Catherine Eisel

About Catherine Eisel

Catherine (“Cate”) Eisel is Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at LINKBANCORP/LINKBANK; she joined the company in February 2024 and was appointed CRO in May 2024. She is 32 years old, a commissioned risk management examiner, and earned a B.A. in Economics and Business from Cornell College (Mount Vernon, IA). Previously she held multiple roles at the FDIC, including financial institution examiner, senior bank examination training specialist, and supervisory training administrator . Company performance during 2025 shows ROA 1.04%–1.05% and ROE ~10% alongside growth in assets and deposits, indicative of stable profitability during her early tenure .

Past Roles

External Roles

• None disclosed in the 2025 proxy biography .

Fixed Compensation

• Not disclosed for Eisel; the Summary Compensation Table covers CEO, President, and Bank President only for 2024 (Eisel is not a named executive officer) .

Performance Compensation

• Not disclosed for Eisel. Company’s 2024 short-term cash incentive plan for named executives used Net Income, Credit Quality (NPA/Assets), Deposit Growth, Strategic Projects, and Succession Planning, with payouts of 50% of base salary for the CEO and 40% for President/Bank President; Eisel was not among named participants in 2024 .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Individual beneficial ownership for Eisel is not listed; the proxy provides a table for directors and named executive officers and “other executive officers as a group,” where no shares are pledged by any director or named executive officer . The company’s insider trading policy prohibits hedging, and the 2025 Equity Incentive Plan subjects awards to clawbacks and anti-hedging/pledging policy restrictions; it requires double-trigger vesting on change-in-control and sets a minimum one-year vesting for at least 95% of awards .

• Vesting conventions under current plans (company-wide, applicable to many executives):

  • Options vest over 5 years, expire in 10 years; no repricing or cash buyouts of underwater options without shareholder approval .
  • Restricted Stock vests over 5 years; dividends payable only upon vesting .
  • RSUs vest over 3 years; dividend equivalents, if granted, paid only upon settlement .

Employment Terms

• No specific employment agreement, severance, non-compete, or change-of-control economics for Eisel are disclosed. For context, executive employment agreements exist for CEO/President/Bank President with 3x/2x salary+bonus severance and double-trigger change-of-control terms, but these disclosures do not apply to Eisel unless separately documented .

Investment Implications

• Alignment: Strong governance guardrails—anti-hedging, clawbacks, minimum vesting, and double‑trigger CoC vesting—support long-term alignment and reduce the risk of short-term incentive gaming for executives, including the CRO role .
• Retention risk: Lack of individual compensation disclosure for Eisel limits visibility into at-risk pay and equity retention hooks; however, the equity plan design (multi‑year vesting, potential holding periods linked to ownership guidelines) provides structural retention incentives if/when awards are granted .
• Execution risk: Eisel’s FDIC supervisory background and training leadership suggest strong regulatory risk management capability—a positive for credit, liquidity, and operational risk oversight during integration and growth—but outcomes will hinge on sustained asset quality and deposit stability; current ROA/ROE and increased assets/deposits in 2025 indicate stable performance under the broader management team .
• Trading signals: With insider ownership ~31% and dividend yield ~4%, governance features and risk discipline are supportive; absence of pledging among directors/named execs is a positive signal, though Eisel’s personal ownership is not disclosed, limiting “skin-in-the-game” assessment for her specifically .