The Longwood Foundation, a highway construction company

Age 71

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 1983; current term expires at the 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Mr. Julianprivate foundation principally supporting charitable organizations.  He has also serves asbeen a director of Maryland Materials,E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company since 2006 and at Burris Logistics since 2014. In 2007 and 2008, he served as Senior Vice President, Operations and Chief Financial Officer of drugstore.com.  Prior to that, Mr. du Pont served as President and Chief Financial Officer of Wawa, Inc. a chain of food markets in the mid-Atlantic region.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University.  Mr. du Pont brings significant expertise in corporate governance, accounting, finance, operations, retail, information technology and investment management to the Board of Directors.

 

Dennis E. Klima7



President, CEO and directorTable of Bayhealth, Inc.Contents

Chairman, CEO and director of Bayhealth Medical Center, Inc.

Age 64

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 2004; current term expires at the 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

 

Calvert A. Morgan, Jr.

Consultant

Former Chairman, President and CEO, 66, has been a director of PNC Bank, Delaware

Age 60

Vice Chairman WSFS Bank since 2006

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 2004;2004 and Vice Chairman of WSFS bank since 2006.  His current term expires at the 2010

2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Stockholders.  He is the retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of PNC Bank, Delaware.  Mr. Morgan joined the Bank of Delaware (predecessor of PNC Bank, Delaware) in 1970.  He advanced through various management positions and became President and Chief Operating Officer in 1987.  He was elected Chief Executive Officer in 1989 and Chairman in 1990.  Mr. Morgan also served as a member of the Management Committee of PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. for several years. He is a longtime member of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council, which provides budgetary advice to the Governor and General Assembly of the State of Delaware.  Mr. Morgan also served as Chairman of the Delaware Business Roundtable.  He is a former board member and past Chairman of the Delaware Bankers Association and served on the boards of the United Way of Delaware and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce.  He also serves as a director of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation

9Corporation.  Mr. Morgan received his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Delaware and is a graduate of the National Commercial Lending School at the University of Oklahoma.  Mr. Morgan brings over 40 years of banking experience, trust, finance, risk management, lending and executive leadership expertise to the Board of Directors.

 


Thomas P. PrestonMarvin N. Schoenhals

Attorney, partner with the law firm, 67, has been Chairman of Blank Rome, LLP

Age 62

WSFS Financial Corporation and WSFS Bank since 1992 and a director since 1990;1990.  His current term expires at the 20102016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Stockholders.  From 1990 to 2007 he also served as President and Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Preston isSchoenhals was a director of the ChairFederal Home Loan Bank of St. Francis Hospital andPittsburgh from 1997 to 2007, serving as their Chairman from 2005 to 2007.  He was a member of the Brandywine Mutual Fund’s Board of Directors from 1995 to 2006.  He currently serves as Chairman of the TatnallBoard of Burris Logistics, a privately-owned distributer of frozen and dry foods.  Mr. Schoenhals is a former trustee and former Chairman of the Delaware Public Policy Institute.  He is a former Chairman of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and is Chairman of the Sunday Breakfast Mission.  Until 2014, Mr. Schoenhals was Chairman of Vision 2015, a Delaware coalition that created and is implementing a plan to improve Delaware public education.  Mr. Schoenhals received the Josiah Marvel Cup Award from the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, presented annually to honor a Delawarean who has made an outstanding contribution to the state, community and society.  In 2004, he was inducted into the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame.  Mr. Schoenhals received his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Finance and Commerce.  Mr. Schoenhals brings almost 40 years of banking experience, finance, risk management, lending and executive management expertise to the Board of Directors.

 

Scott E. ReedDavid G. Turner

, 50, has been a director of WSFS Financial Corporation since 2013.  His current term expires at the 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Currently David is a Banking Executive, in the IBM Global Business Services Strategy and Analytics Practice, and from 2010 through 2013 Mr. Turner was the Vice President, Partner, Global BAO Leader in the Banking and Financial Markets Division of Global Business Services of IBM.  After retiring from Bank of America, in 2009, Mr. Turner founded Sovereign Partners Consulting, LLC working with key major banking clients world-wide focusing on strategy and IT consulting.  Mr. Turner joined MBNA in 2003 as Senior Executive Vice President and, Chief Financial Officerin the following year, was promoted to Group Executive to create their Research and Development Department.  He served in various capacities with MBNA and its successor, Bank of BB&T Corporation from 1981America through 2009 including his role as the Information Management Transformation Executive.  Prior to 2005.that, Mr. Reed began his career with BB&T in 1972.

Age 60

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 2005; current term expires at the 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Claibourne D. Smith

Turner was Executive Vice President - Technology and Professional Development for E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, IncorporatedPresident of the Gateway Companies, San Diego, California.  Mr. Turner is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Delaware State University, former director of the US Chamber of Commerce and an adjunct professor at several universities.  He earned his B.S in Computer Science/Mathematics from 1964 to 1998

Age 70

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 1994; current term expires atDelaware State University, a Master of Sciences in MIS from Fairleigh Dickenson University and is an alumnus of the 2009 Annual MeetingDartmouth-Amos Tuck Executive MBA Education Program.  Mr. Turner brings significant expertise in banking and financial markets with experience in the areas of Stockholdersproduct development, marketing, sales, analytics, technology, channels and customer experience.

 

Mark A. Turner

, 51, has been a director of WSFS Financial Corporation since 2007.  His current term expires at the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.  He has been President and Chief Executive Officer, WSFS Financial Corporation and WSFS Bank since 2007

2007.  Mr. Turner was previously both the Chief Operating Officer/Secretary of WSFS Financial CorporationOfficer and WSFS Bank, 2001 to 2007

the Chief Financial Officer offor WSFS.  Prior to joining WSFS, Financial Corporationhis experience included working at CoreStates Bank and WSFS Bank, 1998 to 2004

Age 45

WSFS Financial Corporation director since 2007; current term expiresMeridian Bancorp.  Mr. Turner started his career at the 2011 Annual Meetinginternational professional services firm of StockholdersKPMG, LLP where he earned his CPA.  He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Management from LaSalle University, his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his Master’s Degree in

 

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Executive Leadership from the University of Nebraska.  Mr. Turner has also participated in other meaningful executive development programs, including at the National Training Labs; The Soderquist Ethical Leadership program; Gallup University, including sessions at Toyota University; The Aspen Institute; the Buckley School for public speaking; the Authentic Leadership Institute; and Academy Leadership. He has also studied foreign business practices in Argentina and China.  As a local business person, Mr. Turner believes being active in business, civic and community activities is integral to our goals, his growth and his performance.  Among others, he currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Delaware State University, is Chairman of the Board of the Delaware Business Roundtable, on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Delaware Alliance for Non-Profit Advancement (DANA), Teach For America (TFA) Delaware and First State Innovation (FSI), and a Trustee for Christiana Care Health System.  He also serves on the Community Depository Institution Advisory Counsel for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.  He previously served as Chairman of the Board of the Delaware Bankers Association and March of Dimes, Delaware.  Mr. Turner brings many years of banking, finance, accounting, auditing, risk management, strategy, administrative leadership and executive leadership expertise to the Board of Directors.

Executive Management:

For information regarding Mark A. Turner, see page eight.

Peggy H. Eddens, Barbara J. Fischer, Stephen A. Fowle, Richard Immesberger, Rodger Levenson and Richard M. Wright

 

Peggy H. Eddens

, 59, has been Executive Vice President, Chief Human Capital Management Department,Officer for WSFS Bank since 2007

Age 53

2007.  From 2003 to 2007 Mrs. Eddensshe was Senior Vice President for Human Resources and Development for NexTier Bank, Butler, PA.

Barbara J. Fischer


Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, WSFS Bank;  Prior to that, she held several positions with Mellon Bank and Citizens Bank.  Mrs. Fischer has been an executive with WSFS since 2001Eddens received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Robert Morris University and a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from LaRoche College.

Age 51

 

Stephen A. Fowle

, 49, has been Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of WSFS Financial Corporation and WSFS Bank since 2005

Age 43

2005.  He also serves as the Corporate Secretary.  On February 19, 2015 the Company announced that Mr. Fowle will resign as CFO following the quarter ended March 31, 2015.  From 2000 to 2004 Mr. Fowlehe was Chief Financial Officer at Third Federal Savings and Loan Association of Cleveland, MHC, Cleveland, Ohio.MHC.  From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Fowle was Vice President of Corporate Finance at Robert W. Baird & Co,Co., Incorporated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,WI, a regional investment banking firm.  Mr. Fowle received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Stanford University and a Masters of Management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

 

Richard ImmesbergerPaul D. Geraghty, Sr.

, 61 has been Executive Vice President and Chief Wealth Management,Officer of WSFS Financial Corporation and WSFS Bank since 2008

Age 43

From 20032011.  Prior to 2008that, Mr. ImmesbergerGeraghty was President and CEO of Harleysville National Corporation from 2007 to 2010 and Executive Vice President of National City Corporation in Cleveland from 2004 to 2007.  Mr. Geraghty received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Villanova University.

Thomas Kearney, 67 has been Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer since 2012.  Mr. Kearney is responsible for all risk oversight functions for WSFS Financial Corporation.  Mr. Kearney joined the Company in 1998 and previously served as Senior Vice President Private Client Advisor forand Corporate Auditor.  Mr. Kearney received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Finance and Accounting) from Drexel University.  He holds the professional designations of Certified Bank of AmericaAuditor (CBA) and Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA).

 

Rodger Levenson

, 53 has been Executive Vice President/Director ofPresident and Chief Commercial Banking Officer for WSFS Bank since 2006

Age 47

2006.  From 2003 to 2006 Mr. Levenson was Senior Vice President and Manager at Citizens Bank and from 1986 to 2003 he held a number of positions at Wachovia Bank.Wells Fargo (and predecessor organizations). Mr. Levenson received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Temple University and a Masters in Business Administration from Drexel University.

S. James Mazarakis, 57, has been Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for WSFS Bank since 2010.  From January 2009 to February 2010 Mr. Mazarakis was a principal in Techvizion, a consulting firm specializing in technology strategies.  From that role, he served as our interim Chief Technology Officer from May 2009 to February 2010.  From 2005 to 2008, he was Chief Information Officer for T. Rowe Price Associates and from 2002 to 2005 he was Business Information Officer — Shared Services for Capital One Financial Corporation.

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Mr. Mazarakis received a Bachelor of Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Science in Management of Technology from Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

 

Richard M. Wright

, 62, has been Executive Vice President/Director ofPresident and Chief Retail Banking and MarketingOfficer for WSFS Bank since 2006

Age 56

2006.  From 2003 to 2006 Mr. Wright was Executive Vice President, Retail Banking and Marketing for DNB First in Downingtown, PA.  Mr. Wright received a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Economics from California State University, Fullerton and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

This year, for the third year in a row, our Chairman of the Board Marvin N. (Skip) Schoenhals and Vice Chairman and Lead Director Charles G. Cheleden addressed stockholders through their letter “A View from the Boardroom” included in our annual report and available on our website www.wsfsbank.com (select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Download Library” on the right side of our web page, then click on “2014 Annual Report”).  This letter provides additional insight on corporate governance and key philosophies that guide the Board of Directors’ oversight of the Company.

Director Independence

Consistent with Nasdaq director independence listing standards, our Board of Directors carefully evaluates any circumstances, transactions or relationships that we believe could have an impact on whether or not the members of our Board of Directors are independent of us and our subsidiaries, including WSFS Bank, and are able to conduct their duties and responsibilities as directors without any personal interests that would interfere or conflict with those duties and responsibilities.

Other than Mr. Schoenhals and Mr. Turner, all of our current directors are independent.  Mr. Schoenhals is not an independent director because he was one of our executives until November 2009 and was compensated as a consultant until November 2011.  More information about the compensation of Mr. Schoenhals can be found on page 47.  Mr. Turner is not an independent director because he is one of our executives.

Board of Directors Leadership Structure

The leadership of our Board of Directors is comprised of: (i) our Chairman, (ii) our Vice Chairman and Lead Director and (iii) our President and Chief Executive Officer.  We believe this leadership structure is appropriate for us because it ensures independent oversight that draws upon significant experience and institutional knowledge regarding our business, while ensuring the board makes informed decisions on operational matters.

Marvin N. Schoenhals has been our Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1992. He continues in this role because of his substantial institutional knowledge, leadership qualities, business acumen and standing in the community. Until his retirement in 2009, Mr. Schoenhals was also an executive and full-time Associate (the term we use for our employees).

The responsibilities of the Chairman include:

·Chairing meetings of the Board of Directors;

·Recommending committee memberships;

·Assessing effectiveness of Board committees;

·Participating as a member of the Executive Committee and official or non-voting member (as rules dictate) of selected other Board committees;

·Developing new business;

·Community Relations/representation; and

·Providing advice and counsel to the CEO and executive management.

Charles G. Cheleden has been our Vice Chairman since 1992 and our Lead Director since 2004.  He has been designated by our Board of Directors to lead the Board of Directors in fulfilling its duties effectively, efficiently and independent of management.

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The responsibilities of the Lead Director include:

·Providing input to the CEO and Chair on preparation of agendas for Board of Directors and committee meetings;

·Ensuring independent directors have adequate opportunity to meet to discuss issues without management present and provide feedback to management;

·Chairing Board of Directors meetings when the Chairman is not in attendance;

·Exercising authority to call meetings of the independent directors; and

·Being available, as requested, for consultation and communication with major stockholders.

Our Chairman and Lead Director are jointly responsible for certain important Board functions as follows:

·Ensuring the Board of Directors works as a cohesive team;

·Ensuring the Board of Directors has adequate resources, especially by way of full, timely and relevant information to support its decision-making;

·Ensuring a process is in place to monitor legislation and best practices which relate to the responsibilities of the Board of Directors;

·Ensuring that new members of the Board of Directors receive adequate orientation about their roles and responsibilities, our organization, business and industry;

·Meeting with members of the Board of Directors to determine their continued commitment to the Board and interest in continuing to serve on the Board;

·Ensuring members of the Board of Directors receive continuing education both from within our organization and from outside sources;

·Encouraging the Board of Directors to refer new business opportunities to the Bank;

·Helping to resolve conflicts;

·Reviewing Board minutes for accuracy;

·Conducting or overseeing Board self-evaluations;

·Regularly assessing the effectiveness of the Board and its committees;

·Ensuring delegated committee functions are carried out and reported to the Board, e.g. CEO performance assessment, CEO and Board succession planning and strategic planning;

·Ensuring some rotation on Board committee assignments, especially Chairs; and

·Ensuring that appropriate committee members have input to the proxy statement relating to their committees.

Mark A. Turner has been our President and Chief Executive Officer since 2007.

The responsibilities of the President and CEO include:

·Having general power over the strategic planning, management and oversight of the administration and operation of the Company’s business, and general supervisory power and authority over its policies and affairs;

·Ensuring all orders and resolutions of the Board of Directors and any committee are carried into effect;

·With the Chairman and Lead Director, helping to set Board of Directors agendas and providing input for committee meeting agendas.

Executive Sessions

Our independent directors meet regularly in executive session.  At each meeting of the Board of Directors and its committees in 2014, directors had the opportunity to meet without management present.  Typically, the Lead Director (or if absent, another independent director) presides over executive sessions.  At least twice each year, these executive sessions include only independent directors.

Our Director Nomination and Selection Process

We believe it is important to have a strong, independent Board of Directors that is accountable to our stockholders.  The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee has the responsibility for identifying qualified individuals as candidates for membership on the Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors believes directors should be knowledgeable about the business activities and market areas in which we and our subsidiaries engage.  A candidate’s breadth of knowledge and experience should also enable that person to make a meaningful contribution to the governance of a complex, multi-billion dollar financial institution.

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The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee solicits recommendations from our officers and directors, as well as considers and evaluates any candidates recommended by our stockholders.  There is no difference in the manner in which the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee evaluates persons recommended by officers or directors from those recommended by stockholders.  Typically, it has not been our practice to pay fees to any third party to identify potential nominees; however, we do utilize a consultant to assist with evaluating, interviewing and performing reference checks on potential nominees to the Board of Directors.  Our consultant, Kaplan & Associates, Inc., receives compensation in the range of $5,000-$30,000 for this service depending on the parameters of the research and the number of nominees to be included.  In addition, each year the Board of Directors conducts a robust self-evaluation process to help identify individual and group performance and needs.

In the second half of the last decade we undertook a thoughtful, generational change in the executive leadership of the Bank.  At about the same time, the Board of Directors began a similar process of addressing the changing needs and advancing experience of the Board of Directors with the desire to establish a Board of Directors for the future.

After a thorough review of the correlation between the size of a board of directors and its effectiveness, the Board of Directors concluded that smaller boards (while still of ample size and diversity) are generally more effective.  The Board of Directors also concluded that a smaller Board fits with one of our key strategic advantages, namely, faster, and more entrepreneurial decision-making.  Finally, a smaller Board of Directors also sets the organizational tone for a lower internal cost structure in an industry that is currently challenged by slow revenue growth and significant pricing competition.

Since 2011, when the Board of Directors began its “board renewal”,  we have decreased the overall size of the Board of Directors from 15 to ten, while three individuals, with an average age of 49, have joined the Board of Directors

It is the intention of the Board of Directors to continue this succession planning process so that we build full and diverse expertise and talents on the Board of Directors for the continued success of WSFS.  We believe that one of the most important responsibilities of a well-functioning board of directors is to ensure that it actively plans for and accomplishes its own succession.

Diversity

The Board of Directors takes a broad and thoughtful view of diversity.  It believes its membership should reflect not only a diversity of gender and ethnicity, but also be inclusive of other factors such as age, religion, national origin, a broad range of experience, knowledge and judgment in a variety of business and professional sectors.  The Board of Directors desires that its membership also be geographically appropriate and diverse.  Potential directors, therefore, may enhance the statewide and regional representation of the Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors also believes that it should have a membership with a cross-section of thinking that is aligned with the needs of our customers and community (which includes potential future customers), as well as future opportunities.  Our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee implements this philosophy as part of its nomination process and assesses its implementation during both the nomination process and as part of the Committee’s self-assessment process.

Board Principles and Guidelines

In addition to directives laid out through the various committee charters, the Board of Directors has adopted a set of principles and guidelines which guide the actions and direction of the Board of Directors.  A full copy of the Board Principles and Guidelines are available on the Company’s website www.wsfsbank.com (select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Corporate Governance”).

The WSFS Board is committed to being a high performance board and to providing oversight and accountability for management.  The Board recognizes it must exercise its fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of WSFS and all of its stockholders while also recognizing its responsibilities to the Company’s regulators.

Periodically, the Board of Directors conducts a self-evaluation to assess the performance of the Board of Directors, evaluating the members of the Board of Directors collectively and the quality of individuals’ contributions.  In most years, this is a self-directed process; however, in 2015 the Board engaged a third-party to enhance the process by providing an outside perspective on the performance of the Board of Directors.

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The Board is responsible for working with management to establish the strategic priorities of the company.  Within the current strategic priorities the board must establish the appropriate “tone at the top” regarding the company’s core principles:

·              Operating with the highest ethical values;

·              Focusing on performance over the long term;

·              Maintaining a culture that encourages actively engaged Associates;

·              The truth of the brand, “We Stand For Service;”

·              And earning the right to remain independent.

Stockholder Nominations and Stockholder Proposals

To be considered in the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee’s selection of Board of Director nominees for 2016, recommendations or other proposals requested by stockholders must be received by us in writing no earlier than _________, 2015 and no later than _________, 2015.  Our Bylaws set forth the requirements for such submissions.  Our Amended and Restated By-Laws of WSFS Financial Corporation were published in a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 21, 2014.

Stock Ownership and Retention Guidelines

Our By-Laws require each of our directors to be a stockholder and own a minimum amount of our common stock as determined from time to time in a guideline approved by the Board of Directors.  This guideline is designed to encourage our directors to increase and maintain their equity stake in us, and thereby to more closely link their interests with those of our other stockholders.

The Board of Directors has established a guideline that each director own 4,000 shares of vested common stock.  Members of the Board of Directors have until the later of June 2015, or five years after assuming his or her position, to accumulate the minimum ownership amount.  In addition, the Board of Directors established a guideline for executive management such that the CEO should own 35,000 shares of vested common stock and all Executive Vice Presidents own 10,000 shares of vested common stock, each to be accumulated within five years of assuming his or her position.

Succession Planning

The Personnel and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors (the “Personnel and Compensation Committee” or the “Committee”), as well as the entire Board of Directors annually reviews, evaluates and provides governance comments and advice for our Executive Management (including CEO) talent and leadership development and succession planning program.

Attendance at Board of Director and Committee Meetings, Annual Meeting

During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Board of Directors held six meetings.  None of the directors attended less than 75% of the total of: (a) meetings of the Board of Directors and (b) meetings of the committees on which they served during the year.  All directors are required to attend the Annual Meeting except for absences due to causes beyond their reasonable control.  All directors were present at last year’s annual meeting.

 

Transactions with Our Insiders

In the ordinary course of its business, as a bank, WSFS Bank makes loans to our directors, officers and Associates.  These loans are subject to limitations and restrictions under federal banking laws and regulations and are made on substantially the same terms, including interest rate and collateral, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactionsloans with other persons.persons not related to WSFS Bank.  These loans do not involve more than the normal risk of collectibilitycollectability or present other unfavorable features to WSFS Bank.

 

We carefully evaluateBoard of Directors Role in Risk Oversight

The Board of Directors is responsible for the oversight of the management of our risk exposures to help ensure that the company is operating within the Board approved risk appetites. The Board of Directors is actively involved in the Strategic Planning process and oversight of our Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) function. Comprehensive discussions regarding our appetite for risk and our risk exposures are held with the Board of Directors and Executive

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Management.  As a result of this involvement, the Board of Directors has concluded that the risk implicit in our strategic plan is appropriate and that expected risks are commensurate with the expected rewards.  The Board of Directors oversees and reviews management’s implementation of systems to manage these risks.  The risk management system is designed to inform the Board of Directors of material risks and create an appropriate enterprise-wide culture of risk awareness.

The ERM function was created to assist management by establishing a unified and strategic approach to identifying current and future risks.  ERM helps monitor, measure, manage and report these risks while continually evaluating our risk/reward dynamic.  The ERM activities include:

·Conduct an Enterprise Risk Assessment Summary (RAS) in accordance with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s RAS matrix and industry best practices;

·Establish Board-approved risk appetite statements and key risk indicators by major risk area;

·Monitor risk metrics and report to Executive Management and the Board of Directors three times per year;

·Update the RAS three times per year;

·Ensure that stress testing and contingency planning on critical business risks are performed;

·Key involvement with significant new products, services or activities, as well as conduct resolution and “lessons learned” on major risk events, as needed; and

·Continual learning on emerging risks and risk management best practices.

Each committee of the Board of Directors has a role in risk oversight as described in greater detail below in the description of each committee’s role and responsibilities.

The Audit Committee is responsible for, among other things, the following:

·Review, with management, the quarterly and annual financial statements including major issues regarding accounting and auditing principles and practices;

·Review analyses prepared by management and the independent auditor of significant financial reporting issues and judgments made in connection with the preparation of our financial statements;

·Periodically review, with management, our major financial risk exposures and the steps management has taken to monitor and control such exposures;

·Monitor the independence of the public accounting firm;

·Ensure committee members have unrestricted access to the independent accountants (without management present) to review and discuss financial or other matters;

·Review and approve the audit plan of the independent accountants and our internal audit department;

·Evaluate the effectiveness of both the internal and external audit effort through regular meetings with each respective group;

·Determine that no management restrictions are being placed upon either the internal or external auditors;

·Review the adequacy of internal controls and management’s handling of identified Sarbanes-Oxley material inadequacies and reportable conditions in the internal controls over financial reporting, and compliance with laws and regulations;

·Review reports issued by outside consultants regarding internal control;

·Review quarterly reports issued by our internal Loan Review Department including reports issued by outside consultants regarding quality control reviews of the internal Loan Review Department;

·Review periodic written reports regarding regulatory compliance and in-house counsel activities;

·Establish procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints regarding accounting, internal control or auditing matters, including procedures for the confidential, anonymous submission by Associates of concerns regarding questionable accounting, internal control or auditing matters;

·Ensure that members of the Committee have the expertise required by regulation;

·Ensure that the Committee has the authority to engage independent counsel and other advisors, as it determines necessary to carry out its duties;

·Review all regulatory reports, including examination reports and SEC comment letters and monitor management’s response; and

·Review and approve the Information Data Security Policy, annually.

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The Chair of the Audit Committee provides reports to the Board of Directors on these items, as needed.  In addition, senior managers from each of our risk areas provide reports, as needed, to the Board of Directors.  These areas include: Investments, Accounting, Auditing, Credit, Human Capital Management, Operations and Technology, Trust and Wealth Management and Retail Operations.

The Personnel and Compensation Committee oversees the executive compensation programs, and reviews and approves an annual report on executive compensation and Associate incentive compensation plans prepared by our risk officers.  The purpose of the review is to: (1) determine that senior executive officer compensation plans do not encourage those executive officers to take actions that pose an unnecessary and excessive risk that would threaten our value, and (2) determine that Associate incentive compensation plans do not unnecessarily expose us to risks or encourage the manipulation of reported earnings to enhance the compensation of Associates.  The Personnel and Compensation Committee is also responsible for overseeing management’s implementation of compensation programs that comply with applicable regulatory guidance and requirements.  During 2014, the Personnel and Compensation Committee reviewed these reports prepared by our risk officers and determined that our compensation plans and practices do not create risks that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on us.

Board of Directors Committees

There are six primary committees of the Board of Directors: the Executive Committee, the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, the Audit Committee, the Personnel and Compensation Committee, the Trust Committee and the Corporate Development Committee.

The following chart shows the current committee membership and the number of meetings each committee held in 2014.

Director

Executive

Committee

Corporate

Governance
and

Nominating
Committee

Audit
Committee

Personnel and
Compensation
Committee

Trust
Committee
(2)

Corporate
Development
Committee

Trust

Audit

Committee

Anat Bird

 

 

C

·

 

 

C

Francis “Ben” Brake (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles G. Cheleden

·

C

 

 

 

·

 

Jennifer W. Davis

 

·

·

C

 

 

·

Donald W. Delson

 

 

 

·

C

·

 

Eleuthère I. du Pont

·

·

 

 

 

·

 

Zissimos A. Frangopoulos

·

 

 

 

·

·

 

Calvert A. Morgan, Jr.

·

·

·

 

·

·

·

Marvin N. Schoenhals

·

 

 

 

 

·

 

David G. Turner

 

 

·

·

·

 

·

Mark A. Turner

C

 

 

 

·

C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of meetings in 2014

29

6

5

5

7

8

4

C= Chair

(1)Mr. Brake was a newly-elected director in 2014 and had not yet been appointed to committees.

(2)The Trust Committee is a committee of the Bank.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee meets as frequently as is necessary and exercises the powers of the Board of Directors between its meetings.  Its primary activities have been to review loan applications needing the approval of the Board of Directors, to review summary credit quality reports, and to review and approve for submission to the Board of Directors’ for its approval the majority of all policies.

Another important role of the Executive Committee is to review and approve transactions with insiders.  Under our written policy, the Executive Committee reviews and approves all insider loans or lending relationships.  Any loan

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granted to an insider in excess of $500,000 requires pre-approval by the Board of Directors, with the interested party (if a director) abstaining from participating directly or indirectly in the voting.  All loans granted to insiders, regardless of the amount, are reported to the Board of Directors.

Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee

Each member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee is “independent” as defined in the listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market.  A copy of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee Charter as well as our other corporate governance documents can be found on the investor relations page of our website www.wsfsbank.com (select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Corporate Governance”).

The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee’s role and responsibilities include the following:

·Periodically review and reassess the adequacy of corporate governance of the Company, review and consider “best governance practices,” to incorporate into its “Principles of Corporate Governance,” and recommend any circumstances,proposed changes to the Board;

·Seek, identify and interview individuals qualified to become board members for recommendation to the Board;

·Recommend competencies, skills and experiences desired for new directors and define the job description and expectations for directors, subject to Board approval;

·Authority to retain and terminate any search firm to be used to identify director candidates. The Committee also has authority to obtain advice and assistance from internal or external legal, accounting or other advisors;

·Oversee the proper training and orientation of new directors and continuing education of all directors, as appropriate;

·Recommend to the Board a slate of director nominees to be presented at the next annual meeting of stockholders;

·Recommend to the board, director nominees to fill vacancies on the Board;

·Oversee the election of committee chairs;

·In conjunction with committee chairs, recommend to the Board director assignments to Board committees;

·Review any proposed changes to Board-related compensation and, upon Committee approval, propose any potential changes to the Board of Directors for its review and approval;

·Annually review its own performance and annually propose a methodology for assessing the performance of other committees and the entire Board. Such assessments shall be discussed with the full Board annually.

·Make regular reports to the Board; and

·Review and reassess the adequacy of the Committee Charter and recommend any proposed changes to the Board for approval.

Audit Committee

Each member of the Audit Committee is “independent” as defined in the listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market and also meets the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Jennifer W. Davis meets the definition of financial expert for the Audit Committee.  For bank regulatory purposes, Anat Bird is also considered a banking and financial expert.  A copy of the Audit Committee Charter can be found on the investor relations page of our website www.wsfsbank.com (select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Corporate Governance”).

The Audit Committee does the following:

·Oversees the audit program and reviews our consolidated financial statements, including major issues regarding accounting and auditing principles and practices as well as the adequacy of internal controls that could significantly affect our financial statements;

·Reviews the examination reports from federal regulatory agencies as well as reports from the internal auditors and from the independent registered public accounting firm;

·Meets quarterly with the head of the Internal Loan Review Department to review assessments of loan risk ratings and credit administration, as well as the head of the Internal Audit Department and representatives of the

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independent registered public accounting firm, with and without representatives of management present, to review accounting and auditing matters, and to review financial statements prior to their public release;

·Provides oversight to our regulatory compliance activities and our compliance officer who reports directly to the Executive in charge of risk;

·Reviews reports of significant litigation matters;

·Reviews the annual risk assessment and other reports (such as Suspicious Activity Reports, Associate Hotline Reports) issued regarding our risk management activities;

·Meets annually to review our internal control risk analysis and associated internal audit plan; and

·Approves the selection of the independent registered public accounting firm and recommends their appointment to the full Board of Directors.

The members of our Audit Committee also serve as members of the Trust Audit Committee which provides oversight of the financial accounting and internal control aspects of our Trust and Wealth management initiatives. The Trust Audit Committee met four times during 2014.

It is the policy of the Audit Committee to approve all audit and non-audit services prior to the engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm to perform any service, subject to the following operating procedures:  Each year in connection with the execution of the audit engagement letter, the Audit Committee pre-approves a retainer for additional services that are either audit or audit-related in nature.  These additional services do not exceed 5% of the annual audit fee amount.  For any additional audit or audit-related services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm that were not pre-approved in accordance with this procedure, and for which the fees are expected to not exceed 10% of the annual audit fee, the Chair of the Audit Committee can provide pre-approval of the services.  For any additional services where the fees are expected to exceed 10% of the annual audit fee, the pre-approval of the entire Audit Committee is required.  In addition, a retainer for tax consulting services is pre-approved by the Audit Committee.  Any tax consulting services exceeding the retainer amount are approved in accordance with the above procedure.  All fees paid to the independent registered public accounting firm are reported to the Audit Committee in a timely manner.

In connection with the audit of the 2014 financial statements, we entered into engagement letters with KPMG LLP that set the terms by which KPMG performed services for us.  Those agreements are subject to alternative dispute resolution procedures.

All of the services listed below for 2014 were approved by the Audit Committee prior to the service being rendered as described in the operating procedures above.  The Audit Committee has determined that the non-audit services performed during 2014 were compatible with maintaining the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence.

Audit Fees.  The aggregate fees earned by KPMG LLP for professional services rendered for the audit of our consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K and for the review of the consolidated financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 were $997,000 and $987,900 respectively.

Audit Related Fees.  The aggregate fees earned by KPMG LLP for audits of the subsidiaries’ financial statements, due diligence activities on proposed transactions, or relationshipsand research and consultation on financial accounting and reporting matters for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 were $25,000 and $55,000, respectively.

Tax Fees.  The aggregate fees earned by KPMG LLP for professional services rendered for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 were $56,475 and $58,277, respectively.

All Other Fees.  There were no fees earned by KPMG LLP for professional services rendered other than those listed under the captions “Audit Fees,” “Audit Related Fees,” and “Tax Fees” for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.

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Audit Committee Report

The Audit Committee has prepared the following report for inclusion in this proxy statement:

As part of its ongoing activities, the Audit Committee has:

·Reviewed and discussed with management the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014;

·Discussed with the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed under relevant guidance of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), including Auditing Standard No.16 – Communications with Audit Committees; and

·Received the written disclosures and the letter from the independent registered public accounting firm required by the applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent registered public accounting firm’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm their independence.

Based on the review and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that we feel could have an impactthe audited consolidated financial statements be included in our Annual Report on whetherForm 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014.

The Audit Committee comprised of Anat Bird, Jennifer W. Davis, David G. Turner and Calvert A. Morgan, Jr., has provided this report.

Personnel and Compensation Committee

A copy of the Personnel and Compensation Committee Charter can be found on the investor relations page of our website www.wsfsbank.com (select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Corporate Governance”).

Our Board of Directors has determined that the members of our Personnel and Compensation Committee are “independent” as defined by the listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Under its charter, the Personnel and Compensation Committee has the authority to:

·Approve performance evaluations, salary adjustments, bonuses, stock options, perquisites for any officer other than the CEO and President.  In evaluating and determining CEO compensation, the Committee shall consider the results of the most recent stockholder advisory vote on executive compensation (“Say on Pay Vote”) required by Section 14A of the Exchange Act. The CEO and President may not be present during voting or deliberations by the Committee on his or her compensation:

·Approve incentive plan design, including criteria, formula computation and calculation of award amounts, such as cash payouts, restricted stock and stock option awards for all officers other than the CEO and President. In reviewing making recommendations regarding or approving incentive compensation plans and equity-based plans, including whether to adopt, amend or terminate any such plans, the Committee shall consider the results of the most recent advisory Say on Pay Vote;

·Review and discuss with management, the Company’s Compensation and Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) section and the related executive compensation information to be included in the Company’s annual proxy statement or annual report on Form 10-K.   Determine whether or not to recommend that the CD&A be included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K and proxy statement, and produce the Committee report on executive officer compensation which is required to be included in the Company’s annual proxy statement in compliance with rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC;

·Approve the adoption, administration and expense of certain Associate benefit plans and programs of the Company including 401(k) amendments and technical corrections;

·Retain or obtain advice of compensation consultants, independent legal counsel or other advisors (collectively, “compensation advisors”) to assist in matters regarding executive and Board-related compensation; and

·Be responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of any compensation advisor retained by the Committee.  Reasonable compensation (as determined by the Committee) to its compensation advisors will be provided by the Company.

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The Personnel and Compensation Committee approves and must recommend to the Board of Directors are independentfor final approval:

·Policies and charter, including but not limited to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action, Severance and Change of us or our subsidiaries, including WSFS Bank,Control, the Management Compensation Policy, the Business (Luxury) Expenditures Policy, the Personnel and are able to conduct their dutiesCompensation Charter;

·Board of Directors and responsibilitiesmanagement stock ownership and guidelines;

·Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A), compensation risk assessment and Compensation Committee report portions of the proxy statement;

·Any compensation action for the CEO and President (such as directors without any personal interests that would interfere or conflict with those dutiessalary increases, bonuses, stock grants and responsibilities.perquisites); and

11·Any compensation action (such as fees and stock awards) for the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

 

In addition, the Personnel and Compensation Committee reviews and considers the results of stockholders’ advisory votes on executive compensation.


 

AllCompensation Committee Internal Interlocks and Insider Participation

No member of our directors other than Mr. Schoenhals, Mr. TurnerPersonnel and Mr. Morgan are independent. Mr. Schoenhals and Mr. Turner are AssociatesCompensation Committee is, or formerly was, an officer or Associate of WSFS Financial Corporation and WSFS Bank and are not independent by virtueours.  During 2014, none of not being outside directors. Mr. Morgan is not an independent director because at the time he became a director he was also retained to serve as a Special Advisor. Mr. Morgan has 38 years experience in the banking industry in Delaware and was formerly Chairman, President and CEO of PNC Bank, Delaware. The Board concluded that his background, market knowledge, customer relationships and community involvement could provide significant benefits to us as a consultant, and would be appropriate for him to be retained as a consultant as well as servingour executive officers served on the Board. Information about Mr. Morgan’s compensation in his capacity asPersonnel and Compensation Committee (or equivalent), or the Board of Directors, of another entity whose executive officer or officers served on our Personnel and Compensation Committee or Board of Directors.

Trust Committee

The Trust Committee a Special Advisorbank committee that is comprised of members of the Board of Directors of our bank.  It provides oversight of our trust and investment activities provided by Christiana Trust, the trust division of the Bank.  A copy of the Trust Committee Charter can be found on the investor relations page 62.of our website www.wsfsbank.com (select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Corporate Governance”).

The Trust Committee does the following:

·Oversees Christiana Trust in providing trust administration and investment management services;

·Adopts appropriate policies and procedures to be observed in offering such services;

·Enforces sound risk management practices calculated to minimize risk of loss to the Bank and its customers; and

·Reports to the Board of Directors on the activities of Christiana Trust in the conduct of its business.

 

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting ComplianceCorporate Development Committee

The Corporate Development Committee assists the Board of Directors and management in reviewing and assessing potential acquisitions, strategic investments, joint ventures and divestitures.  It meets as frequently as necessary.  A copy of the Corporate Development Committee Charter can be found on the investor relations page of our website www.wsfsbank.com (select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Corporate Governance”).

As part of its ongoing activities, the Corporate Development Committee does the following:

·Reviews and provides guidance to management and the Board of Directors with respect to transaction strategies;

·Provides advice to management in connection with the identification and evaluation of transactions, and the engagement of counsel and advisors;

·Authorizes management to execute binding and non-binding offers, proposals, letters of intent, definitive agreements and similar offers and documents with respect to proposed transactions.  Any such authorization shall be reported to the entire Board of Directors of  the Company at no later than the next full Board meeting;

·Provides advice regarding management’s due diligence and integration efforts with respect to proposed transactions and review summary due diligence results;

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·Causes to be conducted, appropriate periodic evaluations of our recently completed transactions, if and as deemed necessary;

·Provides a report of its meetings and activities to the Board on a regular basis, and reports regularly to the Board on such issues as it may determine are appropriate; and

·Reviews, and changes as deemed necessary, its charter, from time-to-time, but no less than once a year;

Other Corporate Governance Matters

Exclusive Forum Selection Provision

In 2014, the Board of Directors approved a new exclusive forum selection provision. This provision provides that the Court of Chancery or federal court located within the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine.  The Board of Directors took this action in light of the proliferation of litigation in states outside of Delaware to save the Company and its stockholders from the increased expense of defending against duplicative litigation brought in multiple and distant courts, and from the risk of unexpected or inconsistent outcomes, and also to provide for claims involving Delaware law to be decided by Delaware courts.

Delaware is the forum with the strongest nexus to the Company. The Company is a Delaware corporation and has always maintained its headquarters and principal place of business in Delaware. Our primary subsidiary, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, is the largest independent bank based in Delaware and has been an integral part of the lives of Delawareans since its founding in 1832. A predominance of our management, the majority of our employees, as well as virtually all corporate records relevant to matters to which this Bylaw is applicable, are located in Wilmington, Delaware. This also means that the Company, its subsidiaries and employees pay significant taxes to Delaware and local municipal authorities. Very few public companies, including companies that have adopted similar exclusive forum provisions, have connections to Delaware that are as strong as the Company’s connections.

We pursued discussions with five of our largest institutional investors concerning the exclusive forum selection provision. All were either supportive or neutral on the issue with respect to the Company.

Classified Board Structure

Several years ago, our Board reviewed the subject of a classified Board as the result of request from a stockholder.  Following considerable discussion by our Governance Committee and full Board concerning the concept of a declassified Board and related shareholder rights issues, the Board determined it is in the best interests of our stockholders to maintain a classified Board.

With the appropriate policies in place, we believe that a staggered board creates alignment between our Corporate Governance policies and the stated philosophy of managing for the long term benefit of all stockholders.

While we believe that the overarching evaluation of a board and management should be the performance of the Company, we also recognize that our classified board structure can create the appearance of entrenchment on the part of a board and management team.  As a result, in the early 1990’s, we eliminated our “poison pill” policy.  In addition, in 2007, we adopted the policy that in an uncontested election, directors who receive votes in favor of their election which is less than a majority of total votes cast should promptly offer to resign from the board.   Another indication of our serious interest regarding this subject is that none of our named executive officers is covered by a formal employment agreement.  We have a severance policy that covers some of those executives, but it is relatively conservative in the amounts that potentially would be paid in the event of a change of control.   Finally, we do have cumulative voting of shares in the election of directors.  In our case, this means that approximately 25% of the ownership can definitely have their voice(s) heard directly at the board table after a director election.

The success of our long term outlook is manifest in that we have generally outperformed our peers over the last 15 years.  We make this claim based upon the total shareholder return performance discussed in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section of this proxy statement indicating we have outperformed peer metrics and broader

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indices in three, five and ten year horizons.  We are proud of our performance record and believe this record reflects the attention that management and the Board bring to the subject of creating value for its stockholders.

Finally, if there is a need for a stockholder initiated change to the Board of Directors, there is an opportunity to change approximately one-third of the Board of Directors at each election.  If those new directors for some reason cannot make the case clear to the “old board,” then at the next election, stockholders can change another third of the Board of Directors.  That would give a majority of the Board of Directors to new representation.  We think this kind of change, in much less than a two-year period, appropriately balances stockholders’ interests in the ability to send a clear signal of a need for change with the need to understand the continuity of the Company.

Access to and Communication with the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors endeavors to provide ample access and outreach to stockholders through a number of forums.  Stockholders are required to file formsprovided regular updates through press releases and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC)Commission.  The Board of Directors also solicits dialogue and responds to report changesquestions from stockholders at the annual meeting.  Questions can be asked in their ownership of WSFS Financial Corporation common stock.person or submitted through email at StockHolderRelations@wsfsbank.com.  The forms must be filed with the SEC generally within two business daysChairman of the dateBoard and Vice Chairman and Lead Director provide their perspective on selected topics of interest to our stockholders through their “View from the Boardroom” letter in our annual report.  Additionally, the Chairman of the trade. To our knowledge, the only late filing during 2008 was by Mr. Immesberger who was late in filing his Form 3.Board periodically attends investor conferences and other roadshows to solicit feedback on corporate governance from institutional stockholders.

 

OwnershipPROPOSAL NUMBER 2:  Amendment of WSFS Financial Corporation Common Stockthe Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock from 20,000,000 to 65,000,000;

The

Background

Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation currently authorizes 7,500,000 shares of preferred stock and 20,000,000 shares of common stock.  At the Annual Meeting, we request that stockholders approve and adopt a proposal to amend our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase by 45,000,000 the number of shares of our Common Stock owned by the directors and executive officers as of March 5, 2009, the record date set for the 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, is shown below. The table also shows the amount of their shares as a percentage of all of thecommon stock that we are authorized to issue from 20,000,000 to 65,000,000 shares. We are not proposing to make any changes to our authorized shares of our Common Stock outstanding.preferred stock.

 

SharesThe Board of Directors of WSFS has determined that these individuals could acquire by exercising stock options are included in the amounts shown. The individuals do not all have the same numberproposed amendment is advisable and unanimously adopted a resolution to amend Article Fourth of grants,our Amended and the different amounts are shown in the table below. Only options that are currently exercisable or that will become exercisable in the next 60 days have been treated as though the options have been exercised and the individual owns those shares.


Directors:

Number of Shares (Including Exercisable Options)1

Percentage of our Common Stock Outstanding

Marvin N. Schoenhals

130,130

2.08%

Charles G. Cheleden

17,278

0.28%

Jennifer W. Davis

425

0.01%

Donald W. Delson

2,425

0.04%

John F. Downey

15,378

0.25%

Linda C. Drake

15,278

0.25%

David E. Hollowell

16,618

0.27%

Joseph R. Julian

75,154

1.22%

Dennis E. Klima

8,228

0.13%

Calvert A. Morgan, Jr.

11,878

0.19%

Thomas P. Preston

17,133

0.28%

Scott E. Reed

5,628

0.09%

Claibourne D. Smith

14,708

0.24%

Mark A. Turner

114,167

1.83%

 

 

 

Executive Officers:

 

 

Peggy H. Eddens

1,385

0.02%

Barbara J. Fischer

25,938

0.42%

Stephen A. Fowle

13,068

0.21%

Richard Immesberger

1,250

0.02%

Rodger Levenson

7,379

0.12%

Richard M. Wright

7,290

0.12%

 

 

 

Directors and Officers as a group (20 persons)

500,738

7.76%

1

Includes exercisable options for each of the individuals as follows: Schoenhals: 93,227, Cheleden: 7,738, Davis: 0, Delson: 0, Downey: 8,738, Drake: 8,738, Hollowell: 6,378, Julian: 8,738, Klima: 2,738, Morgan: 6,738, Preston: 7,538, Reed: 1,938, Smith: 7,738, Turner: 85,810, Eddens: 1,275, Fischer: 22,147, Fowle: 8,400, Immesberger: 0, Levenson: 7,137, and Wright: 5,500.


4.

The Proposed Amendments to the Restated Certificate of Incorporation

Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation currently includes several outdated provisions. These provisions are outlined below. We are asking stockholders to approve amendments to the existing Restated Certificate of Incorporation to deleteprovide for an increase in the provisions discussed below. Attached as Appendix A hereto is the current versionnumber of authorized shares of our Restatedcommon stock from 20,000,000 shares to 65,000,000 shares and has directed that the resolution be submitted to a vote of the stockholders.

If the amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation as amended throughto increase the date hereof. We have struck through the provisions that are included in our existing Restated Certificatenumber of Incorporation but which we are proposing to delete.

Under Delaware law, eachauthorized shares of these amendments to our Restated Certificate of Incorporation requires the approval of thecommon stock is approved holders of a majority of our outstanding shares outstanding.

Proposal Number 5:of common stock, the amendment will be effected by filing a Certificate of Amendment towith the Delaware Secretary of State amending and restating Article Fourth ParagraphSection A

We propose of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to delete a paragraph in Article Fourth, Paragraph A which readsread as follows:

 

ExceptA.The total number of shares of all classes of stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is seventy two million five hundred thousand (72,500,000), consisting of:

(a)seven million five hundred thousand (7,500,000) shares of Preferred Stock, par value one cent ($.01) per share (the “Preferred Stock”); and

(b)sixty five million (65,000,000) shares of Common Stock, par value one cent ($.01) per share (the Common Stock”).”

If stockholders approve and adopt the amendment, it will become effective upon the filing of the above-described Certificate of Amendment with the Delaware Secretary of State, which we intend to file shortly after the Annual Meeting.

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Reasons for the Proposed Amendment

Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation authorizes up to 20,000,000 shares of Common Stock and approximately 9,411,308 shares are presently issued and outstanding. An additional 992,464 shares of Common Stock may become outstanding by virtue of existing or future equity awards under our incentive plan or otherwise pursuant to outstanding equity-based awards and shares remaining to be granted under our plans.   Also approximately an additional 816,200 shares are expected to be issued in connectionconjunction with our proposed acquisition of Alliance Bancorp, Inc. of Pennsylvania (“Alliance”).

The Board of Directors authorized the mergeramendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of New Federal Savings and Loan Association, FSB with and into Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, noIncorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of capitalour common stock, primarily because of any class or seriesthe Board of Directors authorized and declared a three-for-one stock split in the form of a dividend payable in shares of our common stock, subject to stockholder approval of this proposal. The record date for the stock dividend is  and the distribution date is . The Board of Directors has considered studies, including those published by Keefe Bruyette & Woods, The Ambassador Financial Group and Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC concluding that stock splits improve stockholder liquidity and market valuation.  The Board of Directors believes that a stock split also will increase attractiveness of the shares to retail stockholders.  Finally, the Board considered the cost of effecting a stock split and believes the cost to be insignificant in light of the benefits to be obtained.

In addition to increasing the authorized shares to enable a three-for-one stock split, the proposed amendment of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation will provide us with greater flexibility to issue our common stock for other corporate purposes.  After giving effect to the anticipated three-for-one stock split in the form of a dividend, the remaining increase in the number of authorized shares represents less than a 100% increase over the existing number of outstanding shares of our common stock (including shares issuable upon conversion, exchange, or exercise of other securities) shallthat may be issued directlypursuant to the pending Alliance acquisition and shares that may become outstanding related to our equity plans).  The Board of Directors believes it is in our best interest and those of our stockholders to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock to provide us with flexibility to consider and plan for future general corporate needs, including, but not limited to, capital raising, financing transactions, possible merger and acquisition transactions, or indirectlyother general corporate purposes. The additional authorized shares of our common stock would enable us to officers, directorspursue strategic, financial or controlling personscapital opportunities as they may be presented and to take timely advantage of market conditions as they may arise, without the Corporation other than as partdelay and expense associated with calling and convening a special meeting of a general public offering or as qualifying sharesstockholders to a directors,increase authorized capital, unless their issuance or the plan under which they would be issued has been approved by a vote of the holders of a majority of the total votes eligible to be cast atsuch a meeting of stockholders.”

This provision is notwas otherwise required by Delaware General Corporation Law and is a carryover provision from the regulations of the Office of Thrift Supervision (“OTS”) applicable only to federal savings banks, not to Delaware business corporations, like ours. As this provision may limit our ability to issue stock in certain circumstances without stockholder approval, we are seeking approval to delete it in its entirety.

It is important to note that even with this amendment, we will still be required to obtain stockholder approval of most issuances of stock to our officers and directorslaw or to establish a plan pursuant to which officers or directors may receive option or stock grants. This requirement will remain in place as long as our stock is traded on Nasdaq. Nasdaq rules provide an exception for certain grants in connection with the hiring of officers. In addition, Nasdaq would not require prior approval of private placements of our stock to directors or officers or issuances of stock in connection with acquisitions of companies in which directors or officers may own stock unless an officer or director had a 5% or greater interest in the company being acquired or, collectively, they owned 10% or more of the company being acquired.NASDAQ rules.


 

The Board of Directors believesand management believe that these opportunities can develop quickly, which would require the Nasdaq rule still provides stockholders withCompany to be in a sayposition to take advantage of them in most issuancesa timely manner. However, except for the contemplated three-for-one stock split and the Alliance acquisition, described above, we have no present understanding, commitment or agreement to issue the additional shares of shares to insiders while providing uscommon stock resulting from the potential flexibility it may needproposed increase in the future.authorized shares.

 

Impact of Common Stock Split and Increased Authorization

 

 

Current

 

After 3 for 1
Split

Current Authorized Shares

 

20,000,000

 

20,000,000

Proposed Increase in Authorized Shares

 

45,000,000

 

45,000,000

Proposed New Authorization

 

65,000,000

 

65,000,000

 

 

 

 

 

Shares Outstanding as of March 2, 2015

 

9,411,308

 

28,233,924

Shares Reserved for Issuance under Equity Plans

 

992,464

 

2,977,392

Shares Reserved for Alliance Acquisition

 

816,200

 

2,448,600

Total Shares Outstanding and Reserved/Committed

 

11,219,972

 

33,659,916

 

 

 

 

 

Shares Available for Issuance – Pre-Increase

 

8,780,028

 

(13,659,916)

Shares Available for Issuance – Post-Increase

 

53,780,028

 

31,340,084

Shares Available as a Percent of Authorization(1)

 

43.9%

 

48.2%

1 Reflects pre-increase ratio to Current Authorized Shares in Current column, post-increase ratio to Proposed New Authorization in After 3 for 1 Split column.

Effect of the Proposed Amendment

If the proposed amendment is approved and adopted by our stockholders, there would be sufficient authorized shares to effect the previously-approved three-for-one stock split in the form of a dividend of shares of common stock, and, after giving effect to such planned stock split, approximately 31 million shares of our common stock would then be authorized and available for future issuance. The additional authorized shares would be available for issuance from time to time by the Board of Directors for any proper general corporate purpose, including those described above.

The additional shares of our common stock for which we are seeking stockholder approval would be part of the existing class of our common stock and, if and when issued, would have the same rights and privileges as, and be identical in all respects (including voting, dividend, distribution and liquidation rights) to, shares of our common stock currently outstanding. The proposed additional authorized shares of Common Stock will not affect any of the rights of currently outstanding shares.

The ability of the Board of Directors to issue additional shares of our common stock may, under certain circumstances, be deemed to have an anti-takeover effect. We could use the additional authorized shares of our common stock to make it more difficult or to discourage efforts to obtain control of us.  However, the amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation is not being proposed to prevent a change in control nor is

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the amendment in response to any attempt, or contemplated attempt, to acquire control of us or to gain representation on our Board of Directors. As is true for our shares presently authorized but not issued, future issuances of the additional shares of our common stock contemplated by the proposed amendment also could have a dilutive effect on earnings per share, book value per share, voting power and percentage ownership interest of current stockholders.

The Board of Directors intends to use the additional shares of our common stock only for purposes of the pending acquisition of Alliance and effecting the three-for-one stock split in the form of a dividend, each as described above, and otherwise on terms that it deems to be in the best interests of us and our stockholders.

Potential Impact if the Amendment is Not Adopted

If the proposed amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation is not approved and adopted by our stockholders and we are unable to increase our number of authorized shares of our common stock, we will not have the ability to effect the desired three-for-one stock split, and we will have a limited number of authorized but unissued shares of our common stock available for future issuance.  This could impact the Company’s ability to issue common stock for capital raising, financing transactions, merger and acquisition transactions and other corporate purposes as we may be restricted in its ability to issue common stock for these needs.

Required Vote

The affirmative vote of a majority of outstanding shares of our common stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is required for stockholders to approve and adopt the proposed amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.

Directors’ Recommendation

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote FOR the amendment of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock from 20,000,000 to 65,000,000.

PROPOSAL NUMBER 3:  Ratification of the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

KPMG LLP has served as our independent registered public accounting firm since 1994.  The Board of Directors has appointed KPMG LLP to continue to be our independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year ending December 31, 2015.  The Audit Committee evaluated the selection of KPMG LLP and gave a recommendation to the Board of Directors in favor of KPMG LLP.  We are asking the stockholders to ratify the decision of the Board of Directors to appoint KPMG LLP for the 2015 fiscal year.

Representatives of KPMG LLP are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting to respond to appropriate questions and will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so.

To be ratified, the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm must receive a majority of the votes cast on that proposal.  Abstentions and broker non-votes are treated as present for quorum purposes only and therefore have no effect on the outcome of the proposal.

The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2015.

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PROPOSAL NUMBER 4:  Advisory (non-binding) vote on executive compensation

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or the Dodd-Frank Act, enables our stockholders to vote to approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the named executive officers, as described in the CD&A, the compensation tables and the related material in this proxy statement.

This proposal, commonly known as a “say-on-pay” proposal, gives our stockholders the opportunity to endorse or not endorse our executive compensation program through the following resolution:

“Resolved, that the stockholders approve the compensation of WSFS Financial Corporation’s named executive officers, as disclosed pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (which disclosure shall include the compensation discussion and analysis, the compensation tables and any related material) in this proxy statement.”

This proposal will be considered approved if a majority of votes cast by all stockholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting vote in favor of the amendmentproposal. Because this vote is advisory, it will not be binding upon the Board. Moreover, this vote will not be construed as overruling a decision by the Board, creating or implying any additional fiduciary duty by the Board, or restricting or limiting the ability of our stockholders to Article Fourth, Paragraph Amake proposals for inclusion in proxy materials related to our Restated Certificateexecutive compensation. However, the committee will take into account the outcome of Incorporation to delete the above-described paragraph.vote when considering future executive compensation arrangements.

 

Proposal Number 6 – Amendment to Delete Article Fourth, Paragraph C

We propose to delete Article Fourth, Paragraph C in its entirety as it has, by its terms, expired. Article Fourth, Paragraph C limited the beneficial ownership of greater than 10% of our outstanding common stock for a period of 5 years following the conversion of WSFS Bank from mutual to stock form. This conversion occurred in 1986 and, as such, the restriction is no longer applicable. The rights of stockholders will not be affected by approval of this amendment but we believe that all extraneous provisions should be stricken from our governing documents so that a stockholder can easily understand his or her rights.

Board Recommendation

The Board of Directors recommends a vote in favor“FOR” approval of this advisory (non-binding) resolution relating to the amendment to our Restated Certificatecompensation of Incorporation to delete Article Fourth, Paragraph C in its entirety.WSFS Financial Corporation’s executive officers.

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

 

Proposal Number 7 – AmendmentForward-Looking Statements

The following Compensation Discussion and Analysis, contains estimates, predictions, opinions, projections and other statements that may be interpreted as “forward-looking statements” as that phrase is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such statements include, without limitation, references to Delete Article Fifthour financial goals, management’s plans and objectives for future operations, financial and business trends, business prospects, and management’s outlook or expectations for earnings, revenues, expenses, capital levels, liquidity levels, asset quality or other future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations.  Such forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions (some of which may be beyond our control) and are subject to risks and uncertainties (which change over time) and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated.

 

We proposeSuch risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, delete Article Fifththose related to the economic environment, particularly in its entiretythe market areas in which we operate, including an increase in unemployment levels; our level of non-performing assets;  the volatility of the financial and securities markets, including changes with respect to the market value of financial assets; changes in market interest rates which may increase funding costs and reduce earning asset yields thus reducing margin; increases in benchmark rates would also increase debt service requirements for customers whose terms include a variable interest rate, which may negatively impact the ability of borrowers to pay as it has, by its terms, expired. Article Fifth restricted transferscontractually obligated; changes in government regulation affecting financial institutions, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the rules and regulations being issued in accordance with this statute and potential expenses and elevated capital levels associated therewith; possible additional loan losses and impairment of common stock or securitiesthe collectability of loans; possible changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies, laws and regulations and other activities of governments, agencies, and similar organizations, may have an adverse effect on business; possible rules and regulations issued by the CompanyConsumer Financial Protection Bureau or other regulators which might adversely impact our business model or products and services; possible stresses in the real estate markets, including possible continued deterioration in property values that affect the collateral value underlying our real estate loans; our ability to expand into new markets, develop competitive new products and services in a timely manner, and to maintain profit margins in the face of competitive pressures; possible changes in consumer and business spending and saving habits could affect our ability to increase assets and to attract deposits; our ability to effectively manage credit risk, interest rate risk market risk, operational risk, legal risk, liquidity risk, reputational risk, and regulatory and compliance risk; the effects of increased competition from both banks and non-banks; the effects of geopolitical instability and risks such as terrorist attacks; the effects of weather and natural disasters such as floods, droughts, wind, tornados and hurricanes, and the effects of man-made disasters; possible changes in the speed of loan prepayments by our customers and loan origination or sales volumes; possible acceleration of prepayments of mortgage-backed securities due to low interest rates, and the related acceleration of premium amortization on those securities; and the costs associated with resolving any problem loans, litigation and other risks and uncertainties, discussed in documents filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

Forward looking statements are as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be deemed stock for a periodmade from time to time by or on behalf of 37 months after the issuance by the Company of its 10% Convertible Preferred Stock, Series 1. This restriction expired in July, 1997. The rights of stockholders will not be affected by approval of this amendment but we believe that all extraneous provisions should be stricken form our governing documents so that a stockholder can easily understand his or her rights.us.

 

Board Recommendation

The Board of Directors recommends a vote in favor of the amendment to our Restated Certificate of Incorporation to delete Article Fifth in its entirety.COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS


5.

Compensation

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

 

Executive Summary

2008 wasOur Personnel and Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) provides Board of Director oversight and guidance for executive compensation and related benefits.  To assist with its responsibilities, the first full year in which Mark A. Turner served as PresidentCommittee regularly receives reports and CEO. Mr. Turner assumed this position asrecommendations from its independent consultants, ChaseCompGroup, LLC.  Our executive compensation program is designed to reflect a pay-for-performance culture and to align the interests of the April 2007 Shareholders’ Meeting.senior management with our stockholders and our long-term success.

 

Marvin N. Schoenhals, who had been Chairman, President and CEO transitioned to Chairman25



Table of the Board. In addition to his full chairman duties, Mr. Schoenhals provides active leadership for our Wealth Management Group through its start-up period and other niche businesses including another start-up business, 1st Reverse Financial Services, LLC, a national reverse mortgage company, of which we hold a majority interestContents

 

In early 2009,Our general compensation philosophy is as follows:

·We strive to be competitive in base pay, taking into consideration salaries of similar positions at those of our banking peers with a similar asset size, allowing for exceptions in exceptional circumstances;

·We structure our incentive compensation system to provide rewards for performance that reflects our strategic plan and balances executives’ focus on both annual goals and our long-term success, without creating undue risk; and

·Our total compensation for expected performance levels is targeted at levels similar to those of our banking peers with a similar asset size.  For exceptional performance, we participatedprovide total compensation reflecting that exceptional performance.

Our executive compensation practices support good governance and mitigate excessive risk-taking. Among other things, they:

·Require significant share ownership for senior executives;

·Establish multiple performance metrics under the Management Incentive Program (MIP) which discourage excessive risk-taking by executives by removing incentives that focus on single performance goals which may be a detriment to the Company;

·Balance executives’ short-term and long-term compensation to discourage short-term risk taking at the expense of long-term results;

·Impose a double-trigger for time based equity awards which do not vest solely upon a change in control, but also require a qualifying termination following a change in control;

·Engage an independent compensation consultant who performs no other work for the Company other than as an advisor on senior leadership compensation matters;

·Include a claw-back policy permitting the Personnel and Compensation Committee to recoup certain incentives paid resulting from fraudulent activity, inaccurate performance criteria or reporting, or financial restatements.

·Have no employment contracts with executives which contain special severance payments such as golden parachutes nor multi-year guaranteed bonuses;

·Have no special executive retirement programs;

·Have no gross-up payments to cover personal income or excise taxes that pertain to executive or severance benefits;

·Have no excessive perquisites for executives;

·Allow no hedging, pledging collars, short sales or other derivative transactions of our Common Stock by our executives*;

·Permit no cash buyout, re-pricing or backdating of stock options or restricted shares*;

·Prescribe a minimum vesting period for awards of options and restricted shares of a minimum of four years*.

Note: items in this table marked with an asterisk reflect formalization of prior Company practice or implementation of additional best practices on our compensation policies.  These items were disclosed in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 20, 2014.

Our goal is to be a high-performing company, thus we have designed our compensation package toward attracting and retaining quality individuals, and motivating and rewarding them for strong performance.

Our 2014 compensation practices were consistent with our long-term focus which, over the past decade, has produced a positive return to our stockholders and exceeded peer averages.  An investment of $100 in WSFS common stock in 2005 was worth $141 at December 31, 2014.  While behind the Dow Jones Total Market Index ($100 invested in this Index in 2005, was worth $212 at December 31, 2014) our performance exceeded the performance of our industry ($100 invested in the United States Treasury TARP Capital Purchase Program (CPP)Nasdaq Bank Index in 2005 was worth $105 at December 31, 2014).  The comparative value of our stock to the Dow Jones Total Market Index is indicative of how difficult the 2008 financial crisis and received a capital investment fromregulatory response has been on the U.S. Treasury of $52.6 million. Participationbanking industry.

Consistent with our long-term focus, we set aggressive, measurable goals. We are accountable for achieving those goals as demonstrated in this program requires certainour competitive “pay-for-performance” philosophy. Our executive incentive compensation restrictions onplans, which include our MIP, covering our Named Executive Officers (NEOs) described below.

There were also several changes to our compensation plans in 2008 to incorporate pay-for-performance best practices, to remain consistent with our long-term strategy and our high-performance goals, and to further align the plans with stockholder interests. Notably, revisions were made to our Management Incentive Plan (MIP) and our long-term equity plan which are more fully discussed later. In addition, we implemented a “one-time-only” incentive plan for 2008, the payment: (i) focus on which depended on attaining an earnings per share (EPS) target of $4.77. This goal was not achieved and no payments were made under that plan. Details of these plans are more fully described later.

As a company, we pride ourselves on setting high, measurable goals, being accountable for achieving those goals, and continuing a “pay-for-performance” philosophy.

Our executive incentive compensation plans (which includes our Management Incentive Plan (MIP), covering our NEOs), have always focused onperformance measures that are traditionally important to shareholders, incorporate industry standards, and arestockholders, (ii) do not promote inappropriate risk, (iii) use fundamental indicators of our performance, growth and health.health, and (iv) take into consideration industry peer comparisons.  These

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performance measures are Earnings Per Share (EPS) growth,are: Return on Average Assets (ROA) and, Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (ROE). Our formula-based awards start(ROTCE) and Earnings per Share (EPS) growth.  ROTCE is computed by comparing ourselvesdividing net earnings allocable to common stockholders by the average tangible common stockholders’ equity.  It is a group of similarly-sized peers (all publicly-traded banksnon-GAAP measure and thrifts of $1may not be comparable to $5 billionsimilar non-GAAP measures used by other companies.  While asset quality is not a formal metric, we believe it is inherently measured in assets),these goals and in our internal policies and governance and in our regulatory exams.  In addition, where appropriate, some individual goals for our executives in our MIP are set high. For example, we only achieve “Target,” or average awards if we achieve performance at the 60th percentile of that group’s results on all three measures. “Maximum” awards are achieved if we reach the 75th percentile of that group’s performance. Reaching the 75th percentileon all 3 measures, ROA, ROE and EPS growth, is typically achieved by less than 10% of companies in that peer group.


In early 2008, as the economy and industry headed into a difficult period, we further revamped our executive incentive compensation plans. This was completed after months of analysis, discussion and deliberation with our executive management, ourtied to asset quality.  The Personnel and Compensation Committee (the Committee) andreserves the right to recover (“claw-back”) any incentives that were paid due to fraudulent activity, inaccurate performance criteria or reporting, or financial restatements.

Based, in part, on input from the Committee’s outside compensation consultants, Amalfi Consulting, LLC. The changes were undertaken toconsultant, we believe our compensation plans incorporate evolving industry-recognized “best practices” in compensation and to beare consistent with our corporate strategy and long-term goals.

Among many changes, we included new, leading-edge, They include competitive pay-for-performance standards that increasingly rewardare scaled based on increased ROA performance and which promote retention.  In one plan, executive management is increasingly rewarded with restricted stock units (RSUs)or options for superior absolute performance, as indicated by reaching annual ROA, tiers of 1.20%, 1.35%ROTCE and 1.50% (considered high-performing levels in the industry, by historical standards). These RSUs are awarded only ifthese tiers are reached before the end of 2011, and then vest over not less than a four-year time period.EPS targets.  Vesting over at least four years means these awards do not inure to the benefit of the NEO immediately, but over at least a four yearan extended period of time.  Likewise, the cost of such awards is spread over at least four years. an extended multi-year period.

2014 – Overview

In addition, executives’ standard annual incentives (which are granted based on how2014 our performance comparesregion continued to see indications of economic stability and continued slow recovery.  The Committee considered the state of the economy, the competitive environment in our peer groupmarketplace, and individual goals) are decreased, pro-rata,the retention of our executives when deciding 2014 executive compensation levels.

The bulk of our organic growth in 2014 continued to come from market share gains rather than economic growth and investment.  As mentioned in previous years, some local customers of our largest in-market competitor continued to feel the extenteffects of converting from a long-standing community bank in Delaware to a regional bank headquartered in New York.  We continue to benefit from resulting customer and employee dislocation.

As the local marketplace recovers economically, we continue to have success in strengthening our annual ROA is less than 1.0% (considered an average ROA performancereputation as Delaware’s oldest and largest community bank and trust company.  We were named by Wilmington’s The News Journal as a “Top Workplace” for the industry,ninth year in a row, among the top three workplaces for the sixth consecutive year, and recognized with a special recognition for our commitment to training, development and investing in the career well-being of our Associates.  Independent survey results indicate our Customers continue to score us very favorably in Associate engagement and Customer advocacy, firmly in the top quintile of all companies in the world surveyed by historical standards)Gallup, Inc.  For the fourth year in a row, we were named the #1 Bank in Delaware as voted by the Reader’s Choice Survey also administered by The News JournalSoWe received the “2014 Community Partner Award” from the YMCA of Greater Brandywine, the YMCA of Delaware’s “Thank-You Picture” for example, if our ROA was .75% in any year, incentives granted would be only 75%support of their programs.  We were recognized by the Department of Delaware Disabled American Veterans and the Distinguished Citizen of the normal formulaic amount.Year Award from the Boy Scouts of America.  Our public recognition is another affirmation that our service model is effective and is needed and desired by our local communities.

 

In 2008, partly because2014, for the fourth year in a row, we showed significant improvement compared to the prior year.  We reported GAAP net income of a deepening recession, we recorded$53.8 million and an ROA of 50 basis points, an ROE of 7.30%1.17%, and, EPS of $2.57. These were declines of 44% to 49% from our 2007 levels, but averaged atsolely for the 57th percentilepurpose of our peer group’s results. In responseincentive plans, we made a “quality of earnings” adjustment to this performance,our incentive plan metrics which lowered our incentive plan ROA to 1.08%, our ROTCE to 12.9% and the challenges we face inour EPS growth over 2013 to 11.9%.  For a deepening recession, the performance plans above dictated, and management’s other voluntary actions resulted in, the following impactmore detailed discussion of our “quality of earnings” adjustment, see “Annual Incentives” on executive compensation:

1.

There were no merit increases to salary for NEOs for 2009.

2.

There are no Company-paid perquisites for the second consecutive year (2008 and 2009). Any perquisites for business development and community networking are paid out-of-pocket by the executive.

3.

Restricted stock that vests over at least four years was granted as the only variable compensation in 2009 for 2008 NEO performance. In the past, we have granted a combination of cash incentives and stock option incentives for the variable portion of NEO compensation. Restricted stock awards that vest over an extended period of time put more NEO compensation at risk and further align their long-term interests with those of our stockholders. In 2008, variable compensation awards for 2007 annual performance included cash bonuses and stock options (valued using Black-Scholes) and totaled $802,317 or 35% of the NEO group’s total compensation. In 2009, restricted stock awarded for 2008 annual performance had a grant date fair value of $588,574. When added to their total

17page 32.

 

Compensation considerations for 2014

The Committee and management discussed the ongoing risks to our organization with regard to motivating and retaining our executive team. In late 2012, the Committee engaged the ChaseCompGroup to conduct an in-depth compensation study and to make recommendations for our NEOs for 2013.  Our consultant’s evaluation confirmed our concerns and supported management’s thoughtful process.  Upon receiving the report from our consultant, the Committee concluded it would retain the same compensation elements for 2014 as it did for 2013. The Committee approved recommendations made by management and the consultant, which are discussed under the section entitled

 

27



Table of Contents

Measuring Actual Performance and Calculating Incentive Payments. The components of 2014 executive compensation were: base salary, annual bonus and long-term incentive compensation.

Our 2014 results reflected significantly improved absolute performance and performance well on the way towards our high-performing goal of a sustainable 1.20%+ ROA by the end of 2015.  The following changes to our executive’s compensation reflect these results:

·Variable pay, including equity awards and bonuses, were granted to NEOs as permitted under the MIP;

·A market adjustment increase to the base salary of one NEO in 2015 (see “Base Salaries” on page [•]); and

·Consistent with our performance, total compensation for 2008, it represented 28% of the NEO group’s other compensation, for a decline of $213,743 or 27%.2014 increased from 2013.  Our ROA, ROTCE and EPS growth increased 9.3%, 1.5% and 14.2%, respectively over 2013.

Considering the total mix of compensation, we believe these three changesthe actions above are: (1) reasonable, (2) consistent with pre-established pay-for-performance plans, (2) reasonable in light of payment levels for our compensation peer group and (3) commensurateconsistent with our 20082014 results, both in absolute terms, and in comparison to prior years’ results and incentives.

During 2014, the Committee also reviewed an analysis conducted by our Senior Risk Officer (SRO) and concluded that our compensation program is balanced and does not encourage imprudent risk taking.

We also evaluate whether our compensation programs reflect the interests of our stockholders through their non-binding vote, which we take into careful consideration for future executive compensation decisions.  In 2012, by their advisory (non-binding) vote, stockholders overwhelmingly approved the compensation of, and compensation arrangement for our executives.  This advisory, “Say on Pay” vote is on this year’s proxy ballot as well.

 

Named Executive Officers (NEOs)

There was one change, shownThe table below toshows our list of NEOs from those reported in last year’s proxy.for 2014.

 

Named Executive Officers

2007

2008

Mark A. Turner – President and Chief Executive Officer

Mark A. Turner – President and Chief Executive Officer

Marvin N. Schoenhals – Chairman of the Board

Marvin N. Schoenhals – Chairman of the Board

Stephen A. Fowle – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Stephen A. Fowle – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Rodger Levenson - Executive Vice President and Director of Commercial Banking

Rodger Levenson - Executive Vice President and Director of Commercial Banking

Barbara J. Fischer – Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

Richard M. Wright – Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking and Marketing

Mark A. Turner – President and Chief Executive Officer

Stephen A. Fowle – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Paul D. Geraghty, Sr. – Executive Vice President and Chief Wealth Officer

Rodger Levenson – Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer

Richard M. Wright – Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer

 

Executive Compensation Restrictions Under TARP Guidelines

On January 21, 2009, our CEO, CFO and three of our most highly compensated senior executive officers (SEOs) voluntarily executed SEO Waiver Forms and SEO Letter Agreements in connection with our participation in the United States Treasury’s TARP Capital Purchase Program (CPP). By executing these documents, the SEOs waived any claims they may have as individuals against the Treasury as a result of modifications to their existing compensation arrangements that are made or will be made in order to be in compliance with Section 111 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA).

Such modifications on executive compensation matters include (i) ensuring that incentive compensation for the SEOs do not encourage unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten our value; (ii) requiring a “clawback” of any bonus or incentive compensation paid to an SEO based on statements of earnings, gains or other criteria that are later proven to be materially inaccurate; (iii) limiting severance payments to SEOs to the limits under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Service Code for terminations not related to a change in control transaction and (iv) agreeing we would not to deduct for tax purposes executive compensation in excess of $500,000 in a tax year for each SEO.


Section 111 of EESA was amended in its entirety with the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on February 17, 2009. In accordance with the provisions of ARRA, no severance payments may be made to the SEOs during the period in which the U.S. Treasury holds its equity investment in our Company (other than any warrants previously issued). In addition, no bonus, retention or incentive compensation may be paid to, or accrued for, at least the five most highly compensated employees, except for such compensation in the form of: (i) long-term restricted stock that do not fully vest during the period in which the U.S. Treasury holds its equity investment in us; (ii) has a value not greater than one-third of the total amount of annual compensation of the Associate receiving the stock; and (iii) other terms and conditions as the Treasury Secretary may determine are in the public interest. The Treasury will issue regulations to assist in complying with these new requirements under Section 111 of EESA, as amended by ARRA. The Compensation Committee may find it necessary to make certain modifications to the compensation opportunity for the NEOs after it has analyzed the restrictions and limitations under Section 111 of EESA, as amended, and applicable regulation after issuance.

Compensation Philosophy

Our general compensation philosophy remained unchanged from 2007 to 2008. We strive to be competitivein base pay, with salaries targeted at the median of banking peers comparable to our asset size. We structure our incentive system to provide rewards for performance. Our total compensation at expected performance levels is targeted to the median of our peers. For exceptional performance, we provide total compensation that compares to levels above the 75th percentile of our peers. Our goal is to be a high performing company and we have designed our compensation package toward attracting and retaining quality individuals, and motivating and rewarding them for strong performance.

 

The Role of the Personnel and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors

OurThe Personnel and Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) providesserves the full Board of Directors by providing oversight and guidance with respect to personnel and compensation policies and practices.  Also, the CEOPersonnel and other Executives’Compensation Committee provides oversight to management so that we create and maintain competitive programs which attract, develop, motivate, reward and retain Associates committed to superior performance and the highest professional and ethical standards.  The Personnel and Compensation Committee ensures that personnel and compensation benefitspolicies support our strategic mission and perquisites. The Committee’s primary responsibilities are to:

approvecomply with all applicable legal and report to the Board salary levels and incentive compensation payable to senior officers and other key Associates;

recommend to the Board the establishment of incentive compensation plans and programs;

recommend to the Board the adoption and administration of certain Associate benefit plans and programs;

approve and report to the Board payment of additional year-end contributions under certain of its retirement plans;

oversee our stock incentive plans;

approve and report to the Board stock incentive awards granted to our key Associates;

annually,regulatory requirements.  They also review and recommend toconsider the Board performance goals and objectives with respect to the compensationresults of stockholders’ advisory votes on executive compensation.  (see page 18 for a complete description of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer consistent with approved compensation plans; Further, recommend to the Board compensation


levels for the Chairman, CEO, Advisors to the Board and all Executive Vice Presidents;

engage any compensation consulting firm used by the Company to assist in the evaluation of Director, Chairman, CEO, Advisors to the Board or senior executive compensation; exercise sole authority to approve the terms and fees relating to such retention;

in accordance with the requirements of ARRA, review the compensation and corporate governance standards and policies at the Company at least semi-annually to ensure that such executive compensation programs comply with applicable law and regulations and do not provide incentives to the SEOs to take unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten the valuerole of the Company;

perform such other functions as are, from time to time, assigned by the Board.

The Committee considers various factors in evaluating executive compensation, including:

the executive’s immediate level of responsibility;

the experience level of the executive within his or her current discipline;

the executive’s performance for both the current yearPersonnel and prior years;Compensation Committee.)

the executive’s potential for future development;

the executive’s potential to add to our long-term value;

the potential risks that such compensation programs may pose to the value of the company.

 

The Role of Management in Executive Compensation

Our CEO providesand our Chief Human Capital Officer provide recommendations for the Personnel and Compensation Committee’s consideration and managesmanage our compensation programs and policies.  HisTheir activities include:

coordinating efforts with

·Assisting the Personnel and Compensation Committee and the Committee’sits independent compensation consultant to obtain competitive market dataas requested, with executive compensation reviews, incentive program designs, risk assessments of compensation programs and industry best practices;preparation for meetings;

based·Based upon data provided by the Personnel and Compensation Committee, reviewing compensation programs for competitiveness and aligning compensation programs with WSFS’our strategic goals;

28



recommendingTable of Contents

·Recommending changes onto compensation programs to the Personnel and Compensation Committee, where appropriate; and

recommending·Recommending pay levels and incentive plan payments for NEOs, except for the CEO and the Chairman.CEO.

 

The CEO and Chairman excuse themselvesexcuses himself from all Personnel and Compensation Committee and Board of Director discussions of theirhis compensation levels. In the past, this has applied to Mr. Schoenhals and Mr. Turner.level.  As a practical matter, these individualshe may discuss the formula by which theirhis and other executives’ incentive compensation is structured, but dodoes not participate in decisions regarding his awards or changes to theirhis own compensation.

 

The Role of Stockholder Say-on-Pay Votes

Our Board of Directors, Personnel and Compensation Committee and management value the opinions of our stockholders, including their advisory votes regarding the compensation paid to our named executive officers, which are often referred to as “Say-on-Pay” votes.  At our 2011 Annual Meeting, a majority of our stockholders voted, on an advisory basis, in favor of holding Say-on-Pay votes every three years.  Our Board of Directors and Personnel and Compensation Committee considered these results, among other factors, and determined that we will follow our stockholders’ preferred frequency for conducting Say-on-Pay votes.  The next required vote on the frequency of advisory Say-on-Pay votes will occur no later than our 2018 annual meeting of stockholders.

Our last advisory Say-on-Pay vote was conducted in 2012 and was approved by 99.0% of the votes cast.  Pursuant to our say-on-pay practice, we are conducting an advisory Say-on-Pay vote at our 2015 annual meeting of stockholders.  Although the advisory Say-on-Pay vote is non-binding, our Personnel and Compensation Committee has considered the outcome of previous votes when making compensation decisions for named executive officers.  Our Personnel and Compensation Committee believes that these votes evidence our stockholders’ support for our approach to executive compensation and took this support into account in deciding not to alter the overall compensation plan and program for 2014.  Our Personnel and Compensation Committee will continue to consider the outcome of the Say-on-Pay votes when making future compensation decisions for our named executive officers.

The Role of Consultants

In 2008,2013, the Committee contractedworked with Amalfi ConsultingChaseCompGroup LLC, (Amalfi), an independent executive compensation consulting firm specializing in the financial services


industry.  DuringThe Committee engaged them to review our equity incentive plans, conduct a peer analysis, perform research on key triggers for executive retention and research and prepare a “state of the year, Amalfi assistedindustry” compensation report.  ChaseCompGroup reports directly to the Committee and does not provide any non-compensation related services or products to the Committee nor does it provide any services to us.  The Committee has worked with the same consultant, Diana Chase, since 2007 under previous firm names.  Over these years the consultant has provided the Committee with the following compensation-related projects: (i) the redesignadvice on market competitive pay for executives and modifications to the long-term incentive plan; (ii) analysis of competitive market pay data for various non-NEO positions, and (iii) assistance with the preparation of the 2008 Proxy.directors.  In addition to executive benchmark analyses, ChaseCompGroup has assisted us with the 2008 projects, Amalfi conducted a detailed reviewexecutive annual and competitive analysis of executive compensation in the fall of 2007long-term incentive programs, compliance and provided recommendations for improvementsindustry best practices. The aggregate amount paid to our annual incentive plan. . . . . Amalfi consultants report directly toindependent compensation consultant represented 0.026% of our total revenue for 2014.  In retaining its consultant, the Committee. In 2008,Personnel and Compensation Committee considered the activitiesfactors set forth in Rule 10-C-1 under the Exchange Act, and determined that there were no conflicts of Amalfi wereinterest that would preclude the Personnel and Compensation Committee’s use of the consultant.  For example, no member of the Personnel and Compensation Committee or any executive officer has a continuationpersonal relationship with Diana Chase or any member of the ChaseCompGroup, or a prior year’s activities. From time to time, the Committee engages Amalfi to perform special projectsbusiness relationship other than in connection with our compensation plans. During 2008, no special projects were requested.the services described in this proxy statement.  Neither Diana Chase nor the ChaseCompGroup owns WSFS stock.

 

Peer Groups &Group and Benchmarking

Approximately every three years, the Committee engages an independent consultant to conduct a formal review of our executive compensation program.  The most recentAs discussed above, a comprehensive review was conducted in late 2012 by the Amalfi report completed in 2007. Normally, during years in which no consultant is engaged, theChaseCompGroup.  The Committee informally reviews proxy statements of a sampling of peer group companies in whichrequested this review to compare our executives’ compensation. Due to the unusual market conditions during 2008, a comparison of executiveassess competitive compensation levels was not conducted in the fall of 2008. The Committee did not change existing base pay levels for its executives and focused its efforts on the design and alignmentBoard of incentive pay programs with current strategic goals.Directors.

 

When benchmarking compensation and setting performance goals for incentive plans, the Committee has used two peer groups:

Theuses a Compensation Peer Group (“CPG”) that is representative of those companies with whom we compete for talent.  By using this peer group, it provides a targeted assessment of the compensation practices for publicly traded peer companies, as we cannot readily obtain compensation data from private companies.  The CPG allows us to compare our compensation to other banks that have a similar performance,business

29



Table of Contents

model, size and geographic locations and helps us align base compensation, incentives and equity awards with our compensation philosophy.

The Performance Peer Group (“PPG”) provides a national perspective of banks in our 2014 CPG were the $1 to $5 billion asset size. We usesame as those in the PPG to set appropriate bank-wide financial goals, drawing from the larger national dataset of comparably sized financial institutions.

Further details on each of these peer groups are provided below.

Compensation Peer Group (“CPG”)

The CPG shown below was developedwe used in 2007 based on collaborative discussions among management, the Committee and Amalfi.2013  The organizations comprising the final CPG provided a dataset of peers comparable to our size, performancebusiness model and location and met all ofreflected the following criteria:following:

·Located within CT, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, and WV;VA;

·Total Assets MRQ (most recent quarterassets as of 6/30/2007)December 31, 2014, were between $1.8$2.2 billion and $6 billion. Average$18.8 billion;

·Median total assets were approximately $3 billion;$5.0 billion, within 3% of our own asset size;

Return on Average Assets (ROA) greater than 0.9%;·A number of metropolitan-based and coastal banks; and

Return on Average Equity (ROE) greater than 10.00%.·Selected banks in our market with whom we have historically competed for management talent.

 

Listed below are the companies included in our CPG and their total assets as of December 31, 2014.

21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Assets at

 

Return on

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 31, 2014

 

Average Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Company Name

 

 

Ticker

 

 

State

 

 

($000)

 

 

2014 (%)

 

1

Investors Bancorp, Inc. (MHC)

 

ISBC

 

NJ

 

$18,773,639

 

0.76%

2

F.N.B. Corporation

 

FNB

 

PA

 

16,127,090

 

0.96

3

National Penn Bancshares, Inc.

 

NPBC

 

PA

 

9,750,865

 

1.14

4

Provident Financial Services, Inc.

 

PFS

 

NJ

 

8,523,377

 

0.92

5

NBT Bancorp Inc.

 

NBTB

 

NY

 

7,797,926

 

0.97

6

Northwest Bancshares, Inc.

 

NWBI

 

PA

 

7,775,033

 

0.78

7

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation

 

FCF

 

PA

 

6,360,285

 

0.71

8

Tompkins Financial Corporation

 

TMP

 

NY

 

5,269,561

 

1.03

9

Eagle Bancorp, Inc.

 

EGBN

 

MD

 

5,247,880

 

1.32

10

Flushing Financial Corporation

 

FFIC

 

NY

 

5,077,013

 

0.91

11

TowneBank

 

TOWN

 

VA

 

4,982,485

 

0.87

12

S&T Bancorp, Inc.

 

STBA

 

PA

 

4,964,686

 

1.22

13

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp, Inc. (MHC)

 

BNCL

 

PA

 

4,751,522

 

0.42

14

TrustCo Bank Corp NY

 

TRST

 

NY

 

4,644,439

 

0.97

15

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc.

 

DCOM

 

NY

 

4,497,107

 

1.03

16

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc.

 

SASR

 

MD

 

4,397,132

 

0.91

17

Lakeland Bancorp, Inc.

 

LBAI

 

NJ

 

3,538,325

 

0.92

18

Kearney Financial Corp. (MHC)

 

KRNY

 

NJ

 

3,510,009

 

0.29

19

Oritani Financial Corp.

 

ORIT

 

NJ

 

3,140,200

 

1.32

20

Hudson Valley Holding Corp.

 

HVB

 

NY

 

3,138,570

 

0.26

21

Sun Bancorp, Inc.

 

SNBC

 

NJ

 

2,718,305

 

-1.02

22

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania

 

UVSP

 

PA

 

2,235,321

 

1.01

 

Average

 

 

 

 

 

6,237,308

 

0.80

 

25th Percentile

 

 

 

 

 

3,753,027

 

0.77

 

50th Percentile

 

 

 

 

 

4,973,586

 

0.92

 

75th Percentile

 

 

 

 

 

7,421,346

 

1.03

 

WSFS Financial Corporation

 

WSFS

 

DE

 

4,853,320

 

1.17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percentile Rank of WSFS Financial Corporation by Asset Size

 

 

 

 

 

45th%

 

88th%

 

 


We compared key performance measuresWSFS had a strong year in 2014 and performed very well relative to the following peers. The data providedour compensation peer group as shown in the table belowabove.  Performance is as of year-end 2006.

 

 

 

 

 

Total Assets

 

 

 

 

 

2006 Y/E

 

Company Name

Ticker

City

State

($000)

1

F.N.B. Corp.

FNB

Hermitage

PA

6,007,592

2

National Penn Bancshares, Inc.

NPBC

Boyertown

PA

5,452,288

3

NBT Bancorp Inc.

NBTB

Norwich

NY

5,087,572

4

S&T Bancorp, Inc.

STBA

Indiana

PA

3,338,543

5

Harleysville National Corp.

HNBC

Harleysville

PA

3,249,828

6

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc.

DCOM

Brooklyn

NY

3,173,377

7

TrustCo Bank Corp NY

TRST

Glenville

NY

3,161,187

8

U.S.B. Holding Co., Inc.

UBH

Orangeburg

NY

2,923,247

9

Flushing Financial Corp.

FFIC

Lake Success

NY

2,836,521

10

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc.

SASR

Olney

MD

2,610,457

11

City Holding Company

CHCO

Charleston

WV

2,507,807

12

Hudson Valley Holding Corp.

HUVL

Yonkers

NY

2,291,734

13

Tompkins Financial Corp.

TMP

Ithaca

NY

2,210,837

14

Union Bankshares Corp.

UBSH

Bowling Green

VA

2,092,891

15

First Community Bancshares, Inc.

FCBC

Bluefield

VA

2,033,698

16

Intervest Bancshares Corp.

IBCA

New York

NY

1,971,753

17

Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc.

VCBI

Arlington

VA

1,949,082

18

Univest Corp. of Pennsylvania

UVSP

Souderton

PA

1,929,501

19

Parkvale Financial Corp.

PVSA

Monroeville

PA

1,858,715

 

Average

 

 

 

2,983,507

 

25th Percentile

 

 

 

2,063,295

 

50th Percentile

 

 

 

2,610,457

 

75th Percentile

 

 

 

3,211,603

 

WSFS Financial Corp.

WSFS

Wilmington

DE

2,997,396

 

Percentile Rank of WSFS Financial Corp 

 

 

63%

Since base pay levels changed during 2008, remained unchanged for 2009 and the benchmarking of pay levels was conductedone factor in late 2007, the Committee focused its efforts on incentive plan design improvements during 2008. The next comprehensiveselecting our compensation review is scheduled for 2010, with an informal assessment to be conducted during 2009.

Performance Peer Group

We created a performance peer group (PPG) consisting of all publicly-traded banksas well as market and thrift institutions in a total asset range of $1 billion and $5 billion as reported by SNL Financial. The top end of the asset range of the PPG for 2008 was increased from $3


billion to $5 billion to reflect the growth of WSFS from under $3 billion to over $3.4 billion in 2008. The PPG was comparable tosize.   While we set our average size and performance, with an average ROA of 0.40% and an average ROE of 3.93% in 2008. The PPG consisted of 209 organizations throughout the United States. As noted earlier, the Committee used the PPG to set appropriate performance goals for our Managementincentive plans based on our internal budget, we note that our budget and target goals are generally set above the median of our peers on several criteria.  In fact, during 2014 we performed at the 88th percentile of this peer group based on ROA, even after adjusting ROA downward for our quality of earnings

30



Table of Contents

adjustment.  We discuss our performance against our 2014 incentive plan further under the section entitled Measuring Actual Performance and Calculating Incentive Plan.Payments

 

Elements of Compensation

In the following section, we describe the elements of our NEO compensation packages.  It includes a discussion of how we determine the amounts for each element, why each element is included in our NEO compensation program and the actual payments resulting from our pay-for-performance incentive programs.

 

Base SalarySalaries

Why We Provide Base Salaries

We offer base salaries to provide a consistent and stable source of income to our NEOs.  Base salaries also serve as a base amount for the determination of our pay-for-performance programs and serve as a significant retentiontool for recruiting, motivation and recruiting tool.retention.

 

How We Determine Base Salary Amounts

We establish base salaries and assess market competitiveness by comparing our executives’ qualifications, experience and responsibilities as well as their individual performance and value, withto similar positions at our peers.peer banks.  Additional factors that play a role in setting the final base salary amount for NEOs are as follows:

special·Special circumstances related to staffing needs and market situations; and

levels·Levels of compensation provided from other compensation components.

 

When determining base salary amounts for a newly hired NEOs,NEO, we incorporate the following additional factors:

the·The prior incumbent’s salary;

the·The successful candidate’s salary history;

any·Any market-based data provided by the external recruiter retained for the search; and

the·The salary requirements of other candidates being considered for the position who have a similar level of experience.

 

In late 2007,2012, our Personnel and Compensation Committee engaged ChaseCompGroup to conduct a comprehensive market assessment for our executive team.  The results of the market analysis of base salaries conducted by Amalfi determined that ourindicated the NEO base salaries were comparable tonear the medianmarket median; however the base salary for one of our peers.NEOs, our CFO, was below the market median.  We have since adjusted the salary for this position to a level more competitive for this position.

 

Consistent with national market data provided by ChaseCompGroup and in line with our overall company-wide merit pool, four of our NEOs received a 3% merit increase in base salary for 2015.  Our Chief Wealth Officer, however, received a 5% merit increase which puts him slightly above the 50th percentile of his peer group and takes into consideration his experience and expertise.  The table below shows changes to ourBoard approved NEO base salaries. Increases in 2008 reflected a combination of meritsalary increases and changes to better align our NEOs with peer medians as determined in the Amalfi compensation review. Due to the current economic climate, our NEOs have voluntarily relinquished any increases to their base salaries for 2009.indicated below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BASE SALARY

Name and Principal Position

 

2015

 

2014 to 2015
% increase

 

2014

 

2013 to 2014
% increase

 

2013

Mark A. Turner –

President and Chief Executive Officer

 

$642,967

 

3%

 

$624,240

 

2%

 

$612,000

Stephen A. Fowle –

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (1)

 

NA

 

NA

 

328,600

 

6%

 

310,.000

Paul D. Geraghty, Sr. –

Executive Vice President and Chief Wealth Officer

 

312,500

 

5%

 

297,600

 

2%

 

291,700

Rodger Levenson –

Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer

 

350,000

 

3%

 

339,700

 

2%

 

333,000

Richard M. Wright –

Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer

 

338,400

 

3%

 

328,500

 

2%

 

322,000

23(1)On February 19, we announced that Mr. Fowle will resign as CFO of the Company following the first quarter of 2015.

 

31



 

Base Salary


NAMED EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS



2007



20081


2007 to 2008
% increase


2009

2008 to 2009 % increase

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark A. Turner – President
and Chief Executive Officer

$375,000

$405,000

8.0%

$405,000

0%

Marvin N. Schoenhals -
Chairman of the Board

463,000

463,000

0%

463,000

0%

Stephen A. Fowle -
Executive Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer

197,000

210,000

6.6%

210,000

0%

Rodger Levenson -
Executive Vice President
and Director of
Commercial Banking1

235,000

235,000

0%

235,000

0%

Richard M. Wright – Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking and Marketing

190,060

225,000

18.4%

225,000

0%

1 Increases effective March 1, 2008 based on 2007 performance, except for Mr. Levenson whose increase

was effective November 1, 2007, and Mr. Wright whose increase was retroactive to January 1, 2008

as a resultTable of his additional duties as Director of Marketing.Contents

 

Annual Incentives

Our executives are eligible for an annual award under our Management Incentive Plan (MIP).MIP. We designed the MIP to reward performance based onexecutives for excellence in performance on key financial metrics determined by the Committee, as compared to the PPG, defined in thePeer Groups & Benchmarkingsection presented earlier, andwell as each executive’s performance in meeting benchmarks related to theand contribution toin his or her area of responsibility.  The Committee also retains the discretion to increase or decreaseadjust the awards underpaid in conjunction with the MIP to take into consideration special performance events or other performance-based circumstances.  In 2014, the Committee exercised this discretion to adjust our MIP awards, as more fully described in our discussion of the “Quality of Earnings Review” on page 33.

 

In addition to the incentive payments determined under the MIP, the Committee has the discretion to grant other awards to NEOs for extraordinary performance-based achievements. The Board did not exercise this discretion in 2008.

Why We Provide Annual Incentives

Our compensation program includes an annual performance-based award.  The objective is to compensate executives based on achievement of bank-widecompany-wide and individual goals related to building franchise value and shareholderstockholder value. The award is intended to reward short-termcurrent performance, typically annually,which is also in line with our long-term goals, and to motivate the executive to achieve outstandinghigh-performing results.

 

How We Determine Annual Incentive Amounts


The structure of our annual incentive plan includes: setting Companycompany-wide goals; setting personalindividual performance goals; weighting the goals; providing incentive opportunities to NEOs; and measuring actual performance and calculating incentive awards.

 

·Setting Company performance goals

Setting Company goals

Each year the Committee reviews our metrics and establishes company-wide targets on the chosen metrics.  In selecting the metrics, the Committee considers our short-term and long-term business strategy, the current business environment and the interests of the shareholders.stockholders.  The following metrics of our performance were chosen for 20082014 and, remainwith the exception of a change in 2013 from “Return on Equity” to “Return on Tangible Common Equity,” we remained consistent with those selected in 2007.

1.

Return on assets (ROA)

2.

Return on equity (ROE)

3.

Earnings per share (EPS) growth

Each was weighted evenly in our incentive plan.

 In 2008, the Committee changed the way it compared our performance to peers. In 2007, the Committee used 2006 PPG performance data to set the goals for 2007.   For many years, this one-year lag approach had not been an issue because the peer performance had been relatively consistent from year to year. In 2007, and to a lesser extent in 2006, the lag presented difficulties in fairly assessing our performance because of the sharp and notable decline in the economic environment and its impact on bank performance metrics. As a result, payments to our executives significantly decreased for 2007, which were paid in 2008. In an improving environment, the reverse would be true. In response to this weakness, the Committee redesigned the plan for 2008 to incorporate a contemporaneous measurement period that compares our 2008 performance to the 2008 performance of our peers. The availability of financial and other performance data is available shortly after the year-end and provides us the ability to assess performance on a comparable basis. If the economic environment changes during the year, either positively or negatively, a contemporaneous measurement comparison provides a much fairer approach to comparing our performance to peers.previous several years.  They were:

 

Under our 2008 MIP,1.Return on assets (ROA)

2.Return on tangible common equity (ROTCE)

3.Earnings per share (EPS) growth

It is a common practice for organizations to review and adjust performance metrics at the “threshold” levelonset of a new performance period to learn from past experiences and implement best practices.  This review process helps ensure that company-wide goals used for incentive plans support the Company’s overall strategy, accommodate any shifts in strategy from year-to-year or during market changes and learn from past experiences and best practices.  Management, working with the Personnel and Compensation Committee consultant, ChaseCompGroup, believed it was appropriate and in the best interests of stockholders to maintain the structure of the plan, while modifying the absolute levels of performance for each goalof these metrics.   As was set at the 40th percentilecase last year, the Personnel and Compensation Committee have the ultimate discretion to modify awards downward if some threshold level is not achieved.   Examples of potential modifiers to reduce or eliminate awards include, but are not limited to: downgrading of the 2008 PPG performance; the “target” level for each goal was set at the 60th percentile and the “maximum” level for each goal was set at the 75th percentile. Although the comparison was modified to be contemporaneous, the expectation levels remained the same as in prior years. Setting the “target” at the 60th percentileBank’s CAMELS rating, imposition of peer performance is a clear reflection of the high performance expectations placed upon our NEOs. In 2008, the achievement of “Maximum” in all three performance criteria was accomplished by only 13% of the organizations in the PPG in 2008. Therefore, on a contemporaneous measurement basis, we continue to expect a “maximum” incentive award will be achieved only if we are anexceptionallyhigh-performing company compared to peers.regulatory enforcement actions, or excessive non-performing assets.

 

In addition, as in the past, the Personnel and Compensation Committee reserves the right to recover (“claw-back”) any incentives that were paid due to fraudulent activity, inaccurate performance criteria or reporting, or financial restatements.

2015 MIP Performance Goals

As with 2014, ROA, ROTCE and EPS Growth, with equal weightings, were established as the metrics to be used in 2015.  We believe that other essential goals, such as growth, efficiency and asset quality are adequately represented in these goals and the individual performance goals of each NEO.

Company-wide performance goals for 2015 are shown below.  These goals were set after taking into consideration a number of factors, including our 2015 budget, strategic plan and industry performance of high-performing banks.  These goals are set at levels consistent with our strategic plan goal of becoming a high-performing bank (sustainable 1.20%+ ROA by the end of 2015).

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Table of Contents

Performance Metric

Threshold
2015

Target
2015

Maximum
or Stretch

2015

 

Return on Average Assets (ROA)

1.00%

1.10%

1.20%

 

Return on Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE)

11.8%

12.9%

14.0%

 

Earnings Per Share Growth EPS

5%

9%

15%

Additionally, for 2015, the Board of Directors approved a change to the plan to modify the cash payment based on performance against a broad group of similarly-sized banking companies to include all publically-traded banks and thrifts with assets between $2 billion and $10 billion.  If our results for the three company-wide performance metrics have a weighted average at or above this broad peer group’s 75th percentile, the NEO’s incentive awards will be increased by an additional ten percent of salary.  If performance falls below this broad peer group’s 50th percentile, the incentives will be reduced by ten percent of salary.

After a thorough review and discussion, the Personnel and Compensation Committee approved the modifications to the performance period, we applied an additional modifierMIP Plan for 2015.  They also concluded these changes would not expose the company to any material risk.

Claw-back Policy

NEOs are subject to a claw-back policy under which they would be obligated to forfeit and repay any bonus, award or incentive compensation paid under a benefit plan to the corporateextent that such bonus, award or incentive compensation was due to fraudulent activity or based on statements of earnings, revenues, gains, the performance goals. We believe it wouldmetric criteria of a benefit plan or other criteria that are later found to be inappropriate to

25materially inaccurate by the Personnel and Compensation Committee.

 

Quality of Earnings Review


provide high payments forWe also conduct a sub-par performance year even if we significantly outperformed our peers. To protect against such a situation, we established an ROA-based modifier. Based on historically reasonable performance for the industry, the baseline ROA for the plan was set at 1.0%. If our ROA falls below 1.0% at the completion“quality of the year, any payments otherwise due under the plan would be reduced by the percentage below the ROA baseline. The table below illustrates how the plan is intended to work.

2008 Year-End ROA

Performance Peer Group (PPG) Results

ROA

Threshold (40th percentile)

0.28%

Target (60th percentile)

0.56%

Maximum (75th percentile)

0.75%

Results

(Achieved between Threshold and Target)

0.50%

Payment with ROA Modifier

Target amount calculated at 50%

In prior years, we evaluatedearnings” review which evaluates any unusual, one-time items greater than $1$2 million, after tax, which impact cash, equity and consideredearnings, and considers them for adjustments for the purposes of calculating earnings for the MIP.  Beginning in 2008, we increased this threshold. Our “quality of earnings” review now takes into consideration any unusual item greater than $2 million that impacts cash equity or earnings. The modification requires consideration in the “quality of earnings” for any unusual items affecting franchise value, but did not necessarily impact earnings (i.e. material deferred revenue or deferred costs, items with no tax impact, and any adjustments directly to equity). Any “quality of earnings” evaluation will beevaluations are made with a strong bias towards ensuring that management is accountable for reported results.  For 2014, our review concluded that a first-quarter, $6.7 million ($10.3 million pre-tax equivalent) tax benefit related to our reverse mortgage assets should be excluded from the impactcalculation of earnings for purposes of our MIP.  Additionally, we concluded that $4.0 million (pre-tax) of corporate development costs, largely related to reportedthe acquisition of the First Wyoming Financial Corporation, should also be excluded from the calculation of earnings is not donefor purposes of our MIP.  As a result, solely for the purpose of achieving earnings targets as defined undercomputing MIP awards, all our metrics were adjusted downward.  The adjusted ROA was 1.08%, the annual incentive plan.adjusted ROTCE was 12.9% and the adjusted growth in EPS over 2013 was 11.9%.

 

·Setting individual performance goals

Setting personal performance goals

At the beginning of the year, each NEO who reports to the CEO develops personalindividual performance goals for the year consistent with the budget and strategic plan, and submits themas well as for personal professional growth.  These goals are submitted to the CEO for review, amendment and approval.  Through aan iterative, collaborative effort, these NEOs and the CEO agree to the final individual performance goals.

In general, personal  Individual performance goals are established using four categories: Customer, Associate, Financial and Operational. All or some of the four categories may applytailored to each NEO depending upon each person’sNEO’s function and particular area of responsibility, and its impact on our strategic plan.may cover a wide variety of performance, including, by way of example, financial performance, customer engagement, operational milestones and other matters.

 

Under theThe MIP the Committee measures the performance of the CEO and Chairman solely on Company-widecompany-wide goals.  However, the Board of Directors also establishes individual performance expectations for the CEO in addition to those associated with the MIP for these two NEOs.MIP.  These performance expectations are established by the Committee after a review, discussion and approval of recommendations submitted by the CEO and Chairman.CEO.  When annual salary adjustments are being considered, the Committee assesses the performance of the NEO performanceas compared to these performance expectations.

 

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·Weighting the goals

Weighting the goals

The Committee believes the more senior the rank of the executive, the more responsibility that executive has for Company-wide performance.  As a result, for the more senior executives, Company-wide performance measurement criteria play a larger role in determining the amount of incentive award the more senior the executive. Personalawards.  Individual and business unit performance goals play a larger role in determining the amount of the incentive award for less senior ranked executives.  Adjustments inFor 2014, the weighting of goals were made beginning withpercentage for the 2008 plan year to better align executives with their respective level of authority, decision makingCEO was 100% for Company-wide performance and impact on results. The0% for individual performance.  For 2014, the weighting percentage for each of the bank-wide performance percentage for EVPs was increased to 75% for Company-wide performance and 25% for individual performance, reflecting their increasedhis or her role in strategic matters.

The table below showsweightings for the weighting of performance measurement criteriaCEO and EVPs will not change for each NEO.2015.

Weighting of Performance Criteria by NEO

Named Executive Officer

Bank-Wide

Performance

Personal

Performance

Mark A. Turner – President and Chief Executive Officer

100%

0%

Marvin N. Schoenhals – Chairman of the Board

100%

0%

Stephen A. Fowle – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

75%

25%

Rodger Levenson – Executive Vice President and Director of Commercial Banking

75%

25%

Richard M. Wright – Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking and Marketing

75%

25%

 

MIP awards are calculated using thethese percentage allocations shown above.allocations.  For example, in 2014, the MIP awardsaward for Mr. Turner, and Mr. Schoenhals areour CEO, was based entirely on Company-wide financial performance.  Although they have personalhe has individual performance goals, it is the companyCompany-wide metrics that affect their MIP awards.his annual incentive (MIP) award.   The Personnel and Compensation Committee has discretion to determine the amounts of final award payouts to all our NEOs, with the exception of the CEO, which is at the recommendation of the Personnel and Compensation Committee and at the discretion of the full Board of Directors.

 

·Providing incentive opportunities to NEOs

Providing incentive opportunities to NEOs

The table below shows NEO annual non-equity (cash) incentive opportunities for 2014 under the MIP.MIP as a percentage of base salary.  When setting MIP goals, the Committee took into consideration the opportunity levels for similar positions within the Compensation Peer Group (CPG) companies along with our philosophy of linking pay to performance.  If we meet our Company-wide performance criteria andand/or the NEOs achieve their personalindividual performance criteria, and our ROA is at least 1.0%, we would provide awards as shown in the table.  While targetsLevels for “Minimum,” “Target” and “Stretch” for all NEOs in 2014 were unchanged from 2013 levels.  The Committee believes the CEO and Chairman remain identical to 2007, in 2008, target levels for EVPs were increased by 5%, from 35% to 40%. No changes were made to thresholds or maximum payments for any NEO. The modification of target levels for EVPs was intended to addressgreater the increases in responsibilities of these executives. While these changes could have the effect of increasing incentive awards, the


higher alignment of performance weightings with corporateCompany-wide goals, and the more objectivity that exists in plan administration, should ensurethe more likely it will be that incentive payments will be commensurate with an overall improvement in our performance.  Our recent market analysis confirmed that the target earning opportunities, shown below, remain competitive.

 

MIP Opportunity as a Percent of Base Salary

Named Executive Officer

Minimum

Target

Maximum

Mark A. Turner – President and Chief Executive Officer

25%

50%

120%

Marvin N. Schoenhals – Chairman of the Board

25%

50%

120%

Stephen A. Fowle – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

17.5%

40%

90%

Rodger Levenson – Executive Vice President and Director of Commercial Banking

17.5%

40%

90%

Richard M. Wright – Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking and Marketing

17.5%

40%

90%

 

MIP 2014 Annual Non-Equity Award Opportunity as a Percent of Base Salary

Name and Principal Position

Minimum

Target

Maximum
or Stretch

Mark A. Turner –

President and Chief Executive Officer

25.0%

50%

120%

Stephen A. Fowle –

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

17.5%

40%

90%

Paul D. Geraghty, Sr. –

Executive Vice President and Chief Wealth Officer

17.5%

40%

90%

Rodger Levenson –

Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer

17.5%

40%

90%

Richard M. Wright –

Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer

17.5%

40%

90%

 

Timing of MIP Annual Awards and IRS Section 409A Requirements

The timingPayment of annual incentive awards under the MIP occurs no later than March 15th of the year following the performance period.  This timing usually provides ample opportunity for the finalization of year-end performance results as well as maintaining compliance with respect to the short-term deferral exception under Section 409A requirements of the Internal Revenue Service code. In addition, we made modifications, where necessary, to all plan documents to be in compliance with Section 409A prior to December 31, 2008.Code.

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Table of Contents

 

Measuring actualActual Performance and Calculating Incentive Payments

In December 2013, the Committee revised the MIP for our NEOs.  The intention was to simplify the existing plan, which had been in place for nearly ten years and to make the plan metrics more dynamic.  The following is a summary of the current plan design:

·A proportional approach (interpolation) will be used to calculate incentive payouts for the performance results that fall between threshold, target and calculating incentive paymentsstretch levels;

·The Company will conduct a “quality of earnings review” to consider adjustments from GAAP reported earnings to MIP earnings;

·Award opportunities will be based on specified percentages of base salary for Threshold, Target and Stretch achievement by NEOs; and

·Other elements of the plan design, as described above.

The table below shows our 2008 targeted goals as compared to2014 actual results. Our score is calculated by determining the 2008average of scoring for our performance against ROA, ROTCE and earnings per share growth (for 2014, adjusted downward for “quality of our Performance Peer Group (PPG). The formulaearnings” adjustments) versus pre-established performance targets.  A numerical value is computed by assigninginterpolated based on a valuescore of 1 for Threshold,“threshold,” 2 for Target“target” and 3 for Maximum. Our performance“stretch.”  This score is comparedapplied to the MIP goalspayout percentages, and a numerical valuepayout is interpolated. For example, if our ROAcalculated. The individual performance was exactly half-way between the Threshold goal (a value of 1) and Target goal (a value of 2), our ROA would receive a score of 1.5.is calculated similarly.

 

28

 

2014 MIP Company-Wide Performance Goals and Results

 

 

 

2014

Goal

Threshold

Target

Maximum
or Stretch

WSFS
Results

Result

 

Return on Assets (ROA)

0.95%

1.05%

1.15%

1.08%

Above Target

Return on Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE)

11.9%

13.1%

14.4%

12.9%

Nearly Target

 

Earnings Per Share (EPS) Growth

5%

10%

20%

11.9%

Above Target

 

 

 

 

Aggregate
Result

Above Target

 


2008 Management Incentive Plan Company Performance Goals and Results

 

Percentile Rank to PPG

2008

Goal

Threshold (40th)

Target (60th)

Max (75th)

Actual Results

Score

Return on Assets (ROA)

0.31%

0.61%

0.76%

.50%

1.79

Return on Equity (ROE)

2.69%

6.47%

9.16%

7.30%

2.40

Earnings Per Share (EPS) Growth

-59.15%

-22.02%

-0.39%

-43.5%

1.51

 

 

 

 

Average

1.90

 

 

 

 

Percentile Rank

57th

ForAs the table above shows, for the purposes of ourthe MIP, our Return on Assets was 0.50%1.08% in 2008, which ranked in the 54th percentile of peers; Our2014, our Return on Tangible Common Equity was 7.30% in 2008, which ranked in the 67th percentile;12.9%, and our growth of Earnings Per Share was -43.50% in 2008, which ranked in the 50thpercentile. On average,11.9%.   Combined, these three metrics ranked usresulted in the 57th percentile.

The MIP awards were based on financial information available to the Personnel and Compensation Committee at the time the recommendation and approval was made.

Since 2008 was a very difficult year for us and for the entire banking industry, all performance measures declined. But, we compared well to 2008 industry performance measures. The total value of awards to NEOs under the MIP was $588,574 for 2008. This compares to $802,317 for 2007. As a result, total MIP incentive awards to NEOs were 27% lower for 2008 than awards granted for 2007. The decline was the result of us not achieving our targets, which was directly related to the economic downturn affecting the financial services industry, particularly in credit costs.

Also, NEO achievement of some personal performance goals was impacted by the overall credit downturn in the financial services industry. For example, the deteriorating credit environment required additional provisions for loan losses in 2008. This negatively affected NEO personal performance that was tied to budgeted goals.

The CEO reviewed our 2008 performance and the NEO personal performance levels using the criteria described above. He presented incentive recommendations to the Committee based on that review. The table below shows the actual payments approved by the Committee for each NEO under the MIP. The Committee did not make any discretionary adjustments to the recommended amounts.


Actual 2008 paid in 2009

NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER

MIP Target Opportunity as a % of Base Salary

Percent of Total Compensation

# of Restricted Stock Units

Value1

Mark A. Turner – President

and Chief Executive Officer

50%

30%

7,611

$ 177,179

Marvin N. Schoenhals – Chairman of the Board

50%

30%

8,701

202,571

Stephen A. Fowle – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

40%

24%

2,902

67,551

Rodger Levenson – Executive Vice President and Director of Commercial Banking

40%

23%

3,054

71,092

Richard M. Wright – Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking and Marketing

40%

24%

3,015

70,181

1Value is based on a grant date fair value of $23.28 on February 25, 2009 and vest over at least four years.

Mr. Wright received a retroactive base salary increase as he acted as a transitional leader for all of 2008 during the time we were conducting a search for an executive to head our marketing department. In January 2009, we decided to end the search and asked Mr. Wright to more permanently assume that responsibility. His 2009 MIP goals will also reflect his additional responsibilities.

Limited, One-Time Annual Incentive Opportunity for 2008

The modificationscore 12/100ths of the performance period used for the annual incentive plan was undertaken to improve fairness in the original incentive plan design. Along with this modification, the Committee approved a one-time incentive opportunity for all MIP plan participants during 2008. Under this one-time arrangement, an EPS target of $4.77 was set at the beginning of 2008. This target was considered to be an appropriateway between Target and reasonably challenging goal in a difficult environment and represented an increase of 5% from 2007 reported EPS. Shares of our stock were to be awarded as payment under this plan. Upon attainment of the target, the CEO and Chairman were to receive 1,030 shares and EVPs were to receive 486 shares. The plan had no threshold and was capped at the specified share amounts. At the end of 2008, the EPS target was not achieved and no shares were awarded under this one-time arrangement.Maximum or Stretch.

 

Equity/Long-Term Incentives

Our equity-based compensation plan is the primary method by which we provide long-term incentives to our executives.  In the past, we typically made awards and provided incentivesPursuant to our NEOs in the form of stock options annually, but other forms of equity compensation were available for award under our plan. 2008 was the first year in which2013 Plan, we provided restricted stock.


Why We Offer Equity

We offer equity awards as a performance incentive to encourage ownership of our Common Stock toby our executives and to further align the interests of management with those of our stockholders.  Equity awards also provide value by attracting, motivating and retaining executives and provide appropriate and meaningful rewards to NEOs for our long-term success.  Beginning in 2013, and for a period of five years, our CEO will not receive equity awards under the 2013 Plan (See “CEO Equity Incentive Compensation” below).

Annual Performance-Based Awards

In 2014, the LTI plan provided EVP-level NEOs with option awards at 25% of base salary.   The total value of the equity awards using the Black-Scholes valuation model granted to our NEO’s in 2014 for 2013 performance under this plan was $314,180.  These shares had a four year vesting schedule.  As mentioned previously, beginning in 2013, and for a period of five years our CEO will not receive equity awards under the 2013 plan.

Changes to our Equity/Long Term Incentives - Annual Performance-Based Awards To improve pay-for-performance, NEOs, other than the CEO, will have the opportunity to earn performance-based equity awards.  In addition, supplemental equity awards, which in the past have compensated NEOs for, among other things,

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Table of Contents

contribution limitations to qualified retirement plans imposed by the IRS (“in lieu of” awards), have been eliminated and added to the basic equity plan and awards have been revised to reward for attainment of our performance levels.  The plan, structured as part of our MIP plan, is designed so that NEOs will have the potential to earn 25%-35%-45% of their salary in equity awards at threshold, target and stretch performance levels for the same three bank-wide goals: ROAA, ROATCE and EPS Growth.  Additionally, under this revised plan, one-half of the equity awards will be stock options with four year vesting and a seven year life, and one-half of the equity awards will be restricted stock units with four year vesting.  This revision is effective for grants made in 2015 reflecting our performance goals.  These performance goals are the same as those detailed in the “2015 MIP Performance Goals” section, above.

 

How We Determine Equity Award LevelsMulti-Year, High-Performance Awards

In MarchWith the exception of 2008, the Committee, with Amalfi’s assistance, designedour CEO, our NEOs also participated in a formal performance-based, long-termmulti-year, high-performance incentive plan.  The following discussion provides details on the design of the plan, along with award levels for 2008.

Long-Term Incentive (LTI) Plan Design

Our annual restricted stock award program delivers equity awards at the 40th percentile of market levels as long as the minimum level ROA of 1.0% is achieved annually. Restricted stock awards will be reduced in a proportional manner, identical to the methodology used for the annual incentive plan, if the minimum level of ROA is not met in a given year. Restricted stock awarded in 2008 have a five-year life and a minimum of a four-year vesting schedule. As a result of our participation in the TARP, the Treasury requires that full vesting may not occur until their equity interest has been repaid to the Treasury. As a result, the final vesting tranche will occur at the later of the end of the fourth year or the repayment of the Treasury’s equity interest.

In addition, under the LTIthis plan, restricted stock (or performance shares) areawards were granted at the beginning of a four-yearthe performance period, but were not actually earned until certain performance goals arewere met. In the example presented below, the 2008 grant of restricted shares will be earned at the end of 2011 or at an earlier year-end, butonly ifwe achieve certain ROA goals. Once earned, restricted stock awards will then have a minimum four-year vesting period toTo aid in retention, subject to the Treasury’sany shares of restricted stock earned then start a four-year vesting restrictions mentioned above.period. Shares of restricted stock were issued in 2014 for performance metrics met in 2013. This plan is no longer active.

 

Compensation expense is recognized only when the performance condition is considered probable. If we fail to achieve the ROA performance goals, any compensation expenses associated with the restricted stock awards will be reversed and the awards will not vest.


Multi-Year
Restricted
Stock
Award

Restricted stock granted at

Beginning of 2008

_______________________

Grant is earned at the end of 2011 based
on achieving ROA goal in 2011


_______________________

4-year ROA goal

Only if earned, additional 4-year
vesting schedule applied, subject to
Treasury restrictions.

Annual
Restricted

2008 Stock Grant

_____________________

Stock Grants

(4-year ratable
vesting schedule

2009 Stock Grant

_____________________

Subject to
Treasury
Restrictions)

2010 Stock Grant

_____________________

ThreeIn this plan, three levels of restricted stock awards can becould have been earned based upon ROA performance achievement: Maximum 1, Maximum 2 and Maximum 3.achievement.  We useused a cliff vesting approach so that defined ROA levels must behave been achieved by the end of 2011the plan period (which was December 31, 2013) to earn one or more of these award levels. If performance is below the Maximum 1 level by the end of 2011, the restricted stock award will not be earned during this initial performance period. If, by 2011, we achieve an ROA of 1.50%, the participants will earn the maximum award of restricted stock. If we achieve any of these ROA goals prior to 2011, the awards may be earned in the year in which the ROA goal was met. The table below provides the ROA goals used to determine the vesting of the restricted stock award. The Committee set the ROA goals at high-performance levels with the Maximum 1, Maximum 2, and Maximum 3 goals approximately equal to the 70th, 80th, and 90th percentile of the Peer Performance Group’s (PPG’s) 2006 performance results.

2011 Goal

Maximum 1 ROA

Maximum 2 ROA

Maximum 3 ROA

ROA

1.20%

1.35%

1.50%

Award Levels Provided Under the LTI Plan

As noted earlier, we will award annual restricted stock grants targeting the 40th percentile of peers as long as we maintain an ROA of 1.0%. This award level provides the CEO and Chairman with awards at approximately 40% of base salary and EVPs with awards at approximately 25% of base salary as long as our ROA is greater than 1.0%.

 

Under this plan, the multi-yearPersonnel and Compensation Committee set performance goals of 1.00% ROA for Level 1 performance; 1.125% ROA for Level 2 performance; and 1.25% ROA for Level 3 performance, reflecting industry standards, our ROA goals in the current economic climate and consistent with the goals established in our strategic plan.

Based on our performance during a challenging economic environment, there was no restricted stock awards, bothearned or granted between 2009 and 2013 under this plan.  However, because our adjusted ROA was 1.02% in 2013, the earnings potential and goal targets are set higher. If we achieveLevel 1 performance criterion was achieved.  As a result, the Maximum 1 level of performance (or 1.20% ROA), the CEO and Chairman will earn approximately 120% of base salary in restricted stock. An EVP will earn approximately 80% of base salary in restricted stock. The two tables below show the award opportunity levels for all NEOs under the new LTI plan.


The first table shows the annual award opportunity and the long-termearned restricted stock award opportunity, both asbased on a percent of salary.Level 1 award.  The actualawarded shares vest over four years.  Mr. Geraghty was eligible for a lower number of restricted shares awarded will depend upon stock price and option value atbecause he joined our company after the timeinception of grant.

the plan, but was included because of his meaningful contribution to our results. Our CEO was not eligible to receive this award because of a change in his equity compensation plan in 2013.  For a more detailed discussion of our CEO compensation, see “CEO Equity Award Opportunity under the Long-Term Incentive Plan

NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Annual Restricted Stock Grant as a % of Base Salary

Performance-Based Restricted Stock Grants as a % of Base Salary

1.20%

ROA

1.35%

ROA

1.50%

ROA

Mark A. Turner – President and
Chief Executive Officer

40%

120%

180%

240%

Marvin N. Schoenhals – Chairman of the Board

40%

120%

180%

240%

Stephen A. Fowle – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

25%

80%

100%

140%

Rodger Levenson – Executive Vice President and Director of Commercial Banking

25%

80%

100%

140%

Richard M. Wright – Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking and Marketing

25%

80%

100%

140%

Compensation,” below.  The following table shows the number of shares of restricted stock awards grantedreceived by NEOs in 2008,2014 under the long-term plan, representing an award opportunity for each NEO, subject to designatedmulti-year high performance criteria.plan:

Multi-Year High Performance Awards Received in 2014

Name and Principal Position

Number of Restricted Shares

Mark A. Turner –

President and Chief Executive Officer

-

Stephen A. Fowle –

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

3,500

Paul D. Geraghty, Sr. –

Executive Vice President and Chief Wealth Officer

1,400

Rodger Levenson –

Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer

3,500

Richard M. Wright –

Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer

3,500

DueCEO Equity Incentive Compensation

In 2013, the Board of Directors recommended, a change to the performance vesting provisionequity incentive compensation of our CEO by executing a Non-Plan Stock Option Agreement.  This plan was overwhelmingly approved by 97.9% of voting stockholders, with 88.5% of eligible stockholders voting on this proposal.  Under this agreement, Mr. Turner received a grant of 250,000 stock options with an exercise price equal to 20% above the long-term restrictedthen market value of our common stock.  The stock awards,options issued under the possibility exists that some or noneNon-Plan Stock Option Agreement have an exercise price of these restricted stock awards will vest at the end of the designated performance period. Awards vary in size based on performance achievement.

33

 

36



GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDSTable of Contents

 

NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Grant Date

Estimated Future Payouts Under Equity Incentive Plan Awards1

Fair Value

Threshold

#

Target

#

Maximum

#

Mark A. Turner, President and Chief Executive Officer

5/28/08

11,100

16,600

22,200

$ 0

Marvin N. Schoenhals, Chairman

5/28/08

11,100

16,600

22,200

   0

Stephen A. Fowle, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

5/28/08

3,500

4,300

6,000

   0

Rodger Levenson, Executive Vice President and Director of Commercial Banking

5/28/08

3,500

4,300

6,000

   0

Richard M. Wright, Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking and Marketing

5/28/08

3,500

4,300

6,000

   0

1Should$49.52 and expire on February 28, 2020. Vesting occurs over a five year period with 40% vesting after the minimum performance fail to be achieved, no awards will vest, participants will receive no sharessecond year and no compensation cost will be recognized. At December 31, 2008, the achievement20% vesting in each of the performance criteria was not deemed to be probable. As a result no compensation expense was recognized in 2008 for these awards.following three years.

 

The Committee has the discretionary authority to approveagreement also provided that Mr. Turner would no longer be eligible for any new equity awards for outstanding performancea five-year period beginning in 2013 (2013 through 2017 fiscal years, awarded in 2013 through 2018), including eligibility for significant awards under our existing long-term incentive plan, our Multi Year High-Performance Awards and our supplemental equity award plan designed to make up for our lack of deferred compensation plans, which are in use at many other specific events. The Committee did not exercise this discretionary authority in March 2009.peer institutions.  If Mr. Turner had continued to be eligible for those plans, we estimate that the value of those awards would have been worth approximately $1,438,000 for 2013 through 2015, the first three years of his five years of ineligibility.

 

Timing and Pricing of Equity Awards

The Committee now awards restricted stockequity grants, generally at the February meeting of the Personnel and Compensation Committee.  Grants may be recommended during other times of the year for special circumstances, such as the hiring of a new executive, but are subject to Committee approval.  The grant date is established when the Committee or other authorized body approves the grant and all key terms have been established. The fair value

Associate Service Bonus Plan

Our NEOs also participate in an Associate Service Bonus Plan which is offered to all of our restricted stock awardsAssociates. The two primary components of this plan are our ROA and our Customer Engagement Survey score (CE11) administered by the Gallup Organization.  Specific payouts are determined by management based on reaching specific ROA and CE11 scores.  The following criteria assist in objective accountability and discourage unnecessary and excessive risk-taking or manipulation of earnings:

·An ROA factor is setone component of the calculation of incentive payouts.  If our ROA is less than 1%, there is no score given for that component of the Associate Service Bonus Plan calculation;

·The CE11 factor is the other component of the calculation of the incentive payout and is determined based upon the results of an independent customer engagement survey. This factor is not impacted by our earnings; and

·The incentive payouts are capped at $1,500 per Associate.

Reverse Mortgage Related Assets Bonus

The Board approved payment a special bonus payment to certain NEOs to reflect their role in securing ownership of and ensuring the financial benefits of certain reverse mortgage assets during 2013 and 2014. As a result of this work, the Company recorded a $3.8 million (pre-tax) in income during the third quarter of 2013 and a $6.7 million tax benefit during the first quarter of 2014.  Each of these positive income items were excluded from our MIP results for purposes of NEO incentive compensation.  A total of $200,000 was paid to Associates.  Two NEOs, Mr. Turner and Mr. Fowle received $50,000 each as the market closing price on the day before the Committee meets.part of this one-time bonus payment.

 

Benefits

401(k) Employer Contribution

401(k) Employer Contribution

We provide a 401(k) program that allows Associates to contribute a portion of their pre-tax earnings towards retirement savings.  We offer a Company match to all Associates enrolled in our 401(k) plan as a component of total compensation and to encourage them to participate in the Plan.  We match the first 5% of an Associate’s contribution dollar-for-


dollardollar-for-dollar up to IRS limitations. In addition, the Board may authorize a discretionary profit sharing contribution to all eligible Associates reflecting overall financial performance. In 2008, the Board authorized a discretionary contribution equaling 1.5% of annual compensation for eligible participants. In recent years the amount had been 2%.

Other Deferred Compensation for NEOs

Unlike some members of our peer group, we do not offer SERPs or deferred compensation plans. In consideration of that, the Committee approved additional restricted stock grants to certain highly compensated executives, including the NEOs, to compensate them for, among other things, contribution limitations to qualified retirement plans imposed by the IRS. In prior years, options were awarded. The supplemental equity awards shown in the table below are in addition to the equity awards provided in the table above. These supplemental equity awards are formulaic and are not incentive-based.

 

To calculate the supplemental equity awards,Director and NEO Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan

In 2014, we add the deferral shortfall (the maximum deferral without applying the IRSintroduced a non-qualified deferred compensation limit, minus the IRS limitplan for 2008, which was $230,000) to the lost Company contribution opportunity (base salary minus $230,000),our NEOs and divide the sumBoard of Directors.  It offers pre-tax, voluntary contributions, tax deferred earnings, investment choices and flexible payment options.  This is solely funded by the closing priceparticipant and there is no matching contribution made by us.  This plan was reviewed and approved by our Personnel and Compensation Committee and our Board of our stock as of February 25, 2009. The following table shows the number and value of restricted stock grants used to replace the retirement shortfall for each of our NEOs during 2008.Directors.

Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation

2008 Supplemental Equity Awards (Formulaic)

Named Executive Officer

Number of Restricted Stock Units1

Mark A. Turner – President and Chief Executive Officer

2,419

Marvin N. Schoenhals – Chairman of the Board

2,738

Stephen A. Fowle – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

683

Rodger Levenson – Executive Vice President and Director of Commercial Banking

858

Richard M. Wright – Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking and Marketing

438

 

1Development Allowance

We provide a Development Allowance to our NEOs which provides up to $25,000 per year for the CEO and up to $10,000 per year for Executive Vice Presidents.

Allowable expenses under the Development Allowance Policy include items that would improve the executives’ networking and business development prospects, personal health, time management and general well-being in a way

The grant date fair value37



Table of these awards were: For Mr. Turner, $56,625; for Mr. Schoenhals, $64,095; for Mr. Fowle, $16,000; for Mr. Levenson, $20,075; and for Mr. Wright, $10,250.Contents

 

An additional benefit of using equitythat can reasonably be expected to provide supplemental retirement benefitsresult in improvements to our executives is the resulting increase in stock ownership provided to these key Associates. This further strengthens the alignment of executive goals with the intereststheir productivity as one of our shareholdersexecutives.  CEO expenditures must be approved by the Chairman of the Board of Directors or the Chair of the Personnel and their four-year vesting acts as a retention tool.Compensation Committee.  Expenditures by Executive Vice Presidents must be approved by our CEO.

 


Perquisites

Perquisites are granted to NEOs for specific reasons, and are identified either by the Committee or by the CEO and recommended to the Committee. In past years, perquisites have included club memberships, including country clubs, which are provided to assist in business development and to maintain competitiveness of overall compensation. Perquisites have also included benefits such as personal financial consulting.

As a result of the challenging economic environment, to reduce overall corporate expenses and set the tone for such spending, the NEOs voluntarily relinquished their annual perquisites for both 2008 and 2009. These benefits could be reinstated in 2010.

Unrelated toSeparate from the above perquisites,allowance, executives who are recruited from outside our market may be reimbursed for costs associated with their transitional relocation.

 

Total Compensation

The charts below show the components of total NEO compensation. Consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy, a significant portion of their total compensation package is attributable to incentive components. The incentive categories (below) include the full value of restricted stock unit awards made in lieu of cash bonuses and in lieu of stock options. The value of the restricted stock units used in the graphs below, was computed by multiplying the number of units times our closing stock price on day prior to the grant date. Other compensation includes a company match for 401(k) contributions and awards described inOther Deferred Compensation for NEOsabove.









Compared to the Compensation Peer Group, the average direct compensation and total compensation of our five NEOs is in line with the 50th percentile (median) and well below the 75th percentile. Although the comparison was initially completed in late 2007, we anticipate, under current market conditions, our competitive standing on executive pay remains similar to the prior year.

Employment Agreements

WeBecause of our corporate philosophy which emphasizes commitment based on performance, we do not have employment agreements for our NEOs.  There is, however,We have a formal severance policy which until the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), would have providedprovides payments to NEOs if their employment is terminated without cause or under certain conditions following a change of control. ARRA, signed into law on February 17, 2009, prohibits severance payments from being made to SEOs during the period in which the Treasury holds an equity interest in participating institutions. As a result, our severance policy has been suspended until we no longer participate in the Treasury’s TARP.   Further details concerning Employment Agreements are provided under thePotential Payments Uponupon Termination or Change in ControlSection..”

 

Tax Considerations Related to Our Executive Compensation

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Code Section 162(m)) provides that certain compensation paid in excess of $1 million to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, or to any of the other three most highly compensated NEOsexecutive officers of a public company will not be deductible for federal income tax purposes unless such compensation is paid in accordance with one of the listed exceptions described in Code Section 162(m). Generally, weHowever, certain forms of performance-based compensation are excluded from the $1 million deduction limitation, if certain requirements are met.  The Personnel and Compensation Committee generally seeks, where feasible and consistent with its overall compensation philosophy and objectives, to structure incentive compensation granted to our compensation programs soexecutive officers in a manner that compensation expense will be tax deductible.is intended to minimize or eliminate the impact of the Section 162 (m) deduction limitation.  The deductibility of some types of compensation payments, however, can depend upon numerous factors, including plan design, the timing of the vesting of compensation awards or the exercise of previously granted rights. InterpretationsIn addition, tax deductibility is not the sole factor used by the Personnel and Compensation Committee in setting compensation.  Corporate objectives may not necessarily align with the requirements for full deductibility under Code Section 162(m).  Accordingly, the Personnel and Compensation Committee may grant awards such as time-based restricted stock awards and/or enter into compensation arrangements under which payments are not deductible under Code Section 162(m) if the Personnel and Compensation Committee determines that such non-deductible arrangements are otherwise in the best interests of our stockholders.  Also interpretations of, and changes in, applicable tax laws and regulations, as well as other factors beyond our control, also can affect deductibility of certain compensation.  As a result of these various factors, and in order that the Personnel and Compensation Committee retains flexibility in awarding compensation, there may be situations when compensation paid will not be tax deductible in accordance with Code Section 162(m). Further, during such period that the U.S. Treasury holds its investment in us under the CPP program, the Section 162(m) limitations are set at $500,000 for the SEOs, and the compensation attributable to restricted stock and other “performance-based” compensation is includable in this $500,000 limitation in accordance with applicable U.S. Treasury regulations.

 

Sections 280G and 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Code Sections 280G and 4999) limit our ability to take a tax deduction for certain compensation that could be paid to NEOs resulting from a change in control transaction affecting us.  In the event we pay any “excess parachute payments” as it is defined under Code Section 280G, we would have compensation payments that are not tax deductible and executives would have excise taxes due on the receipt of such “excess parachute payments.”  The Committee considers the adverse tax liabilities imposed by Code Sections 280G and 4999, as well as other competitive factors when it structures certain compensation to our NEOs. We do not anticipate that any payments to be made related to a possible future change in control transaction will result in non-deductible payments under Section 280G of the Code; however, the Committee has the authority to approve such


payments on a case-by-case basis. No such non-deductible payments under Code Section 280G were paid to any current or former NEO during 2008.

SeeExecutive Compensation Restrictionson page 18 for a discussion of additional tax considerations related to our participation in the Treasury’s CPP

 

Other Executive Compensation PoliciesSummary

The Board adopted an Ethics Policy,CEO, the provisions of which prohibit NEOs from using inside information to buy or sell our securities for a financial gain. To further ensure adherence to this policy, guidelines have been established for company-imposed trading blackout periods. Our regulatory counselChief Human Capital Officer, the Chief Risk Officer, and the Chief Financial Officer offer direction to NEOs on compliance with this policy. The policy requires all NEOs to provide an annual certification of their understanding and intent to comply with the policy.

Personnel and Compensation Committee, Report

The Committee haswith advice from its consultants, have reviewed all compensation components for each NEO, including base salary, incentive compensation, and discussed with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis to be included inall of our 2008 Shareholder Meeting Proxy Statement filed pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Proxy”). Based on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the Committee recommends to the Boardincentive compensation plans.  They have determined that the Compensation Discussioncompensation packages awarded to our NEOs, and Analysis referredothers, are consistent with our goals to above be included inprovide compensation that is competitive with our Proxy.peers, that drives financial performance without undue risk, and aligns the interests of our NEOs, and others, with those of our stockholders.

 

PersonnelAccordingly, we believe our compensation programs are reasonable, pay-for-performance-based, competitive, not excessive, and Compensation Committee

Claibourne D. Smith, PhD, Chairman

Linda C. Drake

David E. Hollowell

Thomas P. Preston

Dennis E. Klimado not encourage our executives or any of our Associates to take unnecessary risks that would threaten the value of our financial institution.

 

3839



CompensationTable of ExecutivesContents

In accordance with the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates the disclosures made by public companies such as us, the individuals whose compensation is discussed in this section are (1) Mark A. Turner because he served as our Principal Executive Officer during 2008, (2) Stephen A. Fowle because he served as our Principal Financial Officer during 2008, (3) Marvin N. Schoenhals, (4) Rodger Levensonand(5)Richard M. Wright because their total compensation placed them in the group of the three highest paid executives for 2008 other than the principal executive and principal financial officers. As a group, we also refer to these executives as our Named Executive Officers (NEOs) in this Proxy. The following is information about the compensation of our NEOs.

The information for these executives is organized according to the type of compensation. First, we show overall total compensation, including salaries, bonuses, option awards and certain other compensation, such as the matching contribution made to 401(k) plan investments, club dues and automobile allowances. Then, we explain in more detail the particular types of compensation these executives have received and could receive if they are terminated.

 

Summary Compensation Table

The following discussions and table summarizessummarize the compensation of each NEO for the years ended December 31, 2008, 20072014, 2013 and 2006.2012.

 

Amounts Paid in 2015 for 2014 Performance

·Included in the disclosure of 2014 “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” are cash awards to NEOs in connection with our MIP Plan, based on 2014 performance, as follows: Mr. Turner, $363,148; Mr. Fowle, $153,223; Mr. Geraghty, $151,055; Mr. Levenson, $167,741; and Mr. Wright $145,416.  In addition, each NEO received an all-Associate award of $992.

·Included in the disclosure of 2014 “Bonuses,” in the Summary Compensation Table, below, are cash awards to Mr. Turner and Mr. Fowle who each received a $50,000 Reverse Mortgage Related Assets bonus.

Summary Compensation Table

 

Name and Principal Position

Awards Granted in 2014 for 2013 Performance

Included in the disclosure of 2014 “Stock Awards” and “Option Awards” in the Summary Compensation Table below, is the following:

Year

Salary

($)

Bonus

($)

Stock Awards1

($)

Option Awards2

($)

All Other

Compensation3

($)

Total

($)

Mark A. Turner, President and Chief Executive Officer

2008

2007

2006

$400,000

356,866

262,000

$0

110,000

148,000

$0

0

0

$ 88,928

80,745

112,160

$ 11,500

110,714

27,420

$500,428

658,325

549,580

Marvin N. Schoenhals, Chairman

2008

2007

2006

463,000

459,333

437,500

0

135,000

236,000

0

0

0

41,994

279,541

339,770

11,500

84,413

68,630

516,494

958,287

1,081,900

Stephen A. Fowle, Chief Financial Officer

2008

2007

2006

207,833

196,367

186,000

0

72,000

80,000

0

0

0

42,751

34,093

35,191

11,500

32,699

30,427

262,084

335,159

331,618

Rodger Levenson, Director of Commercial Banking

2008

2007

2006

235,000

226,250

35,048

0

54,000

40,000

0

0

0

58,809

37,994

1,907

11,500

53,285

1,000

305,309

371,529

77,955

Richard M. Wright, Director of Commercial Banking and Marketing

2008

2007

2006

225,000

186,716

130,769

0

50,000

80,000

0

0

0

43,859

25,052

8,621

11,500

11,250

0

280,359

273,018

219,390

 

1 Incentive awards in the form of restricted stock units were awarded in 2009 for 2008 performance. ·The aggregate grant date fair value of these awards were: Forrestricted stock units granted in 2014 in lieu of benefits earned under other deferred compensation plans for 2013 as follows: Mr. Fowle, $31,750; Mr. Geraghty, $22,594; Mr. Levenson, $30,850; and Mr. Wright, $28,650.  Mr. Turner $233,084;was not eligible for Mr. Schoenhals, $266,666; forthis award as a result of his change in equity compensation.

·The aggregate grant date fair value of stock options granted in 2014 and earned in 2013 under our Long-Term Incentive Plan was as follows:  Mr. Fowle, $83,551; for$77,500; Mr. Geraghty, $72,930; Mr. Levenson, $91,167;$83,250; and for Mr. Wright, $80,431. No similar awards were made$80,500.  Mr. Turner was not eligible for 2007 or 2006 performance.this award as a result of his change in equity compensation.

 

Other Awards Granted in 2014

40Included in the disclosure of “Stock Awards” in the Summary Compensation Table below, is the following:


2 Represents the compensation cost recognized by us·The aggregate grant date fair value of shares of restricted stock issued in connection with the Multi Year High-Performance plan (described on page 36) as follows: Mr. Fowle, $164,010; Mr. Geraghty, $82,656; Mr. Levenson, $164,010; and Mr. Wright, $164,010, based on a grant date fair value of $59.04 for Mr. Geraghty and $46.86 for all other NEO’s.  Mr. Turner was not eligible for this award as a result of his change in equity compensation.

Equity Awards Granted in 2015 for 2014 Performance

In 2015, we granted stock options to purchase sharesand restricted stock under the MIP and LTI Plan earned in 2014.  These awards will be reflected in the Summary Compensation Table for 2015, included in our 2016 proxy statement.  The awards were as follows:

·The aggregate grant date fair value of stock options granted in 2015 and earned in 2014 under our Long-Term Incentive Plan, as follows: Mr. Geraghty, $53,821; Mr. Levenson, $61,431; and Mr. Wright, $59,406.  Mr. Turner was not eligible for this award as a result of his change in equity compensation.  Mr. Fowle was not awarded any options as he is leaving the Company near the end of the first quarter.

·The aggregate grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted in 2015 and earned in 2014 under our Long-Term Incentive Plan, as follows: Mr. Geraghty, $53,821; Mr. Levenson, $61,431; and Mr. Wright, $59,406.  Mr. Turner was not eligible for this award as a result of his change in compensation.  Mr. Fowle was not awarded any options as he is leaving the Company near the end of the first quarter.

The following table shows the compensation of our common stock grantedNEOs in 2014, 2013 and 2012.  The increases in 2014 compared to 2013 reflect revised performance targets for the individual, regardlesscompany, with continued improvement in performance of the yearCompany. In summary, for 2014, our NEOs received the following components of granttheir compensation:

·A 2% increase in base salary for most NEOs, consistent with market data and calculatedour company-wide merit pool, and a 6% market adjustment in accordancethe base salary for our CFO;

·Decreased non-equity incentives resulting from higher performance targets for the company in 2014 in conjunction with SFAS 123Ra change from peer-based financial targets to higher predetermined performance targets consistent with our strategic plan.  Plan ROA (actual performance adjusted for financial statement purposes. For more information concerning the assumptions used for these calculations, please see Note 13“quality of earnings” adjustments) improved from 1.02% in 2013, to our 2008 Consolidated Financial Statements.1.08% in 2014;

 

39



Table of Contents

·Restricted stock awards and option awards that reflect: (i) a decrease in option awards reflecting Special Retention and Motivation awards made in 2013, (ii) elimination of equity awards for our CEO, pursuant to the terms of the Non-Plan award approved by stockholders in 2013, and (iii) multi-year High Performance Awards granted in 2014 based on achievement;

·Similar levels of other compensation from the prior year, reflecting no substantive change in our plans and policies regarding our development allowance and 401(k) match.

Summary Compensation Table

Name and Principal
Position

Year

Salary1 
($)

Bonus2 
($)

Stock
Awards
3 
($)

Option
Awards
4 
($)

Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation

($)

All Other
Compensation
5 
($)

Total
($)

 

Mark A. Turner — President and Chief Executive Officer

 

2014

 

2013

 

2012

 

$612,000

 

610,000

 

583,333

 

$50,000

 

-

 

-

 

$             -

 

55,178

 

372,500

 

$              -

 

3,732,500

 

-

 

$ 364,140

 

735,317

 

165,532

 

$ 43,481

 

44,627

 

48,413

 

$1,069,621

 

5,177,622

 

1,169,778

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen A. Fowle - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

2014

 

2013

 

2012

 

325,500

 

306,933

 

283,500

 

50,000

 

-

 

-

 

195,760

 

71,769

 

67,425

 

77,500

 

339,601

 

60,750

 

154,215

 

260,542

 

86,556

 

22,128

 

20,659

 

29,276

 

825,103

 

999,504

 

527,507

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul D. Geraghty, Sr. - Executive Vice President Chief Wealth Officer

(hired August 2011)

 

2014

 

2013

 

2012

 

296,637

 

290,767

 

281,667

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

105,250

 

22,560

 

-

 

72,930

 

314,898

 

34,050

 

152,047

 

252,890

 

109,989

 

15,796

 

15,921

 

15,100

 

642,660

 

897,036

 

440,806

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rodger Levenson — Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer

 

2014

 

2013

 

2012

 

338,583

 

331,900

 

317,333

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

194,860

 

78,919

 

146,151

 

83,250

 

419,153

 

-

 

168,733

 

287,297

 

97,737

 

17,914

 

18,862

 

21,926

 

803,340

 

1,136,131

 

583,147

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard M. Wright - Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer

 

2014

 

2013

 

2012

 

 

327,417

 

320,933

 

306,833

 

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

 

192,660

 

74,662

 

131,291

 

 

80,500

 

342,986

 

-

 

 

146,408

 

262,945

 

93,338

 

 

16,485

 

17,670

 

18,254

 

 

763,470

 

1,019,196

 

549,716

 

1 The amounts shown as salaries in this table may be different from the amounts shown in the Base Salary table on page 31 because this table represents the amount actually paid during a year and the Base Salary table represents year-end base salary level.

2 Represents bonuses paid for the Reverse Mortgage Related Assets Bonus

3 In 2008,  Represents the aggregate fair value of awards on the date they were granted in accordance with ASC Topic 718. See Note 16 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the assumptions made in calculating the grant date fair value.

4 For Mr. Turner, 2013 compensation includes grant-date fair value award of $3.7 million of Non-Plan Stock Options approved both by the Board and by 97.9% of voting stockholders at our 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in connection with his change in equity incentive compensation.  As part of the change in compensation he became ineligible to receive other equity-based awards for a period of five years.  To date, the approximate value of those awards, had he been eligible to receive them, would have been $1.43 million.

5 All Other Compensation representsincludes dividends related to restricted stock that is not factored into the grant date fair value, contributions made by us into the 401(k) plans of each of our NEOs. AsNEOs and a result of the challenging economic environment, to reduce overall corporate expenses and to set the tone for such spending, the NEOs voluntarily gave up their annual perquisites in 2008 and 2009. These benefits could be reinstated in 2010.development allowance.

 

GrantsThe Personnel and Compensation Committee of Restricted Stock

Asthe Board, reviewed and approved these 2014 and prior compensation amounts as: consistent with pre-existing plans overwhelmingly approved by stockholders; pay-for-performance-based; and in alignment with the achievement of the individual goals and the Company’s performance, which, for 2014was a 9.3%improvement in our performance incentive, to encourage ownership of Common Stockon ROA, 1.5% improvement in ROTCE, and to further align the interests of management and stockholders, the Committee grants restricted stock awards to the CEO and Executive Management.14.2% increase in EPS.

 

Grant of Plan-Based Awards

The number of shares granted to executives under our 2013 Incentive Plan is based on a calculation related to the executive’s base salary and may be adjusted by the Committee.  The Committee made awards in 2014 for 2013 performance as summarized in the table below.

 

Under our 2005 Incentive Plan, we issued incentive40



Table of Contents

The following stock option awards were granted to NEOs as part of their long-term incentive: Mr. Fowle, 4.501; Mr. Geraghty, 4,235; Mr. Levenson, 4,834 and non-qualified option grants to one NEO in 2008 for performance in 2007. Mr. Wright, received a grant of 1,000 stock options on February 27, 2008.4,675.  Mr. Turner was not eligible to receive this award resulting from his change in compensation. The options have an exercise price of $48.95$71.47 which is equal to the closing stock price of WSFS Common Stock at the grant date. The grants vest equally over four years and expire on the fifthseventh anniversary of the grant date. This

The following restricted share units were granted to NEOs as part of the Multi-Year High Performance plan: Mr. Fowle, 3,500; Mr. Geraghty, 1,400; Mr. Levenson, 3,500; and Mr. Wright, 3,500.  Mr. Turner was not eligible to receive this award resulting from his change in compensation. The grants vest equally over four years.

The following restricted share units were granted to NEOs in lieu of benefits earned under other deferred compensation plans: Mr. Fowle, 444; Mr. Geraghty, 316; Mr. Levenson, 432; and Mr. Wright, 401.  Mr. Turner was made priornot eligible to our participationreceive this award resulting from his change in the Treasury’s TARP and is considered compensation for 2007. compensation. The grants vest equally over four years.

The Black-Scholes option-pricing model was used to determine the grant-date fair-value of these options. See Note 13 to our 2008 Consolidated Financial Statements for a detailed discussion of how we value option awards.

The number of shares granted to executives under the plan is based on a calculation related to the executive’s base salary and may be adjusted by the Committee. The Committee made no adjustments in 2009 for 2008 performance. In addition,Other than the CEO, and executivesthe NEOs received restricted stock unit grants to compensate them for, among other things, the limitations imposed by Internal Revenue Service Code on highly compensated executives with regard to tax-qualified defined contribution plans, specifically our 401(k) plan.

NEOs received cash bonuses under our Associate Service Bonus Plan.  No options were re-priced, nor were any modifications made to any outstanding option during 2008.2014.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards

 

 

 

 

 

Estimated

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Possible Payouts

All Other

All Other

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under Equity

Stock

Option

Exercise

 

 

 

Estimated Possible Payouts Under

Incentive Plan

Awards:

Awards:

or Base

Grant Date

 

 

Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards1

Awards2

Number of

Number of

Price of

Fair Value

Name and
Principal Position

Grant
Date

Threshold
($)

Target
($)

Maximum
($)

Target
(#)

Shares of
Stock or
Units (#)

Shares of
Stock or
Units (#)

Option

Awards
($/Share)

of Stock and
Option

Awards
5

Mark A. Turner
President and Chief Executive Officer

*

$ 156,060

$312,120

$749,088

-

-

 

-

-

-

Stephen A. Fowle
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

*

2/27/14

2/27/14

2/27/14

43,129

98,580

295,740

4,501

 

3,500 3

444 4

 

 

 

 

4,501

 

 

 

 

$ 71.47

 

 

$164,010

31,750

77,500

 

Paul D. Geraghty, Sr.
Executive Vice President and Chief Wealth Officer

*

2/27/14

2/27/14

2/27/14

 

39,054

89,266

267,799

4,235

 

1,400 3

316 4

 

 

 

 

4,235

 

 

 

 

71.47

 

 

82,656

22,594

72,930

 

Rodger Levenson
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer

*

2/27/14

2/27/14

2/27/14

44,580

101,898

305,694

4,834

 

3,500 3

432 4

 

 

 

 

4,834

 

 

 

 

71.47

 

 

164,010

30,850

83,250

Richard M. Wright
Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer

*

2/27/14

2/27/14

2/27/14

 

43,108

98,532

295,596

4,675

 

3,500 3

401 4

 

 

 

 

4,675

 

 

 

 

71.47

 

 

164,010

28,650

80,500

1 Represents the 2014 award opportunities under the annual incentive component of the MIP.  Actual amounts earned for 2014 are included in the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” column of the Summary Compensation Table on page 40.

2 Represents the 2014 award opportunity under the long-term incentive component of the MIP in which there is only a “Target” level of achievement.  Mr. Turner was not eligible for this award in 2014 (see CEO Equity Incentive Compensation on page 36 for more details).

3 Restricted stock awards granted in 2014 under the Multi-Year High Performance plan.

4 Restricted stock awards granted in 2014 in lieu of benefits earned under other deferred compensation plans.

5 See Note 16 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the assumptions made in calculating the grant date fair value of stock and option awards.

41



Table of Contents

 

Outstanding Equity Awards Value at Fiscal Year-End Table

The following table shows the number and exercise price of all unexercised options held by Named Executive OfficersNEOs as of December 31, 2008.2014, as well as shares of unvested restricted stock owned by the NEOs.  The awards are listed in order of grant date.  The shorter option expiration dates of more recent grants are due to a change in our policy of granting options with a ten-year exercise term to a five-year or seven-year exercise term, from a former ten-year term.  At December 31, 2008, no stockThese awards had been grantedare subject to Named Executive Officers, therefore none are shown in the table.our claw-back policy affecting our NEOs.

 


Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

Option Awards

Stock Awards

Name and Principal
Position

 

Number of
Securities
Underlying

Unexercised
Options

(#)
Exercisable

Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options

(#)
Unexercisable

Option
Exercise
Price

($)

Option
Expiration

Date

Number of
Shares or Units
of Stock That
Have Not
Vested

(#)

Market Value
of Shares or
Units of Stock
That Have Not
Vested

($)

Mark A. Turner –
President and Chief Executive Officer
1

 

 

-

 

250,000

 

$ 49.52

 

02/28/20

9,008

 

$ 692,625

 

Stephen A. Fowle -
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
2

 

3,030
2,453
993

 

1,011
2,454
2,980
20,000
4,501

 

44.91
40.89
47.50
49.52
71.47

 

02/24/16
02/23/17
02/28/18
02/28/20
02/27/21

 

6,424

 

493,941

 

Paul Geraghty - Executive
Vice President and Chief Wealth Officer
3

 

1,875
1,375
1,299

 

625
1,375
3,897
17,500
4,235

 

34.00
40.89
47.50
49.52
71.47

 

09/21/16
02/23/17
02/28/18
02/28/20
02/27/21

 

2,073

 

159,393

 

Rodger Levenson –
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer
4

 

1,112

 

3,336
25,000
4,834

 

47.50
49.52
71.47

 

02/28/18
02/28/20
02/27/21

 

 

8,835

 

679,323

 

Richard M. Wright -
Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer
5

 

1,075

 

3,226
20,000
4,675

 

47.50
49.52
71.47

 

02/28/18
02/28/20
02/27/21

 

8,918

 

685,705

 

 

Option Awards1 For Mr. Turner, of the 250,000 unvested options expiring on 02/28/20, 100,000 vest on 02/28/15, 50,000 vest on 02/28/16, 50,000 vest on 02/28/17 and 50,000 vest on 02/28/18.

Name

Number of Securities Underlying

Unexercised Options

(#)

Exercisable

Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options

(#)

Unexercisable

Option Exercise Price

($)

Option Expiration Date

Mark A. Turner 1

14,300

1,700

21,000

10,000

12,900

7,700

4,760

6,525

3,425

3,500

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,190

2,175

3,425

10,500

$10.81

14.88

17.20

17.35

33.40

43.70

58.75

63.67

65.20

53.39

11/16/10

11/16/10

12/19/11

02/28/12

12/19/12

12/18/13

12/16/14

12/15/10

12/13/11

12/12/12

Marvin N. Schoenhals 2

1,160

9,200

24,980

16,800

12,650

7,600

9,825

6,650

4,362

-

-

-

-

-

1,900

3,275

6,650

13,088

$10.81

14.88

17.20

33.40

43.70

58.75

63.67

65.20

53.39

11/16/10

11/16/10

12/19/11

12/19/12

12/18/13

12/16/14

12/15/10

12/13/11

12/12/12

Stephen A. Fowle 3

1,800

2,250

400

1,900

1,250

1,200

750

400

1,900

3,750

$60.00

63.67

62.78

65.20

53.39

01/03/15

12/15/10

02/22/11

12/13/11

12/12/12

Rodger Levenson 4

5,575

1,562

5,575

4,688

$65.20

53.39

12/13/11

12/12/12

Richard M. Wright 5

1,450

1,500

250

1,075

-

1,450

1,500

750

3,225

1,000

$63.26

65.20

69.00

53.39

48.95

03/27/11

12/13/11

02/21/12

12/12/12

02/27/13

1

For Mr. Turner, of the 1,190 unvested options expiring on 12/16/14, all 1,190 vest on 12/16/09; of the 2,175 unvested options expiring on 12/15/10, all 2,175 vest on 12/15/09; of the 3,425 unvested options expiring on 12/13/11, 1,712 vest on 12/13/09 and 1,713 vest on 12/13/10; of the 10,500 unvested options expiring on 12/12/12, 3,500 vest on 12/12/09, 3,500 vest on 12/12/10 and 3,500 vest on 12/12/11.

42

 

2 For Mr. Fowle, of the 1,011 unvested options expiring on 02/24/16, 1,011 vest on 02/24/15.  Of the 2,454 unvested options expiring on 02/23/17, 1,227 vest on 02/23/15 and 1,227 vest on 02/23/16.  Of the 2,980 unvested options expiring on 02/28/18, 993 vest on 02/28/15, 993 vest on 02/28/16 and 994 vest on 02/28/17.  Of the 20,000 unvested options expiring on 02/28/20, 8,000 vest on 02/28/15, 4,000 vest on 02/28/16, 4,000 vest on 02/28/17 and 4,000 vest on 02/28/18.  Of the 4,501 unvested options expiring on 2/27/2021, 1,125 vest on 2/27/2015, 1,125 vest on 2/27/2016, 1,125 vest on 2/27/2017 and 1,126 vest on 2/27/2018.

3 For Mr. Geraghty, of the 625 unvested options expiring on 09/21/16, 625 vest on 09/21/15.  Of the 1,375 unvested options expiring on 02/23/17, 687 vest on 02/23/15 and 688 vest on 02/23/16.  Of the 3,897 unvested options expiring on 02/28/18, 1,299 vest on 02/28/15, 1,299 vest on 02/28/16 and 1,299 vest on 02/28/17.  Of the 17,500 unvested options expiring on 02/28/20, 7,000 vest on 02/28/15, 3,500 vest on 02/28/16, 3,500 vest on 02/28/17 and 3,500 vest on 02/28/18.  Of the 4,235 unvested options expiring on 2/27/2021, 1,058 vest on 2/27/2015, 1,058 vest on 2/27/2016, 1,058 vest on 2/27/2017 and 1,059 vest on 2/27/2018.

 

4 For Mr. Levenson, of the 3,336 unvested options expiring on 02/28/18, 1,112 vest on 02/28/15, 1,112 vest pm 02/28/16 and 1,112 vest on 02/28/17.  Of the 25,000 unvested options expiring on 02/28/20, 10,000 vest on 02/28/15, 5,000 vest on 02/28/16, 5,000 vest on 02/28/17 and 5,000 vest on 02/28/18.  Of the 4,834 unvested options expiring on 2/27/2021, 1,208 vest on 2/27/2015, 1,208 vest on 2/27/2016, 1,208 vest on 2/27/2017 and 1,209 vest on 2/27/2018.

5 For Mr. Wright, of the 3.226 unvested options expiring on 02/28/18, 1,075 vest on 02/28/15 and 1,075 vest on 02/28/16 and 1,076 vest on 02/28/17.  Of the 20,000 unvested options expiring on 02/28/20, 8,000 vest on 02/28/15, 4,000 vest on 02/28/16, 4,000 vest on 02/28/17 and 4,000 vest on 02/28/18.  Of the 4,675 unvested options expiring on 2/27/2021, 1,168 vest on 2/27/2015, 1,169 vest on 2/27/2016, 1,169 vest on 2/27/2017 and 1,169 vest on 2/27/2018.

42



2

Table of Contents

For Mr. Schoenhals, of the 1,900 unvested options expiring on 12/16/14, all 1,900 vest on 12/16/09; of the 3,275 unvested options expiring on 12/15/10, all 3,275 vest on 12/15/09; of the 6,650 unvested options expiring on 12/13/11, 3,325 vest on 12/13/09 and 3,325 vest on 12/13/10; of the 13,088 unvested options expiring on 12/12/12, 4,363 vest on 12/12/09, 4,362 vest on 12/12/10 and 4,363 vest on 12/12/11.

3

For Mr. Fowle, of the 1,200 unvested options expiring on 1/3/15, 600 vest on 1/3/09 and 600 vest on 1/3/10; of the 750 unvested options expiring on 12/15/10, all 750 vest on 12/15/09; of the 400 unvested options expiring on 2/22/11, 200 vest on 2/22/09 and 200 vest on 2/22/10; of the 1,900 unvested options expiring on 12/13/11, 950 vest on 12/13/09 and 950 vest on 12/13/10; of the 3,750 options expiring on 12/12/12, 1,250 vest on 12/12/09, 1,250 vest on 12/12/10 and 1,250 vest on 12/12/11.

4

For Mr. Levenson, of the 5,575 unvested options expiring on 12/13/11, 2,787 vest on 12/13/09 and 2,788 vest on 12/13/10; of the 4,688 unvested options expiring on 12/12/12, 1,563 vest on 12/12/09, 1,562 vest on 12/12/10 and 1,563 vest on 12/12/11.

5

For Mr. Wright, of the 1,450 unvested options expiring on 3/27/11, 725 vest on 3/27/09 and 725 vest on 3/27/10; of the 1,500 unvested options expiring on 12/13/11, 750 vest on 12/13/09 and 750 vest on 12/13/10; of the 750 unvested options expiring on 2/21/12, 250 vest on 2/21/09, 250 vest on 2/21/10 and 250 vest on 2/21/11; of the 3,225 unvested options expiring on 12/12/12, 1,075 vest on 12/12/09, 1,075 vest on 12/12/10 and 1,075 vest on 12/12/11; of the 1,000 unvested options expiring on 2/27/13, 250 vest on 2/27/09, 250 vest on 2/27/10, 250 vest on 2/27/11 and 250 vest on 2/27/12.

 

Exercises of Options and Vesting of Shares During 20082014

The following table shows the number of options exercised and restricted stock vested by the officersNEOs during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008. Since no officer received stock awards during 2008, no vesting of stock awards is shown.2014.

 

2014 Option Exercises and Stock Vested

 

 

 

Option Awards

 

 

Name

Number of Shares

Acquired on Exercise

(#)

Value Realized

on Exercise

($)

Mark A. Turner1

24,780

 

$1,016,892

 

Marvin N. Schoenhals2

7,000

350,717

Stephen A. Fowle

-

 

-

 

Rodger Levenson

-

 

-

 

Richard M Wright

-

 

-

 

 

 

 

Option Awards

 

Stock Awards

Name and Principal Position

 

Number of Shares
Acquired on Exercise
(#)

Value Realized
On Exercise
($)

Number of Shares
Acquired on
Vesting

(#)

Value Realized
on Vesting
($)

Mark A. Turner –
President and Chief Executive Officer

 

5,950

 

$110,766

7,392

 

$532,260

 

Stephen A. Fowle –
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

3,000

 

40,871

1,130

 

83,790

 

Paul D. Geraghty, Sr. –
Executive Vice President and Chief Wealth Officer

 

-

 

-

118

 

8,478

 

Rodger Levenson –
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer

 

-

 

-

3,944

 

284,538

 

Richard M. Wright –
Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer

 

-

 

-

3,734

 

269,710

 

 

1 On August 28, 2008, Mr. Turner exercised options, 13,693 of which were granted in 1999

and 11,087 of which were granted in 2000.

2 On September 19, 2008, Mr. Schoenhals exercised options, all of which were granted in 2000.

 

Employment Agreements and Severance PolicyPotential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control

None of our Named Executive Officers are covered by a formal employment agreement. However, we have a severance policy which, until the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), would have provided for payments to our Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice Presidents if their employment was terminated without cause or


following our change of control. ARRA, signed into law on February 17, 2009, prohibits severance payments from being made to SEOs during the period in which the Treasury holds an equity interest in participating institutions. As a result, our severance policy has been suspended until the Treasury no longer holds an equity interest in us.

 

Termination without causeCause

When the above mentionedWe have adopted a severance policy suspension is lifted, anthat provides severance payments upon termination under certain conditions.  An executive (which includes all our NEOs) covered by this policy who is terminated without cause is provided a minimum of six months of severance and six months of professional level outplacement.  If the executive does not find new employment within six months after termination, severance pay and professional outplacement would continue for another six months, or until the executive foundfinds employment, whichever occurs first.  If the executive finds another job at a lower rate of pay than previously paid by us, then we would make up the difference until the second six-month period ends.  Medical and dental benefits would continue at the general Associate rate through the severance period.

 

Change in controlControl

When the above mentioned policy suspension is lifted, anAn executive (which includes all our NEOs) covered by this policy who is terminated without cause (as defined in the policy) or terminates employment for “good reason” (as defined in the policy) within one year following a change in control or who is offered a position that is not withinwould receive 24 months base salary and accelerated vesting of stock options and stock awards.  For purposes of the policy, “good reason” includes requiring the executive to work more than 25 miles offrom his or her work-site nor at his or hercurrent worksite, a significant diminution in the executive’s WSFS salary and incentive opportunity, or a significant reduction in the authority, duties or responsibilities of the executive immediately before the change in control,of control.  If termination occurs, the executive would receive 24 months base salary. Twelvebe offered twelve- months of executive level outplacement would be offered and medical and dental benefits would continue at the general Associate rate through the 24-month period.

 

When the above mentioned policy suspension is lifted, it is not anticipated that any severance payments resulting from a change in control will cause such payments to be non-deductible as an “excess parachute payment” as defined by Internal Revenue Code Sections 280G and 4999. The Committee does retain the authority to approve non-deductible severance payments associated with a change in control on a case-by-case basis.43



Table of Contents

 

Mr. Schoenhals is not included inThe following table shows the severance policy and does not have a severance agreement with us.

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control

As a result of the restrictions imposed by ARRA, there are no payments that executives could potentially receive upon termination of their employment or a change of control at December 31, 2008.2014.

Termination Provisions Summary

Name

Benefit

 

Before
Change in
Control

Termination
Without
Cause or
Departing
for
Good
Reason

 

After Change
in
Control

 

Termination
Without Cause
or
Departing for
Good Reason

 

 

 

Death

 

Disability1

 

Mark A. Turner

Severance pay2
Outplacement services
3
Option and restricted stock vesting
4
Health benefits
5

 

$  624,240
16,000
-
             -

 

$1,248,480
16,000
7,535,125
               -

 

$   100,000

-

7,535,125

               -

 

$   336,120

-

7,535,125

               -

 

 

Total Value

 

640,240

 

8,799,605

 

7,635,125

 

7,871,245

 

Stephen A. Fowle

Severance pay
Outplacement services
3
Option and restricted stock vesting
4
Health benefits
5

 

328,600
16,000
-
   12,336

 

657,200
16,000
1,273,959
          24,672

 

50,000

-

1,273,959

               -

 

137,746

-

1,273,959

‘             -

 

 

Total Value

 

356,936

 

1,971,831

 

1,323,959

 

1,411,705

 

Paul D. Geraghty, Sr.

Severance pay2
Outplacement services
3
Option and restricted stock vesting
4
Health benefits
5

 

297,554
16,000
-
   10,605

 

595,108

16,000

852,161

            21,210

 

50,000

-

852,161

             -

 

58,333

-

852,161

             -

 

 

Total Value

 

324,159

 

1,484,479

 

902,161

 

910,494

 

Rodger Levenson

Severance pay2
Outplacement services
3
Option and restricted stock vesting
4
Health benefits
5

 

339,660
16,000
-
     9,043

 

679,320

16,000

1,487,818

       18,086

 

50,000

-

1,487,818

               -

 

128,511

-

1,487,818

               -

 

 

Total Value

 

364,703

 

2,201,224

 

1,537,818

 

1,616,329

 

Richard M. Wright

Severance pay2
Outplacement services
3
Option and restricted stock vesting
4
Health benefits
5

 

328,440
16,000
-
   10,605

 

656,880
16,000
1,353,256
      21,210

 

50,000

-

1,353,256

               -

 

125,058

-

1,353,256

             -

 

 

Total Value

 

355,045

 

2,047,346

 

1,403,256

 

1,478,314

 

1    We offer two weeks of short-term disability benefits for all Associates for each year of service up to a maximum of 26 weeks.  Long-term disability for all Associates has a $24,000 maximum benefit.

2    Severance payments following a change in control are subject to reduction if such payments would exceed the deductibility limits under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, unless the Personnel and Compensation Committee was to specifically authorize such non-deductible payments at that time on a case-by-case basis.

3    Outplacement services amounts are estimates based on management’s experience with outplacement providers.

4    Option vesting is based on an assumed value of $76.89 per common share reflecting the closing price on December 31, 2014.

5    Health benefits represent the premium paid by us, reduced by amount paid by the Associate.

44



Table of Contents

 

Retirement Plans

We do not maintain a tax-qualified non-contributory retirement plan (pension plan).  However, we do provide continuation of medical benefits to Associates, including NEOs, who retire, should they elect to participate in the benefit.  We provide supplemental contributions toward retiree continuing medical coverage costs.  For 2008,2014, our contribution towards this supplement was capped at $2,400$3,037 per retiree, but may have been less based on length of service at time of retirement of each retiree, irrespective of annual increases to the cost of the medical benefit premium.  We limit our increases to no more than 4% annually.

44  Primarily because of changes to Medicare Part D coverage, this plan is no longer meaningfully utilized by, or available to, Associates who were not already retirement eligible as of March 31, 2014.

 

 


 

6. Committees of the Board of DirectorsCOMPENSATION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

There are five main committeesThe ChaseCompGroup conducted a survey of board compensation in 2013 which revealed total board compensation expense is at the peer group 33rd percentile while total compensation in the market increased by about 20% over the 2012 study, primarily in the form of larger equity grants.

This survey was completed using our CPG, a peer group consisting of twenty-two publicly traded banks with assets between $2-$16 billion as of 2013 year-end and focusing on banks in major metropolitan areas in Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Board’s philosophy is to maintain director compensation at the peer median.  As a result of the Board of Directors: the Executive Committee,survey and in order to bring overall board compensation to median pay versus peers, the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee the Audit Committee, the Personnel and Compensation Committee and the Trust Committee.

Executive Committee

Marvin N. Schoenhals is the Chairman of the Executive Committee. The other members of the Committee are Charles G. Cheleden, David E. Hollowell, Dennis E. Klima, Calvert A. Morgan, Jr. and Mark A. Turner. The Committee is requiredrecommended changes to meet monthly, or more frequently if necessary, and met 33 times during 2008. This Committee exercises the powers ofoverall board compensation, which the Board of Directors between meetingsapproved at its meeting of the full BoardJune 26, 2014, to be effective July 1, 2014.  These changes in total place director compensation for 2014-2015 at just below peer median, individually and its primary activity has been to review those loan applications that need Board approval.

Another important part of the Executive Committee’s role is to review and approve transactions with insiders. Under the Bank’s written policy, the Executive Committee reviews and approves all insider loans or lending relationships. Any loan granted to an insider in excess of $500,000 requires pre-approval by the Board of Directors, with the interested party (if a director) abstaining from participating directly or indirectly in the voting. All loans granted to insiders, regardless of the amount, are reported to the Board of Directors.

Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee

Charles G. Cheleden is the Chairman of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. The other members of the Committee are Linda C. Drake, Dennis E. Klima, Thomas P. Preston, Scott E. Reed and Claibourne D. Smith. The Committee met three times during 2008. A copy of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee Charter can be found on the investor relations page of our website www.wsfsbank.com (select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Governance Documents”).

total.  The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee does the following:will continue to review Board compensation and committee fees annually and make recommendations for adjustments when and where they feel appropriate.

Makes recommendations

A summary of changes to the fullcomposition of board compensation is shown in the chart below.

45



Table of Contents

 

 

January 1, 2014-June 30, 2014

 

Effective July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015

Board Retainer

Board retainer

$70,000

·                  Two-thirds cash of $46,667 to be paid in two equal installments of $23,333.50 each occurring in January and July.

·                  One-third stock of $23,333 to be issued in December.

$80,000

·                  Two-thirds cash of $53,333 to be paid annually in July.

 

·                  One-third stock of $26,667 to be paid annually on the second Friday in August.

Committee Chair Fees

Audit/Trust Audit Committee Chair

$5,000

To be paid in two equal installments of $2,500 occurring in January and July.

$7,500

To be paid annually in July.

Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee Chair

$3,000

To be paid in two equal installments of $1,500 each occurring in January and July.

 

$5,500

To be paid annually in July.

P&C Committee Chair

$5,000

To be paid in two equal installments of $2,500 each occurring in January and July.

$7,500

To be paid annually in July.

Trust Committee Chair

$3,000

To be paid in two equal installments of $1,500 each occurring in January and July.

$5,500

To be paid annually in July.

Committee Member Fees

Committee Fees and Special Meeting Fees (excluding regularly scheduled board meetings)

 

$650

·                  Board is paid the first of the month for all committee and/or special board meetings which occurred in the previous month at the rate of $650 per meeting attended for committees on which they serve.

·                  Any meetings lasting less than 45 minutes are paid at a half-meeting fee of $325.

·                  Participants attending both a conference call lasting less than 45 minutes preceding another scheduled meeting will only receive one meeting fee for both meetings.

See schedule below

All Board members (except management) will be paid a flat rate member fee annually in July for committees on which they serve with an expectation that Committee members will attend 75% or more of the scheduled meetings.*

 

*The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee will monitor the committee meeting schedules and make adjustment recommendations where appropriate should the meeting schedule vary significantly.

Audit/Trust Audit Committee Members fee (Includes Chair)

$10,000

To be paid in two equal installments of $5,000 occurring in January and July.

$13,250

To be paid annually in July.  NOTE:  This fee now represents the combination of the Audit Committee member fee and the meeting attendance fee ($10,000 + $3,250).

Corporate Development Committee

 

As detailed above under Committee Fees and Special Meeting Fees.

$3,250

To be paid annually in July.

Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee

 

As detailed above under Committee Fees and Special Meeting Fees.

$3,250

To be paid annually in July.

Executive Committee

 

As detailed above under Committee Fees and Special Meeting Fees.

$16,250

To be paid annually in July.

Personnel and Compensation Committee

 

As detailed above under Committee Fees and Special Meeting Fees.

$3,250

To be paid annually in July.

Trust Committee

 

As detailed above.

$3,250

To be paid annually in July.

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Table of Contents

Director and NEO Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan

In 2014, we introduced a non-qualified deferred compensation plan for our NEOs and Board of Directors regarding corporate governance guidelinesDirectors.  It offers pre-tax, voluntary contributions, tax deferred earnings, investment choices and policies.

Assistsflexible payment options.  This is solely funded by the Board of Directors in finding individuals who are qualified to serve as directorsparticipant and provides its recommendations tothere is no matching contribution made by the full Board of Directors when the Board selects its nominees for each annual meeting.

Leads the Board in an annual review of the Board’s performance.

Advises the Board on the assignment of the directors to serve on the various committees of the Board.

ReviewsCompany.  This plan was reviewed and approves any transactions that directors or employees (including their family membersapproved by our Personnel and members of their households) have with WSFS Financial CorporationCompensation Committee and its subsidiaries, including WSFS Bank. See Review and Approval of Transactions with Insiders below.


We believe that it is important to have a strong, independent Board of Directors that is accountable to the stockholders. Our By-laws empower the Committee with the responsibility for identifying qualified individuals as candidates for membership in theour Board of Directors.

 

The Committee solicits recommendations from the officers and directors as well as considers and evaluates any candidates recommended by the shareholders. There is no difference in the manner in which the Committee evaluates persons recommended by directors or officers versus those recommended by stockholders in selecting Board nominees. To date, it has not been our practice to pay fees to any third party to identify, evaluate or assist in identifying or evaluating potential nominees for the Board of Directors.

The Board desires that its membership be geographically diverse, therefore, potential directors should enhance the Board’s statewide and regional representation. The Board also desires that its membership reflect gender and racial diversity with a broad range of experience, knowledge and judgment in a variety of business and professional sectors. As a commitment to this diversification, the Board believes potential directors should be knowledgeable about the business activities and market areas in which we and our subsidiaries engage. A candidate’s breadth of knowledge and experience should enable that person to make a meaningful contribution to the governance of a complex, multi-billion dollar financial institution.

To be considered in the Committee’s selection of Board nominees, recommendations from stockholders must be received by the Corporation in writing not less than 120 days prior to the anniversary date of the mailing date of the proxy statement for the previous year’s annual meeting. Recommendations should identify the stockholder making the recommendation and for each person the stockholder proposes to recommend as a nominee to the Board (1) the name, age, business address of such person; (2) the principal occupation or employment of such person; (3) the Class and number of shares of our Voting Stock (as defined in our Bylaws) which are beneficially owned by such stockholder on the date of such notice; and (4) any other information required to be included in such notice as described in our Bylaws or disclosed in solicitations of proxies with respect to nominees for election of directors described in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Audit Committee

Scott E. Reed is Chairman of the Audit Committee. The other members of the Committee are John F. Downey, Joseph R. Julian and Claibourne D. Smith. Mr. Reed has the qualifications to serve as the Committee’s financial expert. Each member of the Audit Committee is “independent” as defined in the listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market. The Committee met eight times during 2008. A copy of the Audit Committee Charter can be found on the investor relations page of our website www.wsfsbank.com (select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Governance Documents”).

The Audit Committee does the following:

Oversees the audit program and reviews our consolidated financial statements, including major issues regarding accounting and auditing principles and practices as well as the adequacy of internal controls that could significantly affect our financial statements.


Reviews the examination reports from federal regulatory agencies as well as reports from the internal auditors and from the independent registered public accounting firm.

Meets quarterly with the internal Loan Review Department as well as the head of the Audit Department and representatives of the independent registered public accountants, with and without representatives of management present, to review accounting and auditing matters, and to review financial statements prior to their public release.

Meets annually to review our risk analysis and associated audit plan.

Approves the selection of the independent registered public accounting firm and recommends their appointment to the full Board of Directors.

It is the policy of the Audit Committee to approve all audit and non-audit services prior to the engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm to perform any service. Under certain circumstances, management is authorized to spend up to 5% of the approved annual audit fee, as approved by the Audit Committee in the Engagement Letter, without obtaining any prior approval. Fees ranging from 5% to 10% of the approved annual audit fee require the pre-approval of the Chairman of the Audit Committee. Fees that exceed 10% of the approved annual audit fee require the pre-approval of the full Audit Committee. All additional fees are reported to the Audit Committee in a timely manner.

In connection with the audit of the 2008 financial statements, we entered into engagement letters with KPMG LLP that sets the terms by which KPMG performed services for us. Those agreements are subject to alternative dispute resolution procedures and exclusions of punitive damages.

All of the services listed below for 2008 were approved by the Audit Committee prior to the service being rendered. The Audit Committee has determined that the non-audit services performed during 2008 were compatible with maintaining the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence.

Audit Fees.The aggregate fees earned by KPMG LLP for professional services rendered for the audit of our consolidated financial statements and for the review of the consolidated financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 were $737,760and $646,800, respectively.

Audit Related Fees.The aggregate fees earned by KPMG LLP for audits of the subsidiaries’ financial statements, due diligence activities on proposed transactions, and research and consultation on financial accounting and reporting matters for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 were $44,500 and $48,400, respectively.

Tax Fees.The aggregate fees earned by KPMG LLP for professional services rendered for tax compliance, tax advice or tax planning for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 were $54,425 and $61,647, respectively.

All Other Fees.The aggregate fees earned by KPMG LLP for professional services rendered other than those listed under the captions “Audit Fees,” “Audit Related Fees,” and “Tax Fees” for both the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, were $0.


The Audit Committee has prepared the following report for inclusion in this proxy statement:

As part of its ongoing activities, the Audit Committee has:

Reviewed and discussed with management our audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008;

Discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm, the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, Communications with Audit Committees, as amended, as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Rule 3200T; and

Received the written disclosures and the letter from the independent registered public accounting firm required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent registered accounting firm’s independence, and has discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm their independence.

Based on the review and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited consolidated financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

The Audit Committee, comprised of Scott E. Reed, John F. Downey, Joseph R. Julian and Claibourne D. Smith, has provided this report.

Personnel and Compensation Committee

Claibourne D. Smith is the Chairman of the Personnel and Compensation Committee. The other members of the Committee are Linda C. Drake, David E. Hollowell, Thomas P. Preston and Dennis E. Klima. The Committee met six times during 2008. A copy of the Personnel and Compensation Committee Charter can be found on the investor relations page of our websitewww.wsfsbank.com(select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Governance Documents”).

The Personnel and Compensation Committee does the following:

Oversees the executive compensation programs and recommends to the full Board of Directors for its approval the compensation and benefits of the senior management officers.

Approves guidelines for the salary and benefits of other officers and Associates.

Oversees the administration of option plans and incentive plans and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors for awards under such plans.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

No member of our Personnel and Compensation Committee is, or formerly was, an officer or Associate of ours. During 2008, none of our executive officers served on the Personnel and Compensation Committee (or equivalent), or the Board of Directors, of another entity whose executive officer or officers served on our Personnel and Compensation Committee or Board.

Trust Committee

The Trust Committee is comprised of members of both the WSFS Bank Board and of management. It provides oversight to Wilmington Advisors, the trust division of the Bank.


Calvert A. Morgan, Jr. is the Chairman and the other members of the Committee are Linda C. Drake, Scott E. Reed, Marvin N. Schoenhals and Mark A. Turner. The Committee met four times during 2008. A copy of the Trust Committee Charter can be found on the investor relations page of our websitewww.wsfsbank.com(select “Investor Relations” on the menu found under “About WSFS” and click on “Governance Documents”).

The Trust Committee does the following:

Oversees Wilmington Advisors in providing trust administration and investment management services;

Adopts appropriate policies and procedures to be observed in offering such services;

Enforces sound risk management practices calculated to minimize risk of loss to the Bank and its customers; and

Reports to the Board on the activity of Wilmington Advisors in the conduct of its business.

Stock Ownership and Retention Guidelines

Our By-Laws require that each of our directors be a stockholder and own a minimum amount of our common stock as determined from time to time by the Board. The Board has established a guideline that the minimum amount of stock owned, plus retention of stock grants should be approximately 2,200 shares after three years of directorship. This guideline is under review and is expected to increase.

This guideline is designed to encourage our directors to increase and maintain their equity stake in us, and thereby to more closely link their interests with those of our shareholders.

7.

Compensation of the Board of Directors

Our non-Associate directors received the following base compensation for 2008:

An annual retainer of $23,334, paid in cash,


600 shares of WSFS Financial Corporation common stock.

1,110 options to purchase shares of WSFS Financial Corporation common stock under our 2005 Incentive Plan.

During the year ended December 31, 2008, the Board of Directors held eight meetings. None of the directors attended less than 75% of the total of: (a) meetings of the Board of Directors and (b) meetings of the committees on which they served during the year. We pay a fee for committee service, and during 2008, each director received $650 for each committee meeting attended. Directors do not receive a fee for regularly scheduled meetings of the Board of Directors, but receive a fee of $750 for special meetings of the Board. Directors who served on the Audit Committee each received an additional annual retainer of $10,000 during 2008.

Directors who chaired board committees during 2008 received an additional annual retainer. The Audit Committee chair received $5,000, the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee chair received $3,000, the Personnel and Compensation Committee chair received $3,000 and the Trust Committee chair received $3,000.

Director Compensation Table

The compensation paid to directors during 20082014 is summarized in the following table.  Mr. Turner is not shown in this table because he was compensated as an officer and did not receive any director compensation.

Concurrent with changes to the Board of Director compensation, the timing of board remuneration was changed so that director retainer and committee fees paid in cash are paid annually in July and the equity portion of the retainer is paid annually in August.  For 2014, director compensation appears larger due to the change in the timing of the payments.

Directors

Fees
Earned or Paid
in Cash

Stock
Awards1

All
Other
Compensation

Total

Marvin N. Schoenhals2

$  148,010

 

$  312,510

 

-

$  460,520

 

Anat Bird

113,042

 

38,421

 

-

151,463

 

Francis B. Brake

66,300

 

38,421

 

-

104,721

 

Charles G. Cheleden

146,617

 

38,421

 

-

185,038

 

Jennifer W. Davis

117,592

 

38,421

 

 

156,013

 

Donald W. Delson

100,992

 

38,421

 

-

139,413

 

Eleuthère I. du Pont

106,892

 

38,421

 

-

145,313

 

Zissimos A. Frangopoulos3

33,184

 

-

 

-

33,184

 

Calvert A. Morgan, Jr.

139,917

 

38,421

 

-

178,338

 

David G. Turner

102,592

 

38,421

 

-

141,013

 

1 The aggregate fair value of the award on the date of grant, computed in accordance with ASC Topic 718. The assumptions used in valuing the stock and option awards are detailed in Note 13 of the Notes to the consolidated financial statementsConsolidated Financial Statements contained in our 20082014 Annual Report. Mr. Schoenhals and Mr. Turner are not shown in this table because they are compensated as officers and do not receive any director compensation. Ms. Davis and Mr. Delson are not shown in this table because they were not appointed until 2009.Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

 

Directors

Fees

Earned or Paid in Cash

 

 

Stock

Awards

 

 

Option

Awards1

 

All

Other

Compensation

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles G. Cheleden

$67,084

$23,433

$11,910

-

$102,427

John F. Downey

37,334

23,433

11,910

-

72,677

Linda C. Drake

33,084

23,433

11,910

-

68,427

David E. Hollowell

49,334

23,433

12,447

-

85,214

Joseph R. Julian

40,484

23,433

11,910

-

75,827

Dennis E. Klima

49,984

23,433

11,362

-

84,779

Calvert A. Morgan, Jr.2

51,034

23,433

16,628

$149,167

240,262

Thomas P. Preston

31,784

23,433

12,073

-

67,290

Scott E. Reed

50,034

23,433

10,117

-

83,584

Claibourne D. Smith

49,984

23,433

11,910

-

85,327

 

12 TheMr. Schoenhals’ Stock Awards also include the vesting of 5,563 shares of restricted stock with a grant date fair value of each director’s 2008 equity$274,089 (based on a grant date fair value per share of $49.27) earned under a performance-based incentive plan described below under “Compensation of Mr. Schoenhals.”  Because the probable performance outcome of this award was $23.098. Amounts shown in this column represent compensation expense.not determinable at the time of the original grant, it is being reported as earned.

23 Mr. Morgan’s Other Compensation includes $114,167 for consulting services, $29,000 for an incentive bonus and $6,000 for an expense allowance.Frangopoulos retired from the Board of Directors on April 24, 2014.

 

 


Compensation of Mr.Cheleden as the Lead Director

The Lead Director is an outside and independent director designated by our Board of Directors to lead the Board in fulfilling its duties effectively, efficiently and independent of management. Charles G. Cheleden currently serves as our Lead Director, and during 2008,Director.  During 2014, he was compensated $1,500 per month$18,000 for serving in that role in addition to his other compensation as a director.

 

The responsibilities of the Lead Director include:

Enhancing Board effectiveness by ensuring the Board has adequate training and resources to carry out its duties.

Managing the Board by:

o

providing input on Board and committee meeting agendas;

o

consulting with the Chairman on effectiveness of Board committees;

o

ensuring that the Board has adequate opportunities to discuss issues without management’s presence;

o

chairing Board meetings in the absence of the Chairman;

o

ensuring that committee functions are carried out and reported to the Board;

o

calling meetings of the independent directors as necessary;

o

meeting with each board member annually to discuss their interest in continuing to serve on the Board;

o

identifying possible candidates for retirement from the Board, and with the approval of the Board, coordinating retirement plans with exiting Board members.

Acting as a liaison between the Board of Directors, management and major stockholders. This includes communicating to management, as appropriate, to discuss the results of private discussions among independent directors to resolve conflicts and being available for consultation and direct communication with major shareholders.

Compensation of Mr. SchoenhalsMorgan as Special Advisor

Calvert A. Morgan, Jr.Marvin N. Schoenhals is a memberChairman of our Board of Directors and servesreceives a standard Board of Directors retainer.  Having discussed the opportunities that continue to arise resulting from the significant disruption in a consulting capacity as Special Advisor. In this role, Mr. Morgan performs such duties as requested by the Board and the Chairman to assistour markets, in improving corporate performance. He is compensated for his services as Special Advisor in addition to his other compensation as a director. During 2008, Mr. Morgan received an annual base consulting fee of $115,000, with the opportunity to earn a supplemental payment ranging from 0% to 100% of the base fee. The precise amount of the supplemental payment is determined at the discretion of2011 the Personnel and Compensation Committee based ondecided it was in our results forbest interests to leverage Mr. Schoenhals’ significant and valuable community relationships, stature, contacts, and reputation to take full advantage of these market share opportunities. The Board of Directors approved a plan in which Mr. Schoenhals received 22,250 shares of restricted stock effective January 3, 2011 with a five-year performance vesting schedule starting at the year, loan and deposit growth, and the Committee’s subjective assessment of Mr. Morgan’s overall contribution to those results. Mr. Morgan earned a supplemental payment of $25,000 for 2008, which was paid in 2009 and received a supplemental payment of $29,000 for 2007 paid during 2008. As partend of the termssecond year.  Based on new business relationships where Mr. Schoenhals has played a meaningful role in helping us establish new business, these shares are subject to vesting in whole or in part if an expected pre-tax contribution over a two year period of his consulting engagement with us, Mr. Morgan is also entitled to a separation paymenttime of up to $22,000, basedat least 50% return on the lengthinvestment of his engagement.restricted stock cost is achieved. As of January 2015, 11,125 shares vested under this plan.

 

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Table of Contents

 

PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT51

 


8. Other Information

Large Stockholders

Stockholders who own 5% or morePursuant to rules and regulations of the outstanding common stock of a publicly traded company are required to report that information to the Securities and Exchange Commission, (the SEC). The following table liststhis Compensation Committee Report shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the stockholder who has reportedSecurities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that WSFS Financial Corporation (the “Company”) specifically incorporates this information by reference, and otherwise shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission, subject to Regulation 14A or 14C of the Securities and Exchange Commission or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

The Personnel and Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis to be included in the Company’s 2015 Proxy Statement filed pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Proxy Statement”).  Based on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the Committee recommends to the Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis referred to above be included in the Proxy Statement.

Personnel and Compensation Committee

Jennifer W. Davis, Chair

Anat Bird

Donald W. Delson

David G. Turner

SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

Our officers and directors are required to file forms with the SEC that they own 5% or moreto report changes in their ownership of our outstandingWSFS Financial Corporation Common Stock.  The forms must be filed with the SEC generally within two business days of the date of the trade.  To our knowledge, there were no late filings during 2014.

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

Ownership of WSFS Financial Corporation Common Stock

The number of shares is the number most recently reported to the SECof our Common Stock beneficially owned by the stockholder.directors and executive officers and 5% stockholders as of March 2, 2015, the record date set for the Annual Meeting, is shown below.  The table also shows the amount of such shares as a percentage is based onof all of the number of shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of March 5, 2009, the record date set for the 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

2, 2015.

 

Name and Address of Owner

Number of

Shares1

Percentage of WSFS Financial Corporation common stock outstanding

Barclays Global Investors, NA.2

45 Freemont Street

Naples, FL 34108

367,653 shares

5.96%

The Vanguard Group, Inc.3

100 Vanguard Boulevard

Malvern, PA 19355

311,034 shares

5.05 %

1In accordance with Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, for the purposes of this table, a person is deemed to be the beneficial owner of any shares of Common Stock if he or she has, or shares, voting and/or investmentdispositive power with respect to such Common Stock or has a right to acquire beneficial ownership at any time within 60 days fromof the Record Date. As used herein, “voting power” is the power to vote or direct the voting of shares and “investment power” is the power to dispose or direct the disposition of shares.determination date.  Except as otherwise noted, ownership is direct, and the named individuals and groups exercisebeneficial owner exercises sole voting and investment power over the shares of Common Stock.

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Table of Contents

Directors:

 

Number of Shares
(Including Exercisable Options)
1

Percentage of our
Common Stock
Outstanding

Marvin N. Schoenhals

16,585

 

*

Anat Bird

4,520

 

*

Francis B. Brake, Jr.

520

 

*

Charles G. Cheleden

12,500

 

*

Jennifer W. Davis

5,235

 

*

Donald W. Delson

3,746

 

*

Eleuthère I. du Pont

2,932

 

*

Calvert A. Morgan, Jr.

9,080

 

*

David G. Turner

2,616

 

*

Mark A. Turner

157,112

 

1.65%

 

 

 

 

Executive Officers:

 

 

 

Peggy H. Eddens

27,230

 

*

Stephen A. Fowle

34,590

 

*

Paul D. Geraghty, Sr.

18,127

 

*

Thomas Kearney

20,589

 

*

Rodger Levenson

26,831

 

*

S. James Mazarakis

20,670

 

*

Richard M. Wright

26,625

 

*

 

 

 

 

Directors and Executive Officers as a group (17 persons)

389,508

 

4.05%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other 5% Stockholders

Number of
Shares

Percentage of our
Common Stock
Outstanding

FMR LLC 2

245 Summer Street

Boston, MA 02210

813,625

8.65%

BlackRock, Inc. 3

40 East 52nd Street

New York, NY 10022

551,637

5.86%

Frontier Capital Management Co., LLC. 4

99 Summer Street

Boston, MA 02210

481,543

5.12%

*Less than 1% of the outstanding Common Stock.

1Includes exercisable options for the following individuals: M. Turner: 100,000, Eddens: 18,158, Fowle: 18,832, Geraghty: 14,593, Kearney: 13,903, Levenson: 13,432, Mazarakis: 9,907 and Wright:  11,318.

2According to the Statement on Schedule 13G/A of FMR LLC on February 13, 2015.

3According to the Statement on Schedule 13G of Barclays Global Investors, NA filedBlackRock, Inc. on February 6, 2009.2, 2015.

34According to the Statement on Schedule 13G of The Vanguard Group, Inc. filedFrontier Capital Management Co., LLC on February 13, 2009.


APPENDIX A

Set forth below is the text of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation of WSFS Financial Corporation as amended through the date of this Proxy Statement. We have struck through the text that would be deleted if Proposals 5, 6 and 7 are approved.

RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

WSFS FINANCIAL CORPORATION

WSFS Financial Corporation, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “Corporation”), hereby certifies as follows:

1.         The name of the Corporation is WSFS Financial Corporation. The Corporation was originally incorporated under the name Star States Corporation, and the original Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation was filed with the Secretary of the State of Delaware on March 31, 1988.

2.         This Restated Certificate of Incorporation was duly adopted by the Board of Directors in accordance with Section 245 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. The Restated Certificate of Incorporation only restates and integrates and does not further amend the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation as heretofore amended or supplemented, and there is no discrepancy between those provisions and the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, except for the Restated Certificate’s omission of the provision of the original Certificate of Incorporation that named the incorporator.

3.

The effective date of this Restated Certificate of Incorporation is May 31, 1993.

4.

The Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation is hereby restated as follows:

FIRST: The name of the corporation is WSFS Financial Corporation (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the “Corporation”).2015.

 

SECOND49: The address of the registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware is 838 North Market Street, in the city of Wilmington, County of New Castle. The Corporation shall be its own registered agent at that address.

THIRD: The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which a corporation may be organized under the Delaware General Corporation Law.

FOURTH:

A.        The total number of shares of all classes of stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is twenty-seven million five hundred thousand (27,500,000), consisting of

(a)        seven million five hundred thousand (7,500,000) shares of Preferred Stock, par value one cent ($.01) per share (the “Preferred Stock”); and


(b)       twenty million (20,000,000) shares of Common Stock, par value one cent ($.01) per share (the “Common Stock”).

Except for shares issued in connection with the merger of New Federal Savings and Loan Association, FSB with and into Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, no shares of capital stock of any class or series (including shares issuable upon conversion, exchange, or exercise of other securities) shall be issued, directly or indirectly, to officers, directors, or controlling persons of the Corporation other than as part of a general public offering or as qualifying shares to a director, unless their issuance or the plan under which they would be issued has been approved by a vote of the holders of a majority of the total votes eligible to be cast at a meeting of stockholders.

B.        The Board of Directors is authorized, subject to any limitations prescribed by law, to provide for the issuance of the shares of Preferred Stock in series, and by filing a certificate pursuant to the applicable law of the State of Delaware (such certificate being hereinafter referred to as a “Preferred Stock Designation”), to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series, and to fix the designation, powers, preferences, and rights of the shares of each such series and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof. The number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Common Stock, without a vote of the holders of the Preferred Stock, or of any series thereof, unless a vote of any such holders is required pursuant to the terms of any Preferred Stock Designation.


C.

1.         For a period0 ------------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ---------------- 14475 This Proxy is Solicited on Behalf of five (5) years from the date of the conversion of Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, to a capital stock savings bank, notwithstanding any other provision of this Certificate of Incorporation, in no event shall any record owner of any outstanding Common Stock which is beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by a person who, as of any record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote on any matter, beneficially owns in excess of ten percent (10%) of the then-outstanding shares of Common Stock (the “Limit”), be entitled, or permitted to any vote in respect of the shares held in excess of the Limit. The number of votes which may be cast by any record owner by virtue of the provisions hereof in respect of Common Stock beneficially owned by such person owning shares in excess of the Limit shall be a number equal to the total number of votes which a single record owner of all Common stock owned by such person would be entitled to cast, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of such class or series beneficially owned by such person and owned of record by such record owner and the denominator of which is the total number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by such person owning shares in excess of the Limit.

2.

The following definitions shall apply to this Section C of this Article FOURTH:

(a)        An “affiliate” of a specified person shall mean a person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person specified.

(b)

A person shall be a “beneficial owner” of any Common Stock:

(1) which such person or any of its affiliates beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as in effect on January 1, 1988; or

(2) which such person or any of its affiliates has (i) the right to acquire (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage


of time), pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, warrants, or options or otherwise, or (ii) sole or shared voting or investment power with respect thereto pursuant to any agreement, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise (but neither such person nor any such affiliate shall be deemed to be the beneficial owner of any voting shares solely by reason of a revocable proxy granted for a particular meeting of stockholders, pursuant to a public solicitation of proxies for such meeting, and with respect to which shares neither such person nor any such affiliate is otherwise deemed the beneficial owner); or

(3) which are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by any other person with which such first mentioned person or any of its affiliates act as a partnership, limited partnership, syndicate or other group pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (other than solely by reason of a revocable proxy described in part (2) of this subparagraph (b)) or disposing of any shares of capital stock of this Corporation; provided, however, that (1) no director or officer of this Corporation (or any affiliate of any such director or officer) shall, solely by reason of any or all of such directors or officers acting in their capacities as such, be deemed, for any purposes hereof, to beneficially own any Common Stock beneficially owned by any other such director or officer (or any affiliate thereof), and (2) neither any employee stock ownership or similar plan of this Corporation or any subsidiary of this Corporation nor any trustee with respect thereto (or any affiliate of such trustee) shall, solely by reason of such capacity of such trustee, be deemed, for any purposes hereof, to beneficially own any Common Stock held under any such plan. For purposes of computing the percentage beneficial ownership of Common Stock of a person, the outstanding Common Stock shall include shares deemed owned by such person through application of this subparagraph but shall not include any other Common Stock which may be issuable by this Corporation pursuant to any agreement, or upon exercise of conversion rights, warrants or options, or otherwise. For all other purposes, the outstanding Common Stock shall include only Common Stock then outstanding and shall not include any Common Stock which may be issuable by this Corporation pursuant to any agreement, or upon the exercise of conversion rights, warrants or options, or otherwise.

(c)        A “person” shall mean any individual, firm, corporation, or other entity.

3.         The Board of Directors shall have the power to construe and apply the provisions of this Section and to make all determinations necessary or desirable to implement such provisions, including but not limited to matters with respect to (1) the number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by any person, (2) whether a person is an affiliate of another, (3) whether a person has an agreement, arrangement, or understanding with another as to the matters referred to in the definition of beneficial ownership, (4) the application of any other definition or operative provision of the Section to the given facts, or (5) any other matter relating to the applicability or effect of this Section.

4.         The Board of Directors shall have the right to demand that any person who is reasonably believed to beneficially own Common Stock in excess of the Limit (or holds of record Common Stock beneficially owned by any person in excess of the Limit) supply the Corporation with complete information as to (1) the record owner(s) of all shares beneficially owned by such person who is


reasonably believed to own shares in excess of the Limit, and (2) any other factual matter relating to the applicability or effect of this Section as may reasonably be requested of such person.

5.         Except as otherwise provided by law or expressly provided in this Section C, the presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of record of shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitling the holders thereof to cast a majority of the votes (after giving effect, if required, to the provisions of this Section) entitled to be cast by the holders of shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders, and every reference in this Certificate of Incorporation to a majority or other proportion of capital stock (or the holders thereof) for purposes of determining any quorum requirement or any requirement for stockholder consent or approval shall be deemed to refer to such majority or other proportion of the votes (or the holders thereof) then entitled to be cast in respect of such capital stock.

6.         Any constructions, applications, or determinations made by the Board of Directors, pursuant to this Section in good faith and on the basis of such information and assistance as was then reasonably available for such purpose shall be conclusive and binding upon the Corporation and its stockholders.

7.         In the event any provision (or portion thereof) of this Section C shall be found to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable for any reason, the remaining provisions (or portions thereof) of this Section shall remain in full force and effect, and shall be construed as if such invalid, prohibited or unenforceable provision had been stricken herefrom or otherwise rendered inapplicable, it being the intent of this Corporation and its stockholders that each such remaining provision (or portion thereof) of this Section C remain, to the fullest extent permitted by law, applicable and enforceable as to all stockholders, including stockholders owning an amount of stock over the Limit, notwithstanding any such finding.

FIFTH:

A.        No Common Stock issued by the Corporation or securities issued by the Corporation entitling the holder thereof to acquire shares of Common Stock or any securities of the Corporation which may otherwise be deemed “stock” as the term is defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and regulations thereunder (collectively, “Section 382”) (such securities collectively referred to hereinafter solely for purposes of this Article as “Stock”) may be transferred by any person (the “Initial Transferor”) in any manner or to any extent to any other person if such other person is or would become by reason of the transfer a beneficial owner of more than 4.5% of the Stock outstanding (a “Prohibited Transferee”), as such ownership is determined under Section 382. For purposes of this provision, transfers to a Prohibited Transferee shall include transfers directly or through trusts, estates, corporations or partnerships, and attribution through such entities shall be determined pursuant to Section 382.

B.        Transfers made in violation of Section A of this Article shall not be effective to transfer ownership of the Stock subject thereto (“Prohibited Stock”) and the initial Transferee shall continue to be treated as the owner of such Prohibited Stock for all corporate purposes.

C.        Upon the transfer of Prohibited Stock, the Corporation shall I have thirty days from discovery of such prohibited transfer to demand the transfer of the Prohibited Stock from the Prohibited Transferee to the Corporation or its agent. Further, the Corporation or its agent shall demand the transfer of any distributions received on such Prohibited Stock by the Prohibited Transferee. Discovery shall be deemed to have been made pursuant to provisions of Section 382 regarding discovery of ownership changes. If a Prohibited Transferee shall refuse or fail upon demand by the Corporation to transfer such


Prohibited Stock and distributions received thereon, the Corporation shall take all necessary action at law or in equity to compel such transfer as soon as possible. Upon transfer by the Prohibited Transferee of the Prohibited Stock, together with distributions received thereon, the Corporation shall sell such Prohibited Stock as soon as practicable thereafter in an arm’s length transaction and in a manner consistent with the restriction set forth in this Article. Proceeds from such sale shall be remitted to the Prohibited Transferee in an amount not to exceed the amount paid by the Prohibited Transferee for such Prohibited Stock or, if the transfer made in violation of this Article was by gift, inheritance or similar transfer, the fair market value of such shares at the time of receipt by the Prohibited Transferee. For purposes of the foregoing, fair market value per share shall not be less than: (1) the average of the highest and lowest selling price at the time of receipt or if there were no sales on such date, then not less than the mean between the bid and asked price on such date, if the Prohibited Stock is listed on a national securities exchange or the NASDAQ National Market System on such date; (2) the mean between the bid and asked price on such date or, if there is no bid and asked price on such date, then on the next prior business day on which there was a bid and asked price if the Prohibited Stock is traded otherwise than on a national securities exchange or the NASDAQ National Market System; or (3) as determined by the Board of Directors.

D.        Any sale of Prohibited Stock by a Prohibited Transferee received in violation of this Article shall be deemed to have been made solely as agent for the Corporation, and the Corporation shall demand of the Prohibited Transferee the proceeds from such sale together with distributions received from such Prohibited Stock. Such demand shall be made within thirty days of discovery (as that term is described in Section C of this Article) by the Corporation of the transfer of the Prohibited Stock to the Prohibited Transferee. If the Prohibited Transferee shall refuse or fail upon demand by the Corporation to surrender such proceeds and distributions, the Corporation shall take all necessary action at law or in equity to compel the transfer of such proceeds and distributions. The Corporation, at its discretion, may make demand of such proceeds in the amount net of the amount which the Prohibited Transferee would have received from the Corporation had the Corporation rather than the Prohibited Transferee sold such Prohibited Stock.

E.        Any proceeds received by the Corporation or its agent as a result of the sale of the Prohibited Stock, whether by the Corporation or its agent or by the Prohibited Transferee, and the distributions received on such Prohibited Stock, shall be transferred to the Initial Transferor, less any amounts remitted to or retained by the Prohibited Transferee as otherwise described in this Article. If such Initial Transferor cannot be determined by the Corporation within ninety days after receipt by the Corporation of such proceeds and distributions, the Corporation or its agent may pay any such amounts due the Initial Transferor into a court or governmental agency, if applicable law permits, and otherwise must irrevocably transfer such amounts to a charity designated by the Corporation. In no event shall amounts due to such Initial Transferor inure to the benefit of the Corporation or its agent, but such amounts may be used to reimburse the agent, if any, for reasonable expenses incurred in attempting to identify the Initial Transferor.

F.         The Board of Directors is expressly empowered to waive application of this Article to any specific transaction, provided that such waiver is by resolution of the Board duly considered and approved by at least a majority of the Board of Directors prior to any such transfer of stock described within this Article.

G.        This Article shall have no applicability and shall be of no force and effect, notwithstanding notations to the contrary on any certificates evidencing ownership of any securities of the Corporation, after thirty seven months from the date of issuance of the Corporation’s 10% Convertible Preferred Stock, Series I.


SIXTH:The following provisions are inserted for the management of the business and the conduct of the affairs of the Corporation, and for further definition, limitation and regulation of the powers of the Corporation and of its directors and stockholders:

(a)        The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors. In addition to the powers and authority expressly conferred upon them by Statute or by this Certificate of Incorporation or the By-laws of the Corporation, the directors are hereby empowered to exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things as may be exercised or done by the Corporation.

(b)       The directors of the Corporation need not be elected by written ballot unless the By-laws so provide.

(c)        Subject to the rights of holders of any class or series of Preferred Stock, any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation and may not be effected by any consent in writing by such stockholders.

(d)       For a period of five (5) years following the date of the conversion of Wilmington Savings Fund Society, F.S.B., to a capital stock savings bank, special meetings of stockholders of the Corporation may be called only by the Board of Directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of authorized directors (whether or not there exist any vacancies in previously authorized directorships at the time any such resolution is presented to the Board for adoption) (the “Whole Board”). Thereafter, special meetings may be called by such person or persons as the By-laws may specify, or by the Board of Directors as provided above.

SEVENTH:

A.

The number of directors shall be fixed from time to time exclusively by the Board of Directors pursuantWSFS FINANCIAL CORPORATION for the 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders The undersigned hereby appoints Marvin N. Schoenhals and Mark A. Turner, or either of them, with full power of substitution, to a resolution adopted by a majority ofact as attorneys and proxies for the Whole Board. The directors shall be divided into three classes, with the tern of office of the first class to expire at the first annual meeting of stockholders, the term of office of the second class to expire at the annual meeting of stockholders one (1) year thereafterundersigned and the term of office of the third class to expire at the annual meeting of stockholders two (2) years thereafter. At each annual meeting of stockholders following such initial classification and election, directors elected to succeed those directors whose terms expire shall be elected for a term of office to expire at the third succeeding annual meeting of stockholders after their election.

B.

At all elections of directors of the corporation commencing with the 1992 annual meeting of stockholders, a holder of stock of any class or series then entitled to vote in such election shall be entitled to as many votes as shall equal the number of votes which (except for this provision as to cumulative voting) such holder would be entitled to cast for the election of directors with respect to hisor herall shares of stock multiplied byCommon Stock of WSFS Financial Corporation, which the number of directors to be elected in the election in which his class or seriesundersigned is entitled to vote, and a stockholder may cast allat the Annual Meeting of such votes for a single director or may distribute them among the numberStockholders to be voted for,held on _______________, 2015 at 4:00 p.m., or for any two (2) or more of them, as heor shemay see fit.

C.

Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding, and unless the Board of Directors otherwise determines, newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors or any vacancies in the Board of Directors resulting from death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, removal from office


or other cause may be filled only by a majority vote of the directors then in office, though less than a quorum, and directors so chosen shall hold office for a term expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders at which the term of office of the class to which they have been elected expires. No decrease in the number of directors constituting the Board of Directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director.

D.

Advance notice of stockholder nominations for the election of directors and of business to be brought by stockholders before any meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation shall be given in the manner provided in the Bylaws of the Corporation.

E.

Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding, any director, or the entire Board of Directors, may he removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (after giving effect to the provisions of Article FOURTH of this Certificate of Incorporation (“Article FOURTH”)), voting togetheradjournments thereof, as a single class.

EIGHTH:The Board of Directors is expressly empowered to adopt, amend or repeal By-laws of the Corporation. Any adoption, amendment or repeal of the By-laws of the Corporation by the Board of Directors shall require the approval of a majority of the Whole Board. The stockholders shall also have power to adopt, amend or repeal the By-laws of the Corporation; provided, however, that any such alteration, amendment or repeal must be approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (after giving effect to the provisions of Article FOURTH), voting together as a single class.

NINTH:The Board of Directors of the Corporation, when evaluating any offer of another person to (A) make a tender or exchange offer for any equity security of the Corporation, (B) merge or consolidate the Corporation with another corporation or entity or (C) purchase or otherwise acquire all or substantially all of the properties and assets of the Corporation, may, in connection with the exercise of its judgment in determining what is in the best interest of the Corporation and its stockholders, give due consideration to all relevant factors, including, without limitation, the social and economic effect of acceptance of such offer on the Corporation’s present and future customers and employees and those of its subsidiaries; on the communities in which the Corporation and its subsidiaries operate or are located; on the ability of the Corporation to fulfill its corporate objectives as a bank holding company; and on the ability of its subsidiary bank to fulfill the objectives of a federally-chartered stock form savings bank under applicable statutes and regulations.

TENTH:

A.

Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (hereinafter a “proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or an officer of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (hereinafter an “indemnitee”), whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, employee or agent or in any other capacity while serving as a director, officer, employee or agent, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent authorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment


permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than such law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such indemnitee in connection therewith; provided, however, that, except as provided in Section C hereof with respect to proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification, the Corporation shall indemnify any such indemnitee in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such indemnitee only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. For all purposes of this Article TENTH, the directors of Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, and all officers thereof (as elected or appointed in the manner provided in the by-laws of Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB) shall be deemed to be serving at the request of the Corporation as such directors and officers.

B.

The right to indemnification conferred in Section A of this Article shall include the right to be paid by the Corporation the expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition (hereinafter an “advancement of expenses”); provided, however, that, if the Delaware General Corporation Law requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by an indemnitee in his or her capacity as a director or officer (and not in any other capacity in which service was or is rendered by such indemnitee, including, without limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking (hereinafter an “undertaking”), by or on behalf of such indemnitee, to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal (hereinafter a “final adjudication”) that such indemnitee is not entitled to he indemnified for such expenses under this Section or otherwise. The rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses conferred in Sections A and B of this Article shall be contract rights and such rights shall continue as to an indemnitee who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the indemnitee’s heirs, executors and administrators.

C.

If a claim under Section A or B of this Article is not paid in full by the Corporation within sixty (60) days after a written claim has been received by the Corporation, except in the case of a claim for an advancement of expenses, in which case the applicable period shall be twenty (20) days, the indemnitee may at any time thereafter bring suit against the Corporation to recover the unpaid amount of the claim. If successful in whole or in part in any such suit, or in a suit brought by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the indemnitee shall be entitled to be paid also the expense of prosecuting or defending such suit. In (i) any suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification hereunder (but not in a suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a right to an advancement of expenses) it shall be a defense that, and (ii) any suit by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking the Corporation shall be entitled to recover such expenses upon a final adjudication that, the indemnitee has not met any applicable standard for indemnification set forth in the Delaware General Corporation Law. Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its board of directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such suit that indemnification of the indemnitee is proper in the circumstances because the indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the Delaware General Corporation Law, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including its board of directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) that the indemnitee has not meet such applicable standard of conduct, shall create a presumption that the indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct or, in the case of such a suit brought by the indemnitee, be a defense to such suit. In any suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification or to an advancement of expenses hereunder, or by the Corporation to recover


an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking. the burden of proving that the indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified, or to such advancement of expenses, under this Article or otherwise shall be on the Corporation.

D.

The rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses conferred in this Article shall not be exclusive of any other right which any person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation, by-law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.

E.

The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect itself and any director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the Delaware General Corporation Law.

F.

The Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors, grant rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses to any employee or agent of the Corporation to the fullest extent of the provisions of this Article with respect to the indemnification and advancement of expenses of directors and officers of the Corporation.

ELEVENTH:A director of this Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended after approval by the stockholders of this Article to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as so amended.

Any repeal or modification of the foregoing paragraph by the stockholders of the Corporation shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification.

TWELFTH:The Corporation reserves the right to amend or repeal any provision contained in this Certificate of Incorporation in the manner prescribed by the laws of the State of Delaware and all rights conferred upon stockholders are granted subject to this reservation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Board of Directors of the Corporation has caused this Restated Certificate of Incorporation to be signed by its President and Chief Executive Officer and attested by its Secretary, this 24th day of May, 1993.

WSFS Financial Corporationfollows: THIS PROXY IS CONTINUED ON THE REVERSE SIDE. PLEASE SIGN ON THE REVERSE SIDE AND RETURN PROMPTLY. 1.1

 

 


_/s/ Marvin N. Schoenhals

Marvin N. Schoenhals

ATTEST:

Secretary


This Proxy is Solicited on Behalf of the Board of Directors

WSFS FINANCIAL CORPORATION

for the

2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

The undersigned hereby appoints Marvin N. Schoenhals and Mark A. Turner, or either of them, with full power of substitution, to act as attorneys and proxies for the undersigned and to vote all shares of Common Stock of WSFS Financial Corporation, which the undersigned is entitled to vote, at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on April 23, 2009 at 4:00 p.m., or at any adjournments thereof, as follows:


xPlease mark your

votes as in this

example.

The Board of Directors recommends a voteFORall nominees and items listed below.

WITHHOLD AUTHORITY

to vote for all

FOR

nominees listed at right

Nominees:

1.

ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS OF WSFS FINANCIAL CORPORATION _________________, 2015 NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIAL: The Notice of Meeting, proxy statement and sample proxy card are available at www.wsfsbank.com Please sign, date and mail your proxy card in the envelope provided as soon as possible. Signature of Stockholder Date: Signature of Stockholder Date: Note: Please sign exactly as your name or names appear on this Proxy. When shares are held jointly, each holder should sign. When signing as executor, administrator, attorney, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If the signer is a corporation, please sign full corporate name by duly authorized officer, giving full title as such. If signer is a partnership, please sign in partnership name by authorized person. To change the address on your account, please check the box at right and indicate your new address in the address space above. Please note that changes to the registered name(s) on the account may not be submitted via this method. 1. Election of o                                         o

ForDirectors (each for a three year term expiring in 2012:

Directors:

2018): O Anat Bird _____________ O Jennifer W. Davis

_____________ O Donald W. Delson

Scott E. Reed

Claiborne D. Smith

For a one year term expiring in 2010:

Linda C. Drake

David E. Hollowell

(To withhold authority to vote any individual nominee write

the nominee’s name on the line provided below).

_____________ 2.

Amendment of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company's common stock from 20,000,000 to 65,000,000 3. Ratification of the appointment of KPMG, LLP as the independent auditorsregistered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009

FOR

AGAINST

ABSTAIN

          o      o       o

3.

2015 4. Advisory (non-binding) vote to approve the compensation of the Company’sCompany's executives The proxy is revocable and, when properly executed will be voted in the manner directed hereby by the undersigned. If no directions are made, this proxy will be voted FOR each of the nominees, and the other proposals. The undersigned, by executing and delivering this proxy, revokes the authority given with respect to any earlier dated proxy submitted by the undersigned. Unless contrary direction is given, the right is reserved in the sole discretion of the Board of Directors to distribute votes among some or all of the above nominees in a manner other than equally so as to elect as directors the maximum possible number of such nominees. In their discretion the proxies are authorized to vote upon such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting. The undersigned acknowledges receipt of the Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders, a Proxy Statement and Annual Report of WSFS Financial Corporation. PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THIS CARD PROMPTLY USING THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN FOR ALL NOMINEES WITHHOLD AUTHORITY FOR ALL NOMINEES FOR ALL EXCEPT (See instructions below) NOMINEES: PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETURN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. PLEASE MARK YOUR VOTE IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS SHOWN HERE x Please detach along perforated line and mail in the envelope provided. ------------------ ---------------- 20330303000000000000 7 INSTRUCTIONS: To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark “FOR ALL EXCEPT” and fill in the circle next to each nominee you wish to withhold, as shown here: ( ) To cumulate your vote for one or more of the above nominee(s), write the manner in which such votes shall be cumulated in the space to the right of the nominee(s) name(s). If you are cumulating your vote, do not mark the circle.

FOR

AGAINST

ABSTAIN

          o      o       o

4.

Approval of amendment to Article Fourth, Paragraph A of Restated Certificate of Incorporation

FOR

AGAINST

ABSTAIN

          o      o       o

5.

Approval of amendment to delete Article Fourth, Paragraph C of Restated Certificate of Incorporation

FOR

AGAINST

ABSTAIN

          o      o       o

6.

Approval of amendment to delete Article Fifth of Restated Certificate of Incorporation

FOR

AGAINST

ABSTAIN

          o      o       o


The proxy is revocable and, when properly executed will be voted in the manner directed hereby by the undersigned. If no directions are made, this proxy will be voted FOR each of the nominees and the other proposals. The undersigned, by executing and delivering this proxy, revokes the authority given with respect to any earlier dated proxy submitted by the undersigned.

Unless contrary direction is given, the right is reserved in the sole discretion of the Board of Directors to distribute votes among some or all of the above nominees in a manner other than equally so as to elect as directors the maximum possible number of such nominees.

In their discretion the proxies are authorized to vote upon such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting.

The undersigned acknowledges receipt of the Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders, a Proxy Statement and Annual Report of WSFS Financial Corporation.

Please sign exactly as name appears hereon. If signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, please indicate the capacity in which you are acting. Proxies executed by corporations should be signed by a duly authorized officer.

SIGNATURE(S) _________________________________________Date ____________________

PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THIS CARD

PROMPTLY USING THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.