Austin Stonitsch

About Austin Stonitsch

Austin Stonitsch, age 69, is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Dime Community Bank. He joined the Bank in November 2016 as Chief Talent Officer and was appointed to his current role in February 2021 after serving as Chief Talent Officer from 2016 to February 2021 . Prior to Dime, he held senior human resource roles at Alma Bank, IDB Bank, and JPMorgan Chase . Company context: DCOM delivered 2024 total shareholder return of 18.5%, placing in the top quartile of its compensation peer group . Multi-year revenue and net income trends are shown below.

Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.

Past Roles

External Roles

Fixed Compensation

• Stonitsch is not disclosed as a Named Executive Officer (NEO) in the proxy’s Summary Compensation Table, which reports CEO, CFO, CLO, CTO, and CRO; therefore, his base salary, target bonus, and equity grant values are not publicly disclosed . For non-NEO officers, compensation decisions are made under the CEO’s authority, with the Compensation Committee overseeing NEOs and broad compensation governance .

Performance Compensation

Company frameworks governing variable compensation and performance metrics (used for NEOs and informing broader executive alignment):

• 2024 Annual (Cash) Incentive Plan – Corporate Factor (85% weight). Metrics, weights, targets, and actual results:
  | Metric | Weighting | Threshold | Target | Maximum | Actual | Notes | |--------|-----------|-----------|--------|---------|--------|-------| | Adjusted Non-Interest Expenses / Avg Assets | 50.0% | 1.75% | 1.55% | 1.35% | 1.54% | Excludes certain one-time items; adjusted for non-core items | | Relative Asset Quality (NPLs/Loans vs peers) | 12.5% | 25th pct | 50th pct | 75th pct | 73rd pct | Measured vs Compensation Peer Group | | Tier 1 (Common Equity Tier 1 shown) | 10.0% | 10.25% | 11.0% | 12.0% | 12.17% | Corporate performance gate: capital must be ≥10.5% | | CRE Concentration Ratio (Consolidated) | 15.0% | 550% | 510% | 470% | 447% | Focus on diversified balance sheet | | Loan-to-Deposit Ratio | 12.5% | 105.0% | 97.5% | 90.0% | 93.0% | Liquidity and deposit balance emphasis |

• 2024 AIP Discretionary Factor (15% weight): deposit growth from new team hires (7.5%) plus other discretion (7.5%) covering technology initiatives, regulatory compliance, TSR, CRA performance, and cybersecurity; Committee applied 120% of target for the Discretionary Factor .

• 2024 Long-Term (Equity) Incentive Plan – design and vesting:

  • Mix: 60% performance-vested restricted stock awards (PRSAs) and 40% time-vested restricted shares (RSAs). RSAs vest ratably over 3 years; PRSAs vest based on performance at end of 2026, with payouts from 50% (threshold) to 150% (maximum) of target .
  • PRSA performance metrics and targets:

    Metric	Weighting	Threshold	Target	Maximum
    Relative Deposit Franchise Quality (Metro NY/NJ banks)	50%	25th pct	50th pct	75th pct
    Consolidated CRE Concentration Ratio	50%	490%	450%	400%

• Prior LTIP results: 2022 LTIP payout was 30% of target (TSR at 30th percentile and Adjusted ROATCE below threshold), demonstrating no upward adjustments despite macro changes .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Anti-pledging and anti-hedging policy: Directors, officers, and employees (including executive officers) are prohibited from pledging company securities or entering hedging/derivative transactions designed to offset declines in DCOM stock, such as short sales, options, swaps, collars, or exchange funds .

• Clawback: Executive Officer incentive-based compensation is subject to recoupment for three completed fiscal years preceding any required accounting restatement; excess incentive pay relative to restated results is recoverable per the SEC/Dodd-Frank-aligned policy updated in July 2023 .

• Stock ownership guidelines: Minimum ownership requirements apply to directors and NEOs, not broadly to all executive officers; thresholds are Directors: 5.0x annual cash retainer; CEO: 3.0x base salary; Other NEOs: 1.5x base salary. Compliance measured with a five-year phase-in; as of 12/31/2024, all directors and NEOs were in compliance or within the phase-in period .
  | Role | Minimum Ownership Requirement | |------|-------------------------------| | Directors | 5.0x annual cash retainer | | CEO | 3.0x annual base salary | | Other NEOs | 1.5x annual base salary |

• Beneficial ownership context: All directors and executive officers as a group (25 persons) held 3,129,931 shares, representing 7.1% of outstanding shares as of March 20, 2025; the company’s Insider Trading Policy prohibits pledging by directors and executive officers .

Insider transactions

• We searched for Form 4 filings and public transaction summaries referencing Austin Stonitsch during 2024–2025 and did not identify specific Form 4 entries for him across available public sources. We reviewed DCOM executive transaction pages and public proxy materials; if you want, we can run a targeted insider-trades data pull to confirm latest filings .

Employment Terms

Performance & Track Record

• 2024 TSR: 18.5%, top quartile vs compensation peer group .
• Capital, liquidity, and asset quality metrics improved and were integral to AIP payouts (e.g., CET1 12.17%; CRE concentration 447%; L/D 93%) .
• Corporate AIP included a performance gate requiring total risk-based capital ≥10.5% at year-end (met) .

Investment Implications

• Disclosure scope: As a non-NEO executive officer, Stonitsch’s individual pay levels, awards, and holdings are not itemized in proxies, limiting direct pay-for-performance and insider selling analysis; governance frameworks (clawback, anti-hedging/pledging) nevertheless apply, aligning executive incentives with sustained performance and discouraging short-term trading behaviors .
• Compensation alignment signals: Company-wide AIP/LTIP metrics emphasize cost discipline, capital strength, asset quality, deposit franchise quality, and CRE concentration reduction—consistent with prudent banking and long-term shareholder value; 2022 LTIP’s 30% payout underscores discipline in honoring performance outcomes without retroactive adjustments .
• Retention/succession: Tenure since 2016 and elevation to CHRO in 2021 reflect stability in HR leadership. Given the company’s active succession communications and broader executive transitions, continued monitoring of HR leadership disclosures and any Form 4 activity is warranted; we can run insider-trades and upcoming-events skills to flag changes in real time [3] .

Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.