Bank of the Ozarks Announces Investment in Employees
January 2, 2018 in Corporate News
Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ: OZRK) (the “Company”) announced today that the Personnel and Compensation Committee of its Board of Directors has approved the creation of an annual cash-based incentive bonus plan for hourly employees and certain other employees not currently covered by existing bonus plans. Executive officers and other members of senior management are excluded from this new bonus plan.
Under the terms of the plan, employees will be eligible to receive a cash award of up to $1,200 annually based on Company and individual employee performance. Approximately 2,300 of the Company’s current employees will be eligible to receive awards under the plan. The first payments under the plan will be made in early 2019 based on 2018 Company and individual employee performance. Current estimates indicate the annual pre-tax cost of the plan for 2018, including payroll taxes and other benefits, will be between $2.4 and $2.7 million. Going forward, annual bonus payments under this plan will be determined and paid in the first quarter of each year.
“Our people are our Company,” stated Chairman and CEO George Gleason, “and we are pleased to recognize our employees who perform with excellence every day making Bank of the Ozarks an industry leader.”
Gleason said, “Recently signed U. S. corporate tax legislation has given us the opportunity to enhance current compensation programs for our employees. This bonus plan rewards hard work and performance while promoting our longstanding commitment to excellence which has driven our Company’s success for decades.”