Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Sections 1-850 through 1-859 of the Louisiana Business Corporation Act (the “LBCA”), provide, in part, that the Registrant may indemnify each of its current or former directors and officers (each, an “indemnitee”) against liability (including judgments, settlements, penalties, fines, or reasonable expenses) incurred by the indemnitee in a proceeding to which the indemnitee is a party if the indemnitee acted in good faith and reasonably believed either (1) in the case of conduct in an official capacity, that the indemnitee’s conduct was in the best interests of the corporation or (2) in all other cases, that the indemnitee’s conduct was at least not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, the indemnitee had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. Under the LBCA, the Registrant may also advance expenses to the indemnitee provided that the indemnitee delivers (1) a written affirmation of his or her good faith belief that the relevant standard of conduct has been met or that the proceeding involves conduct for which liability has been eliminated and (2) a written undertaking to repay any funds advanced if (i) the indemnitee is not entitled to mandatory indemnification by virtue of being wholly successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any such proceeding and (ii) it is ultimately determined that the indemnitee has not met the relevant standard of conduct. In addition, the Registrant has the power to obtain and maintain insurance with respect to any person who is or was acting on its behalf, regardless of whether it has the legal authority to indemnify, or advance expenses to, the insured person with respect to such liability. In furtherance of this authority, the Registrant maintains directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.
Under the LBCA, a corporation must indemnify any present or former director or officer of a corporation for expenses incurred in connection with the proceeding if such person was wholly successful, on the merits or otherwise, in defense of any proceeding, that he was a party to by virtue of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the corporation. This mandatory indemnification requirement does not limit the Registrant’s right to permissibly indemnify a director or officer with respect to expenses of a partially successful defense of any proceeding.
The Registrant’s articles of incorporation contain indemnification provisions that require it to indemnify its directors and officers from and against any and all expenses, liabilities, or other matters covered by the LBCA, as to action in his or her official capacity while holding office, to the fullest extent permitted by the LBCA. The Registrant’s articles of incorporation provide for mandatory advancement of expenses of directors and officers, so long as it receives (i) a written affirmation from the director or officer of his or her good faith belief that he or she has satisfied the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification under the LBCA, and (ii) an undertaking by or on
behalf of the director or officer to repay all amounts advanced in the event that it is ultimately determined by a final decision, order, or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction that the director or officer has not met the required standards of conduct.
The Registrant’s articles of incorporation permit, but do not require, the Registrant to grant rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses to any of its other employees or agents, or to any director, officer, employee, or agent of any of its subsidiaries, to the fullest extent of the provisions of the LBCA. The Registrant’s articles of incorporation do not limit the Registrant’s ability to provide for additional rights to indemnification or advancement of expenses through a resolution of shareholders or directors, an agreement, or otherwise, as long as those rights are consistent with the LBCA.
The foregoing is only a general summary of certain aspects of Louisiana law and the Registrant’s governing documents dealing with indemnification of directors and officers, and does not purport to be complete. It is qualified in its entirety by reference to its articles of incorporation, which are filed as an exhibit to this Registration Statement, and to the relevant provisions of the LBCA.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Registrant under any of the foregoing provisions, in the opinion of the Commission, that indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable. Finally, the Registrant’s ability to provide indemnification to its directors and officers is limited by federal banking laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, 12 U.S.C. 1828(k).
Item 7. Exemption From Registration Claimed.
Not applicable.
Item 8. Exhibits.
The following Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference as the list of exhibits required as part of this Registration Statement.
|
|
|
Exhibit Index
|
Exhibit Number
|
Description
|
4.1
|
|
4.2
|
|
4.3
|
|
4.4
|
|
5.1
|
|
23.1
|
|
23.2
|
|
24.1
|
|
______________________
* Filed herewith.
Item 9. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
(i) to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
(ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement;
(iii) to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post‑effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post‑effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post‑effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers, and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer, or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.