UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

 

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

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OCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION
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April [●], 202016, 2021

 

Dear Fellow Shareholder:

 

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I cordially invite you to participate in the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Ocwen Financial Corporation, which will be held on Wednesday,Tuesday, May 27, 2020,25, 2021, at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time. In light of public health concerns regarding the coronavirus outbreak,COVID-19, we will again be hosting this year’s Annual Meeting in a virtual format only via live audiocast on the Internet atwww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/OCN2020OCN2021. To participate, vote or submit questions during the Annual Meeting via live audiocast, please review the detailed procedures included in our Notice of Annual Meeting. You will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting physically in person. For purposes of attendance at the Annual Meeting, all references herein to “present,” “participate,” or “in person,” shall mean virtually present at the Annual Meeting. This does not represent a change in our shareholder engagement philosophy and we intendcontinue planning to return to an in-person meeting next year.meetings as soon as it is possible to safely do so.

 

The matters to be considered by shareholders at the Annual Meeting are described in detail in the accompanying materials.

 

It is very important that you be represented at the Annual Meeting regardless of the number of shares you own or whether you are able to participate in our virtual Annual Meeting. We encourage you to complete your proxy card in one of the manners described in the accompanying materials even if you plan to participate in the Annual Meeting. This will not prevent you from voting during the Annual Meeting if you choose to participate and vote at that time, but will ensure that your vote is counted if you are unable to participate. If you are a beneficial owner holding shares through a brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer, or similar organization you should follow the instructions on your voting instruction form to vote your shares. Please note that if you are a beneficial owner of our shares you cannot vote your shares at the Annual Meeting unless you have obtained a legal proxy from your brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer, or similar organization.

 

Your continued support of, and interest in, Ocwen Financial Corporation is sincerely appreciated.

 

Sincerely,

Phyllis R. Caldwell

Chair, Board of Directors

 

 
 

 

OCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION

 

1661 Worthington Road, Suite 100

West Palm Beach, Florida 33409

 

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS

FOR THE SHAREHOLDER MEETING TO BE HELD ON MAY 27, 202025, 2021

 

NOTICE

 

Our Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held:

 

 Date:Wednesday,Tuesday, May 27, 202025, 2021
 Time:9:00 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time
 Location:Virtual Meeting Only via Live Audiocast

 

Please review the instructions contained in this Proxy Statement if you wish to participate in the virtual Annual Meeting.

 

PURPOSE

 

 To elect seven directors for one-year terms or until their successors are elected and qualified;
   
 To ratify, on an advisory basis, the appointment by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm of Ocwen Financial Corporation for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020;2021;
   
 To hold an advisory vote to approve executive compensation (“Say-on-Pay”);
   
 To hold an advisory vote to approve an amendment to our Articles of Incorporation to implement a reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding common stock in a ratio between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25 and reduce the number of authorized shares of our common stock by the same proportion as the ratio of our reverse stock split;
To approve a proposal to adjourn the Annual Meeting, if necessary or appropriate, to solicit additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes at the time of the Annual Meeting to approve Proposal Four;Ocwen Financial Corporation 2021 Equity Incentive Plan; and
   
 To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting and any postponement or adjournment of the meeting. Management is not aware of any such other business at this time.

 

PROCEDURES

 

 Our Board of Directors has fixed March 27, 202026, 2021 as the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting. A list of stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will be available for examination at our offices for ten days prior to the Annual Meeting. The list of stockholders may also be accessed during the virtual Annual Meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/OCN2021 by using the control number on your proxy card or voting instruction form.
   
 Shareholders of record at the close of business on the record date will be entitled to vote and ask questions online at the Annual Meeting. Please note that if you do not have your control number, you will be able to access and listen to the Annual Meeting but you will not be able to vote your shares or submit questions during the Annual Meeting.
   
 If you would like to attend the virtual meeting and you have your control number, please go towww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/OCN2020OCN2021 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting to log in. For shareholders who hold shares in street name, if you came through your brokerage firm’s website and do not have your control number, you can gain access to the meeting by logging into your brokerage firm’s website 15 minutes prior to the meeting start, selecting the shareholder communications mailbox to link through to the meeting and the control number will automatically populate. For technical assistance when logging into Ocwen’s Annual Meeting, please call 855-449-0991844-976-0738 (US) or 720-378-5962303-562-9301 (International).
   
 If you wish to submit a question during the Annual Meeting, log into the virtual meeting platform atwww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/OCN2020OCN2021, type your question into the “Ask a Question” field, and click “Submit.”

 

This proxy statement for our 20202021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and our Annual Report to shareholders on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20192020 will be available on or about April [•], 202016, 2021 on our website atwww.ocwen.com in the Financial Information section under the “Shareholders” tab. The approximate date on which this proxy statement, the proxy card and other accompanying materials are first being sent or given to shareholders is April [•], 2020.16, 2021. Additionally, and in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission rules, you may access our annual report and proxy materials athttp://shareholders.ocwen.com/sec.cfm, a website that does not identify or track visitors of the site.

 

If you have questions for Ocwen Financial Corporation regarding this virtual Annual Meeting, please contact our shareholder relations department atshareholderrelations@ocwen.com.

 

By Order of the Board of Directors,

Joseph J. Samarias

Secretary

April [●], 2020

1

16, 2021

OCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION

 

PROXY STATEMENT

 

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

 

General Information

 

This proxy statement is being furnished to you in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors of Ocwen Financial Corporation (“Ocwen,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) for use at our 20202021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) and at any postponement or adjournment of this meeting. The approximate date on which this proxy statement, the proxy card and other accompanying materials are first being sent or given to shareholders is April [•], 2020.16, 2021. The Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday,Tuesday, May 27, 2020,25, 2021, at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time, for the purposes listed in the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders. In light of publicCOVID-19 health concerns, regarding the coronavirus outbreak, we will be hosting this year’s Annual Meeting via live audiocast on the Internet atwww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/OCN2020OCN2021. This does not represent a change in our shareholder engagement philosophy and we intendare planning to return to an in-person meeting next year.meetings as soon as it is safe to do so. If you are interested in participating in the virtual meeting, voting or submitting questions at that time, please see “Annual Meeting Participation” below for further details. Please note that except as otherwise specified,You will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting physically in person. For purposes of attendance at the Annual Meeting, all share and dollar amounts set forth in this Proxy Statement are on a pre-Reverse Stock Split basis.references herein to “present,” “participate,” or “in person,” shall mean virtually present at the Annual Meeting.

 

How a Proxy Works

 

The Board of Directors has appointed Glen A. Messina, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Joseph J. Samarias, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, as the management proxy holders for the Annual Meeting. If you properly complete, sign and return your proxy card by mail, or submit your proxy by Internet or telephone, and do not revoke it prior to its use, your shares will be voted in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give contrary instructions, the management proxy holders will vote all shares represented by valid proxies as follows:

 

 Proposal One (Election of Directors) - “FOR ALL” of the seven nominees for Director;
   
 Proposal Two (Advisory Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm) - “FOR” ratification, on an advisory basis, of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2020;2021;
   
 Proposal Three (Advisory Resolution on Named Executive Officer Compensation) - “FOR” approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of Ocwen’s executive officers whose compensation is disclosed in this proxy statement (“named executive officers”) (“Say-on-Pay”);
   
 Proposal Four (Advisory Approval(Approval of an Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation to Effect a Reverse Stock Split)Ocwen Financial Corporation 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”)) - “FOR” approval, on an advisory basis, to approve an amendment to our Articles of Incorporation to implement a reverse stock split of our issuedapproval; and outstanding common stock in a ratio between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25 and reduce the number of authorized shares of our common stock by the same proportion as the ratio of our reverse stock split
   
Proposal Five (Adjournment of Meeting to Solicit Additional Proxies for Proposal Four) - “FOR” approval of a proposal to adjourn the Annual Meeting, if necessary or appropriate, to solicit additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes at the time of the Annual Meeting to approve Proposal Four; and

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 with regard to any other business that properly comes before the meeting, in accordance with the best judgment of the management proxy holders. As of the date of this proxy statement, we do not know of any other business that may come before the Annual Meeting.

 

How to Revoke a Proxy

 

Your proxy may be used only at the Annual Meeting and any postponement or adjournment of this meeting and may not be used for any other meeting. You have the power to revoke your proxy at any time before it is exercised by:

 

 filing written notice of revocation with our Secretary at the following address:
  Joseph J. Samarias, Secretary
  c/o Ocwen Financial Corporation
  1661 Worthington Road, Suite 100
  West Palm Beach, Florida 33409
   
 submitting a properly executed proxy card bearing a later date or submitting another proxy using the Internet or by telephone (your latest Internet or telephone voting instructions will be followed), or
   
 participating in the virtual Annual Meeting and giving the Secretary notice of your intention to vote at that time.

 

If you are interested in participating in the virtual Annual Meeting, voting or submitting questions at that time, please see “Annual Meeting Participation” below for further details.

Who May Vote at the Annual Meeting

 

On all matters properly presented at the Annual Meeting, each share of our common stock is entitled to one vote. All shareholders who owned our common stock as of the close of business on March 27, 202026, 2021 (the “Record Date”) are cordially invited to participate in the 20202021 Annual Meeting. Only shareholders of record or beneficial owners of shares of our common stock at the close of business on the Record Date are entitled to participate and vote at the Annual Meeting or any postponement or adjournment of this meeting. If your shares are registered directly in your name with American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, Ocwen’s stock transfer agent, you are the “shareholder of record” with respect to those shares. If your shares are held in an account at a brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer, or similar organization (collectively, “Broker”), then you are the “beneficial owner of shares held in street name.” As a beneficial owner, you have the right to instruct your Broker how to vote your shares. Most individual shareholders are beneficial owners of shares held in street name. At the close of business on the Record Date, there were 134,956,2888,688,115 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.

 

How to Vote if you are a Shareholder of Record

 

If you are a shareholder of record and you have received a printed set of the proxy materials by mail, we encourage you to fill in, date and sign the enclosed proxy card and mail it promptly in the enclosed envelope to make sure that your shares are represented at the Annual Meeting. Shareholders of record also have the option of voting by using a toll-free telephone number or via the Internet. Instructions for using these services are included on the proxy card. If you are a shareholder of record and participate in the Annual Meeting, you may, if you desire, revoke your proxy in accordance with the procedures described in this Proxy Statement and vote your shares during the meeting. Please note that your presence (without further action) at the Annual Meeting will not constitute revocation of a previously given proxy.

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How to Give Voting Instructions if you are a Beneficial Owner of Shares held in Street Name

 

If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name, you are considered the beneficial owner of the shares, and your shares may be voted at the Annual Meeting only by the Broker that holds your shares. To instruct your Broker how your shares are to be voted at the Annual Meeting, you will need to follow the instructions provided by the Broker that holds your shares. Many Brokers offer the option of submitting voting instructions over the Internet or by telephone. You are also welcome to participate in the Annual Meeting, but you will need to follow the instructions provided to you by your Broker. Please note that if you are a beneficial owner of our shares you cannot vote your shares at the Annual Meeting unless you have obtained a legal proxy from your Broker. Please contact your Broker for further information. If you wish to revoke your proxy any time before the Annual Meeting you should contact your Broker to find out how to change or revoke your voting instructions.

 

If you hold your shares in street name through a brokerage account and you do not submit instructions to your Broker about how your shares are to be voted, one of two things can happen depending on the type of proposal. If the proposal involves a “routine” matter, such as ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm, then the rules of the New York Stock Exchange provide Brokers discretionary power to vote your shares even if you do not provide instructions. “Routine” matters include proposals to ratify the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm, provide advisory approval of an amendment to our Articles of Incorporation to implement a reverse stock split, and approve a proposal to authorize an adjournment of the Annual Meeting to solicit additional proxies for Proposal Four. If, however, the proposal involves a “non-routine” matter, such as the proposals to elect directors, approve Say-on-Pay and vote on executive compensation,approve the 2021 Plan, then Brokers are not permitted to vote your shares without instruction from you. If you do not submit voting instructions to your Broker and your Broker exercises its discretion to vote your shares on Proposal Two to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2020, Proposal Four to approve a reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding common stock and reduce the number of authorized shares of our common stock by the same proportion as the ratio of our reverse stock split, or Proposal Five to authorize an adjournment of the Annual Meeting to solicit additional proxies for Proposal Four,2021, your shares will constitute broker “non-votes” on each of the other proposals at the Annual Meeting. Therefore, it is important that you provide instructions to your Broker if your shares are held by a Broker so that your votes with respect to election of directors, Say-on-Pay, and Say-on-Paythe 2021 Plan are counted.

 

Quorum and Voting Information

 

The presence at the Annual Meeting of a majority of the votes of our common stock entitled to vote, represented in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the Annual Meeting.

Assuming a quorum, the seven nominees for director receiving a plurality of the votes cast for director will be elected as directors of Ocwen. A plurality vote requirement means that the director nominees with the greatest number of votes cast, even if less than a majority, will be elected. There is no cumulative voting. You may vote in favor of or withhold authority to vote for one or more nominees for director. For Proposal Two to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2020,2021, Proposal Three to approve the Say-on-Pay, and Proposal Four to approve a reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding common stock and reduce the number of authorized shares of our common stock by the same proportion as the ratio of our reverse stock split, and Proposal Five to authorize an adjournment of the Annual Meeting to solicit additional proxies for Proposal Four,2021 Plan, the proposal will be approved if the votes cast by the holders of the shares represented at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote in favor of the action exceed the votes cast opposing the action. Because Proposal Two to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 20202021 and Proposal Three to approve the Say-on-Pay are advisory in nature, there is no specific requirement for approval for these proposals. It will be up to the Audit Committee and the Compensation and Human Capital Committee with respect to Proposals Two and Three, respectively, as well as the Board of Directors, to determine whether and how to implement the advisory votes on the ratification of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm and Say-on-Pay. In addition, Proposal Four to approve a reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding common stock and reduce the number of authorized shares of our common stock by the same proportion as the ratio of our reverse stock split is also advisory in nature. Under Florida law, because we are reducing our authorized shares proportionately, our Board is not required to submit the proposal regarding our reverse stock split to shareholders and may elect, as it determines to be in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders, whether or not to effect a Reverse Stock Split, and if so, at which split ratio. However, while our Board is seeking, and will give appropriate consideration to, advisory feedback from our shareholders in the form of Proposal Four, our Board may elect to implement a Reverse Stock Split at its sole discretion, even if the proposed Reverse Stock Split is not approved by our shareholders.

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Abstentions will be counted as present and entitled to vote for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present. For Proposal One on the election of directors, a “withhold vote” will not be counted in determining the vote’s outcome, because the candidates who receive the highest number of “for” votes are elected, and candidates only need a single “for” vote to be elected. Abstentions will not be counted as votes cast with respect to Proposal Two to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2020,2021 or Proposal Three to approve the Say-on-Pay,Say-on-Pay. Under New York Stock Exchange listing standards applicable to shareholder approval of equity compensation plans, abstentions will be counted as votes cast on Proposal Four to implement a reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding common stock and reduceapprove the number of authorized shares of our common stock by the same proportion as the ratio of our reverse stock split, or Proposal Five to authorize an adjournment of the Annual Meeting to solicit additional proxies for Proposal Four2021 Plan and therefore will not be counted in determininghave the outcome of those proposals.same effect as votes against that proposal. If any broker “non-votes” occur at the meeting with respect to your shares, the broker “non-votes” will be counted as present and entitled to vote for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present, but will not be counted as votes cast with respect to Proposal One on the election of directors, or Proposal Three to approve Say-on-Pay, or Proposal Four to approve the Say-on-Pay.2021 Plan and therefore will not be counted in determining the outcome of those proposals presented for your vote.

 

Annual Meeting Participation

 

In light of public health concerns regarding the coronavirus outbreak andBecause we continue to supportprioritize the health and wellbeing of our shareholders, our directors, and our employees, we will again be hosting this year’sour Annual Meeting via live audiocast on the Internet atwww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/OCN2020OCN2021. You will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting physically in person. This does not represent a change in our stockholder engagement philosophy and we intend to return to an in-person meeting next year. Our shareholders will be afforded the same opportunities to participate at the virtual Annual Meeting as they would at an in-person annual meeting of stockholdersshareholders.

 

Shareholders of record will be able to vote and ask questions online during the meeting. If you would like to attend the virtual Annual Meeting and you have your control number, please go towww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/OCN2020OCN2021 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting to log in. Please note that if you do not have your control number, you will be able to access and listen to the Annual Meeting but you will not be able to vote your shares or submit questions during the Annual Meeting. For shareholders who hold shares in street name, if you came through your brokerage firm’s website and do not have your control number, you can gain access to the meeting by logging into your brokerage firm’s website site 15 minutes prior to the meeting start, selecting the shareholder communications mailbox to link through to the meeting and the control number will automatically populate. Please note that if you are a beneficial owner of our shares you cannot vote your shares at the Annual Meeting unless you have obtained a legal proxy from your Broker. Please contact your Broker for further information.

 

After the Annual Meeting, we will spend up to 15 minutes answering shareholder questions that comply with the meeting rules of conduct, which will be posted on the website above prior to the Annual Meeting. To the extent time doesn’t allow us to answer all of the appropriately submitted questions, we will answer them in writing on our investor relations website, athttp://www.ocwen.comin the Shareholder Relations section, soon after the meeting and the answers will remain available until one week after posting. If we receive substantially similar questions, we will group such questions together and provide a single response to avoid repetition.

 

For technical assistance when logging into the virtual Annual Meeting, please call 855-449-0991800-586-1548 (US) or 720-378-5962303-562-9288 (International).

 

If you plan to attend the virtual Annual Meeting, we request you notify us no less than seven days in advance atshareholderrelations@ocwen.com(i.e. no later than May 20, 2020)18, 2021) to assist us in our preparations for the virtual meeting.

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This proxy statement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may be identified by a reference to a future period or by the use of forward-looking terminology. Forward-looking statements by their natureterminology and address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Our business has been undergoing substantial change and we are in the midst of a period of significant capital markets volatility and experiencing significant changes within the mortgage lending and servicing ecosystem which has magnified such uncertainties. In addition, there is significant uncertainty relating to the economic impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, including the response of the U.S. government, state governments, and regulators, and disruption in the financial markets. Readers should bear these factors in mind when considering such statements and should not place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-lookingBecause forward-looking statements involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.materially, readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. In the past, actual results have differed from those suggested by forward looking statements and this may happen again. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements include those described in Ocwen’s reports and filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20192020 and any current and quarterly reports since such date. Anyone wishing to understand Ocwen’s business should review our SEC filings. Ocwen’s forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and we disclaim any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Ocwen may post information that is important to investors on our website.

 

56
 

 

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

(Proposal One)

 

Our Bylaws provide that our Board of Directors shall consist of no less than three and no more than eleven members with the exact number to be fixed by our Board of Directors. Effective May 30, 2019,27, 2020, our Board of Directors fixed the number of directors at nine. Following the retirement of Robert A. Salcetti effective July 31, 2019, our Board has had eight directors. As Robert J. Lipstein has informed the Board of Directors that he does not intend to stand for re-election and is retiring from the Board of Directors immediately prior to the Annual Meeting, our Board of Directors has fixed the number of directors at seven, effective immediately prior to the commencement of the Annual Meeting.seven.

 

As further described below under “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance” and, in particular, under “Annual Board Assessment” and “Director Nomination Process,” it is the responsibility of the Nomination/Governance Committee and the Board to periodically review Board size and composition and, if deemed appropriate, to make changes that the Board believes will best position the Board to enhance our ability to create value for shareholders and address changes in the market and business environment in which we operate.

 

Under the leadership of our Board, the Company demonstrated strong execution on our key strategic initiatives throughout 2019, including integrating PHH Corporation, growing2020: expanding our originations business to replenish and grow our servicing portfolio, driving continuous cost improvement to maintain an industry cost competitive position, effectively managing our balance sheet to ensure adequate liquidity, finance our ongoing business needs and provide a solid platform re-engineering our cost structure, diversifying our funding sources,for growth, and fulfilling our regulatory commitments. Thecommitments while resolving remaining legacy and regulatory matters. In addition, the Board guided the Company built a significant originations platform which includes all our channels for sourcing owned MSRs and subservicing, reduced costs and complexity through a legal entity reorganization in which we merged two of our licensed operating entities, Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC and Homeward Residential, Inc., into PHH Mortgage Corporation, and completed the transition to the Black Knight Financial Services, Inc. LoanSphere MSP® servicing system. During the current highly challenging environment created by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and relatedincluding disruption in the financial markets and our industry, rapidly changing regulatory requirements, and the transition of most of our workforce to a remote working environment. As the Board remains committed to addressing ournavigated these critical near-term challenges, andthey remained committed to positioning the Company to execute on our strategic priorities while maximizingworking to maximize value for our shareholders.shareholders, shepherding the Company through a strategic process that resulted in early 2021 in the refinancing of our corporate debt and the launch of a long-term strategic relationship with Oaktree Capital Management L.P.

 

To put the Company in the best position to execute on these initiatives, the Nomination/Governance Committee and the Board evaluatedevaluate on an ongoing basis the skillsets and experiential perspectives of our directors as well as individuals recommended as potential nominees and, consistentnominees. Consistent with our Board Diversity Policy and our Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board has identified a set of director nominees with individual backgrounds that, when combined, provide a portfolio of experience and knowledge that will best serve the Company’s strategic and governance needs.

 

Our BoardThe following provides additional information about the attributes of Directors, upon the recommendation of the Nomination/Governance Committee, is proposing the seven nominees listed below for election as directors at the Annual Meeting. All nominees currently serve as our directors. There are no arrangements or understandings between any nominee and any other person for selection as a nominee.

Each of the nominees listed below has consented to being named in this proxy statement and to serving as a director, if elected. If any nominee is unable to or will not stand for election at the time of the Annual Meeting, the person or persons appointed as proxies will nominate and vote for a replacement nominee recommended by our Board of Directors or the Board of Directors may reduce the number of directors constituting the Board. As of the date of this proxy statement, our Board of Directors knows of no reason why any of the nominees would not be able or willing to serve as a director if elected.Directors:

 

Ocwen Financial Corporation
Board of Directors Skills and Experiences(1)
Phyllis R. CaldwellAlan J. Bowers

Jenne

Britell

Jacques J. BusquetGlen A. MessinaDeForest B. Soaries, Jr.

Kevin

Stein

Public Company Board Experience
Served as a Chief Executive Officer or Head of Comparably Sized Organization
Financial Services Industry Experience
Audit Committee Financial Expert
Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management Experience
Mortgage Servicing, Lending, or Community Housing Organization Experience

(1)Includes outside managerial and director experience only (i.e., does not include Ocwen-based experience)

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Nominees for Director

Our Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the Nomination/Governance Committee, is proposing the seven nominees listed below for election as directors at the Annual Meeting. All nominees currently serve as our directors. There are no arrangements or understandings between any nominee and any other person for selection as a nominee.

Each of the nominees listed below has consented to being named in this proxy statement and to serving as a director, if elected. If any nominee is unable to or will not stand for election at the time of the Annual Meeting, the person or persons appointed as proxies will nominate and vote for a replacement nominee recommended by our Board of Directors or the Board of Directors may reduce the number of directors constituting the Board. As of the date of this proxy statement, our Board of Directors knows of no reason why any of the nominees would not be able or willing to serve as a director if elected.

 

The following sets forth certain information concerning our director nominees, including his or her principal occupation for at least the last five years, additional biographical information and specific qualifications of each director:

Phyllis R. Caldwell

Ms. Caldwell became Chair of the Board of Directors in March 2016 and has served as a director of Ocwen since January 2015. In March 2021, Ms. Caldwell was appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees of JBG SMITH (NYSE:JBGS), an owner and developer of mixed-use properties in the Washington, D.C. market. In December 2020, Ms. Caldwell was also appointed to the Board of Directors of Revolution Acceleration Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq:RAAC), a special purpose acquisition company. Ms. Caldwell is founder and has served since 2012 as the managing member of Wroxton Civic Ventures, which provides advisory services on various financial, housing and economic development matters. Previously, Ms. Caldwell was Chief Homeownership Preservation Officer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, responsible for oversight of the U.S. housing market stabilization, economic recovery and foreclosure prevention initiatives established through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. In addition, Ms. Caldwell held various leadership roles during eleven years at Bank of America, including serving as President of Community Development Banking. From January 2014 through September 2018, Ms. Caldwell served as an independent director of American Capital Senior Floating, Ltd. (Nasdaq:ACSF), a business development company. Ms. Caldwell also serves or has served on the boards of other public and private businesses and numerous non-profit organizations engaged in housing and community development finance. Ms. Caldwell received her Master of Business Administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, also from the University of Maryland.

Ms. Caldwell was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to her extensive experience in the housing and financial services industries, both in the private sector and as a senior government official, and her experience as a board member of another public company in the financial services industry.

 7 

Alan J. Bowers

Mr. Bowers has served as a director of Ocwen since May 2015. Mr. Bowers has also served as a Director of Walker & Dunlop, Inc., a publicly traded commercial real estate finance company, since December 2010, serves as its Lead Director, and serves on its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and as Chair of its Audit Committee. Mr. Bowers also serves on the board and as Audit Committee Chair of CorePoint Lodging Group, a publicly traded lodging REIT. From July 2013 to May 2018, Mr. Bowers served as a Director of La Quinta Inns & Suites, a publicly traded hotel chain. Mr. Bowers’ additional prior roles include serving as a Director of American Achievement Corp., a privately-held manufacturer and distributer of graduation products, President, Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Cape Success, LLC, a private equity-backed staffing service and information technology solutions business, President, Chief Executive Officer and a board member of MarketSource Corporation, a marketing and sales support service firm and President, Chief Executive Officer and a board member of MBL Life Assurance Corporation, a life insurance company. Mr. Bowers also previously served on the boards and as Audit Committee Chair of Refrigerated Holdings, Inc., Roadlink Inc., and First-rate Holdings, Inc., each a transportation and logistics firm. Mr. Bowers has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1978, with experience including 17 years at Coopers & Lybrand, L.L.P. Mr. Bowers received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Montclair State University and his Master of Business Administration from St. John’s University.

Mr. Bowers was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors because he brings to our Board over thirty years of experience in accounting and executive management, including experience on the audit committees of private companies and Securities and Exchange Commission registrants. Mr. Bowers’ accounting expertise and diverse corporate management experience are assets to our Board.

Phyllis R. Caldwell. Ms. Caldwell became Chair of the Board of Directors on March 15, 2016. Ms. Caldwell has served as a director of Ocwen since January 2015. Ms. Caldwell is founder and managing member of Wroxton Civic Ventures, LLC, which provides advisory services on various financial, housing and economic development matters, a position she has held since January 2012. Previously, Ms. Caldwell was Chief, Homeownership Preservation Officer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, responsible for oversight of the U.S. housing market stabilization, economic recovery and foreclosure prevention initiatives established through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, from November 2009 to December 2011. From December 2007 to November 2009, Ms. Caldwell was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. Prior to such time, Ms. Caldwell held various leadership roles in commercial real estate finance during her eleven years at Bank of America until her retirement from Bank of America in 2007, serving most recently as President of Community Development Banking. Since January 2014, Ms. Caldwell has served as an independent director of City First Bank of DC. Since October 2018, Ms. Caldwell has also served as a member of the board of directors of MicroVest Holdings, Inc. From January 2014 through September 2018, Ms. Caldwell served as an independent director of American Capital Senior Floating, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACSF), a publicly traded business development company. Ms. Caldwell has also served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations engaged in housing and community development finance. Ms. Caldwell received her Master of Business Administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, also from the University of Maryland.

Ms. Caldwell was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to her extensive experience in the housing and financial services industries, both in the private sector and as a senior government official, and her experience as a board member of another public company in the financial services industry.

Jenne K. Britell.Dr. Britell has served as a director of Ocwen since February 2019. Dr. Britell served as a director of United Rentals, Inc. from 2006 to 2019, including as its non-executive Chairman from 2008 to 2019. Dr. Britell also served as a director of Quest Diagnostics Inc., including as a member of its Audit and Finance Committee, from 2005 to 2019. From 2000 through 2017, Dr. Britell served as a director of Crown Holdings, Inc., including as Chairman of the Audit Committee. From 2001 to 2009, Dr. Britell was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Structured Ventures, Inc., advisors to U.S. and multinational companies. From 1996 to 2000, Dr. Britell was a senior executive of GE Capital. At GE Capital, she most recently served as the Executive Vice President of Global Consumer Finance and President of Global Commercial and Mortgage Banking. From January 1998 to July 1999, she was President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Capital, Central and Eastern Europe. Before joining GE Capital, she held significant management positions with Dime Bancorp, Inc., HomePower, Inc., Citicorp and Republic New York Corporation. Earlier, she was the founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Polish-American Mortgage Bank. Dr. Britell’s extensive prior board service also includes serving as Lead Director for Aames Investment Corp., as a trustee for the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA-CREF), including as a member of its Executive, Strategic Planning, and Mortgage Banking Committees, and as a director for Lincoln National Corp., including as a member of its Audit and Governance Committees, in addition to numerous civic and philanthropic boards.

Dr. Britell was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to her extensive executive and advisory experience, including in corporate governance, corporate finance, capital markets, international business and strategic planning, with multinational corporations operating in complex, regulated industries.

Alan J. Bowers. Mr. Bowers has served as a director of Ocwen since May 2015. Mr. Bowers has also served as a Director of Walker & Dunlop, Inc., a publicly traded commercial real estate finance company, since December 2010, serves as its Lead Director, and serves on its Audit Committee and its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (Chair). Mr. Bowers also serves on the board and as Audit Committee Chair of CorePoint Lodging Group, a publicly traded lodging REIT, and serves on its Nominating/Governance and Compensation Committees. From July 2013 to May 2018, Mr. Bowers served as a Director of La Quinta Inns & Suites, a publicly traded hotel chain. From 2006 to 2015, Mr. Bowers served as a Director of American Achievement Corp., a privately-held manufacturer and distributer of graduation products. Prior to Mr. Bowers’ retirement in 2005, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Cape Success, LLC, a private equity-backed staffing service and information technology solutions business, from 2001 to 2004. Mr. Bowers was also the President and Chief Executive Officer and a board member of MarketSource Corporation, a marketing and sales support service firm, from 2000 to 2001, and of MBL Life Assurance Corporation, a life insurance company, from 1995 to 1999. Mr. Bowers previously served on the boards and as Audit Committee Chair of Refrigerated Holdings, Inc., a temperature controlled logistics firm (from January 2009 to April 2013); Roadlink Inc., a trucking and logistics firm (from February 2010 to April 2013); and Fastfrate Holdings, Inc., a Canadian trucking and logistics firm (from July 2008 to June 2011), each a privately held company. Mr. Bowers has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1978 and served as Staff Auditor, Audit Partner and Managing Partner, serving a diverse client base during his tenure at Coopers & Lybrand, L.L.P. from 1978 to 1995 and as a Staff Accountant with Laventhol & Horwath, CPAs from 1976 to 1978. Mr. Bowers received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Montclair State University and his Master of Business Administration from St. John’s University.

Jenne K. Britell

Dr. Britell has served as a director of Ocwen since February 2019. Dr. Britell served as a director of United Rentals, Inc. from 2006 to 2019, including as its non-executive Chair from 2008 to 2019. Dr. Britell also served as a director of Quest Diagnostics Inc., including as a member of its Audit and Finance Committee, from 2005 to 2019. From 2000 through 2017, Dr. Britell served as a director of Crown Holdings, Inc., including as Chair of the Audit Committee. Previously, Dr. Britell served as Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Structured Ventures, Inc., advisors to U.S. and multinational companies, and as a senior executive of GE Capital, including as the Executive Vice President of Global Consumer Finance and President of Global Commercial and Mortgage Banking. Before joining GE Capital, she held significant management positions with Dime Bancorp, Inc., HomePower, Inc., Citicorp and Republic New York Corporation. Earlier, she was the founding Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Polish-American Mortgage Bank. Dr. Brit ell’s extensive prior board service also includes serving as Lead Director for Eames Investment Corp., as a trustee for the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA-CREF), and as a director for Lincoln National Corp., in addition to numerous civic and philanthropic boards. Dr. Britell received a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia University and received a master’s degree and an undergraduate degree from Harvard University.

Dr. Britell was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to her extensive executive and advisory experience, including in corporate governance, corporate finance, capital markets, international business and strategic planning, with multinational corporations operating in complex, regulated industries.

 8 

Mr. Bowers was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors because he brings to our Board over thirty years of experience in accounting and executive management, including experience on the audit committees of private companies and Securities and Exchange Commission registrants. Mr. Bowers’ accounting expertise and diverse corporate management experience are assets to our Board.

Jacques J. Busquet.Mr. Busquet has served as a director of Ocwen since January 2016. Mr. Busquet was formerly Chief Risk Officer and Managing Director of Natixis North America LLC and a member of the Executive Committee from April 2008 to February 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Busquet was Executive Vice President and member of the Executive Committee of Calyon Americas (formerly Credit Lyonnais Americas) in charge of Risks, Compliance, Legal, Regulatory Affairs and Asset Recovery from 1998 to March 2008. Since July 1, 2016, Mr. Busquet has served as a director of Mizuho Americas LLC, the US Bank Holding Company of Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. Since 2005, Mr. Busquet has served as a director of Prolitec Inc., a privately-held commercial air scenting company. From 2012 to March 2015, Mr. Busquet was a trustee of the Institute of International Bankers. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. Busquet was a trustee of the African Wildlife Foundation and the Chair of its Audit Committee for two years. Mr. Busquet has a Master of Business Administration in Finance from each of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), Paris.

Mr. Busquet was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors because with his broad experience as an officer in charge of risks in his prior positions, Mr. Busquet brings to our Board valuable insight into risk management and compliance issues. His experience working in financial institutions provides him with a deep understanding of the financial services industry. We also benefit from his corporate management experience.

Glen A. Messina. Mr. Messina has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director of Ocwen since October 2018. He previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of PHH Corporation (“PHH”) from January 2012 to June 2017 and Chief Operating Officer of PHH from July 2011 to December 2011. Mr. Messina also served as a director of PHH from January 2012 to June 2017 and as a consultant to PHH through March 2018. Prior to joining PHH, Mr. Messina spent 17 years at General Electric Company (“GE”), most recently as Chief Executive Officer of GE Chemical and Monitoring Solutions, a global water and process specialty chemicals services business, from 2008 until July 2011.

Mr. Messina was selected to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive operational and leadership experience, including his service as both our President and Chief Executive Officer and his service as a director and the President and Chief Executive Officer of PHH.

DeForest B. Soaries Jr. Dr. Soaries has served as a director of Ocwen since January 2015. Dr. Soaries has served as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens since 1990. He formerly served as New Jersey Secretary of State from 1999 to 2002 and as Chair of the United States Election Assistance Commission from 2004 to 2005. Dr. Soaries was a director of New Era Bank from 1996 to 1998. He currently serves as an independent director at Independence Realty Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, a position he has held since February 2011 and is Chair of the Compensation Committee. Dr. Soaries has also served as an independent director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York since January 2009, where he is Chair of the Compensation and Human Resources Committee and also serves as a member of the Technology Committee and the Housing Committee. Dr. Soaries earned a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary.

Dr. Soaries was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to his experience in the financial services industry, including as a board member of a public financial services company. Dr. Soaries brings a unique perspective as a religious and community leader focused on the issues facing struggling borrowers and communities.

Jacques J. Busquet

Mr. Busquet has served as a director of Ocwen since January 2016. Mr. Busquet was formerly Chief Risk Officer and Managing Director of Natixis North America LLC and a member of the Executive Committee from April 2008 to February 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Busquet was Executive Vice President and member of the Executive Committee of Canyon Americas (formerly Credit Lyonnais Americas) in charge of Risks, Compliance, Legal, Regulatory Affairs and Asset Recovery. Since July 2016, Mr. Busquet has served as a director of Mizuho Americas LLC, the US Bank Holding Company of Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. Since 2005, Mr. Busquet has served as a director of Prolate Inc., a privately-held commercial air scenting company. Mr. Busquet has previously served as a trustee of the Institute of International Bankers, and of the African Wildlife Foundation, which he also served as Audit Committee Chair. Mr. Busquet has a Master of Business Administration in Finance from each of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Hautes Études Commercialese (HEC), Paris.

Mr. Busquet was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors because with his broad experience as an officer in charge of risks in his prior positions, Mr. Busquet brings to our Board valuable insight into risk management and compliance issues. His experience working in financial institutions provides him with a deep understanding of the financial services industry. We also benefit from his corporate management experience.

 9 

Kevin Stein. Mr. Stein has served as a director of Ocwen since February 2019. He is a Senior Managing Director of EJF Capital LLC. From March 2017 to December 2019, Mr. Stein served as Chief Executive Officer of Resolution Analytica Corp., a buyer of commercial judgments. From March 2016 through March 2017, he served as Senior Managing Director of KCK US, Inc., a private equity firm. Mr. Stein was previously a Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group of Barclays until 2016. Prior to joining Barclays in 2011, Mr. Stein was a Partner at FBR Capital Markets & Co. From 1994 to 2004, Mr. Stein was an executive of GreenPoint Financial Corporation, a bank holding company. Prior to joining GreenPoint in 1994, Mr. Stein was an Associate Director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Division of Resolutions. Mr. Stein is the Audit Chair of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc., and has served as a director since December 2017. Mr. Stein also served as a director of PHH from June 2017 until its acquisition by the Company in October 2018. Mr. Stein is also a director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation.

Mr. Stein was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to his knowledge regarding the financial services industry and his mortgage servicing experience, including his prior service as a director of PHH.

Retiring Director

Robert J. Lipstein.Mr. Lipstein has served as a director of Ocwen since March 2017. Since May 2019, Mr. Lipstein has served as a board member and the Audit Committee Chair of Seacoast Banking Corp. Mr. Lipstein was formerly a partner with KPMG LLP and served as the Global IT Partner in Charge of Business Services from 2014 to 2016 and as an Advisory Business Unit Partner in Charge for its Mid-Atlantic Region from 2009 to 2014. His career at KPMG LLP began in 1977. In January 2017, he became a director at CrossCountry Consulting, a privately-held consulting firm that focuses on corporate advisory services. Since January 2013, he has served as an Advisory Board Member of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. Mr. Lipstein has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Delaware.

Glen A. Messina

Mr. Messina has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director of Ocwen since October 2018. He previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of PHH Corporation (“PHH”) from January 2012 to June 2017 and Chief Operating Officer of PHH from July 2011 to December 2011. Mr. Messina also served as a director of PHH from January 2012 to June 2017 and as a consultant to PHH through March 2018. Prior to joining PHH, Mr. Messina spent 17 years at General Electric Company (“GE”), most recently as Chief Executive Officer of GE Chemical and Monitoring Solutions, a global water and process specialty chemicals services business.

Mr. Messina was selected to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive operational and leadership experience, including his service as both our President and Chief Executive Officer and his service as a director and the President and Chief Executive Officer of PHH.

DeForest B. Soaries, Jr.

Dr. Soaries has served as a director of Ocwen since January 2015. Dr. Soaries has served as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens since 1990. He formerly served as New Jersey Secretary of State from 1999 to 2002 and as Chair of the United States Election Assistance Commission from 2004 to 2005. He currently serves as an independent director at Independence Realty Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, a position he has held since February 2011, and is Chair of the Compensation Committee. Dr. Soaries has also served as an independent director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York since January 2009, where he is Chair of the Compensation and Human Resources Committee and also serves as a member of the Technology Committee and the Housing Committee. He also previously served as a director of New Era Bank. Dr. Soaries earned a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary.

Dr. Soaries was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to his experience in the financial services industry, including as a board member of a public financial services company. Dr. Soaries brings a unique perspective as a religious and community leader focused on the issues facing struggling borrowers and communities.

Kevin Stein

Mr. Stein has served as a director of Ocwen since February 2019. He is Chief Executive Officer of EJF Acquisition Corp. and a Senior Managing Director of EJF Capital LLC. Prior to joining EJF Capital, Mr. Stein served as Chief Executive Officer of Resolution Analytica Corp., a buyer of commercial judgments, since co-founding the business in 2017. From March 2016 through March 2017, he served as Senior Managing Director of KCK US, Inc., a family-controlled private equity firm. Mr. Stein was previously a Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group of Barclays until 2016. Prior to joining Barclays in 2011, Mr. Stein served as a Partner at FBR & Co., as an executive of GreenPoint Financial Corporation, a bank holding company, and as an Associate Director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Division of Resolutions. Mr. Stein is the Audit Chair of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc., and has served as a director since December 2017. Mr. Stein also served as a director of PHH from June 2017 until its acquisition by the Company in October 2018. Mr. Stein is Audit Committee Chair and has served since 1996 as a Director of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. Mr. Stein received his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University and his Master of Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

Mr. Stein was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to his knowledge regarding the financial services industry and his mortgage servicing experience, including his prior service as a director of PHH.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS

THAT YOU VOTE “FOR ALL” OF THE NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR.

 

10
 

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

 

Role of the Board of Directors

 

The Board of Directors plays an active role in overseeing management and representing the interests of the shareholders. Each director is expected to dedicate sufficient time, energy and attention to ensure diligent performance of his or her duties, including by attending annual meetings of the shareholders of the Company, and meetings of the Board and Committees of which he or she is a member.

 

Our Board of Directors held 1419 meetings and acted by unanimous written consent six times in 2019.2020. Each incumbent director who served as a director during 20192020 attended at least 75% of the aggregate of these meetings and all meetings held by all committees of our Board of Directors on which he or she served during 2019.2020. Directors are expected to attend the annual meeting of shareholders (including via electronic participation) and a director who is unable to attend is expected to notify the Company Secretary in advance of such meeting. Our 2019virtual 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders was attended by all directorsdirectors.

Board Observers

In connection with the completion of a private placement of $199.5 million aggregate principal amount of Ocwen senior secured second lien notes (the “Second Lien Notes”) to funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (the “Oaktree Investors”) on March 4, 2021, Messrs. Jason Keller and Brian Laibow, who serve in office onmanagement roles with the date thereof.Oaktree Investors, joined the Company in the role of non-voting observers to our Board of Directors. Under their agreement with the Company, the Oaktree Investors may designate two Board of Directors observers for as long as the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Second Lien Notes is at least $100 million or the Oaktree Investors and their affiliates collectively own at least 15.0% of all issued and outstanding common stock of the Company (assuming the exercise of certain warrants held by them in full). The observers are entitled to attend all meetings of the Board of Directors and its committees and review all information presented to them with limited exceptions, including discussions and presentations with respect to which the presence of the observers could jeopardize attorney-client privilege.

 

Director Independence

 

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that a majority of our Board of Directors must be independent in accordance with the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.

 

Our Nomination/Governance Committee and the Board of Directors review independence upon appointment and annually review the direct and indirect relationships that each director has with Ocwen based in part on responses provided by our directors to a questionnaire that incorporates the independence standards established by the New York Stock Exchange. Only those directors who satisfy the independence standards and who are determined by our Board of Directors to have no material relationship with Ocwen (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with Ocwen) are considered independent. Following the Nomination/Governance Committee’s review and findings, the Nomination/Governance Committee and our Board of Directors have affirmatively determined that Ms. Caldwell, Messrs. Bowers, Busquet, and Stein, and Drs. Britell and Soaries are independent directors. In addition, the Nomination/Governance Committee and our Board of Directors hashad previously determined that Mr. Salcetti,Robert J. Lipstein, who served as a director through July 31, 2019, qualified as an independent director, and Mr. Lipstein, who is retiring immediately prior to the Annual Meeting, is an independent director.until May 27, 2020, was independent.

 

Annual Board Evaluation

 

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Nomination/Governance Committee Charter provide that the Nomination/Governance Committee will oversee an annual self-assessment of the performance of the Board of Directors as a whole and the performance of each committee of the Board of Directors. The evaluations are designed to assess whether the Board of Directors and its committees function effectively and make valuable contributions and to identify opportunities for improving their operations and procedures. Our 20192020 performance self-assessments were conducted in the first quarter of 2020.

2021.

Board Leadership Structure

 

The Board of Directors believes that separating the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Directors is the best structure to fit the Company’s needs at this time. However, our Board of Directors does not believe that it is in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders to mandate the separation of the offices of Chair of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. Rather, our Board of Directors retains the discretion to make determinations on this matter from time to time as may be in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders. As Chair of the Board, Ms. Caldwell leads the Board of Directors and oversees Board meetings and the delivery of information necessary for the Board’s informed decision-making. As our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Messina is responsible for our day-to-day operations and for formulating and executing our long-term strategies in collaboration with the Board of Directors.

 

11

Committees of the Board of Directors

 

Our Board of Directors has the following standing committees: an Audit Committee, a Compensation and Human Capital Committee, a Nomination/Governance Committee, a Risk and Compliance Committee, and an Executive Committee. The table below lists the current members of each of these committees. A brief description of each committee is provided below the table.

 

Name Age(1) 

Director

Since

 

Audit

Committee

 

Compensation and Human Capital

Committee

 

Nomination/

Governance

Committee

 

Risk and Compliance

Committee

 

Executive

Committee

 Age(1) Director Since Audit Committee Compensation and Human Capital Committee Nomination/ Governance Committee Risk and Compliance Committee Executive Committee
Alan J. Bowers 65 2015 X(2)     X    66   2015  X(2)     X  
Jacques J. Busquet 71 2016 X X(2) X  72   2016  X X   X(2) X
Jenne K. Britell 77 2019 X X   78   2019    X X    
Phyllis R. Caldwell 60 2015 X(2) X(2)  61   2015      X(2)   X(2)
Robert J. Lipstein(3) 64 2017 X 
Glen A. Messina 58 2018 X  59   2018          X
DeForest B. Soaries, Jr. 68 2015 X(2) X   69   2015    X(2) X    
Kevin Stein 58 2019 X X   59   2019  X     X  

 

(1)As of April 15, 2020

(2)Committee Chair

(3)In connection with his retirement from our Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting, Mr. Lipstein will step down from his membership on the Audit Committee.

(1)As of April 15, 2021
(2)Committee Chair

 

Audit Committee. The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors oversees the relationship with our independent registered public accounting firm, and reviews and advises our Board of Directors with respect to matters involving accounting, auditing, and financial reporting, among other things. Audit Committee oversight also includes the evaluation of significant matters relating to the financial reporting process and our system of internal accounting controls. The Audit Committee also provides oversight of the internal audit function and is responsible for ensuring the Company has appropriate procedures in place for the receipt and review of confidential and anonymous reports of questionable accounting or auditing matters. Additionally, the Audit Committee reviews the scope and results of the annual audit conducted by the independent registered public accounting firm.

 

The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Bowers (Chair), LipsteinBusquet, and Stein. Each member of our Audit Committee (i) is independent as independence for audit committee members is defined in the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, (ii) is financially literate, (iii) possesses accounting or related financial management expertise within the meaning of the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and (iv) qualifies as an audit committee financial expert, as such term is defined in the applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. No current member of the Audit Committee serves on the audit committee of more than three other public companies.

 

Our Audit Committee operates under a written charter approved by our Board of Directors, a copy of which is available on our website atwww.ocwen.com. in the “Shareholders” section under “Corporate Governance.” The Audit Committee generally reviews its charter annually and occasionally reviews it more frequently. When circumstances require, the charter is amended and the revised version posted on our website. This Committee met 11nine times in 2019.

12

2020.

Compensation and Human Capital Committee. The Compensation and Human Capital Committee (Compensation Committee)(“Compensation Committee”) of our Board of Directors oversees our compensation and employee benefit plans and practices. In furtherance thereof, the Compensation Committee reviews and approves corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our executive officers, including the President and Chief Executive Officer, evaluates our executive officers’ performance in light of those goals and objectives and approves our executive officers’ compensation based on their evaluations. In addition, the Compensation Committee oversees the review and approval of awards made to our non-executive officer employees that participate in our cash and equity incentive programs. The Compensation Committee is empowered to review and to administer awards under the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, under which no new awards may be granted but previously granted awards remain outstanding, and the 2017 Performance Incentive Plan, under which no new awards will be granted if shareholders approve the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan but previously granted awards remain outstanding, and, if approved by shareholders, our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan. The Compensation Committee has the authority to retain, at the Company’s expense, compensation consultants, independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary in connection with its responsibilities. The Compensation Committee may form and delegate authority to subcommittees when it deems it to be appropriate. The role of the Compensation Committee and our processes and procedures for the consideration and determination of executive and director compensation are described in more detail below under “Board of Directors Compensation” and “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” respectively.

 

The current members of the Compensation Committee are Dr. Soaries (Chair), Dr. Britell, and Mr. Busquet and Dr. Britell.Busquet. Each of these directors is independent as independence for Compensation Committee members is defined in the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, each member of the Compensation Committee also qualifies as a “non-employee” director as defined in Rule 16b-3 of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as an “outside” director within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”).

 

Our Compensation Committee operates under a written charter approved by our Board of Directors, a copy of which is available on our website atwww.ocwen.com. in the “Shareholders” section under “Corporate Governance.” The Compensation Committee generally reviews its charter annually and occasionally reviews it more frequently. When circumstances require, the charter is amended and the revised version posted on our website. This Committee met nine11 times in 2019.2020.

 

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation.Dr. Soaries, Messrs. Busquet and Lipstein, and Dr. Britell, and Mr. Busquet served as members of the Compensation Committee during 2019.2020. None of such members were, at any time during the 20192020 fiscal year or at any previous time, an officer or employee of the Company. None of our executive officers have served on the Board of Directors or Compensation Committee of any other entity that has or had one or more executive officers who served as a member of our Board of Directors or our Compensation Committee during the 20192020 fiscal year. No member of the Compensation Committee had any relationship with us requiring disclosure under Item 404 of Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-K.

 

Nomination/Governance Committee. The Nomination/Governance Committee of our Board of Directors makes recommendations to our Board of Directors of candidates to serve as Directors and Committee members for our Board of Directors, advises our Board of Directors with respect to director composition, procedures and committees, recommends a set of corporate governance principles to our Board and oversees the evaluation of our Board of Directors and our management.

 

The current members of the Nomination/Governance Committee are Ms. Caldwell (Chair) and Drs. Britell and Soaries. Each member of our Nomination/Governance Committee is independent as defined in the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.

 

Our Nomination/Governance Committee operates under a written charter approved by our Board of Directors, a copy of which is available on our website atwww.ocwen.com. in the “Shareholders” section under “Corporate Governance.” The Nomination/Governance Committee generally reviews its charter annually and occasionally reviews it more frequently. When circumstances require, the charter is amended and the revised version posted on our website. This Committee met 13six times in 2019.2020.

 

Risk and Compliance Committee. The Risk and Compliance Committee of our Board of Directors provides assistance to the Board of Directors with (i) review of risks that could affect the ability of the Company to achieve its strategies and preserve its assets, (ii) oversight of an enterprise risk management infrastructure to identify, measure, monitor and report on the risks the Company faces, (iii) oversight of our compliance function, including our compliance management system and information security/privacy programs, and (iv) oversight of our compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations governing our consumer-oriented businesses, including Federal consumer financial laws and applicable state laws. The Risk and Compliance Committee also provides assistance to the Board of Directors with the review, approval and oversight of related party transactions pursuant to our Related Party Transactions Approval Policy.

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The current members of the Risk and Compliance Committee are Messrs. Busquet (Chair) and Messrs. Bowers and Stein, all of whom are independent directors as defined in the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.

 

Our Risk and Compliance Committee operates under a written charter approved by our Board of Directors, a copy of which is available on our website atwww.ocwen.com. in the “Shareholders” section under “Corporate Governance.” The Risk and Compliance Committee generally reviews its charter annually and occasionally reviews it more frequently. When circumstances require, the charter will be amended and the revised version posted on our website. This Committee met eightten times in 2019.2020.

During 2020 and early 2021, the Risk and Compliance Committee, exercising authority delegated by the Board of Directors, provided oversight of the Company’s strategic process to explore potential business combinations and other transformative transactions.

 

Executive Committee. Our Executive Committee is generally responsible to act on behalf of our Board of Directors during the intervals between meetings of our Board of Directors, if necessary. The current members of the Executive Committee are Ms. Caldwell (Chair) and Messrs. Messina and Busquet.

 

Other Committees.Our Board of Directors has the authority to form additional standing or temporary committees, and delegate appropriate authority to such committees if and when the Board determines that it is advisable to do so. In addition, the Board may, from time to time, determine that a standing committee should be dissolved or re-organized in order to more efficiently serve the Company’s corporate governance needs.

 

Director Nomination Process

 

The Nomination/Governance Committee periodicallyregularly assesses the appropriate size and composition of the Board of Directors, including whether any vacancies on the Board of Directors are anticipated. If vacancies are anticipated, various potential candidates for director are identified. Candidates may come to the attention of the Nomination/Governance Committee through current members of the Board of Directors, professional search firms, shareholders or industry sources.

 

Since January 1, 2015, the Nomination/Governance Committee has recommended, and the Board of Directors has appointed, eight new independent directors, including three new independent directors appointed in 2015, two new independent directors appointed in 2016, one new independent director appointed in 2017, and two new independent directors appointed in 2019. Effective May 30, 2019, our Board of Directors fixed the number of directors at nine. Following the retirement of Mr. Salcetti effective July 31, 2019, our Board has had eight directors. As Mr. Lipstein has informed the Board of Directors that he does not intend to stand for re-election and is retiring from the Board of Directors immediately prior to the Annual Meeting,27, 2020, our Board of Directors has fixed the number of directors at seven, effective immediately prior to the commencement of the Annual Meeting.seven.

 

In evaluating nominees for Director, our Nomination/Governance Committee takes into account the applicable requirements for directors under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, our Nomination/Governance Committee takes into account such factors as experience, knowledge, skills, expertise, integrity, diversity, ability to make independent analytical inquiries, understanding of the Company’s business environment and willingness and ability to devote adequate time and effort to Board responsibilities and the interplay of the candidate’s qualifications and experience with the qualifications and experience of other members of our Board of Directors. In February 2019, we revised our prior policy that directors who have reached the age of 78 may generally not be nominated, as we believe it is more beneficial to focus on the qualifications, experience, and performance of our directors and director nominees and consider Board refreshment from a broader perspective than the age of individual directors. We also consider the number of other boards on which a nominee sits. The Company’s general policy is to limit the number of other public company boards of directors upon which a director may sit to four. The Board of Directors retains discretion to appoint or nominate for election by the shareholders individuals who sit on more than four other public company boards of directors if the Board of Directors considers the addition of such individual to the Board of Directors to be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Our Nomination/Governance Committee evaluates all of the factors outlined above, as well as any other factors it deems to be appropriate, and recommends candidates that it believes will enhance our Board of Directors and benefit the Company and our shareholders. It is the policy of our Nomination/Governance Committee to consider candidates for director recommended by shareholders, but the Nomination/Governance Committee has no obligation to recommend such candidates. A copy of our Corporate Governance Guidelines is available on our website atwww.ocwen.com.www.ocwen.com in the “Shareholders” section under “Corporate Governance.”

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Pursuant to the Board of Director’s Diversity Policy, the Nomination/Governance Committee considers diversity when it recommends director nominees to the Board of Directors. We view diversity in an expansive way to include differences in prior work experience, viewpoint, education and skill set. In particular, the Nomination/Governance Committee considers diversity in professional experience, skills, expertise, training, broad-based business knowledge and understanding of the Company’s business environment when recommending director nominees to the Board of Directors with the objective of achieving a Board with diverse business and educational backgrounds. In addition, the Board recognizes the value of including perspectives shaped by diverse ethnicities, geographic origins and genders in building an inclusive corporate culture that reflects and supports Ocwen’s diverse customer base and global workforce. Board members should have individual backgrounds that, when combined, provide a portfolio of experience and knowledge that will serve the Company’s strategic and governance needs. The Nomination/Governance Committee reviews the skills and attributes of Board members within the context of the current make-up of the full Board of Directors from time-to-time, as appropriate. The Nomination/Governance Committee does not discriminate against candidates for the Board of Directors based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or national origin.

In evaluating a particular candidate, the Nomination/Governance Committee will consider factors other than the candidate’s qualifications, including the current composition of the Board of Directors, the balance of management and independent directors, the need for Audit Committee and other expertise and the evaluations of other prospective nominees. In connection with this evaluation, the Nomination/Governance Committee determines whether to interview the prospective nominee, and if warranted, one or more members of the Nomination/Governance Committee, and others as appropriate, interview prospective nominees. After completing this evaluation and interview process, the Nomination/Governance Committee makes a recommendation to the full Board of Directors as to the persons who should be nominated by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors determines the nominees after considering the recommendation of the Nomination/Governance Committee. Should a shareholder recommend a candidate for Director, our Nomination/Governance Committee would evaluate such candidate in the same manner that it evaluates any other nominee. To date, no shareholder or group of shareholders has put forth any director nominees for the Annual Meeting.

 

If you wish to recommend persons for consideration by our Nomination/Governance Committee as nominees for election to our Board of Directors, you may do so by written notice to our Secretary at Ocwen Financial Corporation, 1661 Worthington Road, Suite 100, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409. Such notice must contain all the information set forth in Section 2.2 of our Bylaws and comply with the procedures and deadline set forth therein. See “Submission of Shareholder Proposals for 2021 Annual Meeting,” below for additional information about this process.

 

Prohibition against Short Sales, Hedging and Margin Accounts

 

Our Insider Trading Prevention Policy prohibits any director, officer or employee from engaging in any short sale of the Company’s stock, establishing and using a margin account with a broker-dealer for the purpose of buying or selling Company stock, pledging Company securities as collateral for a loan, buying or selling puts or calls on the Company’s stock, or engaging in any other transaction that hedges the economic risk associated with ownership of the Company’s securities. This policy is designed to encourage investment in the Company’s stock for the long term, on a buy and hold basis, and to discourage active trading or short-term speculation and applies regardless of whether such Company securities were (i) granted to the director, officer or employee as part of their compensation or (ii) held directly or indirectly by the director, officer or employee.

 

Corporate Governance Guidelines

 

The Corporate Governance Guidelines adopted by our Board of Directors provide guidelines for us and our Board of Directors to help ensure effective corporate governance. The Corporate Governance Guidelines cover topics such as director qualifications, board of director and committee composition, director responsibilities, director access to management and independent advisers, director compensation, director orientation and continuing education, management succession and annual performance appraisal of the Board of Directors.

 

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines are available on our website atwww.ocwen.com. in the “Shareholders” section under “Corporate Governance.” Our Nomination/Governance Committee reviews our Corporate Governance Guidelines annually and recommends amendments to the Board of Directors for approval.

 

The Board of Directors has also adopted a Clawback Policy as further described under “Clawback Policy” in the “Executive Compensation” section below.

 

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Executive Sessions of Non-Management Directors

 

Ms. Caldwell chairs executive sessions of the full Board of Directors. Our non-management directors met in executive sessions of the full Board without management during seveneight meetings in 2019.2020. In addition, our Audit, Compensation and Human Capital, and Risk and Compliance Committees generally met in executive session at each regularly scheduled quarterly meeting and on other occasions when the members believed it was advisable to do so.

 

Meetings with Management Independent of the Chief Executive Officer

 

Our Chair, the chairs of our committees and our other directors meet with various members of management, without the Chief Executive Officer present, to discuss matters relevant to the business of the Company. For example, in addition to discussions with members of senior management, the chair of the Audit Committee meets independently with the Chief Audit Executive, our independent auditors and the General Counsel from time to time and the chair of the Risk and Compliance Committee meets independently with the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer and the General Counsel from time to time. OurIn prior years, our directors have also visited various of our U.S. and international sites to meet generally with employees and senior management in those locations.

 

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Communications with Directors

 

If you desire to communicate with our Board of Directors or any individual director regarding Ocwen, you may do so by writing to our Secretary at Ocwen Financial Corporation, 1661 Worthington Road, Suite 100, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409. You may communicate anonymously or confidentially and may also indicate whether you are a shareholder, customer, supplier, or other interested party.

You may also write to our Board of Directors through our website athttp://shareholders.ocwen.com/contactBoard.cfm.

 

Shareholders and other interested parties may communicate directly with the Audit Committee and the non-management directors of the Board of Directors by calling our hotline, which is administered by a third party, at 1-800-884-0953. The Chair of the Audit Committee has been designated to receive such communications.

 

Communications received in writing are distributed to our Board of Directors or to individual directors, as the General Counsel and Secretary deem appropriate, depending on the facts and circumstances outlined in the communication received. In that regard, the Board of Directors has requested that certain items that are unrelated to the duties and responsibilities of the Board of Directors should be excluded, such as:

 

 Service or product complaints
 Service or product inquiries
 New service or product suggestions
 Resumes and other forms of job inquiries
 Surveys
 Business solicitations or advertisements

 

In addition, material that is unduly hostile, threatening, illegal, repetitive, irrelevant to the Board of Directors or similarly unsuitable will be excluded, provided that any communication that is filtered out will be made available to any non-management director upon request.

 

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Code of Ethics

 

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees as required by the New York Stock Exchange rules. We have also adopted a Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers that applies to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Accounting Officer. Any waivers from either the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics or the Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers must be approved by our Board of Directors or a Board Committee and must be promptly disclosed. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers are available on our web site atwww.ocwen.com. in the “Shareholders” section under “Corporate Governance.” Any amendments to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics or the Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers, as well as any waivers that are required to be disclosed under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission or the New York Stock Exchange, will be posted on our website.

 

Risk Management and Oversight Process

One of our Board of Directors’ key responsibilities is the oversight of risk associated with the Company. Certain of these responsibilities have been delegated to specific Committees,committees, in which case the Board oversees the work of the Committee.committee.

Risk and Compliance Committee. As discussed above, our Risk and Compliance Committeethis committee is responsible for monitoring the Company’s enterprise risk management framework, and regularly meets with the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer to discuss risk exposures and mitigation plans. This Committeecommittee monitors the Company’s evaluation and management of risks, including operational risk, regulatory compliance risks and cybersecurity risks, through reviews with management, and itincluding comprehensive reviews every quarter with additional updates as appropriate. This committee also reviews and approves related party transactions.transactions in accordance with our Related Party Transactions Approval Policy to monitor and prevent conflicts of interest in the operations of the Company and the activities of management and directors.

Audit Committee. The Audit Committee monitors the Company’s financial risks through regular reviews of the Company’s financial activities with management and internal and external auditors. This committee also receives reports from the management-level Disclosure Review Committee which works to remediate the risk of inaccurate financial reporting through its review of the Company’s quarterly and annual financial reports and disclosure controls and procedures.

Nomination/Governance Committee. The Nomination/Governance Committee monitors the Company’s governance risk by regular reviewreviews with management, including monitoring any circumstances that could potentially jeopardize the independence of directors or objectivity of management.

Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee monitors potential risks created by the Company’s compensation policies and related risks bypractices through regular reviews with management. management and through consulting regularly with an independent compensation consultant without management present. This committee also oversees human resources initiatives intended to reduce the risk of workplace discrimination and harassment incidents.

The Board of Directors’ role in risk oversight is consistent with the Company’s leadership structure with the President and Chief Executive Officer and other members of senior management, including our Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, having responsibility for assessing and managing the Company’s risk exposure, and the Board of Directors and its Committees providing oversight in connection with these efforts.

 

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Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (“ESG”) and Corporate Sustainability

 

Our Board of Directors and our management are committed to ensuring Ocwen has responsible practices to address the needs of its customers, employees and the communities it serves. Our comprehensive approach to ESG and corporate sustainability is detailed in our report “Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) and Corporate Sustainability” on our website at www.ocwen.com in the “Shareholders” section under “Corporate Governance.” Our approach is represented by the following policies and programs:

Policy on non-discrimination. Ocwen’s non-discrimination policy provides equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals without discrimination based upon the following legally protected characteristics: race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status (including registered domestic partnership status), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), gender (including gender identity and expression), age (40 and over), sexual orientation, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status and any other consideration protected by federal, state or local law (collectively referred to as “protected characteristics”). Underlying this policy is Ocwen’s strong concern for its employees’ rights to be free from unlawful discrimination and its commitment to providing a safe, secure and productive work environment.

Every effort is made to ensure that Ocwen’s hiring, salary administration, promotion and transfer policies are based solely on job requirements, job performance and job-related criteria. In addition, the Company’s personnel policies and practices (including those relating to compensation, benefits, transfer, retention, termination, training and self-development opportunities, as well as social and recreational programs) are administered without discrimination on the basis of any legally protected characteristic.

Promoting equal opportunity and diversity. Ocwen’s Diversity and Inclusion Council meets quarterly to review progress related to the Company’s Diversity and Inclusion Roadmap. Diversity and Inclusion updates are provided to the Executive Leadership Team on a monthly basis and to the Board of Directors as necessary. Ocwen’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Policy is reviewed on an annual basis and diversity training is mandatory for all employees globally. Additionally, all leaders are required to complete a training course on Unconscious Bias, and Diversity and Inclusion goals are incorporated into annual performance evaluations for all managers.

In 2017, the Company formed the Ocwen Global Women’s Network (“OGWN”), an affinity group whose mission is to support recruitment, development and retention initiatives for women across the organization. This affinity group serves as a sounding board for business insights, supports the attainment of Company goals in diversity, inclusion and talent development. Integrating Diversity and Inclusion into Ocwen’s culture is critical for our success and allows us to make the most of the full range of our talent. More than 2,200 employees are OGWN members.

Ocwen maintains a robust dashboard that tracks representation of women and people of color across the Company. As of December 31, 2020, 44% of our global workforce is made up of women. In the U.S., women make up 59% of our workforce and 36% of our leadership team at the Director level and above. Additionally, in the U.S., people of color make up 45% of our workforce and 17% of our leadership team at the Director level and above. We also take action to support the recruitment, development and retention of our diverse talent. These programs include requiring diverse candidates as part of our hiring process, tracking minority hiring, promotion, retention and representation at all levels, and assessing diverse talent as part of our succession planning.

Ocwen sponsors several organizations focused on under-represented groups, including the American Mortgage Diversity Council and the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America. We are also committed to hiring graduates from historically black colleges and universities through the HomeFree-USA Center for Financial Advancement program.

Dependent care and special leave. Ocwen’s benefits programs strive to keep employees productive and engaged at work by serving the total well-being of employees’ and their families’ physical, mental and financial health. Our comprehensive benefits plan includes company-sponsored medical, dental and vision; company-paid basic life, accident and disability coverage; 401(k) with company match; and supplemental group coverage for critical illness, accident, auto, home, pet, legal, identity protection, childcare/eldercare and tutoring. The medical plans include 100% coverage for all preventive care services and all generic preventive medications.

Our wellness programs offer incentives for completing preventive health screenings, participating in online and telephonic health coaching, improving or reaching targeted health scores, and increasing physical activity. Additionally, we provide employees with a robust employee assistance program that includes virtual counseling, personalized health coaching for chronic conditions, diabetes and ergonomics, stress management and financial planning workshops, online guided meditation and yoga, and more. Ocwen also provides a generous paid time off (PTO) program to support employees’ need to rest and recharge. Our medical and family leave programs offer paid disability absences and paid parental/adoption leave, in addition to FMLA-required schedule flexibility and job security.

Training and development. Ocwen’s training curriculum includes functional business and compliance training for all employees. Training courses are housed in our learning management system, which is continually reviewed to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Ocwen’s Leadership Development Training curriculum is designed to prepare all employees at the Supervisor level and above with competencies to make them successful in their roles as leaders. The objective of the learning programs is to build functional and leadership competency for all levels of leadership.

Community development. At Ocwen, we believe homeownership is an important part of achieving financial independence, and our philosophy in this regard is “helping homeowners is what we do.” This philosophy is what guides us in our commitment to the communities we serve. We organize a variety of community outreach programs and events with local and national organizations around the country to assist homeowners, particularly in communities of color. Our outreach events were started during the 2008 mortgage crisis and have continued since that time. In 2020, we implemented a virtual borrower outreach program, in partnership with the NAACP, to support borrowers impacted by the pandemic, with 40 borrower outreach events completed. Homeowners needing assistance can also access our Ocwencares.com website, which provides the latest information regarding our outreach events.

To better serve our communities, Ocwen created its Community Advisory Council in 2014, consisting of 16 leaders from a diverse group of national non-profit organizations, consumer advocacy groups and civil rights organizations, as a platform to collaborate and share ideas on how to help homeowners. Ocwen provides grants and sponsorship funding to more than 20 nonprofit organizations each year in support of the work they do to help distressed communities and homeowners. Since 2012, Ocwen has allocated over $27 million to national and local non-profit organizations.

Responsible information security management. Ocwen maintains robust information security programs to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all data and information systems. Ocwen adopts the following industry standards for our information security operations: Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (“COBIT”); Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Framework (“NIST”); Cloud Security Alliance (“CSA”); and International Organization for Standardization (“ISO”) 27001. In addition, we comply with the regulatory frameworks of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”) and New York Department of Financial Services. All employees receive training in identifying cybersecurity risks and preventing breaches. In addition, our third-party risk management program evaluates and monitors our vendors’ information security practices, and all third-party vendors that process data on our behalf are required to maintain a documented information security program that meets our minimum security requirements.

Environmental impact. In December 2020, we announced we remain committed to a primarily remote post-COVID-19 working model that will result in less than one-third of employees commuting to work on a daily basis, significantly reducing the use of natural resources in our facilities and reducing carbon emissions by eliminating a daily commute for thousands of our employees. We recycle office supplies at all U.S. facilities, are converting to LED lighting, and are in the process of transitioning to digital mailrooms to reduce paper usage.

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS COMPENSATION

 

The following table discloses compensation received for fiscal year 20192020 by each member of our Board of Directors who was not employed by us or one of our subsidiaries and who served as a director during fiscal year 20192020 (our “non-management directors”).

 

Name 

Fees Earned

Or Paid in Cash

($)

 

Stock

Awards(1)(2)(3)

($)

 

Total

($)

  Fees Earned Or Paid in Cash
($)
  

Stock

Awards(1)(2)(3)

($)

  Total
($)
 
Phyllis R. Caldwell  176,000   100,000   276,000   203,253   100,000   303,253 
Jenne K. Britell(4)  74,460   125,205   199,665   106,500   100,000   206,500 
Alan J. Bowers  123,500   100,000   223,500   128,500   100,000   228,500 
Jacques J. Busquet  124,500   100,000   224,500   138,952   100,000   238,952 
Carol J. Galante(5)  38,118      38,118 
Robert J. Lipstein  103,651   100,000   203,651 
Robert A. Salcetti(6)  62,686   100,000   162,686 
Robert J. Lipstein (4)  40,610      40,610 
DeForest B. Soaries, Jr.  112,000   100,000   212,000   119,000   100,000   219,000 
Kevin Stein(4)  79,657   125,205   204,862 
Kevin Stein  116,000   100,000   216,000 

 

(1)Amounts reported for stock awards represent the aggregate grant date fair value of awards granted during fiscal 2019year 2020 under the 2017 Performance Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”) computed in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 718. We based the grant date fair value of stock awards on the closing price of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the date of grant of the awards.
 
(2)On May 30, 2019,27, 2020, our non-management directors received equity awards under the 2017 Plan for their service for the 2019-20202020-2021 term. Each award had a grant date fair value totaling $100,000 (with immaterial incremental value resulting from rounding to the next whole share).$100,000. Each director received 62,5009,009 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) vesting May 30, 202027, 2021 in the event each director attends at least 75% of applicable Board and committee meetings.
 
(3)Our non-management directors have no shares subject to option awards or other equity awards outstanding as of December 31, 2019,2020, other than the RSUs issued May 30, 2019,27, 2020, except the following issued in prior service years to directors deferring their equity compensation pursuant to the Deferral Plan for Directors: Mr. Salcetti held 79,348Busquet holds 4,166 RSUs deliverable January 31, 2020 (six months following the termination of his service),on June 1, 2022, and Dr. Soaries holds 12,2404,982 RSUs deliverable six months following the termination of his service and 19,9011,326 RSUs deliverable on January 1, 2023.
 
(4)On February 28, 2019, the Board appointed Dr. Britell and Mr. Stein to the Board of Directors and granted each a pro-rated equity award with a grant date fair value of $25,205 corresponding to the period between the date of their appointment and the date of the 2019 Annual Meeting. Each of Dr. Britell and Mr. Stein received 11,778 RSUs which vested on May 30, 2019.
(5)Ms. GalanteLipstein retired effective May 30, 201926, 2020 immediately prior to the 20192020 Annual Meeting. Accordingly, shehe did not receive a 20192020 equity award for 2019-20202020-2021 director service.
(6)Mr. Salcetti retired effective July 31, 2019. As described in Note (2), above, director equity awards will vest May 30, 2020. Under the terms of the awards, a director who retires mid-year must attend 75% of the combined total of (i) Board meetings that occurred while he or she served on the Board during 2019 and (ii) the total number of meetings during 2019 for committees on which the director served immediately prior to retirement. If the 75% threshold is not met, the award will vest in the same proportion as the director’s attendance. Since presently unscheduled meetings may occur from the date of this Proxy Statement through May 30, 2020, it is not possible to determine what percentage of Mr. Salcetti’s $100,000 stock award will vest.

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Standard Compensation Arrangements for Non-Management Directors

 

The Compensation Committee has the responsibility for determining the form and amount of compensation for our non-management directors. Mr. Messina, our management director, does not receive an annual retainer or any other compensation for his service on the Board of Directors. Non-management directors receive the following compensation for their services on the Board of Directors.

 

Cash Compensation

 

In 2019,2020, we provided the following annual cash compensation to our non-management directors in quarterly installments (except as noted below):

 

 a retainer of $80,000;
 an additional $75,000, prorated from January 1, 2020 to February 9, 2020, which was increased to $100,000 from February 10, 2020 to December 31, 2020, to the Chair of the Board;
 an additional $25,000 to the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Risk and Compliance Committee Chairs;
 an additional $15,000 to the Nomination/Governance Committee Chair; and
 an additional $12,500 to all Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Risk and Compliance Committee members (other than the Chairs).

 

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In addition, our directors receive per-meeting fees of $1,000 per meeting for each meeting in excess of eight meetings of the Board of Directors a year. Similarly, beginning January 1, 2021, each member of the Compensation Committee, receivesRisk and Compliance Committee, and Audit Committee will receive an additional $1,000 for attending each meeting of the Compensation Committeehis or her respective committees’ meetings in excess of eight annually. Our other committee members are not compensated on a per-meeting basis.

Our 2019 Board of Directors fee structure reflects the determination of our Compensation Committee to reduce the cash component of directors’ annual retainer fee from $100,000 to $80,000 and to reduce compensation for service as chair of the Audit, Compensation and Risk & Compliance committees from $30,000 to $25,000, in each case effective as of January 1, 2019.

 

Effective February 10, 2020, the Compensation Committee determined to increase annual compensation for service as Chair of the Board from $75,000 to $100,000.

 

Equity Compensation

 

At our 2017 Annual Shareholder Meeting, our shareholders approved the 2017 Performance Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”). Following the 20192020 Annual Shareholder Meeting, each non-management member of the Board of Directors was granted an award of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) under the 2017 Plan with a grant date fair value of $100,000 (rounded to the next whole share). The RSUs vest on the one-year anniversary of grant if the director has attended an aggregate of at least 75% of all meetings of the Board of Directors and committees of which the director is a member during such period. Upon vesting, the shares of common stock underlying the RSUs will be issued to the director unless the director has elected to defer delivery in accordance with the Deferral Plan for Directors, as described below. In the event that the director has attended less than an aggregate of at least 75% of all such meetings, such director’s right to ownership will vest on a pro rata basis according to the director’s actual attendance percentage, with the remaining shares forfeited. RSUs are generally non-transferable, confer no voting rights in the underlying shares prior to delivery, and no adjustments will be made for dividends for which the record date is prior to the date of issuance of such shares.

 

Following our 20202021 Annual Shareholder Meeting on May 27, 2020,25, 2021, each non-management member of the Board of Directors will again be granted an equity award with a grant date fair value of $100,000 (rounded to the next whole share), subject to their election to defer, as described further below. In the event we have an insufficient number of shares remaining available under the 2017 Plan at the time of the Annual Meeting, directors will be granted the right to receive cash to the extent of the available share shortfall. Payment of any cash amounts will be made on May 27, 202125, 2022 subject to the same vesting and other conditions as the RSUs.

 

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Deferral Plan for Directors

The Ocwen Financial Corporation Deferral Plan for Directors provides non-management directors with the opportunity to defer the receipt of all or a portion of their equity compensation earned for their service as directors. The plan is administered by the Compensation Committee. Before the end of each calendar year (or, in the case of directors appointed between Annual Meetings, within 30 days of appointment), the non-management directors make an election to defer delivery of either all or a portion of the equity portion of their annual compensation for the following grant year. Directors electing to defer receipt of equity will become vested in the shares underlying a deferred equity award and will receive dividend equivalents to the same extent as they would if the original award had not been deferred.

 

Each director electing deferral must specify the payment date at the time of election for any shares underlying a deferred award as either (i) the six-month anniversary of the director’s termination date or (ii) any other date elected by the director which is at least two years after the last day of the year of service for which the compensation was awarded. At least thirty days prior to payment of deferred compensation, a director shall elect to receive such payment in the form of either (i) cash in an amount equal to the fair market value of the shares underlying the deferred equity award, or (ii) the shares of common stock underlying the deferred equity award.

 

Other Compensation Matters

 

Director compensation may be prorated for a director serving less than a full one-year term such as in the case of a director joining the Board of Directors after an annual meeting of shareholders. Directors are reimbursed for reasonable travel and other expenses incurred in connection with performing their duties, including attending meetings of the Board of Directors and its committees. Director compensation is subject to review and adjustment by the Compensation Committee from time to time.

 

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

 

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to each person who currently serves as one of our executive officers. Our executive officers are appointed by our Board of Directors and generally serve at the discretion of our Board of Directors. There are no arrangements or understandings between us and any person for the appointment of any person as an executive officer. None of our directors and/or executive officers is related to any other director and/or executive officer of Ocwen or any of its subsidiaries by blood, marriage or adoption.

 

Name Age(1) Position(1)
Glen A. Messina 5859 President and Chief Executive Officer
Scott W. Anderson 5152 Executive Vice President and Chief Servicing Officer
John V. Britti 6061 Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
June C. Campbell 6263 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Albert J. Celini 5758 Executive Vice President and Chief Risk and Compliance Officer
Francois Grunenwald 4950 Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
George T. Henley53Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer
Joseph B. Long51Executive Vice President, Capital Markets
Joseph J. Samarias 4849 Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Company Secretary
Arthur C. Walker, Jr.48Senior Vice President, Global Tax
Timothy J. Yanoti57Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer
Dennis Zeleny 6465 Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

 

(1)All age and position information set forth herein is as of April 15, 2020.

(1)All age and position information set forth herein is as of April 15, 2021.

 

The principal occupation for at least the last five years, as well as certain other biographical information, for each of our executive officers who is not a director is set forth below.

 

Scott W. Anderson. Mr. Anderson has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Servicing Officer since 2009, and his career with Ocwen has spanned over twenty years. Prior to his current role, he served as Senior Vice President, Residential Assets since November 2001. Prior to joining Ocwen in November 1993, Mr. Anderson was employed by CIGNA. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bowdoin College.

 

John V. Britti. Mr. Britti has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer since June 2014. From July 1, 2018 through October 3, 2018, he also served as interim Chief Executive Officer. From September 2016 to February 2017, he served as the Interim Head of Risk Management. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer from March 2012 to June 2014 and Executive Vice President of Ocwen responsible for Finance and Business Development from January 2011 to March 2012. He has been with Ocwen since January 2011. Prior to joining Ocwen, Mr. Britti was Chief Operating Officer for mortgage insurer RMIC from 2005 to 2011. Mr. Britti held two positions at Freddie Mac as a Vice President running Field Sales and Pricing & Structured Transactions. Mr. Britti has also been a Vice President at Capital One running Thrift and Mortgage Operations. After business school, Mr. Britti worked at McKinsey & Company in its financial services industry group. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administration from Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School.

 

June C. Campbell. Ms. Campbell has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since March 2019. Ms. Campbell joined Ocwen from GE Capital, the financial services unit of General Electric Company, where she held multiple senior management positions in Finance, Capital Markets and Operations during her more than 20-year career at the company. Most recently, she served as Managing Director, Global Capital Markets, a position she held since 2014. Ms. Campbell’s prior roles included serving as Chief Operating Officer for GE Capital Canada from 2011 to 2014 and Chief Financial Officer of GE Capital Real Estate Canada from 2008 to 2011. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Simmons College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

 

21

Albert J. Celini. Mr. Celini has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Risk and Compliance Officer since May 2019. From the closing of Ocwen’s acquisition of PHH Corporation in October 2018 until May 2019, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Risk and Compliance Officer. From November 2017 through October 2018, he served as the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer of PHH Corporation. From May 2017 through October 2018, he served as a risk management consultant to the mortgage industry with Newbold Advisors LLC, a professional services firm, and from June 2016 through April 2017, with Common Securitization Solutions LLC (a joint venture between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). He also previously held executive roles at Sun National Bank, Freddie Mac, and Ally Bank (formerly GMAC Bank). Mr. Celini is a Certified Public Accountant and received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Fordham University.

Francois Grunenwald. Mr. Grunenwald has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer since August 2019. Prior to joining Ocwen, he spent the prior 20 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he served in various accounting and financial advisory roles with a focus on financial services clients, including for the last 12 years as a Partner. Mr. Grunenwald is a Certified Public AccountAccountant and holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Banking from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas.

George T. Henley. Mr. Henley has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer since February 15, 2021. In this role, Mr. Henley is responsible for the growth and development of our originations business and operations. From 2012 through the time he joined Ocwen, Mr. Henley served as an executive of Freedom Mortgage Corporation. He most recently served as Executive Vice President, Retail Lending of Freedom Mortgage responsible for sales, operations and originations channel expansion. Prior to that role, he was Executive Vice President, Capital Markets and Correspondent Lending responsible for the growth and development of Freedom Mortgage’s correspondent lending channel. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Delta State University.

Joseph B. (“JB”) Long. Mr. Long has served as Executive Vice President, Capital Markets, since May 2020. He previously served a 25-year tenure at TIAA Bank (previously Everbank). Most recently, Mr. Long served as Executive Vice President, Strategic Business Development and Investments responsible for building a broader consumer lending offering and executing on the company’s investment acquisition strategy. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President, Head of Capital Markets responsible for the management of all portfolio loans, investments and secondary marketing. Earlier, he held roles of Senior Vice President, Director of Portfolio Management; Senior Vice President, MSR Investment Manager; and Vice President, Secondary Marketing. Mr. Long holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of North Florida.

 

Joseph J. Samarias. Mr. Samarias has served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel since April 2019. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel of Ocwen since 2013. He also serves as the Company’s Chief Ethics Officer, and was appointed Company Secretary in April 2020. Prior to joining Ocwen, from 2009 to 2013, Mr. Samarias was a senior attorney with the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Stability (“OFS”). From 2012 to 2013, he served as Chief Counsel of OFS where he was responsible for directing all legal activities of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and served as the chief legal advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability. Prior to his government service, Mr. Samarias was a litigator with several international law firms from 1997 to 2009. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University, a Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law, and is a member of the bars of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia, as well as a Florida Authorized House Counsel, and a New Jersey In-House Counsel.

 

Arthur C. Walker, Jr. Mr. Walker serves as our Senior Vice President, Global Tax and has been with Ocwen since August 2013. In that capacity he leads all the tax department functions for Ocwen. Mr. Walker has over nineteen years of tax experience advising public companies on domestic and international tax matters. Prior to joining Ocwen, Mr. Walker was a tax partner with the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP and had been with Mayer Brown for fourteen years. Mr. Walker has advised companies in many different industries throughout his career including financial services, technology, software, service provider, pharmaceutical, transportation, healthcare, and manufacturing. His tax practice experience has included planning, intercompany transfer pricing, structuring / restructuring of business operations, offshore intangibles, contract manufacturing, cross-border financing, mergers and acquisitions, legislation, private letter rulings, examinations and administrative appeals. Mr. Walker holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and a Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Timothy J. Yanoti. Mr. Yanoti has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer since November 2018. From 2014 through 2018, he served as Co-Chairman and President of American Financial Resources, a residential mortgage originations company with over 500 employees operating in all 50 states. From 2011 through 2014, he was Senior Vice President, Head of Securitization for Fannie Mae where he was responsible for developing the Common Securitization Platform for the GSEs. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Mr. Yanoti served as Managing Director, Head of Mortgage Banking of Knight Capital Group, a global financial services firm, and Senior Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets of National City Corporation. During his career Mr. Yanoti has also held several leadership roles at General Electric Company, including Head of Global Securitization of GE Capital and Head of Capital and Secondary Markets of GE Mortgage. Prior to entering the finance and banking industry he worked as an aerospace and software engineer. He received a Bachelor of Science from Clarkson University and a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University.

Dennis Zeleny. Mr. Zeleny has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer since August 2019. In that capacity, he oversees Ocwen’s global human resources, function, corporate communications, information technologies, facilities, sourcing, enterprise project management office and diversity and inclusion programs. From January through August 2019, Mr. Zeleny served Ocwen as a human resources consultant. From 2012 through 2019, Mr. Zeleny provided executive Human Capital consulting services including as co-CEO of Center on Executive Compensation, and an Interim CHRO for Hertz.Compensation. He previously held the role of Chief Administrative or Chief Human Resources Officer at Sunoco, Caremark, and DuPont, oversaw global human resources at Honeywell and served 17 years at PepsiCo. Mr. Zeleny also served on the Board of HRPA, Cornell ILR Advisory Board, SXL and SCX, NYSE publicly traded companies. He received a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.S. from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University.

22

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS

AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS

 

Beneficial Ownership of Equity Securities

 

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of April 15, 20202021 by:

 

 each of our directors and director nominees;
 each named executive officer; and
 all of our directors and current executive officers as a group.

 

Each of Ocwen’s directors, director nominees and named executive officers may be reached through Ocwen Corporate Headquarters at 1661 Worthington Road, Suite 100, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409.

 

The following table also sets forth information with respect to each person known by Ocwen to beneficially own more than five percent of the outstanding shares of its common stock.

 

The table is based upon information supplied to us by directors and executive officers and filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.amended, except where noted. We have based our calculation of the percentage of beneficial ownership on 129,683,3778,708,271 shares of our common stock outstanding as of April 15, 2020, unless otherwise noted.2021. Share numbers have been adjusted to give effect to the Company’s one-for-15 reverse stock split effective August 13, 2020.

 

23

Shares Beneficially Owned(1)
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner: Amount of Beneficial Ownership  Percent of Class 

Deer Park Road Management Company, LP(2)

1195 Bangtail Way

Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

  863,744   9.9%

Oaktree Capital Management LP(3)

333 S. Grand Avenue, 28th Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90071

  956,847   9.9%

Leon G. Cooperman(4)

7118 Melrose Castle Lane

Boca Raton, FL 33496

  779,037   9.0%

Roberto Marco Sella(5)

2400 Market Street, Suite 3022

Philadelphia, PA 19103

  454,767   5.2%

 

Shares Beneficially Owned(1)
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner: 

Amount of Beneficial

Ownership

  Percent of Class 

Deer Park Road Management Company, LP(2)

1195 Bangtail Way

Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

  13,356,147   10.3%

Leon G. Cooperman(3)

St. Andrew’s Country Club

7118 Melrose Castle Lane

Boca Raton, FL 33428

  12,193,460   9.4%

BlackRock Inc.(4)

55 East 52nd Street

New York, NY 10055

  9,514,671   7.3%

Roberto Marco Sella(5)

2929 Arch Street, Suite 325

Philadelphia, PA 19104

  6,821,474   5.3%

Directors and Named Executive Officers:
Scott W. Anderson(6)  253,326   * 
Alan J. Bowers(7)  151,715   * 
Jenne K. Britell(8)  113,858   * 
Jacques J. Busquet(9)  136,717   * 
Phyllis R. Caldwell(10)  285,651   * 
June C. Campbell(11)  83,377   * 
Catherine M. Dondzila(12)     * 
Robert J. Lipstein(13)  333,052   * 
Glen A. Messina(14)  674,242   * 
DeForest B. Soaries, Jr.(15)  59,447   * 
Kevin Stein(16)  104,278   * 
Timothy J. Yanoti(17)  107,785   * 
Dennis Zeleny(18)  5,000   * 
All Current Directors and Executive Officers as a Group (17 persons)(19)  2,777,229   2.1%
Directors and Named Executive Officers:        
Scott W. Anderson(6)  16,889   * 
Alan J. Bowers(7)  19,124   * 
Jenne K. Britell(8)  16,600   * 
John V. Britti(9)  16,877   * 
Jacques J. Busquet(10)  18,791   * 
Phyllis R. Caldwell(11)  28,053   * 
June C. Campbell(12)  7,302   * 
Glen A. Messina(13)  82,762   * 
DeForest B. Soaries, Jr.(14)  18,039   * 
Kevin Stein(15)  16,961   * 
Dennis Zeleny(16)  334   * 
All Current Directors and Executive Officers as a Group (16 persons)(17)  246,709   2.8%

 

*Less than 1%

(1)For purposes of this table, an individual is considered the beneficial owner of shares of common stock if he or she has the right to acquire such common stock within 60 days of April 15, 20202021 and directly or indirectly has or shares voting power or investment power, as defined in the rules promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Unless otherwise indicated, each person has sole voting power and sole investment power with respect to the reported shares. No shares have been pledged as security by the named executive officers or directors.
  
(2)Deer Park Road Management Company, LP: Based solely on information contained in a Schedule 13G/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2020,16, 2021, reporting securities deemed to be beneficially owned as of December 31, 2019,2020, by Deer Park Road Management Company, LP (“Deer Park”); Deer Park Road Management GP, LLC (“DPRM”); Deer Park Road Corporation (“DPRC”); Michael Craig-Scheckman (“Mr. Craig-Scheckman”); AgateCreek LLC (“AgateCreek”); and Scott Edward Burg (“Mr. Burg”), each of which reports shared voting and dispositive power of 13,356,147863,744 shares held for the account of STS Master Fund, Ltd. (the “STS Master Fund”), which is an exempted company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Deer Park serves as investment adviser to the STS Master Fund and, in such capacity, exercises voting and investment power over the shares held in the account for the STS Master Fund. DPRM is the general partner of Deer Park. Each of DPRC and AgateCreek is a member of DPRM. Mr. Craig-Scheckman is the Chief Executive Officer of each of Deer Park and DPRC and the sole owner of DPRC. Mr. Burg is the Chief Investment Officer of Deer Park and the sole member of AgateCreek.

(3)Oaktree Capital Management LP (“Oaktree”): On March 4, 2021, the Company issued 592,384 warrants to Opps OCW Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and 592,384 warrants to ROF8 OCW Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, each an affiliate of Oaktree, pursuant to agreements between the Company and affiliates of Oaktree. The warrants cannot be exercised to the extent that affiliates of Oaktree would beneficially own in excess of 9.9% of the Company’s outstanding stock following such issuance without 61 days advance notice. Based on the Company’s shares outstanding as of April 15, 2021, these warrants could be exercised on such date for a maximum of 956,847 shares.
 24 

(3)(4)Mr. Cooperman: Based solely on information contained in a Schedule 13G/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2020January 21, 2021 reporting securities beneficially owned as of December 31, 2019.January 15, 2021. Mr. Cooperman is the Managing Member of Omega Associates, L.L.C. (“Associates”), a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware. Associates is a private investment firm formed to invest in and act as general partner of investment partnerships or similar investment vehicles. Associates is the general partner of a limited partnership organized under the laws of Delaware known as Omega Capital Partners, L.P. (“Capital LP”), a private investment firm comprised of Cooperman family funds engaged in the purchase and sale of securities for investment for its own account. Mr. Cooperman is the ultimate controlling person of Associates and Capital LP. Mr. Cooperman is married to an individual named Toby Cooperman, and has an adult son named Michael S. Cooperman. Mr. Cooperman has investment authority over the shares held by Toby Cooperman and Michael S. Cooperman. Mr. Cooperman reports sole voting and dispositive power with respect to 12,193,460779,037 shares, which consists of 10,193,460645,702 shares owned by Capital LP, 1,000,00066,667 shares owned by Mr. Cooperman, 500,00033,334 shares owned by Toby Cooperman, and 500,00033,334 shares owned by Michael S. Cooperman.
  
(4)BlackRock, Inc.: Based solely on information contained in a Schedule 13G/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 5, 2020 reporting securities deemed to be beneficially owned as of December 31, 2019, by BlackRock, Inc. Pursuant to the Schedule 13G/A, BlackRock, Inc. has sole voting power over 9,129,512 shares and sole dispositive power over 9,514,671 shares and is reporting beneficial ownership of the shares as the parent holding company or control person of BlackRock Advisors, LLC, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited, BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association, BlackRock Financial Management, Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, and BlackRock Investment Management, LLC.
(5)Mr. Sella: Based solely on information contained in a Schedule 13G/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 6, 2020 reporting securities beneficially owned as of December 31, 2019, Mr. Sella reports sole voting and dispositive power with respect to 6,480,400432,028 shares, consisting of 6,139,326409,289 shares held of record by Roberto Marco Sella and 341,07422,739 shares held of record by LL Charitable Foundation, of which Mr. Sella serves as President. Mr. Sella reports shared voting and dispositive power with respect to 341,07422,739 shares held of record by the Roberto Sella 2012 Family Trust (the “Trust”). Francine Sella, Mr. Sella’s spouse, and Mr. Sella’s minor children are beneficiaries of the Trust. Francine Sella is a co-trustee of the Trust and in such capacity, Francine Sella has voting power over and power to dispose of the 341,07422,739 shares of Common Stock held by the Trust. Mr. Sella is not a beneficiary of the Trust.
  
(6)Mr. Anderson serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Servicing Officer. Includes shares underlying 55,2723,685 options which are presently exercisable and 16,8751,125 options which could become exercisable within 60 days of April 15, 2020.2021.
  
(7)Mr. Bowers serves as a director. Includes shares underlying 62,5009,009 RSUs which will vest May 27, 20202021 subject to certain conditions relating to the individual’s service as a director.
  
(8)Dr. Britell serves as a director. Includes shares underlying 62,5009,009 RSUs which will vest May 27, 20202021 subject to certain conditions relating to the individual’s service as a director. Also includes 39,5802,639 shares held by trust.
  
(9)Mr. Britti serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Includes shares underlying 3,852 options which are presently exercisable and 1,250 options which could become exercisable within 60 days of April 15, 2021.
(10)Mr. Busquet serves as a director. Does not include shares underlying 62,5009,009 RSUs which will vest May 27, 20202021 subject to certain conditions relating to the individual’s service as a director but which are not settleable until June 1, 2022.
  
(10)(11)Ms. Caldwell serves as Chair of the Board of Directors. Includes shares underlying 62,5009,009 RSUs which will vest May 27, 20202021 subject to certain conditions relating to the individual’s service as a director.

 25 

(11)(12)Ms. Campbell serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Includes shares underlying 11,0601,475 options which are presently exercisable and 19,2011,920 restricted stock units which could vest within 60 days of April 15, 2020.2021. Also includes 47,6383,176 shares held jointly with spouse.
  
(12) Ms. Dondzila served as principal financial officer from July 17, 2018 through March 3, 2019.
(13)Mr. Lipstein serves as a director. Includes shares underlying 62,500 RSUs which will vest May 27, 2020 subject to certain conditions relating to the individual’s service as a director. Mr. Lipstein has announced his retirement from the Board, effective immediately prior to the commencement of the Annual Meeting.
(14)Mr. Messina serves as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director. Includes shares underlying 88,99611,866 options which are presently exercisable. Also includes 308,30020,554 shares held jointly with spouse.
  
(15)(14)Dr. Soaries serves as a director. Does not includeIncludes shares underlying 62,5009,009 RSUs which will vest May 27, 20202021 subject to certain conditions relating to the individual’s service as a director but which aredirector. Does not settleable until the six-month anniversary of the director’s termination of service, 12,240include 4,981 shares underlying vested RSUs which are not settleable until the six-month anniversary of the director’s termination of service, and 19,9011,326 shares underlying vested RSUs which are not settleable until January 1, 2023.
  
(16)(15)Mr. Stein serves as a director. Includes shares underlying 62,5009,009 RSUs which will vest May 27, 20202021 subject to certain conditions relating to the individual’s service as a director. Also includes 30,0007,952 shares held by trust.
  
(17)Mr. Yanoti serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer. Includes shares underlying 27,131 options which are presently exercisable and 23,255 restricted stock units which could vest within 60 days of April 15, 2020. Also includes 10,000 shares held by spouse.
(18)(16)Mr. Zeleny serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer.
  
(19)(17)Includes 4,249 shares and shares underlying 355,041728 stock options which are presently exercisable 26,250 stock options which could become exercisable within 60 days, and 42,456 restricted stock units which could vest within 60 days of April 15, 2020. Excludes shares beneficially ownedheld by Catherine D. Dondzila, who is a Named Executive Officer for SEC purposes but not a current executive officer, and includes shares beneficially owned by John V. Britti, Albert. J Celini, Francois Grunenwald, George Henley, Joseph B. Long and Joseph J. Samarias, and Arthur C. Walker, Jr., who are current executive officers but not Named Executive Officers.

26

Equity Compensation Plan Information

 

The following table sets forth information as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year with respect to compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance. As of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year, we did not maintain an equity compensation plan that had not previously been approved by security holders.

 

Plan Category 

Number of securities to

be issued upon exercise

of outstanding options,

warrants and rights

(#)(1)

 

Weighted average

exercise price of

outstanding options,

warrants and rights

($)(2)

 

Number of securities

remaining available for

future issuance under

equity compensation

plans(3)

(#)

  

Number of securities to

be issued upon exercise

of outstanding options,

warrants and rights

(#)(1)

 

Weighted average

exercise price of

outstanding options,

warrants and rights

($)(2)

 

Number of securities

remaining available for

future issuance under

equity compensation

plans(3)

(#)

 
Equity compensation plans
approved by security holders
  4,638,556   20.16   6,841,386   386,513   274.30   249,746 
Equity compensation plans not
approved by security holders
                  
Total  4,638,556   20.16   6,841,386   386,513   274.30   249,746 

 

(1)Includes 1,979,431124,866 shares subject to outstanding stock option awards and 2,659,125261,647 shares subject to outstanding restricted stock unit awards (including outstanding performance-based restricted stock unit awards, which are presented at their target level of performance).
 
(2)Calculated exclusive of outstanding restricted stock unit awards, which do not have an exercise price.
 
(3)Represents 6,841,386249,746 shares available for new award grants under the Company’s 2017 Performance Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”) as of December 31, 2019.2020. Each share issued under the 2017 Plan pursuant to an award other than a stock option or other purchase right in which the participant pays the fair market value for such share measured as of the grant date, or appreciation right which is based upon the fair market value of a share as of the grant date, shall reduce the number of available shares by 1.2. Pursuant to the 2017 Plan, any shares subject to (1) restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards or (2) stock options granted under our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan that are presently outstanding which are subsequently forfeited, terminated, canceled, or otherwise reacquired by the Company will increase the pool of shares available for new awards under the 2017 Plan at the rate of 1.2 shares or 1.0 shares, respectively. Long-term incentive awards issued in the form of cash-settled restricted stock units do not reduce available shares under the 2017 Plan. This table does not reflect the 490,000 additional shares that will be available for issuance under the 2021 Plan if shareholders approve the 2021 Plan.

 

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires our executive officers, directors and persons who own more than 10% of our common stock to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Based solely upon a review of reports filed electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission during the 20192020 fiscal year, or written representations from certain reporting persons that no Forms 5 were required, we believe that all filing requirements applicable to our officers and directors and greater than 10% beneficial owners were complied with during the 20192020 fiscal year

27

year.

LETTER FROM COMPENSATION COMMITTEE AND BOARD CHAIRS

 

Dear Fellow Shareholders:

 

In the following Compensation Discussion and Analysis we have provided the context and rationale the Compensation and Human Capital Committee (Compensation Committee)(“Compensation Committee”) used in crafting the framework and determining the compensation for our named executive officers in 2019.2020.

 

To begin with, 20192020 was a year that required the management team and the broaderour entire employee population to work with remarkable focus and resiliency not only to navigate through the disruption created by the global pandemic, but to execute against our key business initiatives followingafter we transitioned 98% of our employees to remote work within the acquisitionspan of PHH Corporation (PHH) in October of 2018.two weeks.

 

In addition to putting the health and safety of our employees first, the pandemic’s outbreak in March caused us to re-assess our priorities against the incredibly dynamic and uncertain economic and regulatory environment that was unfolding, its potential impact on our business model, and the momentum we built coming off of the significant turn-around of the business we saw in 2019.

In the 2nd quarter, the Board of Directors approved undertaking a comprehensive strategic review to assess all alternatives to unlock value for our shareholders. The aimBoard of these initiatives wasDirectors and management put in place six priorities for management to return Ocwensupport Ocwen’s stated goals of returning to profitability in the shortest timeframe possible within an appropriate risk and compliance environment and to enable a sustainable business model that would benefit not only our shareholders but also our customers and employees.

Moreover, based upon the feedback we received during our outreach initiatives to shareholders who collectively hold more than 62% of our stock, we know these priorities are largely correlated with potential to createthose which hold the most value for our shareholders.

 

The five initiativessix priorities which the CEO and the management team would need to deliver against were:

 

 1.Execute the integration of PHH into OcwenReturning to and sustaining profitability,
 2.Re-engineer our cost structureGrowth,
 3.Establish funding for growthContinuous cost improvement,
 4.Replenish portfolio runoffDiversifying sources of capital and restore a growth focusoptimizing the balance sheet,
 5.Fulfill regulatory commitmentsEmployee engagement and resolve remaining legacy mattersdiversity and inclusion, and
6.Customer satisfaction.

 

As we embarked on 2019, the Compensation Committee approved a 2019 Annual Incentive Plan for management containing ten objectives that linked directly to the above initiatives in order to align management’s annual bonus opportunity to executing on our strategy to create value for shareholders.

In addition, to ensure a strong alignment between the compensation of our management team and results for our shareholders, in 2019, the Compensation Committee took two important actions to re-orient compensation forLooking back, the management team towards shareholder outcomesnot only made terrific progress against all six of these priorities, but also concluded an exhaustive strategic review process which resulted in very substantive ways.

First, the management team went from having zero percentagreements with Oaktree which provided $250 million of their target annual compensation tiedcapital to Ocwen’s stock price performancepursue growth and refinance existing corporate debt, and created a strategic relationship to having an averageacquire mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”) through a licensed entity, MSR Asset Vehicle LLC (“MAV”). As a result, Ocwen is a stronger, more efficient, more diversified and better-balanced mortgage originator with exciting growth opportunities ahead of 40% of it tied to Ocwen’s stock performance, with half of that value forfeitable unless a defined total shareholder return (TSR) threshold was met.

Second, the Compensation Committee reduced the bonus payout payable for 2018 performance to members of the senior management team by 35% and instead provided a “transitional” three-year long-term incentive opportunity which would only be realized if the Company achieved compounded annual growth of 16.7% in its stock price over the ensuing three-year period.

Based upon the feedback we received during our shareholder outreach initiative to shareholders who collectively hold more than 58% of our stock and looking back on the Company’s performance during 2019, we believe the compensation framework developed and the objectives against which we held management accountable were indeed the most important ones for our shareholders.us.

 

We invite you to read the following Compensation Discussion and Analysis for further details on our decisions relating to compensation during 2019,2020, and we look forward to further shareholder engagement.

Sincerely,

Sincerely,

DeForest B. Soaries Jr.

Chair, Compensation and Human Capital Committee

 

Phyllis R. Caldwell

Chair, Board of Directors

28

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

 

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

 

Business Highlights

 

The design and the application of our executive compensation programs take shape and are delivered withinsupport organizational alignment around the contextachievement of Ocwen’s business plan and its performance against that plan. 20192020 was a successful year in which we set very ambitious goals forachieved our objective of returning to sustainable profitability, as measured by pre-tax income before notable items, within an appropriate risk and compliance environment, executing key strategic and operational initiatives against the company. It was also a year of tremendous change for the company in which we made progress on a numberbackdrop of the strategic,challenging COVID-19 pandemic. For a discussion of how we measure pre-tax income before notable items and a reconciliation to financial measures prepared under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), please see our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and operational priorities that we set out to accomplish.Exchange Commission on February 9, 2021.

 

Some of the keyImportant business highlights which the management team delivered against include:

 

 Completed integration of PHH Corporation which was acquired on October 4, 2018,building a multi-channel, scalable originations platform and replenished and grew our owned servicing portfolio, including harmonization of policies, programs and platforms including$5.7 billion unpaid principal balance (“UPB”) in the transitioning of all our servicing onto the Black Knight MSP servicing system.forward lending correspondent channel.
 Delivered against synergy cost reduction objectives, including reducing total staffing levels by 1,100Selectively acquired mortgage servicing rights that meet or 17%,exceed our minimum targeted investment returns, with a total headcount of approximately 5,300 at December 31, 2019 compared to the Ocwen headcount pre-PHH acquisition of 6,400 on September 30, 2018.$16.6 billion UPB in bulk transactions and $15.1 billion UPB through Government Sponsored Enterprise Cash Window programs.
 Took substantial steps toward removingImplemented cost reduction and continuous improvement initiatives, including facility rationalization, strategic sourcing, off-shore utilization, lean process design and technology-enabled automation, resulting in approximately $100 million lower operating risk by complying with ongoing commitments under settlement agreements with 29 states and District of Columbiaexpenses compared to resolve alleged deficiencies in compliance with laws and regulations relating to our servicing and lending activities.
Grew total revenue by 6% to $1.1 billion in 2019.
 ImprovedSuccessfully concluded our liquidity position, as measured by unrestricted cash, by over 30% from December 31, 2018strategic review process with the expansion of our strategic alliance with Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., including establishing an MSR asset vehicle, to a totalsupport future growth of $428.3 million at December 31, 2019, while also increasing our available borrowing capacity under our advance financing facilities by 9%servicing volume, refinance corporate debt, and source capital to $50.9 million from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2019.accelerate growth.
 ImplementedSupported borrowers and clients through numerous regulatory changes brought on by COVID-19, including managing 81,900 loans under forbearance along with repayment modifications and the moratorium on foreclosures, all with high levels of customer satisfaction.
Rapidly transitioned to a hedging strategy to partially offset the changes in fair valuesecure remote operating model for approximately 98% of our net MSR portfolio attributableglobal workforce while continuing to interest rate changes.adhere to COVID-19 health- and safety-related requirements and best practices across all of our locations.
Resolved all legacy state regulatory actions from April 2017 with the conclusion of the regulatory matter with the State of Florida Office of the Attorney General and Office of Financial Regulation on October 15, 2020.
Improved employee engagement scores by 16 points since 2017, achieving levels 14-16 points greater than geographic and industry benchmarks.

 

Compensation Highlights

 

The Compensation Committee designed the 20192020 executive compensation program to align withthe organization’s effort to achieve key strategic and operational objectives and to adhere to evolving compensation and governance best practices, and strengthenincluding the rigor used to link to pay forto performance and shareholder value creation.

 

The key features of our 20192020 executive compensation program relating to pay decisions, program design and shareholder engagement are highlighted below:

 

 (1)IntroducedEvaluated the impacts of COVID-19 on our business and our shareholders:

To account for the volatility of the market at the time of our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) awards underlong-term equity grants in March 2020, we denominated target values into units based on the 30-trading-day average closing share price rather than closing share price on the grant date, which had been our 2017 Performanceprior practice. We believed this more accurately aligned with the shareholder experience at the time and resulted in a 42% reduction in initial fair market value for our executives.
The outbreak of the pandemic necessitated that we recast our business plan to adapt to the new regulatory and business environment and led us to finalize the performance metrics in our Annual Incentive Plan that changed(“AIP”) scorecard in the mix of compensation tied to long-term objectives2nd quarter and include a provision allowing flexibility assessing metrics based on how the pandemic impacted business volumes and operational metrics.
Target pay levels for our named executive officers (NEOs) from 0%employees were not reduced as our business successfully transitioned to 40%; (2) tied all LTI award valuea work-from-home model while balancing increased volumes of new loans and efforts to stock price performance;support existing homeowners who were adversely impacted by the pandemic.
Aligned the structure of our AIP to use multiple financial performance tranches that reflect a return to and (3) linked halfa sustained level of the target LTI award value grantedprofitability, as measured by pre-tax income before notable items, and incorporate diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) and employee engagement metrics to any participantreinforce our commitment to absolute TSR objectives over the course of a 3-year measurement period.effective human capital management practices.
 Fortified the pay-for-performance linkage within our 2019 Annual Incentive Program (AIP) through the use of ten objectives that linked directlyLinked long-term equity awards to our publicly-disclosed key business initiatives. Moreover, financialtotal shareholder return relative to compensation peer group to align with shareholder expectations, and realized top third performance objectives which constituted over 50% of corporate and business unit scorecards were 100% formulaic with specific goal posts for threshold, target and maximum performance levels.during first measurement period.
 Reduced 2018 AIP paymentsRestored CEO’s annual incentive targets to terms contained in his original offer letter after his voluntary reductions to support cost-reengineering objectives that have since been realized.
Implemented special compensation arrangements for all NEOs by 35% based on the Compensation Committee’s general assessmentexecutive leadership team to stabilize the organization and promote retention during a critical period of strategic evaluations, including grants of time-vested cash and restricted stock units and enhanced double-trigger benefits in the Company’s overall performance and financial conditionevent of a change in control.
 Initiated an outreach effort to shareholders representing over 58%62% of outstanding shares regarding their views on our executive compensation program.
Conducted a comprehensive, risk-based review of our compensation policies and practices designed to ensure appropriate mitigation of undue risk.

29

 

Our named executive officers (“NEOs”) for 2019,2020, whose compensation we will discuss in detail below, are as follows:

 

Name Position
Glen A. Messina President and Chief Executive Officer
Scott W. AndersonExecutive Vice President and Chief Servicing Officer
John V. BrittiExecutive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
June C. Campbell Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Timothy J. YanotiExecutive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer
Scott W. AndersonExecutive Vice President and Chief Servicing Officer
Dennis Zeleny Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
Catherine M. Dondzila(1)

Former Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer

(1)Ms. Dondzila resigned as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer on May 31, 2019. Due to serving as principal financial officer during a portion of 2019, Ms. Dondzila is included in this Proxy Statement as a “Named Executive Officer” pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Philosophy and Objectives of Our Executive Compensation Program

 

The philosophy underlying our executive compensation program is to provide an attractive, flexible, and market-based total compensation program that aligns the interests of executives and shareholders by rewarding both short-term and long-term performance against specific financial and strategic objectives designed to improve long-term shareholder value.

 

Equally important, our compensation programs are designed to communicate our goals and reinforce our standards as they relate to risk, compliance and leadership - not only to our senior management team, but across our entire employee population.

 

Within this context, we believe our executive compensation programs enable us to:

 

 Retain and hire top-caliber experienced executives: In a tight labor market and volatile industry, especially within an organization that is facing appreciable challenges to build a sustainable business modelin turn-around mode, accelerating growth and pivot back to profitability,has openly explored strategic alternatives, we believe it is critical that we offer compensation opportunities that allow us to attract and retain strong, proven executive talent.
 Pay for Performanceperformance: A significant portion of our target 20192020 executive compensation (the sum of base salary, annual target bonus, and grant date fairtarget value of stock awards granted during 2019)annual equity program awards) 63% for NEOs and 79% for the CEO and 62% for other NEOs on average – was dependent on the Company’s business performance and our executive officers’ contribution to that performance, and the performance of our stock.
 Align compensation with shareholder interests: A consequential portion of our target 20192020 executive compensation – 29%52% for the CEO and 28% for other NEOs and 53% for CEOon averageiswas directly tied to absolute TSRtotal shareholder return or stock price emphasizing our focus on shareholder value creation.
 Reinforce a long-term viewcommitment to serve all stakeholders: A major portion – 25% – of each executive officer’s target 20192020 annual incentive compensation was tied to riskcustomer satisfaction, employee engagement and compliance-baseddiversity and inclusion objectives, demonstrating that our focuscontinued commitment to supporting our borrowers – “Helping Homeowners is not only on what was accomplished but on how it was accomplished.What We Do” – and promoting effective human capital governance. We believe that our focus on how things are done in the short-term will establish a foundation fortaking all stakeholders’ opinions into account leads to long-term success.shareholder value creation.

20192020 Incentive Programs

 

To create a strong link between our incentive compensation opportunities and our short-term and longer-term objectives, we use two specific programs: our AIPAnnual Incentive Plan (“AIP”) and LTIthe grant of long-term incentive awards under our 2017 Performance Incentive Plan.Plan (“LTIP awards”).

30

 

The chart below illustrates the portions of our NEOs’ target 20192020 executive compensation that are driven by the various objectives under our incentive programs. Our programs are designed to align the interests of our executives with the interests of our shareholders and link the drivers of short-term and long-term value creation with our executive compensation performance metrics.

 

Element of 2019 CompensationDescription and Link to Key Priorities

NEOs’

(excluding CEO) Average % of Total Target Compensation

CEO’s % of Total Target Compensation
Element of 2020 Target CompensationDescription and Link to Key Priorities

NEOs’

(excluding CEO) Average % of Total Target Compensation

CEO’s % of Total Target Compensation
Salary

● Only element of total direct compensation that is not at risk based on short- or long-term performance.

● The Committee determines salaries after consideration of multiple factors, including comparative data from our peer group (described below).

37%21%

● Only element of total target compensation that is not at risk based on short- or long-term performance.

● The Committee determines salaries after consideration of multiple factors, including comparative data from our peer group and general survey data provided by its independent compensation consultant (described below).

39%21%
AIP

● Target amount is informed by comparator groups, including peer group, and other factors further noted below.

● Funding is linked to key priorities of the Company in three areas (shown right).

● All components, as well as individual payouts, are capped at a maximum of 150%.

● Individual performance serves as a modifier to the corporate and business unit scorecard performance level (the Individual Performance Multiplier).

Financial Performance

 

 

17%13%

● Target amount is informed by comparative data and other factors further noted below.

●  Funding is linked to key priorities of the Company in three areas (shown right).

● All components, as well as individual payouts, are capped at a maximum of 150%.

● Individual performance serves as a modifier to the corporate and business unit scorecard performance level.

Financial Performance

 

 

17%13%

Strategic and Operational Objectives

9%7%

Strategic and Operational Objectives

8%7%

Managing Risk and Ensuring Compliance

9%7%Customers and Employees8%7%
LTI Awards(a)

● Target amount is informed by comparator groups, including peer group, and other factors further noted below.

● 50% of award is in form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that vest annually over three years in equal tranches.

● 50% of award is in form of Performance-Restricted Stock Units (PRSUs) that cliff vest at end of three years provided minimum TSR level has been achieved.

 

Time-vested Units

 

 

 

13%26%

Units Earned Based on Total Shareholder Return or Share Price

15%26%
LTIP Awards(a)

● Target amount is informed by comparator groups, including our peer group, and other factors further noted below.

● 50% of award is in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that vest annually over three years in equal tranches.

● 50% of award is in the form of Performance-Restricted Stock Units (PRSUs) that cliff vest at end of three years provided minimum total shareholder return (TSR) level has been achieved relative to our compensation peer group.

Time-vested Units

 

 

 

14%26%

Units Earned Based on Relative Total Shareholder Return

14%26%
Total(b) 100%100% 100%

 

(a)Not included are one-time transitional PRSURSU and cash retention awards granted to Messrs.all executives except Mr. Messina on September 10, 2020, which vest March 10, 2022 and Anderson, which were awarded based on the decision to reduce 2018 bonus payments andare not taken into account as part of regular annual target compensation. Ms. Campbell’s LTI Awards were granted 50% as time-vested awards (RSUs and stock options) vesting in equal installments over three years, and 50% as PRSUs vesting in equal installments over four years if stock price doubles from grant date. Refer to “2019 Long-Term Incentive (LTI)“Special RSU and Cash Awards” below for further details.
(b)Other compensation that is available to all of our U.S. employees includes medical, dental and life insurance programs. 401(k) matching contributions account for less than 0.1% of our NEOs’ compensation.

On February 27, 2019, in furtherance of the Company’s cost re-engineering efforts, Mr. Messina volunteered to reduce his compensation as follows: (i) reduce his annual cash target incentive from $1,350,000 to $1,125,000, and (ii) reduce his annual long-term incentive equity target from a target value of $3,150,000 to $2,250,000. These reductions were effective for the 2019 calendar year and represented a reduction of approximately 20% to Mr. Messina’s target total compensation for 2019. On March 30, 2020, the Compensation Committee proposed to restore Mr. Messina’s 2020 target total compensation to the levels he received upon his October 4, 2018 hire, in recognition of his strong performance in his first full year as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2019 (described below) and informed by relevant market benchmarks, including the Company’s compensation peer group. However, Mr. Messina declined to accept the increased compensation. Consequently, Mr. Messina’s compensation levels for 2020 continue to reflect the reductions Mr. Messina agreed to in 2019.

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Parties Involved in Compensation Decisions

 

The governance of our executive compensation programs generally occurs through interaction of three groups: the Compensation Committee, the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultantsconsultant, and management. In 2019,2020, on occasion and as it considered appropriate, the Compensation Committee enlisted the advice of outside counsel specializing in executive and non-employee director compensation matters to assist it in fulfilling its responsibilities under the Compensation Committee’s charter.

 

Role of the Compensation Committee

 

The Compensation Committee is responsible for overseeing the development and approval of our executive compensation and benefits policies and programs. The Compensation Committee, consisting of three independent directors, is responsible for the design, review and approval of all aspects of our executive compensation program. Among its duties, the Compensation Committee formulates recommendations to the Board of Directors for CEO compensation and reviews and approves all compensation recommendations for the other NEOs. Adjustments are made by the Compensation Committee in its judgment, taking into account compensation arrangements for comparable positions at peer group companies (discussed below), analysis prepared by Willis Towers Watson, the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultant, individual performance of the NEO, an assessment of the value of the individual’s performance going forward and compensation levels necessary to maintain and attract quality personnel. Compensation levels are also considered upon a promotion or other change in job responsibility. Additionally, the Company considers feedback from shareholders, including feedback in the form of shareholder advisory votes on Ocwen’s executive compensation, as discussed below.compensation.

 

The Compensation Committee’s review for NEOs also includes:

 

 approval of corporate and business unit scorecards;the AIP Corporate Scorecard;
 evaluation of individual performance results to determine the AIP Individual Performance Multiplier of each NEO;
 evaluation of the market competitiveness of each NEO’s total compensation (and principal elements of compensation) against applicable marketrelevant comparator groups, including broad-based industry survey data includingprovided by the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultant (which is considered generally without focus on any particular company or group of companies in the survey other than the peer group companies noted below) as well as a peer group of companies that are recommended to the Compensation Committee by its independent compensation consultant based on a number of metrics, including industry classification, revenues, assets and number of employees. The peer group used to help inform compensation decisions at the beginning of 20192020 is listed below.

 

Associated Banc-CorpMGIC Investment CorporationMr. Cooper Group Inc.
BankUnited, Inc.Navient Corporation
Black Knight Financial Services, Inc.PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.
CIT GroupCenterState Bank CorporationPeople’s United Financial, Inc.
CoreLogic, Inc.Radian Group Inc.
Euronet WorldwideSignature Bank
First Republic BankSterling Bancorp
Flagstar Bancorp, Inc.Synovus Financial Corp.Signature Bank
Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.Zions NationalSterling Bancorp
LendingTree, Inc. Synovus Financial Corp.

MGIC Investment Corporation 32Walker & Dunlop, Inc.

In August 2019,2020, the Compensation Committee revised the peer group to the list below to better reflect our business model, scale and competitors.competitors, removing three regional banks whose asset bases were more than five times that of the Company.

 

Associated Banc-CorpMr. Cooper Group Inc.
BankUnited, Inc.Navient Corporation
Black Knight Financial Services, Inc.PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.
CenterState Bank CorporationPeople’s United Financial, Inc.
CoreLogic, Inc.Radian Group Inc.
Flagstar Bancorp, Inc.Signature BankSouth State Corporation
Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.Sterling Bancorp
LendingTree, Inc.Synovus Financial Corp.Walker & Dunlop, Inc.
MGIC Investment CorporationWalker & Dunlop, Inc.

 

 approval of any changes to compensation, including, but not limited to, base salary, short-term and long-term incentive award opportunities, severance payments and retention programs.

 

How We Make Compensation Decisions

 

Each year our executive and other compensation programs are developed and refined through a year’s worth of analysis and decision making by the Compensation Committee. A typical year’s work is summarized below:

 

QUARTER 1 QUARTER 2 QUARTER 3 QUARTER 4

Evaluate the Company’s prior year performance against the financial and strategic metrics set forth in the prior year’s corporate and business unit scorecards.

● Review and evaluate the individual performance of the CEO and each of our other NEOs and other executive officers.

● Determine the payouts to be made under the AIP based on prior year’s performance.

● Determine total target compensation levels for our NEOs and other executive officers, as informed by both market data and prior year’s performance.

● Establish the structure and targets for the current year’s AIP to align with the financial and strategic priorities for the Company.

● Establish the structure for the current year’s LTI awards, including TSR or other performance objective.

scorecard.
 

Prepare the Compensation Committee’s report and CD&A for the Proxy Statement.

● Review and discuss Say-on-Pay voting recommendations from proxy advisory firms.

● Review and discuss the results of the voting at the Annual Meeting.

● Review reports from the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultants on practices and trends in the industry.

 

Undertake a review of the Company’s designated peer group to determine if any changes need to be made in order for it to remain appropriate.

Continue shareholder engagement focused on Say-on-Pay vote at the Annual Meeting.
Review and evaluate the individual performance of the CEO and each of our other NEOs and other executive officers.Review and discuss Say-on-Pay voting recommendations from proxy advisory firms.Commence shareholder engagement focused on the Say-on-Pay vote at the Annual Meeting to inform pay decisions and design compensation programs for the coming year.

 

Continue shareholder engagement focused on Say-on-Pay vote at the Annual Meeting.

Review the goals and objectives of the Company’s compensation programs.

Determine the payouts to be made under the AIP based on prior year’s performance.Review and discuss the results of the voting at the Annual Meeting.Conduct an assessment of executive compensation and independent Director compensation against peer group and relevant bench-marks assisted by analysisgeneral survey data provided by the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultants.

consultant.

Determine total target compensation levels for our NEOs and other executive officers, as informed by both market data and prior year’s performance.Review reports from the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultants on practices and trends in the industry.Conduct [comprehensive, risk-based]comprehensive, risk-based review of the Company’s compensation policies and practices that is designed to ensure appropriate mitigation of undue risk.

Establish the structure and targets for the current year’s AIP to align with the financial and strategic priorities for the Company (for 2020, moved to Q2 due to the pandemic). 33
Establish the structure for the current year’s LTIP awards, including TSR or other performance objective. 

These decisions and payments were made before the full global extent of COVID-19 became apparent. The Compensation Committee will consider the business and financial impact to Ocwen, our shareholders and our employees, in evaluating 2020 performance in early 2021.

Roles of Executive Officers

 

The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)(“CEO”) is involved in the recommendation of certain compensation arrangements for approval by the Compensation Committee. The CEO, with the assistance of the Chief Administrative Officer, annually reviews the performance of the executive officers and is involved in formulating recommendations regarding equity compensation for the executive officers (other than himself, whose performance is reviewed and compensation determined by the Compensation Committee). The CEO presents his conclusions and recommendations regarding annual compensation and annual incentive opportunity amounts for the executive officers to the Compensation Committee for its consideration and approval. The Compensation Committee can exercise its discretion in accepting, rejecting and/or modifying any such executive compensation recommendations, subject in each case, to any applicable limits contained in any plan or agreements applicable to such awards. All compensation decisions with respect to the compensation of the CEO are made by the Compensation Committee, which consults with the other non-management directors and outside advisors to the extent it deems appropriate. The Chief Administrative Officer assists the CEO and the Compensation Committee by providing them with market data and other reference materials.

 

Role of Independent Compensation Consultant

 

The primary role of the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultant, (WillisWillis Towers Watson)Watson, is to assistprovide advice to the Compensation Committee in connection with overseeing the development and approval of our compensation policies and programs. Except as otherwise noted in this Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the Compensation Committee’s compensation determinationsdecisions are the result of the Compensation Committee’s business judgment with respect to compensation matters. The Compensation Committee’s judgment ismatters, informed by the experiences of theits members of the Compensation Committee and analysis and input from the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultants, among other factors. The Compensation Committee has assessed the independence of Willis Towers Watson and has concluded that its engagement does not raise any conflict of interest with the Company or any of its directors or executive officers. During 2019, Willis Towers Watson performed a number of services for the Compensation Committee in fiscal year 2020, including but not limited to reviewing and providing guidance on:

 

 the design of the 2019annual AIP and LTI awardsLTIP awards;
 market competitiveness of the 2019 compensation of our NEOsNEOs;
 the Company’s peer group for purposes of informing compensation decisionsdecisions;
 the reports of proxy advisory firms, ISS and Glass-Lewis,Glass Lewis, relating to the 2019 Proxy StatementStatement;
 market competitiveness of the compensation of our independent directorsdirectors; and
 emerging best practices for executive and independent director compensationcompensation.

 

Shareholder Engagement and Consideration of Shareholder Advisors’ Input

 

Prior to last year, shareholder feedback in the form of shareholder advisory votes on Ocwen’s executive compensation has been very positive. At each of our Annual Meetings of Shareholders from 2014 through 2018, we received at least 85% of votes cast on our Say-on-Pay proposal in favor of our executive compensation. That changed last year when we received 66% support on the votes casted on our Say-on-Pay proposal. Based on outreach efforts to both institutional and active investors, we believe that a significant driver of this was the “AGAINST” recommendation provided by ISS’s proxy advisory group. We understand that factors guiding their recommendation included their views that annual incentive awards were tied to a large number of metrics, several of which they considered to be subjective, and that our CEO’s new hire equity grants were large and not performance-restricted.

34

The Compensation Committee considered ISS’s input, as well as the input we gathered from reaching out or meeting directly with active investors. Through these outreach efforts we reached a group who held approximately 58% of our outstanding shares. During the shareholder engagement process, we shared with investors the changes we had made in our programs including the reduction of compensation levels and the introduction of a long-term incentive plan. As a result of the engagement process, we concluded that Ocwen’s current focus on rewarding the management team for cost reduction, maximizing the synergies of the PHH acquisition, settling legacy issues with regulators and focusing on the quickest return to profitability, as well as linking management’s compensation to absolute total shareholder return, aligns with the priorities of our shareholders.

The Compensation Committee and our Board of Directors intend to continue to considervalue shareholder feedback as well asand actively engage with our largest shareholders through outreach and direct meetings with active investors. The Committee also considers recommended best practices put forth by shareholder proxy advisory firms such as ISS to the extent these institution’sinstitutions’ recommendations are aligned with the interests of our shareholders. Shareholder input has helped shape our approach towards LTIP awards and related performance metrics, and strengthened how we implement our pay-for-performance philosophy. We aspire for continued strong support for our executive pay decisions; last year, 90% of shareholder advisory votes were cast in favor of our Say-on-Pay proposal. We also intend to continue to hold an advisory Say-on-Pay vote at each annual meeting of shareholders.

Key Governance Considerations in How We Design and Implement Our Compensation Programs

WHAT WE DO WHAT WE DON’T DO

Pay for performance

Most of our NEOs’ pay is at-risk and not guaranteed. We set clear and transparent financial and strategic goals within our short- and long-term incentive awards which include performance-based vesting conditions.

Discourage excessive risk taking

We operate within our risk management framework and include a balanced program design, multiple performance measures, claw-back and retention requirements. We also conduct an annual risk assessment of our NEO compensation plans to ensure they do not promote undue or excessive risk-taking.

Retain an independent compensation consultant

The Compensation Committee has retained the services of Willis Towers Watson as an independent consultant that reports directly to the Chair of the Compensation Committee.

Caps on annual incentives and long-term awards

Our practice under the AIP provides for a maximum payout opportunity at 150% of the target incentive and our current equity incentive plan limits the number of shares that may be awarded to any individual to 266,666 shares during any 12 -month period.

 

No fixed term of employment agreements

We do not have employment agreements that provide for a fixed term of employment with any of our executive officers. Employment is at-will and provisions for separation and treatment of compensation is contained in applicable award documents or offer letters.

Discourage excessive risk taking

We operate within our risk management framework and include a balanced program design, multiple performance measures, claw-back and retention requirements. We also conduct an annual risk assessment of our NEO compensation plans to ensure they do not promote undue or excessive risk-taking.

No tax gross-ups

It is our policy to not provide tax gross-ups (other than for taxable relocation expenses for moves necessitated by our business), including tax gross-ups related to excess parachute payments as defined under section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code.

Retain an independent compensation consultant

The Compensation Committee has retained the services of Willis Towers Watson as an independent consultant that reports directly to the Chair of the Compensation Committee.

No option back-dating, re-pricing or reloading

We do not permit back-dating, re-pricing of stock options, or reloading of stock options. No stock options are granted with exercise prices that are below the closing price of Ocwen stock on the date of grant.

Caps on annual incentives and long-term awards

Our practice under the AIP provides for a maximum payout opportunity at 150% of the target incentive and our current equity incentive plan limits the number of shares that may be awarded to any individual to 4,000,000 shares during any 12 -month period.

No hedging or pledging

We prohibit directors and all employees, including executive officers, from pledging shares of our stock as collateral for loans or for other reasons and from engaging in any activity that hedges the economic risk of an investment in our stock.

No “single-trigger” LTILTIP awards

With the exception of the sign-onOur LTIP for our CFO, 2019 LTI awards do not automatically vest upon the occurrence of a change in control. Rather, these LTI awards include double-trigger provisions such that following a change in control a NEO will only receive accelerated payouts if terminated without cause or upon voluntary resignation for good reason, following a change in control.reason.

35

 

Base Salaries and Annual Incentive Targets for our NEOs.

 

Base salaries and annual incentive targets are intended to provide a target level of cash compensation that is competitive and appropriate in relation tofor the responsibilities of the executive’s position. The Compensation Committee determines each executive’s compensation levels based on its assessment of the nature and scope of each executive officer’s responsibilities, experience and performance, and an assessment of compensation levels necessary to maintain and attract quality personnel as informed by peer group and general industry survey data. As of December 31, 2020, the variable (AIP) proportion of total target cash compensation is 60% for the CEO and between 46% and 50% for other NEOs.

During 2019,2020, the Compensation Committee provided an increase onlyadjusted compensation targets for Mr. Messina and Mr. Zeleny. Effective October 1, 2020, Mr. Messina’s AIP target was restored to Ms. Campbell. Base salaries providedthe $1,350,000 target level from his October 4, 2018 hire, following successfully restoring Ocwen to our executives represent relative market competitive positioning, experience, performanceprofitability, as measured by pre-tax income before notable items, in the third quarter. This follows his voluntarily reducing his target by $225,000 to $1,125,000 in February 2019 in support of the Company’s cost re-engineering efforts. Effective September 15, 2020, Mr. Zeleny’s salary was increased $25,000 and contributionshis annual AIP target was increased $82,500 to our success.compensate him for the expansion of responsibilities to include oversight of the Information Technology, Project Management and Offshore Operations functions.

The table below reflects each NEO’s 2020 base salary and AIP target and a comparison against 2019 compensation levels.

 

 Annualized Salary  Annual Salary  Annual AIP Target(1)  Annual Total Target Cash Compensation 
Name 

As of 12/31/2018 or 2019 Date of Hire

($)

 

As of 12/31/2019

or Separation

($)

 

Change to

Annualized Salary

(%)

  As of 12/31/2019
($)
  As of 12/31/2020
($)
  Percent Change to Salary  

As of 12/31/2019

($ and % of Salary)

 

As of 12/31/2020

($ and % of Salary)

  Percent Change to AIP Target  As of 12/31/2019
($)
  As of 12/31/2020
($)
  Percent Change to Total Target Cash 
Glen A. Messina  900,000   900,000   0%  900,000   900,000   %  1,125,000   125%  1,350,000   150%  20%  2,025,000   2,250,000   11%
June C. Campbell(1)  425,000   475,000   12%
Timothy J. Yanoti  450,000   450,000   0%
Scott W. Anderson  500,000   500,000   0%  500,000   500,000   %  450,000   90%  450,000   90%  %  950,000   950,000   %
John V. Britti  450,000   450,000   %  405,000   90%  405,000   90%  %  855,000   855,000   %
June C. Campbell  475,000   475,000   %  475,000   100%  475,000   100%    950,000   950,000   %
Dennis Zeleny(2)  425,000   425,000   0%  425,000   450,000   6%  300,000   71%  382,500   90%  28%  725,000   832,500   15%
Catherine M. Dondzila(3)  433,100   433,100   0%

(1)Ms. Campbell assumed the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer on March 4, 2019 and received a $50,000 increase in her base salary effective August 1, 2019 to compensate herFinal AIP targets are pro-rated for the expansion of her responsibilities to include oversight of the Capital Markets and Investor Relations functions.
(2)Mr. Zeleny assumed the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer on July 31, 2019.
(3)Ms. Dondzila resigned as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer on May 31, 2019.mid-year compensation changes.

 

2020 Annual Incentive Compensation for our NEOsPlan (AIP)

Ocwen’s annual incentive compensation opportunity for eligible employees, including our executive officers, is provided under the 1998 Annual Incentive Plan, (AIP), as amended, which has been approved by our shareholders. Awards under the plan are paid in cash or, in the Compensation Committee’s discretion, all or a portion of the total award value may be paid in the form of equity awards of our stock. Awards under the plan for 2019 were in the form of cash. The plan provides the Compensation Committee with the authority to establish incentive award guidelines which are further discussed below. If equity awards are granted as payment of an award under the 1998 Annual Incentive Plan, they will be granted pursuant to the 2017 Performance Incentive Plan discussed below. Other equity awards may also be made under the 2017 Performance Incentive Plan as discussed below.

Each executive officer has a target annual incentive award that is expressed as a percentage of base salary. The target annual incentive award for each executive officer was determined by the Compensation Committee based on its assessment of the nature and scope of each executive officer’s responsibilities and an assessment of compensation levels necessary to maintain and attract quality personnel as informed by market benchmarking.

As noted earlier in the Compensation Highlights section, the implementation of an annual LTIP is a continuation of our compensation strategy, which is to ensure that our executives’ overall pay mix accounts for both short-term and long-term objectives and will result in reduced target short-term compensation delivered through our Annual Incentive Plan. 2019 AIP targets were reduced from 2018 levels for many senior leaders, including Mr. Anderson. Mr. Messina’s 2019 AIP target was voluntarily reduced as part of cost savings initiatives. Ms. Campbell and Messrs. Yanoti and Zeleny were not eligible for the 2018 AIP.

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The table below reflects each presently-serving NEO’s 2019 AIP targets expressed as a percentage of his or her base salary and a comparison against 2018 AIP targets, if applicable. Under Ms. Dondzila’s separation agreement with the Company, she was not eligible for payouts under the 2019 Annual Incentive Plan and as such she is excluded from the below chart and subsequent narrative on 2019 AIP.

  Annualized AIP Target(1) 
Name 

As of 12/31/2018 or 2019 Date of Hire

($)

  % of Annualized Salary  

As of 12/31/2019 or Separation

($)

  % of Annualized Salary  

Percent Change to AIP Target

($)

 
Glen A. Messina(2)  1,350,000   150%  1,125,000   125%  -17%
June C. Campbell(3)  425,000   100%  475,000   100%  12%
Timothy J. Yanoti(4)  500,000   111%  500,000   111%  0%
Scott W. Anderson(5)  500,000   100%  450,000   90%  -10%
Dennis Zeleny  300,000   71%  300,000   71%  0%

(1)Annualized AIP targets are pro-rated for in-year hire dates as well as in-year salary changes.
(2)Effective January 1, 2019, Mr. Messina’s Annualized Incentive Target was voluntarily reduced to $1,125,000.
(3)Effective August 1, 2019 Ms. Campbell received a $50,000 increase in her AIP target effective to compensate her for the expansion of her responsibilities to include oversight of both the Capital Markets and Investor Relations functions.
(4)Mr. Yanoti was not eligible for a 2018 AIP due to the date of his hire.
(5)Effective January 1, 2019, Mr. Anderson's AIP target was reduced from $500,000 to $450,000 as part of the introduction of the annual LTI awards and pay mix rebalancing.

Detail on the 2019 Annual Incentive Plan (AIP)

The Compensation Committee structured the 2019 AIP award opportunity to help motivatemotivates executives to deliver against the five key initiatives listed below that itthe Compensation Committee, working with the CEO, management and the Compensation Committee’s independent advisor, believes will enhance Company performance and create a path for long-term shareholder value.

 

Execute the integration of PHH into Ocwen
Re-engineer our cost structure
Establish funding for growth
Replenish portfolio runoff and restore growth focus
Fulfill regulatory commitments and resolve remaining legacy matters.

In doing so, the Compensation Committee, working with the President and CEO, his management team and the Compensation Committee’s independent advisor, prioritized a series of 10 measurable objectives which formed the performance metrics of the Corporate Scorecard.

Award Determination2020 AIP award opportunities for each NEO under the 2019 AIP

For each executive other than the CEO, the 2019 AIP award opportunity waswere based on a combination of three components.

(i)The Company’s performance in meeting the objectives established in the corporate scorecard (theCorporate Scorecard);
(ii)Meeting performance objectives of the executive officer’s business unit or support unit scorecard (theBusiness Unit Scorecard).
(iii)AnIndividual Performancecomponent which is based on an assessment of their individual performance against a number of key objectives unique to them, including achievement against key projects and their demonstrated leadership in promulgating a high-performing culture focused on teamwork, managing risk, and maintaining compliance.

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Theorganization and individual performance. First, performance achievement level inagainst the first two components createsCorporate Scorecard objectives establishes the baseline funding level for the executive’s 2019 AIP award. Specifically, forentire plan. From there, Organizational Performance Funding is allocated to each Business Unit and its managing NEO based on an assessment of the CEO, 100%Business Unit’s achievement of funding comes fromits key priorities and the corresponding contributions to overall Corporate Scorecard results. Finally, each NEO’s award is adjusted based on an assessment of his or her individual performance against a number of key objectives unique to him or her, including demonstrated leadership in creating and for the other NEOs, 80% of the funding comes from the Corporate Scorecard and 20% from the Business Unit Scorecard.

The baseline fundingsustaining a high-performing culture. Additional detail on each is then subject to an Individual Performance Multiplier recognizing the third component above.outlined below.

 

Corporate Scorecard Component

 

The Corporate Scorecard, which drives the overall funding for the AIP, is approved annually by the Compensation Committee. The Committee then delegates to the CEO the development of the Business Unit Scorecards. The 2019 Corporate Scorecard contained both specific financial goals and other non-financial goals that are aligned to key business initiatives, including risk management. In determining whether to approve the Corporate Scorecard each year, the Compensation Committee considers a number of factors, including whether the goals are consistent with and likely to enhance corporate performance and long-term shareholder value and discourage executives from pursuing short-term goals that may not be consistent with achieving such long-term success, as well as the level of difficulty associated with attainment of each goal in the scorecard. The intent2020 Corporate Scorecard objectives, shown below with final performance results, were directly aligned to our six key business priorities, as follows:

1.Returning to and sustaining profitability,
2.Growth,
3.Continuous cost improvement,
4.Diversifying sources of capital and optimizing the balance sheet,
5.Employee engagement and diversity and inclusion, and
6.Customer satisfaction.

Financial performance, or pre-tax income before notable items, had 50% of the overall scorecard weight as our goal of returning to and sustaining profitability was paramount. Our other priorities were necessary to continue strengthening and transforming our business, and our focus on customers and employees is key to our long-term success and are foundational components of our mission, values and operating principles.

The Compensation Committee is to establishestablishes the “target” performance of each goal at a level that isit intends to be challenging to achieve, a “threshold” level for each goal that must be met in order for any portion of the incentive to be paid with respect to that goal, and a maximuman outstanding or “outstanding”“maximum” level for each goal that would result in payment of the maximum bonus opportunity with respect to that goal. The chart below depicts the level of achievement for a given objective on the scorecard and the corresponding incentive leverage that is applied to the target funding for the given objective.

 

Level of Achievement % of Target Opportunity 
Outstanding (Maximum)Maximum  150%
Target  100%
Threshold  50%
Below Threshold  0%

 

The Committee measured the level of performance achievement against scorecard objectives using both quantitative and qualitative assessments, as appropriate. Quantitative assessments were used when the objective measure was numeric in nature, such as meeting the budget. For thethese assessments, the level of achievement was determined using straight-line interpolation between the “threshold”, “target” and “maximum” anchor posts, as applicable. Other objectives required a more nuancedcombination of numeric and qualitative assessment,assessments, even for objectives containing deadlines and metrics which defined achievement, such as riskdiversity and complianceinclusion objectives. Achievement against these qualitative objectives were scored either “Pass” or “Fail” and yielded funding of 100% or 0%, respectively.

 

Prior to the Committee’s assessment of the level of performance achieved against scorecard objectives, the information on which the Committee based its assessment was first reviewed and verified by the Company’s Internal Audit, Finance and Risk Management functions.

 

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Based on the Company’s actualfinal performance and the relative weightings assigned to each of the 10 objectives,objective, the overall Corporate Scorecard 2019 AIP funding was 113.5%141.1%. Our Corporate Scorecard for 2019 and corresponding achievement levels are detailed below:

Corporate Objective Objective Weight  Threshold  Target  Maximum  Performance Outcome  Performance Achievement  Weighted Performance Achievement 
Financial Objectives(1)

1a. Return to Profitability by Q3 2020

Q3 Pre-tax income before notable items ($M)

  25% $1.0  $3.0  $5.0  $13.5   150%  37.50%

1b. Sustained Profitability in Q4

Q4 Pre-tax income before notable items ($M)

  15% $3.0  $5.0  $7.0  $15.2   150%  22.50%

1c. Full-Year Profitability

Full-year pre-tax income before notable items ($M)

  10% $22.0  $24.0  $26.0  $48.7   150%  15.00%
Key Business Priorities

2. Growth and Revenue Diversification

Owned MSR and sub-serviced unpaid principal balance (UPB, $B)(2)

  6% $30.8  $34.2  $37.6  $57.1   150%  9.00%

3. Continuous Cost Improvement

Quarterly operational expense run-rate as of 12/31/2020 ($M)

  6% $126.0  $120.0  $114.0  $113.0   150%  9.00%

4a. Diversify Capital Sources

Net new committed equity capital by year-end at levels approved by Board ($M)(4)

  6% $100.0  $125.0  $150.0  $250.0   150%  9.00%

4b. Balance Sheet Optimization

Improve asset utilization, maintain minimum liquidity threshold and generate surplus cash for investment ($M)(5)

  7% $135.0  $175.0  $215.0   258   150%  10.50%
Customers & Employees

5a. Employee Engagement Results

Assess the engagement of our work force and progress made from Q2 pulse survey to Q4 comprehensive engagement survey

  6.25%  -20%  +/-10%  20%  18.4%  142%  8.87%

5b. Diversity & Inclusion

Execute against the ambitious initiatives and short-term actions contained in the Diversity & Inclusion Road Map

  6.25%  80%  90%  100%  95%  100%  6.25%

6a. Customer Satisfaction – Servicing

Net Promoter Score (NPS) % point improvement Q4 2020 vs. Q4 2019

  6.25%  8   14   20   32.4   150%  9.38%

6b-i. Customer Satisfaction - Originations - Direct Lending

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

  3.13%  25   30   35   -11.8   %  %

6b-ii. Customer Satisfaction - Originations - Reverse Mortgage

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

  3.13%  70   75   80   78.1   131%  4.09%
TOTAL  100%                      141.1%

 

Corporate ObjectiveObjective WeightThresholdTargetMaximumPerformance OutcomePerformance AchievementWeighted Performance Achievement 
Financial Objectives 
Full-year pre-tax income before notable items(1)50% (both objectives must meet threshold achievement)-$117M-$96M-$72M-$64M150%62.2% 
Fourth-quarter pre-tax income before notable items(1)-$9M$1M$25M$12M124.5% 
Key Strategic Priorities 
Execute the integration - complete integration, loan boarding and legal entity merger actions and milestones per finalized integration plans as of March 15, 20195%Up to 30 days behind schedule overallAchieve integration plan milestonesAt least 30 days ahead of schedule overallAchieved integration plan milestones100%5% 
Achieve 2019 Board approved business plan volume objectives (amount and timing) - $ billions unpaid principal balance (UPB) replenishment funded by quarter and in the calendar year within targeted risk/return thresholds5%$23B$27B$43B$17B0%0% 
Cost re-engineering annualized cost reduction achievement by year-end(2)5%$300M$327M$345M$347150%7.5% 
Establish funding for growth - achieve financing plan objectives of $100M senior secured term loan upsizing, 60% financing for purchased mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), and 60% secured funding against existing agency and Ginnie Mae MSRs on market rates and terms; all facilities renewed on time at market rates and terms5%Pass / FailPass100%5% 
Timely and complete fulfillment of regulatory commitment deliverables5%Pass / FailPass100%5% 
Risk and Compliance 
Promote Risk and Compliance culture within Board Risk Appetite thresholds25% (objectives evaluated in the aggregate)Pass / FailPass115%28.75% 
Timely resolution of open issue remediation items (% resolved by policy remediation date)80%90%100%93% 
No significant current audit, exam or SOX mattersPass / FailPass 
TOTAL100% 113.5% 

(1)
(1)Pre-tax income before notable items for purposes of the Corporate Scorecard excludes income statement notables and amortization of New Residential Investment Corp. (“NRZ”) lump-sum payments and refers to our pre-tax income/(loss) after excluding the positive impact of the amortization of NRZ lump-sum payments and after adjusting GAAP pre-tax income/(loss) for the following factors: (1) Expense Notables (excluding MSR Valuation Adjustments, net), (2) changes in fair value of our Agency and Non Agency MSRs due to changes in interest rates, valuation inputs and other assumptions, net of hedge positions, (3) offsets to changes in fair value of our MSRs in our NRZ financing liability due to changes in interest rates, valuation inputs and other assumptions, (4) changes in fair value of our reverse originations portfolio due to changes in interest rates, valuation inputs and other assumptions and (5) certain other non-routine transactions, including but not limited to pension benefit cost adjustments and opportunistic gains related to exercising servicer call rights on second lien portfolio subsequently sold and fair value assumption changes on other investments (Other) consistent with the intent of providing management and investors with a supplemental means of evaluating our net income/(loss). Collectively, we refer to these adjustments as “income statement notables.” “Expense Notables” includes (1) expenses related to severance, retention and other actions associated with continuous cost and productivity improvement efforts, (2) significant legal and regulatory settlement expense items, (3) NRZ consent process expenses related to the transfer of legal title in MSRs to NRZ, (4) PHH acquisition and integration planning expenses, and (5) certain other significant activities including, but not limited to, insurance related expense and settlement recoveries, compensation or incentive compensation expense reversals and non-routine transactions (Other) consistent with the intent of providing management and investors with a supplemental means of evaluating our expenses.
(2)Growth and revenue diversification measurement for purposes of the Corporate Scorecard is specific to MSR originations and purchases and subservicing portfolio volume growth in 2020 achieved through new and diversified origination channels.
(3)Continuous cost improvement measurement for purposes of the Corporate Scorecard is based on a 4Q’20 run rate compared to a 4Q’19 baseline and was adjusted for expense notable items, as defined above and further adjusted to normalize for expenses associated with performance measurement.
(4)Capital source diversification measurement for purposes of the Corporate Scorecard is specific to investment in or from external parties to Ocwen Financial from the strategic review process.
(5)Balance sheet optimization measurement for purposes of the Corporate Scorecard is specific to increased asset turn times and execution of opportunities to the fullest extent possible in order to increase liquidity levels and liquidity duration.

Diversity & Inclusion Road Map (see 5b above)

Diversity, inclusiveness and respect are integral parts of our culture and work environment, and we are committed to being a globally diverse and inclusive workplace where every voice is heard. Our Diversity & Inclusion (“D&I”) Road Map is built around the four pillars of our diversity program, with numerous initiatives and short-term actions to support each one. Our 2020 goals and key results are summarized below:

PillarRoad Map GoalsKey Results
Leadership

Strengthen the understanding and commitment of D&I throughout all levels of the organization.

Ensure all leaders fully understand the benefit of D&I and can demonstrate inclusive work strategies.

Diversity was incorporated into AIP, individual performance goals, mandatory training for the entire workforce, and cultural celebrations.
Workforce

Increase our ability to attract and hire diverse talent and improve our Diversity and Inclusion brand.

Increase diversity in leadership levels.

Drive engagement, development, and retention of top talent employees.

Access to leadership increased through mentoring programs and CEO roundtables, diverse recruitment was supported through a partnership with the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America, and internal training, and Ocwen Global Women’s Network events facilitated career development of women globally.

Additionally, there was significant improvement in women’s leadership metrics (hiring, promotions, representation and attrition).

Community Engagement

Continue efforts to support external community engagement partnerships.

Create a corporate structure for social responsibility and employee outreach.

Borrower outreach events increased 67% from 2019, and new corporate social responsibility efforts supported local communities with donations.
Vendor DiversityStrengthen partnerships with diverse supplier groups and expand supplier diversity efforts year over year.Minority- and/or women-owned vendors comprise 6.5% of spend and 10.5% of Tier 1/2 vendors, including two new vendors specializing in diversity hiring in APAC.

Organizational Performance Funding Allocation by Business Unit

Upon approval of the Corporate Scorecard excludes income statement notables and amortization of New Residential Investment Corp. (NRZ) lump-sum payments and refersresults, funding is allocated to our pre-tax income/(loss) after excludingeach Business Unit based on the positive impactCompensation Committee’s assessment of the amortization of NRZ lump-sum payments and after adjusting GAAP pre-tax income/(loss) forBusiness Unit’s contributions to scorecard achievement, which is informed by the following factors (1) Expense Notables (excluding MSR Valuation Adjustments, net), (2) changes in fair value of our Non-Agency MSRs due to changes in interest rates, valuation inputs and other assumptions, (3) changes in fair value of our Agency MSRs due to changes in interest rates, valuation inputs and other assumptions, net of hedge position, (4) offsets to changes in fair value of our MSRs in our NRZ financing liability due to changes in interest rates, valuation inputs and other assumptions, (5) changes in fair value of our reverse lending portfolio due to changes in interest rates, valuation inputs and other assumptions (6) gains related to exercising servicer call rights, and (7) certain other costs, including pension benefits (collectively, Other) consistent with the intent of providing management and investors with a supplemental means of evaluating our pre-tax income/(loss). Collectively, we refer to these adjustments as “income statement notables.” “Expense Notables” includes (1) expense related to severance, retention and other cost re-engineering actions, (2) certain significant legal and regulatory settlement expense items, (3) CFPB, Florida Attorney General/Florida Office of Financial Regulations and Massachusetts Attorney General litigation related legal expenses, state regulatory action related legal expenses and state regulatory action settlement related escrow analysis costs (collectively, CFPB and state regulatory defense and escrow analysis expenses), (4) NRZ consent process expenses related to the transfer of legal title in MSRs to NRZ, (5) PHH Corporation acquisition and integration planning expenses, (6) expense recoveries related to insurance recoveries of legal expenses, mortgage insurance claim settlement recoveries and amounts previously expensed from a service provider and (7) certain other costs including compensation expense reversals relating to departing executives and reversals of management incentive compensation payouts and reversals of reserves related to a legacy MSR sale (collectively, Other) consistent with the intent of providing management and investors with a supplemental means of evaluating our expenses.

(2) Cost re-engineering annualized cost reduction achievement by year-end for purposes of the Corporate ScorecardCEO’s recommendation. The assessment is compared to a 2Q’18 baseline and was adjusted for notable items, as defined above, and further adjusted to account for changes in certain beneficial GAAP accrual impacts that did not warrant inclusion for purposes of cost re-engineering performance measurement. See also Ocwen’s February 26, 2020 earnings call webcast and the accompanying presentation materials, which are available in the Shareholder Relations section of Ocwen’s website (www.ocwen.com).

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Business Unit Scorecard Component

In developingbased on the Business Unit Scorecard goals in the NEO scorecards, we incorporated a varietyUnit’s achievement of quantitative and qualitative measures to incentivize performance that we believe will help perpetuate the long-term success of the Company and discourage executives from pursuing short-term goals that may not be consistent with achieving such long-term success. The level of performance achievement against Business Unit Scorecard objectives was determined in the same manner described in the Corporate Scorecard section above.

Each NEO’s Business Unit Scorecard contained components and weighting consistent with the Company’s Corporate Scorecard, including:

Financial Objectives (50% weight) contained the same full-year and fourth-quarter pre-tax income objectives for each executive officer’s respective area of responsibility;

Key Strategic Priorities (25% weight) measured critical functional objectives, including meeting PHH integration objectives and timelines, and goals around cost re-engineering, which linked back to the work that each NEO needed to accomplish in their respective area to help the Company achieve the 10 objectives contained in the Corporate Scorecard; and

Risk and Compliance (25% weight) contained the same objectives as the Corporate scorecard, measuring results for each executive officer’s respective area of responsibility.

Each NEO had a unique set of Key Strategic Priorities which correlated directlyfinancial and operating objectives required to line-of-sight objectives supportingsupport the six key priorities reflected in the Corporate objectives listed aboveScorecard.

Each NEO worked with the CEO to develop their unique set of key priorities in their respective area of responsibility, which included specific cost or profitability targets, and were weighted depending upon their relative importance withinto overall organization success. These priorities are outlined in the category. Each executives Key Strategic Priorities included the following:Performance Assessments section below.

Ms. Campbell’s Business Unit Scorecard was based on her oversight of the Finance, Capital Markets and Treasury departments, which included objectives on financial reporting and forecasting, and cultural transformation.
Mr. Yanoti’s Business Unit Scorecard was based on his oversight of the Originations organization, which included objectives on unpaid principal balance (UPB) replenishment and customer satisfaction scores.
Mr. Anderson’s Business Unit Scorecard was based on his oversight of the Servicing organization, which included objectives on on-boarding of loans, reduction of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaints, and customer satisfaction scores.
Mr. Zeleny’s Business Unit Scorecard was based on his oversight of the Human Resources, Communications and Facilities organizations, which included objectives on executing the human capital aspects associated with the PHH integration, including managing the reduction of the workforce and other strategic initiatives.

 

Individual Performance ComponentMultiplier

 

The Compensation Committee is accountable for both reviewing and approving the full-year performance evaluations and recommended performance appraisal ratings for each member of the Executive Leadership Team,executive leadership team, including the President and CEO. The Compensation Committee considers recommendations from the CEO in determining performance appraisal ratings of the other NEOs. The CEO’s performance appraisal rating is determined by the Compensation Committee in consultation with the other non-managementindependent directors.

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The documentation provided to the Compensation Committee includes the executives’ self-assessments capturing their views on their performance against each of the objectives they and the CEO agreed to at the start of the year, as well as those that may have been introduced as a result of emerging priorities during the year. The objectives for all employees, including NEOs, fell into three weighted categoriescategories:

 

 Key Business Unit and Functional Priorities (55%(50% weight) reflected individual goals required to meet the objectives contained in the Corporate and Business Unit Scorecards;
Leadership Expectations and Behaviors (25% weight, described below); and
 Risk and Compliance (20%(25% weight) assessed executive performance in promoting a culture of appropriate risk and compliance through training and policy review and adherence, remediating of any identified issues, and lack of any material findings relating to audit, SOXprotocols under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or examination matters.matters; and
Leadership Expectations and Behaviors (25% weight, described below).

 

Leadership expectations and behaviors for our executive team require them to:

 

 Behave as a leadership role model and lead by example, demonstrate integrity, create a culture in which we keep our promises, treatstreat all with respect and dignity, and build trust within and outside the organization.
 Build strong working relationships in which they solicit, consider and appropriately incorporate perspectives from others.
 Drive and deliver exceptional results by proactively anticipating situations that require a plan of action, identifying critical issues and assuming personal ownership for driving their resolution.
 Lead efforts on diversity and inclusion by creating, promoting and sustaining an inclusive work environment in which diversity, inclusiveness and respect are integral parts of our culture and work environment.
 Build and motivate a high performing team by identifying and securing top talent to increase performance while also actively holding people accountable for results and behaviors.
 Lead change by providing a visible anchor for others and helping resolve breakdowns in times of transition and uncertainty, and by convincing others of the need for change to support critical organizational objectives.

 

The Compensation Committee then evaluates the proposed results and performance appraisal recommendations and determines the final incentive compensation awards for each executive. Each executive receives an individual Performance Appraisal rating against a 4-point scale with an “individual performance multiplier” that is applied to their funded Annual Incentive, as described above.

The value for the multiplier is determined by the Compensation Committee using a value from the range shown in the chart below.

 

Individual Performance Rating Individual Performance Multiplier 
Exceeds Expectations  105-125%105-150%
Fully Meets Expectations  95-105%95-105%
Sometimes Meets Expectations  70-95%70-95%
Does Not Meet Expectations  0%

 

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Performance Assessments and Calculation of Total 2020 AIP Awards and Additional Cash Bonuses

Performance Rating for Each NEO

Outlined below are the payout results for each NEO, expressed as a percentage of target annual incentive, calculated by multiplying the Organizational Performance Funding determined by the Corporate Scorecard achievement and Business Unit allocation by the Individual Performance Multiplier, equaling the total payout.

 

After careful consideration, the Compensation Committee - and the full Board, in the case of the CEO - determined that each of the NEOs’ performance, as described below, warranted an Exceeds Expectations performance rating in 2019.2020, and assigned Individual Performance Multipliers reflective of Risk and Compliance objectives and Leadership Expectations and Behaviors that further differentiated their performance, as described below.

 

The AIP limits payouts to 150% of individual targets. The Compensation Committee elected to reward certain executives for exceptional performance by providing an additional lump-sum bonus of up to 50% of his or her individual target.

NameSynopsis of PerformanceIndividual Performance Multiplier
Glen A. MessinaQuickly assessed leadership, retaining key individuals and recruited strong external complement necessary to execute against the complex turn-around and integration required in 2019.125%
Formulated and achieved an ambitious strategic and annual Business Plan which clearly identified the nature and magnitude of both the opportunities and challenges facing the business and established concrete and measurable actions to address them including establishing a new originations business.
Put in place a disciplined operating system (people, process, technology) to effectively manage achievement of business plan objectives and mitigate risk.
Put in place performance and incentive programs that reinforced driving results that right way including transformation needed around collaboration, transparency, self-identification of risks and issues, timely remediation with appropriate and scalable solutions.
Re-established proactive and effective relationships with key external constituents: shareholders, lenders, rating agencies, regulators, and consumer advocacy groups to provide updates on key initiatives and promote a positive image of the company.
Improved leadership diversity at VP and above levels in the US, increasing representation of women from 27% to 32% and minorities from 17% to 20%. Outside the US where diversity is measured by gender, the representation of women in Senior Manager roles increased from 13% to 17%.
June C. CampbellTook on a highly challenging leadership role and reorganized the function to upgrade talent and capability, process and systems and exit underperformers.115%
Under her direction, actions were sequenced to provide pay-down capacity while maintaining investment capability and all working capital facilities were renewed on or prior to termination dates, achieving significant savings on multiple renewals.
Eliminated duplicate systems and migrated to a single platform with no restatements or SOX control deficiencies, built a client and investor level financial analysis and new cost per loan model for Servicing and defined requirements and re-defined channel-specific financial views for Lending.
Timothy J. YanotiStabilized the Lending organization and oversaw the significant integration objective by developing a strategy and business plan for Lending, quickly communicating his clear vision, recruiting a strong leadership team, turning around the culture, exiting subpar performers and removing $40 million of cost from the business.110%
Started up the Correspondent channel and overall lending was profitable by the fourth quarter, positioning the Company for a target of over $10 billion in lending volume in 2020 compared to $1.4 billion in 2018.
Met or exceeded all of Lending’s financial objectives, exceeding the Lending Pre-Tax Income and volume targets.
Integrated two fundamentally different lending platforms on different systems in different locations, while accommodating the closure of a key lending headquarters in the forward lending business.
Completed numerous state and federal audits throughout 2019 with no material findings.

Name Organizational Performance Funding  Individual Performance Multiplier  Final AIP Payout (% of Target)  Additional Bonus (% of Target)  Total Combined Payout (% of Target) 
Glen A. Messina  141.1%  141.8%  150%  50%  200.0%
Scott W. Anderson  135%  115%  150%  5.3%  155.3%
John V. Britti  155%  112%  150%  23.6%  173.6%
June C. Campbell  135%  110%  149%  %  148.5%
Dennis Zeleny  150%  133.3%  150%  50%  200.0%

 

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The following summarizes the performance of each executive and his or her respective Business Unit:

 

Scott W. AndersonPlanned for and executed the integration of the PHH-Ocwen operating platforms and the Black Knight Financial Services, Inc. LoanSphere MSP® servicing system onboarding while overseeing 23 functional area integration plans.120%
Surpassed Servicing’s 2019 annualized cost reduction goal by 20%.
Developed a dynamic cost of servicing model which enabled us to differentiate/understand servicing costs across three vectors, ultimately transforming the model from an analytic tool to a decision-making tool.
Delivered on all Servicing regulatory commitments.
Dennis ZelenyQuickly implemented a human capital agenda to support the merger and integration of people, processes and programs of Ocwen and PHH.115%
Led efforts to achieve Ocwen’s cost and synergy restructuring goals in the areas of site operations and personnel, which included the closing of eight facilities and the reduction of over 26% of the workforce from point of PHH’s acquisition.
Executed human capital plan including staffing efforts, extensive communication, and providing each outplaced employee with professional transition support.
Developed and deployed training to over 4,000 employees on the new mortgage servicing platform which was a critical requirement of the integration.
Demonstrated significant agility in responding to unplanned human capital business needs, including the design and launch of new corporate performance management process and long-term incentive program.

Calculation of Total 2019 AIP AwardsGlen Messina

 

Outlined below are the payout results (expressed as a percentage) for each component of the annual incentive opportunity: corporate component (based onAs CEO, Mr. Messina received Organizational Performance Funding equivalent to the Corporate Scorecard), business unit component (based onScorecard results, or 141.1%. His exceptional performance during the Business Unit Scorecard), individual component (individual performance multiplier based on performance appraisal)year, highlighted below, warranted maximum AIP payout and total payout as a percentagean additional bonus of target annual incentive for each NEO.50% of target.

 

  Payout for Annual Incentive Awards
  Organization Performance Individual Performance Final Award
Name Corporate Performance Component (80% weight) Business Unit Performance Component (20% weight) Total Baseline Funding (100%)  Individual Performance Multiplier Resulting Preliminary Award  Reduction to Remain within Corporate Budget(1) Final Annual Incentive Payout (as a % of Target Annual Incentive)
Glen A. Messina 113.5%(2)+n/a=113.5% x125%=141.9% x-4.14%=136.0%
June C. Campbell 113.5%+114.6%=113.7% x115%=130.8% x-4.14%=125.4%
Timothy J. Yanoti 113.5%+112.5%=113.3% x110%=124.6% x-4.14%=119.5%
Scott W. Anderson 113.5%+118.0%=114.4% x120%=137.3% x-4.14%=131.6%
Dennis Zeleny 113.5%+133.2%=117.4% x115%=135.1% x-4.14%=129.5%

 (1)A negative adjustment of 4.14% was appliedLed the team through the pandemic and made decisions necessary to exceed all AIP eligible employees, including our NEOs, in orderCorporate Scorecard plan and profitability objectives that were committed to remain within the budgetedshareholders, additionally achieving significant cost for the 2019 AIP program.savings and improved strategic options.
 (2)Mr. Messina’s Total Baseline Funding was weighted 100%Shifted the organization’s focus and priorities to maximize originations volume opportunity created by low interest rates caused by the pandemic. Focused servicing and enabling functions on Corporate Performance.right-sizing the servicing platform and aggressively reducing overhead costs in response to portfolio runoff.
Implemented a comprehensive strategic review process to explore all options and engaged in various negotiations with external parties to maximize value for shareholders.
Realigned the leadership team to create focus and bandwidth, and built a new Capital Markets function.
Maintained high levels of employee engagement and productivity in a difficult year of cost cutting, layoffs, operating changes and the strategic review, compounded by the move to a remote work environment and uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
Successfully attracted new investors as a result of an expanded shareholder relations effort, and actively engaged with the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Housing Policy Council on the evaluation and responses to key regulatory and investor proposals that may materially impact our industry.

Scott Anderson

Mr. Anderson’s key priorities for the Servicing organization included developing the Reverse Servicing business, maintaining first-line compliance performance, and improving customer satisfaction scores. Under his leadership, Servicing earned 135% Organizational Performance Funding and he was awarded the maximum payout under the AIP and an additional bonus of 5.3% of target, with key accomplishments described below.

Responded and adapted to extensive regulatory changes from federal, state and government agencies, including over 1,700 COVID-related compliance bulletins, more than a third of which required process, correspondence or technology changes, frequently with an effective date of “immediately.”
Maintained better-than-industry call center metrics (i.e. average speed to answer, abandonment rate) despite moving 98% of employees to remote work environment in less than two weeks when pandemic lock-downs were implemented.
Exceeded customer satisfaction expectations, even after factoring in responses on those related to COVID-impacted borrowers, with strong defect rates and all-time-low numbers of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaints.
Implemented process improvements to improve recovery timeline for modification-related advances and develop one-month forbearance plans, which contributed to exceeding balance sheet optimization targets.
Exceeded Direct Cost to Service target by 109 basis points in 2020 despite increased volumes and regulatory changes

 

John Britti

Mr. Britti’s key priorities for the Corporate Development organization included sourcing capital for sustainable growth and optimizing the availability and funding of corporate assets. He also supported growth objectives more generally by supporting development of originations channels and evaluating strategic transactions. Based on the achievements of the function and his individual performance, highlighted below, he received the maximum AIP payout and was awarded an additional bonus of 23.6% of target.

 43Led strategic review processes, resulting in expanding Ocwen’s sources of capital and securing funding for the planned MSR asset vehicle.
 Built originations channels in Freddie Mac Cash Window and Flow that significantly contributed to improving Ocwen’s profitability.
Secured additional advance financing to mitigate challenges from COVID-related uncertainties, and managed debt restructuring efforts that resulted in lower debt expense.
Led industry efforts to improve Housing Policy Council, Mortgage Bankers Association and Urban Institute responses to Conference of State Bank Supervisors and Federal Housing Finance Agency capital requirements that resulted in key changes to their positions.
Led various corporate efforts that led to improved profitability and liquidity as well as cost reductions.

 

2019June Campbell

Ms. Campbell’s key priorities for the Finance organization included financial reporting and forecasting, cash management and balance sheet optimization, and process design. Organizational Performance Funding allocated to Finance was 135% and she received an Individual Performance Multiplier of 110%, with key accomplishments described below.

Introduced new systems and processes to drive to best-in-class timing for financial updates to the investment community, which helped attract early investor attention and interest.
Redesigned shareholder relations programs, including hosting 40+ virtual investor meetings to improve Ocwen’s market visibility and credibility, which resulted in adding new analysts and institutional investors expanding their positions.
Developed data-driven analytics models supporting strategic decision making in Servicing and Originations.
Created a new Cash Management Program which delivered on-target, end-of-quarter cash balances and generated surplus cash for investment.

40

Dennis Zeleny

Mr. Zeleny’s key priorities as Chief Administrative Officer included executing a range of enabling functions associated with our growth and cost reduction initiatives, in addition to longer-range strategic imperatives associated with organization and human capital changes, engagement, and diversity and inclusion. The exceptional performance of the functions he led and his individual performance, highlighted below, warranted maximum AIP payout and an additional bonus of 50% of target.

Co-led rapid enterprise recovery efforts enabling a remote operating model, including down-stream implications for people, policies, and procedures.
Assumed responsibility for Information Technology, Project Management, Sourcing and Offshore Operations, and exceeded goals and stretch budget targets.
Enhanced communications by promoting our business turnaround to external stakeholders, the investment community, media and employees, helping enhance our reputation and shape our perception in the industry.
Led talent enhancement across all levels of the company, executed key organization changes and sponsored initiatives to foster a high-performing culture, achieving employee engagement survey results that significantly exceeded industry benchmarks and realizing significant strides in diversity representation, including improvements to hiring, promotion and attrition metrics relating to women in leadership positions, both in U.S. and APAC.

2020 Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) Awards

The annual grant of LTIP awards is designed to promote actions and decisions aligned with our strategic objectives and reward our executives and other program participants for long-term value creation for our shareholders in a manner that is consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy. The Compensation Committee periodically reviews the granting of equity awards to employees based on such factors as Company performance, market competitive conditions and advice from its independent compensation consultant.

 

Ocwen’s long-term incentive opportunity for eligible employees, including executive officers, through equity awards is provided under the 2017 Performance Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”). The 2017 Plan authorizes the grant of restricted stock, restricted stock units, options, stock appreciation rights or other equity-based awards, including cash-settled awards, to our employees (including executive officers), directors, advisors and consultants. To date, we have made grants under the 2017 Plan only to employees and directors. We implemented the 2017 Plan to motivate employees to make extraordinary efforts to achieve significant improvements to shareholder value, support retention of key employees and align the interests of our employees with the interests of our shareholders.

 

The Compensation Committee periodically reviews the granting of equity2020 LTIP awards to employees based on such factors as Company performance, market competitive conditions and advice on executive compensation from the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultant.

2019 Long-Term Incentive (LTI) Awards

The annual LTI is designed to promote actions and decisions aligned with our strategic objectives and reward our executives and other program participants for long-term value creation for our shareholders in a manner that is consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy. The implementation of the annual LTI program in 2019 is a continuation of our compensation strategy to ensure that our executives’ overall pay mix accounts for both short-term and long-term objectives and will result in reduced target short-term compensation delivered through our Annual Incentive Plan.

The program includesinclude both a time-vesting component for retention purposes and performance-based component to align with pay-for-performance objectives. Half of the target value is granted as restricted stock units (RSUs)(“RSUs”) vesting in equal thirds on the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant, and half is granted as performance-restricted stock units (PRSUs)(“PRSUs”) vesting aton the endthird anniversary of a measurement period from March 29, 2019 through March 29, 2021the grant based on cumulative Total Shareholder Return (TSR) during such period.(“TSR”) compared to our compensation peer group at the time of grant, described earlier.

The PRSUs use four distinct weighted performance periods to measure overall performance – three annual periods and one three-year period, as shown below. This structure assigns a weight more than three times greater to the three-year period while also providing incentive for year-over-year improvements compared to the peer group.

Period #  Measurement Period  % of Target PRSUs Assigned to Measurement Period 
1   March 30, 2020 – March 30, 2021   15%
2   March 30, 2021 – March 30, 2022   15%
3   March 30, 2022 – March 30, 2023   15%
4   March 30, 2020 – March 30, 2023   55%

If the Company achieves relative TSR at the (i) 25th percentile of its peer group for any measurement period (threshold level), 50% of the target PRSUs are eligible to vest, (ii) 50th percentile of its peer group for any measurement period (target level), 100% of the target PRSUs are eligible to vest, and (iii) 100th percentile, or ranked first overall, of its peer group for any measurement period (maximum level), 200% of the target PRSUs are eligible to vest. The number of target PRSUs that may vestbe eligible to become vested based on cumulativerelative TSR performance during theeach measurement period areis interpolated between threshold 50% of PRSUs at 27.3% TSR, target 100% of PRSUs at 59.1% TSR, and maximum 200% of PRSUs at 91.0% TSR.the applicable performance levels. No PRSUs will vestbe earned for a specific measurement period if TSR is below threshold. Units credited based on TSR for any performance period are subject to continued service through the third anniversary of the grant.

 

Messrs. Messina, Anderson, Yanoti and Zeleny and Ms. DondzilaOcwen’s TSR during the first measurement period was 87.6%, the 71st percentile of the peer group, which resulted in 141.1% of the target PRSUs assigned to the period becoming eligible to vest, subject to the award recipient’s continued employment through the third anniversary of the grant.

All NEOs received awards under the 2019 annual LTI program. Ms. Dondzila’s award was later forfeited prior to any vesting upon her resignation.2020 LTIP awards. With the exception of Mr. Messina’s award, these awards will be cash-settled to avoid share dilution but were granted as share-based units to align final award value with share performance.

 

Additionally, Messrs. Messina and Anderson and Ms. Dondzila received additional “transitional” awards relating toTo account for the 35% reduction of their 2018 bonus payment. Ms. Dondzila’s award was later forfeited prior to any vesting upon her resignation. These cash-settled restricted stock unit awards vest in equal thirds on the first, second and third anniversariesvolatility of the market at the time of grant datesand mitigate share dilution, target values were denominated into units based on the Company's cumulative TSR during three performance periods, each beginning30-trading-day average closing share price ending on the March 29, 2019. The number30, 2020 grant date of target PRSUs$15.00 rather than the $7.95 closing share price on that may vest range based on cumulative TSR performance during each measurement period are interpolated between 50% at threshold, 100% at target, and 200% at maximum. No PRSUs will vest if cumulative TSR is below threshold. For the one-, two- and three-year periods ending March 29, 2020, 2021 and 2022, cumulative TSR performance thresholds are 8.4%, 17.4% and 27.3%, targets are 16.7%, 36.3% and 59.1%, and maximums are 24.0%, 54.0% and 94.0%, respectively.

In connection with Ms. Campbell’s new hire offer, she was granted the following equity awards on March 4, 2019: (1)date, resulting in a stock option with a42% reduction in initial grant date fair value of $72,000 and an exercise price equalcompared to the closing price of our stock on the date of grant, which vest in equal thirds on the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date, (2) RSUs with a grant date fair value that would have resulted using $7.95 to determine the number of $53,000, which vest in equal thirds onunits subject to the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date, and (3) PRSUs with a grant date fair value of $125,000, which vest in equal fourths on the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date, provided that on or before the fourth anniversary of the grant date, the average of the closing stock price over a period of 20 consecutive trading days equal or exceeds $4.34. Ms. Campbell did not receive any awards under the 2019 annual LTI program but expects to participate in the 2020 annual LTI program.awards.

44

 

The table below shows the annual target value opportunities for our NEOs and the grant date fair values of equity awards granted to our current NEOs in 2019 as well the percentage of the target value of such equity awards that are subject to performance vesting.2020.

 

Name 

Annual Target Value Granted as Restricted Stock Units

($)

 

Annual Target Value Granted as Performance Restricted Stock Units

($)

 

Target Value of Additional Performance Restricted Stock Units

($)

 

Target Value of Stock Options

($)

 

Total Target Value of Awards Granted

($)

  Percent of Target Value that is Performance Based  Annual Target Value
($)
  Annual Target Grant Date Fair Value Granted as Restricted Stock Units
($)
  Annual Target Grant Date Fair Value Granted as Performance Restricted Stock Units
($)
  Total Grant Date Fair Value of Annual Awards
($)
  Variance of Grant Date Fair Value to Target Value
($)
  Variance of Grant Date Fair Value to Target Value
(%)
 
Glen A. Messina  1,125,000   1,125,000   115,212      2,365,212   52%  2,250,000   596,250   720,000   1,316,250   (933,750)  (42)%
Scott W. Anderson  300,000   79,500   96,000   175,500   (124,500)  (42)%
John V. Britti  270,000   71,550   86,400   157,950   (112,050)  (42)%
June C. Campbell  53,000   125,000      72,000   250,000   50%  380,000   100,700   121,600   222,300   (157,700)  (42)%
Timothy J. Yanoti  250,000   250,000         500,000   50%
Scott W. Anderson  150,000   150,000   175,000      475,000   68%
Dennis Zeleny  187,500   187,500         375,000   50%  425,000   112,625   136,000   248,625   (176,375)  (42)%
Catherine M. Dondzila  54,138   54,138   96,915      205,190   74%

 

Realizable Value of Outstanding Equity at Year-EndSpecial RSU and Cash Awards

Further illustrating Ocwen’sOn September 10, 2020, all NEOs except Mr. Messina received a combination of cash and equity-based awards to bolster incentives encouraging their commitment to shareholder alignment, if the year-end share price stays flatCompany during a period in futurewhich the Company was evaluating strategic options, and to recognize their exceptional performance navigating the business through the pandemic, returning to profitability, servicing our customers, growing the originations platform, and vesting periods,keeping our workforce engaged and productive.

The Compensation Committee, with the input of its independent consultant, considered a range of variables in determining the structure of these awards, including:

the duration of time that would be needed to ensure that NEOs remained with the Company not only to explore a full range of potential strategic outcomes, but also to execute against their delivery;
the retentive and motivational effect of the award, which influenced the mix between cash and restricted stock units; and
market prevalence of these type of awards.

After reviewing these factors, the Compensation Committee determined that it would resultwas in a 75% average lossthe best interests of target LTI value for our executives for awards grantedthe Company to lock in the leadership team that has led the Company through the remarkable turn-around over the past three years. (As reference, no equityprior 18 months with awards where the target values were grantedsplit 70% as cash retention and 30% as cash-settled restricted stock units, with both awards vesting and payable after 18 months, subject to NEOs between March 30, 2016 and October 3, 2018.) As showncontinued employment through such 18-month period. The cash emphasis of the awards mitigated uncertainty in award value that would stem from a yet to be concluded strategic review process. The table below based on $1.37 closing share price on December 31, 2019, all performance-based units would be forfeited and stock options would be underwater, in additionoutlines the value of these awards to the 52% total reduction in RSU value compared to their grant date value.our NEOs.

Name Grant Date Fair Value Granted as Restricted Stock Units
($)
  Grant Date Fair Value Granted as Cash Awards
($)
  Total Grant Date Fair Value of Special Awards
($)
 
Scott W. Anderson  149,988   350,000   499,988 
John V. Britti  116,991   273,000   389,991 
June C. Campbell  101,998   238,000   339,998 
Dennis Zeleny  110,990   259,000   369,990 

     Award Value at $1.37 Share Price       
Name 

Total Target Value of Outstanding Units at Grant

($)

  

Realizable Value of Outstanding Restricted Stock Units

($)

  

Realizable Value of Outstanding Performance Restricted Stock Units

($)

  

Realizable Value of Outstanding Stock Options

($)

  

Change in Award Value from Grant

($)

  

Change in Award Value from Grant

(%)

 
Glen A. Messina  6,165,214   1,672,314   0   0   -4,492,900   -73%
June C. Campbell  250,000   33,461   0   0   -216,540   -87%
Timothy J. Yanoti  958,332   241,287   0   0   -717,045   -75%
Scott W. Anderson  475,000   112,911   0   0   -362,088   -76%
Dennis Zeleny  375,000   135,197   0   0   -289,802   -64%

Other Compensation

Our policy with respect to employee benefit plans generally is to provide benefits to our employees, including our executive officers, which are comparable to benefits offered by companies of a similar size. We believe that a competitive comprehensive benefit program is essential to achieving the goal of attracting and retaining highly-qualified employees. Our NEOs participate in the benefit plans offered to our salaried employees, generally, including medical, dental, life and disability insurance plans, and a 401(k) plan.

45

 

Stock Ownership and Prohibition against Short Sales, Hedging and Margin Accounts

 

Although we do not have stock ownership requirements for our executives, our philosophy is that equity ownership by our executives is important to attract, motivate and retain executives, as well as to align their interests with those of our shareholders. The Compensation Committee believes that the Company’s equity plans are adequate to achieve this philosophy.

 

We maintain an Insider Trading Prevention Policy that governs the timing of transactions in securities of the Company by directors and executives. In addition, the Policythis policy prohibits any director, officer or employee from engaging in any short sale of the Company’s stock, establishing and using a margin account with a broker-dealer for the purpose of buying or selling Company stock, orpledging Company securities as collateral for a loan, buying or selling puts or calls on the Company’s stock.stock and engaging in any other transaction that hedges the economic risk associated with the ownership of the Company’s securities. This policy is designed to encourage investment in the Company’s stock for the long term and to discourage active trading or short-term speculation.

 

Clawback Policy

 

The Company maintains an incentive compensation clawback policy that allows our Board of Directors or the Compensation Committee to recoup incentive compensation if the Company restates its financial statements. TheUnder this policy, appliesin the event of a restatement due to cashintentional misconduct, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer must reimburse or equity incentive payments or awardsforfeit to Covered Individuals (as defined below) when (1)the Company the amount of anybonus or incentive compensation (whether cash-based or equity-based) such paymentofficer received during the fiscal year immediately preceding the year the restatement is determined to be required, to the extent that such bonus or award was determinedincentive compensation exceeds what the officer would have received based on an applicable restated performance measure or target. In addition, in the achievement of financial resultsevent that were subsequently the subject of an accounting restatement due to noncompliance with any financial reporting requirement under federal securities laws, (2) a lesser (or no) payment or award would have been made based upon the restated financial results, and (3) the payment or award was received (or the applicable vesting event of the award occurred) during the three-year period preceding the date on which the Company is required to prepare such accounting restatement. For purposesrestated financial statements as a result of intentional misconduct or material noncompliance with financial reporting requirements under securities laws, the Compensation Committee may require reimbursement or forfeiture of the amount of bonus or incentive compensation any executive officer received during the three fiscal years preceding the year the restatement is determined to be required, to the extent that such bonus or incentive compensation exceeds what the officer would have received based on an applicable restated performance measure or target. The Company’s rights to recoupment under the clawback policy a “Covered Individual” meansare in addition to any current or former employee who, atother rights of recoupment under the time of receiptterms of any such paymentequity incentive plan or award, was an executive officer of the Company or an Executive Vice President or more senior officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries.individual award.

 

Restrictive Covenants

 

All of our NEOs have executed an intellectual property and non-disclosure agreement. This agreement requires the NEO to hold all “confidential information” in trust for us and prohibits the NEO from using or disclosing such confidential information except as necessary in the regular course of our business or as otherwise required by law. OtherIn connection with the special cash awards described above, all of our NEOs (other than these restrictiveMr. Messina) agreed to (i) certain non-compete covenants we generally doduring their term of employment and (ii) certain covenants relating to the non-solicitation of employees and non-interference with business relationships until September 10, 2023 (whether or not have non-competition or non-solicitation agreements with our executive officers.employed by the Company during such period). From time to time, we enter into separation agreements with executive officers that contain thesenon-competition and non-solicitation provisions. In addition, certain of our equity award agreements contain provisions that provide that post-retirement vesting or exercise of the award, as applicable, is dependent on compliance with certain covenants.

Tax Considerations

 

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code generally disallows public companies a tax deduction for compensation in excess of $1,000,000 paid to its “covered employees.” Prior to federal tax reform enacted in December 2017, Section 162(m) included an exception to this limitation on deductibility for qualifying “performance-based compensation,” provided that certain performance and other requirements are met. Under the new2017 tax legislation, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, there is no longer an exception to the deductibility limit for qualifying “performance-based compensation” unless the compensation qualifies for transition relief applicable to certain arrangements in place as of November 2, 2017. Also under the new2017 legislation, the definition of “covered employees” has been expanded to include a company’s chief financial officer (in addition to the chief executive officer and three other most highly paid executive officers), plus any individual who has been a “covered employee” in any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2016. As one of the factors in its consideration of compensation matters, the Compensation Committee considers the anticipated tax treatment to the Company of various payments and benefits, including the impact of Section 162(m). However, we reserve the right to design programs that may not be deductible under Section 162(m) if we believe they are nevertheless appropriate to help achieve our executive compensation program objectives, and in any case, there can be no assurance that any compensation paid by the Company will be fully deductible.

 

46

CEO Pay-Ratio Disclosure

 

Pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, we are required to disclose in this proxy statement the ratio of the total annual compensation of our CEO to the median of the total annual compensation of all of our employees (excluding our CEO). Based on Securities and Exchange Commission rules for this disclosure and applying the methodology described below, we have determined that Mr. Messina’s total compensation for 20192020 was $7,562,330$4,587,915 and the median of the total 20192020 compensation of all of our employees (excluding(including our India and Philippines operations and excluding our CEO) was $33,651$35,997 (after applying a cost-of-living adjustment and converting foreign currency to U.S. dollars, as described below). Accordingly, we estimate the cost-of-living-adjusted ratio of our CEO’s total compensation for 20192020 to the median of the total 20192020 compensation of all of our employees (excluding our CEO) to be 225127 to 1.

 

We identified the median employee by taking into account the total compensation paid for 2019during 2020 to all individuals, excluding our CEO, who were employed by us or one of our subsidiaries on December 31, 2019.2020. We included all employees, whether employed on a full-time, part-time, or seasonal basis. We did not annualize the compensation for any employees who were not employed by us for all of 2019.2020. We applied a cost of living adjustment to employees employed outside of the United States as described below. Once the median employee was identified as described above, that employee’s total compensation for 2019 was determined using the same rules that apply to reporting the compensation of our Named Executive Officers (including our CEO) in the “Total” column of the Summary Compensation Table. The total compensation amounts included in the first paragraph of this pay-ratio disclosure were determined based on that methodology (in the case of the median employee’s compensation, as adjusted for cost-of-living and currency conversion as described below).

 

If we only considered our U.S.-based employees (excluding our CEO) in identifying the median employee using the methodology otherwise described above, we determined that our median U.S.-based employee’s total compensation was $57,598.$64,001. Accordingly, we estimate the resulting ratio of our CEO’s total compensation to the median of the total compensation of all our U.S.-based employees (excluding our CEO) to be 13172 to 1.

 

In calculating the compensation of our employees in the Philippines, we applied a currency conversion factor based on the U.S. dollar to Philippines Peso exchange rate as of December 31, 2019.2020. In calculating the compensation of our employees in India, we applied a currency conversion factor based on the U.S. dollar to Indian Rupee exchange rate as of December 31, 2019.2020.1 As permitted under SEC rules, in identifying the median employee and in presenting the median employee’s total 20192020 compensation above, we applied a cost-of-living adjustment to the compensation of employees outside the United States based on a purchasing power parity conversion factor published by The World Bank for 2018.2019.2 Using this methodology, we determined that our median employee is employed in India. If we had determined the median employee and total compensation as described above but had not applied a cost-of-living adjustment to identify our median employee or calculate our median employee’s total compensation, the median of the total compensation of all of our employees (excluding our CEO) would have been $10,916$12,398 and we estimate the resulting ratio of our CEO’s total compensation to the median of the total compensation of all of our employees (excluding our CEO) would have been to 693370 to 1.

 

 

1As reported by the U.S. Bureau of the Fiscal Service Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange as of December 31, 2019,2020, the Indian Rupee to U.S. Dollar to conversion rate was 71:73.03:1 and the Philippines Peso to U.S. Dollar to conversion rate was 50.64:48.17:1.

2The “price level ratio of PPP conversion factor (GDP) to market exchange rate” published by the World Bank indicates how many U.S. dollars are needed to buy one U.S. dollar’s worth of goods in a particular country. For 2018,2019, the most recent data accessible, the ratioratios reported for both India and the Philippines waswere 0.3 and 0.4, respectively, meaning the local currency equivalent of $1 purchased $3.33 and $2.50 worth of goods in those countries. Accordingly, we multiplied the 20192020 compensation of each employee based in India orby 3.33 and in the Philippines by 3.332.5 prior to identifying the employee with the median of the total 2019 compensation and in presenting such employee’s total compensation in order to reflect a cost-of-living adjustment.

 

44
 47

 

Report of the Compensation Committee

 

The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors has reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis of this proxy statement with management.

 

Based on the review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this proxy statement.

 

April [●], 202016, 2021Compensation Committee:
 DeForest B. Soaries, Jr., Chair
 Jenne K. Britell, Director
 Jacques J. Busquet, Director

48

Summary Compensation Table - 2017, 2018, 2019 and 20192020

 

The following table provides information concerning the compensation of our named executive officers for the 2020, 2019 2018 and 20172018 fiscal years.

 

Name and Principal Position Year  

Salary

($)

  

Bonus

($)

  

Stock

Awards(1)

($)

  

Option

Awards(1)

($)

  

Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation(2)

($)

  

All Other Compensation(3)

($)

  

Total

($)

 
                         
Glen A. Messina  2019   900,000       2,518,950       1,529,974   2,613,406   7,562,330 
President and Chief Executive Officer  2018   214,615      4,050,001   791,035   213,966   1,690,804   6,960,421 
                                 

June C. Campbell

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer(4)

  2019   370,673   253,757   153,986   51,432   468,583   120,113   1,418,545 
                                 
Timothy J. YanotiExecutive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer  2019   450,001      559,066      597,359   80,804   1,687,230 
                                 
Scott W. Anderson  2019   500,000      538,002      592,207      1,630,208 
Executive Vice President, Chief Servicing Officer  2018   500,000            314,236      814,236 
   2017   500,000            542,984   750   1,043,734 
                                 

Dennis Zeleny

Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer(5)

  2019   176,539   350,000   409,539      163,879   426,000   1,525,956 
                                 
Catherine M. Dondzila  2019   183,235      233,244         868,645   1,285,124 
Former Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer(6)  2018   433,100            159,197   6,200   598,497 

Name and Principal Position Year  

Salary

($)

  

Bonus(1)

($)

  

Stock

Awards(2)

($)

  

Option

Awards(2)

($)

  

Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation(3)

($)

  

All Other Compensation(4)

($)

  Total
($)
 
Glen A. Messina  2020   900,000   590,779   1,316,250      1,772,336   8,550   4,587,915 
President and Chief  2019   900,000      2,518,950      1,529,974   2,613,406   7,562,330 
Executive Officer  2018   214,615      4,050,001   791,035   213,966   1,690,804   6,960,421 
                                 
June C. Campbell
Executive Vice President
  2020   475,000      324,298      705,375   137,089   1,641,762 
and Chief Financial Officer  2019   370,673   253,757   153,986   51,432   468,583   120,113   1,418,545 
                                 
Scott W. Anderson  2020   500,000   23,625   325,488      675,000      1,524,113 
Executive Vice President,  2019   500,000      538,002      592,207      1,630,208 
Chief Servicing Officer  2018   500,000            314,236      814,236 
                                 

Dennis Zeleny

Executive Vice President

  2020   431,635   162,172   359,615      486,516   3,136   1,443,074 
and Chief Administrative Officer  2019   176,539   350,000   409,539      163,879   426,000   1,525,956 
                                 

John V. Britti

Executive Vice President

  2020   450,000   95,580   274,941      607,500   8,896   1,436,918 
and Chief Investment  2019   450,000      484,201      472,901   8,642   1,415,744 
Officer  2018   450,000   150,000   450,001      264,771   5,300   1,320,072 

 

(1)Amounts for 2020 represent lump-sum bonuses paid to our NEOs (other than Ms. Campbell) approved by the Compensation Committee to reward such executives for exceptional performance.
(2)Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of stock awards and stock options, computed in accordance with FASB ASC 718. These amounts do not represent the actual amounts paid to or realized by the executive. We based the grant date fair value of stock awards with a service condition on the average of the high and lowclosing prices of our common stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on the date of grant of the awards. The fair value of the time-based option awards was determined using the Black-Scholes options pricing model. Stock unit awards with only a service condition are valued at their intrinsic value, which is the market value of the stock on thegrant date of the award. The fair value of stock unit awards with both a service condition and a market-based vesting condition is based on the output of a Monte Carlo simulation. Additional detail regarding the calculation of these values is included in Note [22]22 to our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019,2020, which are included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2020.19, 2021. As to the stock awards granted in 2020 with market-based vesting conditions, the grant date fair value of each of these awards (calculated based on the output of a Monte Carlo simulation, which is the value of these awards included in the Summary Compensation Table above) is presented in the “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for 2020” table below, and the value of these awards assuming that the highest level of performance conditions will be achieved is $1,192,500 for Mr. Messina, $201,400 for Ms. Campbell, $159,000 for Mr. Anderson, $225,250 for Mr. Zeleny and $143,100 for Mr. Britti.
(2)(3)Represents annual incentive compensation earned in the corresponding year and paid in the first quarter of the following year.
(3)(4)Amounts shown in this column are set forth in the supplemental “All Other Compensation” table below.
(4)

Ms. Campbell assumed the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer on March 4, 2019. In connection with her employment and to induce her to join the company, she received a signing bonus which is reported in the “Bonus” column.(5)Mr. Zeleny assumed the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer on July 31, 2019. In connection with his employment and to induce him to join the company, he received a signing bonus which is reported in the “Bonus” column.(6)Ms. Dondzila resigned as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer on May 31, 2019.

For more information about the elements of the compensation paid to our named executive officers, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” above.

49

 

All Other Compensation

 

The following table provides additional information about the amounts that appear in the “All Other Compensation” column in the Summary Compensation Table.

 

Executive Officer 

401(k) Matching Contributions(1)

($)

  

Relocation Benefits(2)

($)

  

Other

($)

  

Total

($)

 
Glen A. Messina(3)  7,269   577,971   2,028,165   2,613,406 
June C. Campbell     120,113      120,113 
Timothy J. Yanoti  1,558   79,247      80,804 
Scott W. Anderson            
Dennis Zeleny(4)        426,000   426,000 
Catherine M. Dondzila(5)  8,400      860,245   868,645 

Executive Officer 

401(k) Matching Contributions(1)

($)

  Other
($)
  Total
($)
 
Glen A. Messina  8,550      8,550 
June C. Campbell(2)  7,673   129,415   137,089 
Scott W. Anderson         
Dennis Zeleny  3,136      3,136 
John V. Britti(3)  8,550   346   8,896 

 

(1)Reflects employer matching contributions made under the Ocwen Financial Corporation 401(k) Savings Plan.
(2)Reflects“Other” reflects the value of temporary commuting and relocation benefits paid under the Ocwen Relocation Plan pursuant to Ms. Campbell’s March 4, 2019 offer letter, including amounts to gross-up for taxable expenses.
(3)“Other” reflects the value of Mr. Messina's severance benefits to which Mr. Messina was entitled as former President and Chief Executive Officer of PHH Corporation.
(4)“Other” represents the value of fees paid to Mr. Zeleny as an independent consultant prior to regular full-time employment.
(5)“Other” represents the values of Ms. Dondzila's lump sum payment in exchange for a general release of claims upon her resignation as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer on May 31, 2019 ($568,870), independent consulting agreement ($216,550), payout of accrued paid time off balances ($62,825), subsidy for COBRA benefits continuation ($11,620) and stipends paid to cover telecommuting expenses ($381).under a program that was discontinued in May 2020.

 

50

Grants of Plan-Based Awards for 20192020

 

The following table provides information related to awards granted in 20192020 under our 2017 Performance Incentive Plan and our 1998 Annual Incentive Plan, as amended. Unit counts for awards granted prior to the August 13, 2020 reverse stock split have been adjusted proportionate to the 1:15 split ratio.

 

     

 

Estimated Possible Payouts

Under Non-Equity

Incentive Plan Awards(1)

  Estimated Future Payouts
Under Equity
Incentive Plan Awards
  All Other Stock Awards: Number of Shares of Stock  All Other Option Awards: Number of Securities Underlying  Exercise or Base Price of Option  Grant Date Fair Value of Stock and Option 
Name Grant Date  

Threshold

($)

  

Target

($)

  

Maximum

($)

  

Threshold

(#)

  

Target

(#)

  Maximum
(#)
  or Units
(#)
  Options
(#)
  Awards
($)
  

Awards(2)

($)

 
Glen A. Messina  3/30/2020(3)           37,500   75,000   150,000            720,000 
   3/30/2020(4)                    75,000         596,250 
   6/30/2020   590,779   1,181,557   1,772,336                      
                                             
June C. Campbell  3/30/2020(3)           6,333   12,667   25,333            121,600 
   3/30/2020(4)                    12,667         100,700 
   6/30/2020   237,500   475,000   712,500                      
   9/10/2020(5)                    5,592         101,998 
                                             
Scott W. Anderson  3/30/2020(3)           5,000   10,000   20,000            96,000 
   3/30/2020(4)                    10,000         79,500 
   6/30/2020   225,000   450,000   675,000                      
   9/10/2020(5)                    8,223         149,988 
                                             
Dennis Zeleny  3/30/2020(3)           7,083   14,167   28,333            136,000 
   3/30/2020(4)                    14,167         112,625 
   6/30/2020   162,172   324,344   486,516                      
   9/10/2020(5)                    6,085         110,990 
                                             
John V. Britti  3/30/2020(3)           4,500   9,000   18,000            86,400 
   3/30/2020(4)                    9,000         71,550 
   6/30/2020   202,500   405,000   607,500                      
   9/10/2020(5)                    6,414         116,991 

    Estimated Possible Payouts Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards(1)  

Estimated Future Payouts

Under Equity

Incentive Plan Awards

  All Other Stock Awards: Number of Shares of Stock or  All Other Option Awards: Number of Securities Underlying  Exercise or Base Price of Option  

Grant Date Fair Value of Stock and Option

Awards

 
Name Grant Date 

Threshold

($)

  

Target

($)

  

Maximum

($)

  

Threshold

(#)

  

Target

(#)

  

Maximum

(#)

  

Units(2)

(#)

  

Options

(#)

  

Awards

($)

  

(3)

($)

 
Glen A. Messina 3/29/2019  562,500   1,125,000   1,687,500                      
  4/11/2019(4)           282,663   565,327   1,130,654            1,271,986 
  4/11/2019                    565,326         1,124,999 
  4/11/2019(5)           28,947   57,895   115,790            121,966 
June C. Campbell 3/29/2019  186,884   373,767   560,651                      
  3/04/2019(6)              57,604               100,986 
  3/04/2019                    24,424         53,000 
  3/04/2019                       33,180   2.17   51,432 
Timothy J. Yanoti 3/29/2019  250,000   500,000   750,000                      
  3/29/2019(4)           68,681   137,363   274,726            309,067 
  3/29/2019                    137,362         249,999 
Scott W. Anderson 3/29/2019  225,000   450,000   675,000                      
  3/29/2019(4)           41,209   82,418   164,836            185,441 
  3/29/2019                    82,417         149,999 
  3/29/2019(5)           48,076   96,153   192,306            202,562 
Dennis Zeleny 7/31/2019  63,288   126,575   189,863                      
  7/31/2019(4)           49,342   98,684   197,368            222,039 
  7/31/2019                    98,684         187,500 
Catherine M. Dondzila 3/29/2019  138,450   276,900   415,350                      
  3/29/2019(4)           14,873   29,746   59,492            66,929 
  3/29/2019                    29,745         54,136 
  3/29/2019(5)           26,624   53,250   106,500            112,180 

(1)These amounts represent the potential non-equity compensation that would have been earned by each respective executive officer for 20192020 service under the different achievement levels under their 20192020 annual incentive opportunity, which are more fully discussed in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” pursuant to our 1998 Annual Incentive Plan. Under our current compensation structure, all non-equity incentive compensation is paid to the executive officer in the first quarter of the year following the year in which service was rendered. The actual amount of non-equity incentive compensation that was paid to our named executive officers for 20192020 service is set forth in the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” column of the “Summary Compensation Table” above.
(2)RSU awards vest in three equal installments on the first, second and third anniversary dates of the grant, subject to continued employment. Awards for Mr. Messina and Ms. Campbell settle in equity, but they do not have any rights of a shareholder with respect to any of the shares subject to the award until such units are vested and settled. Awards for Messrs. Anderson, Yanoti and Zeleny and Ms. Dondzila settle in cash.
(3)See footnote (1)(2) under “Summary Compensation Table” above for detail regarding the methodology used to calculate Grant Date Fair Value.
(4)(3)PRSU awards are earned based on the Company’s TSR relative to its peer group during themultiple performance period ofperiods spanning March 29, 201930, 2020 through March 29, 2022,30, 2023, and vest at the third anniversary of the respective grant dates. Awards for all but Mr. Messina will settle in cash, if earned. Refer to “Compensation Discussion and Analysis - 20192020 Long-Term Incentive Awards” for additional details.
(4)
(5)PRSURSU awards granted March 30, 2020 vest in three equal thirdsinstallments on the first, second and third anniversariesanniversary dates of the respective grant, dates based onsubject to continued employment. Awards for Mr. Messina settle in equity, but they do not have any rights of a stockholder with respect to any of the Company’s cumulative Total Shareholder Return during three performance periods (the first from March 29, 2019 through March 29, 2020,shares subject to the second from March 29, 2019 through March 29, 2021, and the third from March 29, 2019 through March 29, 2022). These awardsaward until such units are vested. Awards for other named executive officers will settle in cash, if earned. Refer to “Compensation Discussion and Analysis - 2019 Long-Term Incentive Awards” for additional details on these “transitional” awards.cash.

51

(6)(5)PRSU awardRSU awards granted March 4, 2019 to Ms. Campbell time-vestsSeptember 10, 2020 vest in equal fourthsfull on the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries18-month anniversary date of the grant, and performance vesting upon the Average Stock Price equaling or exceeding $4.34 at any time during such four-year vesting period. For these purposes, “Average Stock Price” means the average of the Adjusted Stock Price for a period of twenty consecutive trading days, and the term “Adjusted Stock Price” shall mean, for a particular trading day, the sum of (i) the closing price of the Corporation’s common stock on such trading day, and (ii) the aggregate amount of dividends paid by the Company on a share of its common stock during the period commencing on the award date and ending on the applicable trading day. This PRSU award does not have threshold or maximum levels for performance.subject to continued employment. Awards will settle in cash.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

 

The following table provides information regarding outstanding equity awards at December 31, 20192020 for Ocwen’s named executive officers other than Ms. Dondzila, who had no outstanding equity awards.officers.

 

 Option Awards Stock Awards  Option Awards  Stock Awards 
Name 

Number of Securities

Underlying

Unexercised

Options

Exercisable

(#)

 

Number of Securities

Underlying

Unexercised

Options

Unexercisable

(#)(1)

  

Equity Incentive Plan

Awards: Number of

Securities Underlying

Unexercised Unearned

Options

(#)(2)

  

Option

Exercise

Price

($)

 

Option

Expiration Date

 

Number of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested

(#)(1)

  

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

($)(3)

 

Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested

(#)(4)

  

Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested

($)(3)

  Number of Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
Exercisable
(#)
  

Number of Securities

Underlying

Unexercised

Options

Unexercisable

(#)(1)

  

Equity Incentive Plan

Awards: Number of

Securities Underlying

Unexercised Unearned

Options

(#)(2)

  

Option

Exercise

Price

($)

  Option
Expiration Date
  

Number of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested

(#)(1)

  

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

($)(3)

 

Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested

(#)(4)

  

Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested

($)(3)

 
Glen A. Messina  88,997   177,993(5)  -   4.12   10/4/2028   -   -   -   -   11,866   5,933(5)  -   61.80   10/4/2028   -   -   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   655,341(6)  897,817   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   21,845(6)  631,551   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   565,326(7)  774,497   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   25,126(7)  726,381   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   282,663(8)  387,248   -   -   -   -   -   75,000(8)  2,168,250   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   28,947(9)  39,657   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   18,844(9)  544,780 
                                      -   -   -   -   -   -   -   1,929(10)  55,767 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   150,000(11)  4,336,500 
                                    
June C. Campbell  -   33,180(10)  -   2.17   3/4/2029   -   -   -   -   -   1,474(12)  -   32.55   3/4/2029   -   -   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   24,424(11)  33,461   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   1,085(13)  31,381   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   57,604(12)  78,917 
                                    
Timothy J. Yanoti  27,132   54,263(10)  -   2.15   11/26/2028   -   -   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   38,760(13)  53,101   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   12,667(8)  366,193   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   93,023(12)  127,442   -   -   -   -   -   5,592(14)  161,665   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   137,362(7)  188,186   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   3,840(15)  111,022 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   68,681(8)  94,093   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   25,333(11)  732,387 
                                                                        
Scott W. Anderson  22,500   -   -   33.45   5/14/2024   -   -   -   -   1,500   -   -   501.75   5/14/2024   -   -   -   - 
  -   -   45,000(14)  33.45   5/14/2024   -   -   -   -   -   -   3,000(16)  501.75   5/14/2024   -   -   -   - 
  -   -   22,500(15)  33.45   5/14/2024   -   -   -   -   -   -   1,500(17)  501.75   5/14/2024   -   -   -   - 
  32,772   -   -   10.14   2/24/2025   -   -   -   -   2,185   -   -   152.10   2/24/2025   -   -   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   20,000(16)  27,400   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   3,663(7)  105,897   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   82,417(7)  112,911   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   10,000(8)  289,100   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   41,209(8)  56,456   -   -   -   -   -   8,223(14)  237,727   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   48,076(9)  65,864   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   2,747(9)  79,416 
                                      -   -   -   -   -   -   -   3,205(10)  92,657 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   20,000(11)  578,200 
                                    
Dennis Zeleny  -   -   -   -   -   98,684(7)  135,197   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   4,386(7)  126,799   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   49,342(8)  67,599   -   -   -   -   -   14,167(8)  409,558   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   6,085(14)  175,917   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   3,289(9)  95,085 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   28,333(11)  819,117 
                                    
John V. Britti  2,185   -   -   152.10   2/24/2025   -   -   -   - 
  1,667   -   -   242.55   3/5/2022   -   -   -   - 
  1,667   -   -   242.55   3/5/2022   -   -   -   - 
  3,333   -   -   242.55   3/5/2022   -   -   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   4,386(18)  126,799   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   3,297(7)  95,307   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   9,000(8)  260,190   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   6,414(14)  185,429   -   - 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   2,472(9)  71,466 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   2,884(10)  83,376 
  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   18,000(11)  520,380 

 

48

(1)Consists of equity awards with respect to which, as of December 31, 2019,2020, any applicable performance hurdles have been met but awards remain subject to time-based vesting criteria.
(2)Consists of option awards with respect to which, as of December 31, 2019,2020, the applicable performance hurdles have not been met.
(3)The dollar amounts shown in these columns are determined by multiplying the number of unvested shares or units subject to the award by $1.37,$28.91, the closing price of a share of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on December 31, 20192020 (the last trading day of 2019)2020).
(4)Consists of equity awards with respect to which, as of December 31, 2019,2020, the applicable time-based and/or performance vesting criteria have not been met.

52

(5)Represents non-qualified stock options (NQSOs)(“NQSOs”) granted to Mr. Messina October 4, 2018. One-third of granted options vested each of October 4, 2019 and October 4, 2020, with the remaining options vesting in equal tranches on the second and third anniversariesanniversary of the grant.
(6)Represents RSUs granted to Mr. Messina October 4, 2018. One-third of granted units vested each of October 4, 2019 and October 4, 2020, with the remaining units vesting in equal tranches on the second and third anniversariesanniversary of the grant.grant, to be settled in shares except for a fractional unit resulting from the August 13, 2020 reverse stock split which will settle in cash.
(7)Represents RSUs granted to Mr. Messina April 11, 2019, to Messrs. Anderson and YanotiBritti March 29, 2019 and to Mr. Zeleny July 21, 2019,31, 2019. One-third of granted units vested on the first anniversary of the respective grant dates, with the remaining units vesting in equal tranches on the first, second and third anniversaries of the respective grant dates. Awards for all but Mr. Messina will settle in cash. Mr. Messina’s award has or will settle in shares, except for a fractional unit resulting from the August 13, 2020 reverse stock split which will settle in cash.
(8)Represents RSUs granted March 30, 2020, vesting in equal tranches on the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date. Awards for all but Mr. Messina will settle in cash.
(9)Represents PRSUs granted to Mr. Messina April 11, 2019, to Messrs. Anderson and YanotiBritti March 29, 2019 and to Mr. Zeleny July 21,31, 2019. These PRSUs are earned based on the Company’s TSR during the performance period of March 29, 2019 through March 29, 2022, and vest on the third anniversary of the respective grant dates. Awards for all but Mr. Messina will settle in cash, if earned. Mr. Messina’s award will settle in shares, except for a fractional unit resulting from the August 13, 2020 reverse stock split which will settle in cash. Amounts reported assume threshold levels of achievement.
(9)(10)Represents PRSUs granted to Mr. Messina April 11, 2019, and to Mr.Messrs. Anderson and Britti March 29, 2019. These PRSUs vest in equal thirds on the first, second and third anniversaries of the respective grant dates based on the Company’s cumulative Total Shareholder Return during three performance periods (the first from March 29, 2019 through March 29, 2020, the second from March 29, 2019 through March 29, 2021, and the third from March 29, 2019 through March 29, 2022). The first tranche was forfeited due to below-threshold performance. These awards will settle in cash, if earned. Amounts reported assume threshold levels of achievement.
(10)(11)Represents PRSUs granted March 30, 2020, vesting on the third anniversary of the grant date. These PRSUs are earned based on the Company’s TSR relative to its peer group during multiple performance periods between March 30, 2020 through March 30, 2023, as described in the “2020 Long-Term Incentive Awards” section above. Awards for all but Mr. Messina will settle in cash, if earned. Amounts reported assume maximum levels of achievement.
(12)Represents NQSOs granted November 26, 2018 to Mr. Yanoti and March 4, 2019 to Ms. Campbell,Campbell. One-third of granted options vested on the first anniversary of the grant, with the remaining options vesting in equal thirdstranches on the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant.
(11)(13)Represents RSUs granted March 4, 2019 to Ms. Campbell,Campbell. One-third of granted units vested on the first anniversary of the grant. The remaining units vesting in equal thirdstranches on the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant.grant will settle in shares, except for a fractional unit resulting from the August 13, 2020 reverse stock split which will settle in cash.
(12)(14)Represents RSUs granted September 10, 2020, vesting on the 18-month anniversary of the grant date. Awards will settle in cash.
(15)Represents PRSUs granted November 26, 2018 to Mr. Yanoti and March 4, 2019 to Ms. Campbell, time-vesting in equal fourths on the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the grant, and performance vesting upon the Average Stock Price equaling or exceeding $5.80 and $4.34 for Mr. Yanoti and Ms. Campbell, respectively,$65.10 at any time during such four-year period. For these purposes, “Average Stock Price” means the average of the Adjusted Stock Price for a period of twenty consecutive trading days, and the term “Adjusted Stock Price” shall mean, for a particular trading day, the sum of (i) the closing price of the Corporation’sCompany’s common stock on such trading day, and (ii) the aggregate amount of dividends paid by the Company on a share of its common stock during the period commencing on the award date and ending on the applicable trading day. Units will settle in shares, except for a fractional unit resulting from the August 13, 2020 reverse stock split which will settle in cash.
(13)Represents RSUs granted to Mr. Yanoti November 26, 2018. One-third of granted units vested November 26, 2019, with the remaining units vesting in equal tranches on the second and third anniversaries of the grant.
(14)(16)Represents NQSOs granted to Mr. Anderson 5/14/May 14, 2014, one-fourth of which vest upon achieving a stock price of $66.90$1,003.50 and compounded annual gain of 20% over the exercise price, with the balance vesting one-fourth each subsequent anniversary.
(15)(17)Represents NQSOs granted to Mr. Anderson 5/14/May 14, 2014, one-fourth of which vest upon achieving a stock price of $100.35$1,505.25 and compounded annual gain of 25% over the exercise price, with the balance vesting one-fourth each subsequent anniversary.
(16)(18)Represents remaining one-fourth of PRSUsRSUs granted to Mr. Anderson March 29, 2016,Britti November 15, 2018. Twenty percent of units vested on each of the first and second anniversaries of the grant date. The remaining units vesting on the third anniversary of the grant will settle in shares, except for a fractional unit resulting from the August 13, 2020 reverse stock split which vested March 29, 2020.will settle in cash.

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 53

Option Exercises and Stock Vested During 20192020

 

The following table provides information relating to the amounts realized on the exercise of options and the vesting of restricted stock during fiscal year 20192020 for the individuals named in the Summary Compensation Table. Unit counts for awards vesting prior to the August 13, 2020 reverse stock split have been adjusted proportionate to the 1:15 split ratio.

 

 Option Awards Stock Awards  Option Awards  Stock Awards 
Name 

Number of

Shares

Acquired

on Exercise

(#)

 

Value Realized

on Exercise(1)

($)

 

Number of

Shares

Acquired

on Vesting

(#)

 

Value Realized

on Vesting

($)(2)

  Number of Shares Acquired on Exercise
(#)
  

Value Realized on Exercise(1)

($)

  Number of Shares Acquired on Vesting
(#)
  

Value Realized on Vesting

($)(2)

 
Glen A. Messina        327,669   635,678         34,407   614,000 
June C. Campbell                    543   9,445 
Timothy J. Yanoti        19,380   28,682 
Scott W. Anderson        45,112   83,024         3,165   27,059 
Dennis Zeleny                    2,193   39,144 
Catherine M. Dondzila        26,431   48,565 
John V. Britti        2,857   24,425 

(1)No options were exercised during 2019.2020.
(2)The dollar amounts shown in this column for stock awards are calculated based on the closing price of a share of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the date of vesting.

 

Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control

 

We would treat any termination of employment of a named executive officer as we believe is appropriate in light of the circumstances, subject to the terms of our agreements with the executive, including Severance Plans, employment offer letters, any equity award agreement and the intellectual property, non-disclosure, non-competition and non-disclosure agreementnon-solicitation agreements discussed above under “Restrictive Covenants,” and our clawback policy, as applicable. In addition, a named executive officer would typically retain any vested portion of prior equity awards granted through the 1998 Annual Incentive Plan, the 2007 Plan and the 2017 Plan.

Treatment of Annual Incentive Plan. The Compensation Committee approved a modification to the 2020 AIP which provided that in the event of a change in control, 2020 AIP compensation would be paid at the greater of actual or target performance levels.

Treatment of Options and EquityEquity.

Our stock option agreements generally provide that, in the event of death, disability, retirement or termination by the Company without cause, in each case as defined in the applicable stock option agreement, (i) all unvested options that vest over a certain time period (“time-based”) would immediately vest; (ii) all unvested options that vest in accordance with the fulfillment of market conditions or other performance criteria (“performance-based”) would generally continue to vest if the particular performance criteria is satisfied (in the case of retirement or termination without cause, within 90 days of termination); and (iii) all vested options generally terminate within a specified timeframe. Upon termination for cause, all vested and unvested options are immediately terminated. Additionally, pursuant to these stock option agreements, if there is a “change ofin control” as defined in the applicable stock option agreement, all options would immediately vest.

 

Our time-based and performance-based stock unit agreements for awards granted prior to March 29, 2019 provide for continued vesting upon retirement, disability or death. Upon retirement on or after the first anniversary of the award, or in the event of disability, vesting of the award continues as provided in the award agreement if certain conditions relating to cooperation and non-competition as set forth in the agreement are met. Upon death, vesting also continues as provided in the award agreement. If terminated (other than by retirement, disability or death), any unvested portion of the award shall be terminated on the last day of employment. If there is a “change ofin control” as defined in the applicable stock unit agreement, then all outstanding and unvested awards immediately vest.

 

We believe that the provisions in our equity award agreements relating to change in control support our compelling business need to incentivize the retention of key employees during the uncertain times preceding a potential change in control. As described below, awards granted on or after March 29, 2019 provide for accelerated vesting following a change in control only if such change in control is followed by actual or constructive termination (i.e., a “double trigger”), in order to further incentivize post-change in control retention and engagement.

For the Long-Term Incentive (LTI)LTIP awards granted March 29, 2019 and after, in the case of death or disability, the awards will immediately vest on a pro-rata basis in proportion to the percentage of the vesting period the participant served prior to termination, and the performance-based vesting condition shall be deemed to have been achieved at target level, as applicable. In the event of voluntary resignation (other than for good reason, as defined in the applicable award agreements), any unvested portion of an award will be forfeited.

 

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Upon a termination without cause or retirement, the restricted stock units vest in the same pro-rata manner described above, and the pro-rata portion (determined in the same manner described above) of the three-year cliff-vesting performance-restricted stock units remain eligible to become vested, subject to achievement of applicable performance objectives, and the transitional three-year ratable-vesting performance-restricted stock units remain eligible to become vested in full, subject to achievement of performance objectives.

 

In the event of a change ofin control, awards continue vesting in accordance with their terms, butthough the applicable performance-based vesting condition shall be deemed to have been achieved at target levels at each subsequent vesting date, as applicable.date. If, within 12 months of such change ofin control (or, with respect to the corporationspecial RSU awards granted to our NEOs (other than Mr. Messina), at any time following a change in control prior to the vesting date), the Company terminates the participant’s employment for any reason other than for cause, or the participant resigns for good reason, the awards will vest at target level as of the date of termination.

We believe that the provisions in our equity award agreements relating to change in control support our compelling business need to incentivize the retention of key employees during the uncertain times preceding a change of control. As described above, beginning with our March 29, 2019 awards, our award agreements provide for accelerated vesting following change of control only if such change of control is followed by actual or constructive termination (i.e., a “double trigger”), in order to further incentivize post-change of control retention and engagement.

Treatment of Cash Awards. In the event of an involuntary termination due to a job elimination, reduction in force or group layoff, all cash awards would immediately vest in full. In the case of death or disability, the awards will immediately vest on a pro-rata basis as described above.

Payments for Mr. MessinaMessina.

In the event of Mr. Messina’s termination without cause or resignation for good reason, under the terms of his offer letter he will be entitled to receive (i) a lump sum termination payment in an amount equal to the sum of his base salary plus his annual target incentive, (ii)plus the estimated cost of 18 months’ COBRA benefits, and (iii)benefit premiums, (ii) a pro rata portion of his annual bonus payment based on actual achievement of Ocwen performance objectives, and (iii) payment of any unpaid prior year bonus. In addition, in the event of Mr. Messina’s termination without cause, resignation for good reason or termination due to death or disability, he will be entitled to accelerated vesting of his sign-on option award and sign-on restricted stock unit award.

Severance Plans If within two years following a change in control his employment is terminated without cause or he resigns for good reason, the value of his lump sum termination payment will increase to two years of base salary, target incentive and COBRA benefit premiums, in addition to continued bonus eligibility outlined above.

 

Severance Plans. Messrs. Anderson, YanotiBritti and Zeleny and Ms. Campbell are eligible for severance benefits upon a qualifying termination of employment, conditioned upon the execution of a separation and release agreement, consistent with either the United States Basic Severance Plan (the “Severance Plan”) or the United States Change in Control Severance Plan (the “CIC Plan”).

 

Under the Severance Plan, if an executive officer’s employment with the Company is terminated by the Company due to an eligible termination as defined in the Plan, the executive will be entitled to receive the following benefits: (i) a lump sum payment equal to 18 times the monthly base salary rate; and (ii) a monthly subsidy equal to the executive’s expected cost ofeligibility for subsidized COBRA benefit premiums for continued medicalhealthcare coverage for up to 18 months.months, if elected.

 

Under the CIC Plan, if a Change in Control (as defined in the Plan) occurs and either the participant’s employment is involuntarily terminated or he or she resigns for good reason within the 12-month period following the Change in Control or he or she has been requested by the Company to continue in the employment of the Company through a specified date following a Change in Control and the participant remains in the employment of the Company for such specified period, the executive will be entitled to receive the following benefits, in lieu of and not in addition to, the benefits described in the preceding paragraph: (i) a lump sum payment equal to 24 times the monthly base salary rate, plus the annual target incentive under the Annual Incentive Plan prorated for their length of service for the year in which the termination occurs; and (ii) a monthly subsidy equal to the participant’s expected cost ofeligibility for subsidized COBRA benefit premiums for continued medicalhealthcare coverage for up to 24 months.

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months, if elected.

Tabular Disclosure of Payments on Termination or Change in Control

 

The table below sets forth the potential benefits that each named executive officer serving as of December 31, 20192020 would have been entitled to receive from the Company as described above upon a termination of employment under the circumstances described above, and the potential benefits that each individual would have been entitled to receive with respect to accelerated vesting of equity awards had a termination of employment under the circumstances described above or a change in control of the Company occurred, assuming that the event occurred on the last day of fiscal year 2019. For Ms. Dondzila, as required under SEC rules, payments to her in connection with her termination of employment on May 31, 2019 are described below.2020.

 

The value of any outstanding equity awards that would accelerate is determined by multiplying (i) the number of unvested restricted stock units held by the named executive officer that would accelerate by (ii) $1.37,$28.91, the closing price of a share of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on December 31, 20192020 (the last trading day of the year). Additionally, at that share price, no stock options for which vesting would accelerate had value.

 

Potential Payments upon Termination of Employment or Change in Control 
Name Voluntary Termination without Good Reason or Involuntary Termination for Cause  Voluntary Resignation with Good Reason  Involuntary Termination Not for Cause  Change in Control without Termination  Change in Control with Qualifying Termination  Disability or Death  Retirement 
Glen A. Messina     3,573,440   3,573,440   897,817   4,538,151   653,017   187,093 
June C. Campbell     712,500   712,500   112,378   1,062,378       
Timothy J. Yanoti     675,000   722,690   180,543   1,456,916   95,379   47,690 
Scott W. Anderson     750,000   778,612   27,400   1,384,954   188,956   28,612 
Dennis Zeleny     637,500   656,479      1,120,394   37,957   18,979 

Potential Payments upon Termination of Employment or Change in Control
Name Voluntary Termination without Good Reason or Involuntary Termination for Cause  Voluntary Resignation with Good Reason  Involuntary Termination Not for Cause  Change in Control without Termination  Change in Control with Qualifying Termination  Disability or Death  Retirement 
Glen A. Messina     4,204,341   5,028,785   631,551   13,186,268   2,180,745   824,444 
June C. Campbell     712,500   1,076,442   142,403   2,929,829   267,659   125,942 
Scott W. Anderson     750,000   1,262,459      3,229,217   448,100   162,459 
Dennis Zeleny     637,500   1,063,110      2,907,547   413,782   166,610 
John V. Britti     675,000   1,088,338   126,799   2,962,568   515,538   267,137 

Catherine M. Dondzila Separation

Effective as of May 31, 2019, Ms. Dondzila resigned as our Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. The Company entered into a separation and release agreement with Ms. Dondzila on June 19, 2019 in connection with her departure. Under this agreement, in addition to any other accrued obligations and vested benefits under the Company’s benefit plans, the Company agreed to pay Ms. Dondzila a lump sum payment of $568,870 in exchange for a general release of claims. This agreement also included certain restrictive covenants.

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 56

 

ADVISORY RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

(Proposal Two)

 

The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors has appointed Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent registered public accountants, to be our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 20202021 and has further directed that such appointment be submitted for ratification, on an advisory basis, by our shareholders at the Annual Meeting. Although shareholder ratification of the Audit Committee’s action in this respect is not required, the Audit Committee considers it desirable for shareholders to ratify such appointment. If the shareholders do not ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP, the Audit Committee may, in its sole discretion, reevaluate the engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm. Even if this appointment is ratified, the Audit Committee, in its discretion, may direct the appointment of a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if the Audit Committee determines that such a change would be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

 

Representatives of Deloitte & Touche LLP will be present at the Annual Meeting, will be given the opportunity to make a statement, if they so desire, and will be available to respond to appropriate questions from you.

 

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR” THE

ADVISORY RATIFICATION OF DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC

ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR 2020.2021.

 

5357
 

 

Report of the Audit Committee

 

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has:

 

 Reviewed and discussed with management Ocwen’s audited financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019;
2020;
 Discussed with Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ocwen’s independent registered public accounting firm, the matters required to be discussed by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission; and
 Received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent registered certified public accounting firm’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence and discussed with Deloitte & Touche LLP their independence.

 

In reliance on the review and discussion referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited financial statements be included in Ocwen’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.2020.

 

The Audit Committee operates under a written charter approved by our Board of Directors, a copy of which is available on our website atwww.ocwen.com.

 

April [●], 202016, 2021Audit Committee
 Alan J. Bowers, Chair
 RobertJacques J. Lipstein,Busquet, Director
 Kevin Stein, Director

 

Deloitte & Touche LLP Fees

 

The following table shows the aggregate fees billed to Ocwen for professional services by Deloitte & Touche LLP for fiscal years 20192020 and 2018:2019:

 

  2019  2018 
Audit Fees $6,584,205  $5,601,457 
Audit Related Fees  313,000   250,000 
Tax Fees  1,846,820   2,150,010 
All Other Fees  38,877   4,286 
Total $8,782,902  $8,005,753 

  2020  2019 
Audit Fees $4,821,470  $6,203,710 
Audit Related Fees  696,463   783,366 
Tax Fees  2,178,565   1,846,820 
All Other Fees  150,000   35,000 
Total $7,846,499  $8,868,895 

 

Audit Fees. This category includes the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered for the audits of Ocwen’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 20192020 and 2018,2019, for the reviews of the financial statements included in Ocwen’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q during fiscal years 20192020 and 20182019 and for services that are normally provided by the independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for the relevant fiscal years.

Audit Related Fees. This category includes the aggregate fees billed for reporting on internal controls relating to servicing operations.

Tax Fees. This category includes the aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the independent registered public accounting firm for tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice.

58

All Other Fees. This category includes the aggregate amounts billed in each of the last two fiscal years by the independent registered public accounting firm that are not reported above under “Audit Fees,” “Audit-Related Fees” or “Tax Fees.”

The 2020 amount includes fees of $150,000 paid to provide a comfort letter in connection with a corporate debt offering.

The Audit Committee considered the compatibility ofevaluated the non-audit-related services provided by and fees paid to Deloitte & Touche LLP in 20182019 and 20192020 and the proposed services for 20202021 and determined that such services and fees are compatible with the independence of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

 

Principles for Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Non-Audit Services Provided by the Independent Auditor (the “Pre-Approval Principles”).The Audit Committee has adopted the Pre-Approval Principles to set forth the procedures and conditions for pre-approving audit and permitted non-audit services to be performed by the independent auditor responsible for auditing the Company’s consolidated financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or any separate financial statements that may be required.

Pursuant to the Pre-Approval Principles, proposed services may either be pre-approved by the Audit Committee on a categorical basis, without consideration of specific services (“general pre-approval”), or may be subject to case-by-case pre-approval by the Audit Committee (“specific pre-approval”). The Audit Committee believes that the combination of these two approaches will result in an effective and efficient procedure for purposes of addressing the Company’s auditing and non-auditing services and for evaluating the potential impact of non-audit services on the independence of the independent auditor.

 

Pursuant to the Pre-Approval Principles, regardless of whether a class of services or individual service is proposed for general or specific pre-approval, the Audit Committee shall consider whether such service is consistent with applicable Securities and Exchange Commission and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board rules and guidance with respect to auditor independence. The Audit Committee shall also consider whether the independent auditor is best positioned to provide the most effective and efficient service, for reasons such as familiarity with the Company’s business, people, culture, accounting systems, risk profile and other factors, and whether the service may enhance the Company’s ability to manage or control risk or improve audit quality. All such factors will be considered as a whole, and no one factor should necessarily be determinative. The Audit Committee shall also be mindful of the relationship between fees for audit and non-audit services in determining whether to pre-approve any class of services or individual service and may determine, for each year, the appropriate ratio between the total amount of “Audit Fees,” “Audit-Related Fees” and “Tax Fees” and the total amount of fees for permissible non-audit services classified under “All Other Fees.”

 

All audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditor, including the projected fees for such services, shall be pre-approved by the Audit Committee. In general, predictable and recurring audit and permitted non-audit services shall be considered for general and/or specific pre-approval by the full Audit Committee on an annual basis, generally in conjunction with the selection of the independent auditor. At this time, the Audit Committee may also choose to provide pre-approval of audit, audit-related and tax services that may ultimately be required, but are not specifically identified at the beginning of the calendar year.

 

For any services not covered by these initial pre-approvals, the Audit Committee delegates authority to the Chair of the Audit Committee to pre-approve any audit or permitted non-audit or tax service for which the estimated fee does not exceed $500,000. Any service not covered by the Audit Committee’s initial pre-approvals and for which fees are expected to exceed $500,000 shall be pre-approved by the full Audit Committee.

 

The Audit Committee does not delegate its responsibilities to pre-approve services performed by the independent auditor to management.

59

ADVISORY VOTE TO APPROVE NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION

(Proposal Three)

 

As required pursuant to Section 14A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Company is presenting this proposal which gives you as a shareholder the opportunity to approve or not approve our pay program for our named executive officers.

 

As described in more detail under the heading “Executive Compensation,” we believe our executive compensation programs are effectively designed, are in alignment with the interests of our shareholders and are instrumental to achieving our business strategy. Prior to 2019, shareholder feedback in the form of shareholder advisory votes on Ocwen’s executive compensation has been very positive. At each of our Annual MeetingsMeeting of Shareholders from 2014 through 2018,in 2020, we received at least 85%90% of votes cast on our Say-on-Pay proposal in favor of our executive compensation. In 2019, we received 66% support on the votes casted on our Say-on-Pay proposal. Based on outreach efforts to both institutional and active investors, we believe that a significant driver of this was the “AGAINST” recommendation provided by ISS’s proxy advisory group. ISS comments included, among others, that our “annual incentive awards being tied to a large number of metrics, several which appear to be subjective” and that our new Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Messina, received equity grants that were “large and entirely time-vesting.”

 

The Compensation Committee considered ISS’s input,the result of the 2020 Say-on-Pay proposal, as well as the input we gathered from reaching out or meeting directly with active investors.during outreach efforts to shareholders and investors in designing our 2021 executive compensation program. Through these outreach efforts, we reached a groupout to shareholders who held approximately 58%60% of our outstanding shares. During the shareholder engagement process, we shared with investorsdiscussed progress made toward Ocwen’s financial turn-around, execution against the objectives in our business strategy, including in response to the pandemic, and how the metrics found in our executive pay programs tied back directly to achievement on those objectives. In particular, we demonstrated how AIP metrics were tied to improving profitability, continued cost reduction, improved operating metrics, and customer and employee satisfaction. We also reviewed the changes we had made into our programs including the reduction of compensation levels2020 Long-Term Incentive program to incorporate performance metrics based on total shareholder return relative to our peer group, and the introductionrationale underlying the grant of a long-term incentive plan.our September 2020 compensation awards, which was to promote management stability and, like all awards, incentivize efforts to identify and execute strategic change opportunities that create value for our shareholders. As a result of our outreach efforts, we feel confident that shareholders understand and support the engagement process, we concluded that Ocwen’s current focus on rewarding the management team for cost reduction, maximizing the synergies of the PHH acquisition, settling legacy issues with regulators and focusing on the quickest return to profitability, as well as linking management’s compensation to absolute total shareholder return, aligns with the prioritieslinkage of our shareholders.2020 executive pay programs to reducing costs, improving operating profitability, diversifying our revenue sources and securing the talent needed to continue strengthening Ocwen.

 

The Compensation Committee and our Board of Directors intend to continue to consider shareholder feedback as well as recommended best practices put forth by shareholder proxy advisory firms such as ISS to the extent these institution’sinstitutions’ recommendations are aligned with the interests of our shareholders. We also intend to continue to hold an advisory Say-on-Pay vote at each annual meeting of shareholders.

 

Accordingly, we will ask our shareholders to vote on the following proposed resolution at the Annual Meeting:

 

“RESOLVED, that the Company’s shareholders approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the named executive officers, as disclosed in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 20202021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the compensation tables and the narrative discussion that accompanies the compensation tables.”

 

While the Compensation Committee and our Board of Directors intend to carefully consider the shareholder vote resulting from this proposal, the final vote will not be binding on us and is advisory in nature.

 

You may vote for or against or abstain from the approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers as disclosed in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the compensation tables and the narrative discussion that accompanies the compensation tables contained in this proxy statement.

 

The Company’s current policy is to provide shareholders with an opportunity to approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the named executive officers each year at the annual meeting of shareholders. This policy aligns with the preference expressed by our shareholders at our 2017 Annual Meeting for Shareholders, who voted overwhelmingly to advise the Company to hold Say-on-Pay votes annually. Therefore, we expect that the next such vote will occur at the 20202023 annual meeting of shareholders.

 

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR” THE

APPROVAL, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE COMPENSATION OF THE COMPANY’S NAMED

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, AS DISCLOSED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT.

60

ADVISORY APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

TO EFFECT A REVERSE STOCK SPLIT OF OUR ISSUED AND OUTSTANDING COMMON STOCK AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED SHARES OF OUR COMMON STOCK BY THE SAME PROPORTION AS THE RATIO OF OUR REVERSE STOCK SPLITOCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION 2021 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

(Proposal Four)

 

Our Board has approved and is requestingGeneral

At the Annual Meeting, shareholders will be asked to approve on an advisory basis, an amendmentthe Ocwen Financial Corporation 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”), which was adopted, subject to our Articles of Incorporation that would effect a reverse split of all outstanding shares of our common stock if the Board deems that it is in our and our shareholders’ best interests, at a ratio of any amount between, and including, one-for-five and one-for-25, and reduce the number of authorized shares of our common stock by the same proportion as the ratio of our reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”). Under the Florida Business Corporation Act, we may enact this amendment to our Articles of Incorporation without shareholder approval, because we are reducing our authorized shares proportionately. However,by our Board has determinedof Directors on April 14, 2021.

The Company believes that it is appropriate to requestincentives and stock-based awards focus employees on the objective of creating shareholder approval of this amendmentvalue and will give appropriate consideration topromoting the outcome of the advisory vote in determining whether or not to effect a Reverse Stock Split, and if so, at which split ratio. Our Board will continue to have the authority to elect to implement a Reverse Stock Split at its sole discretion if the members of the Board believe, due to changing circumstances or otherwise, that it is in the best interestssuccess of the Company, and its shareholders,that incentive compensation plans like the proposed 2021 Plan are an important attraction, retention and therefore required by the Board’s fulfillment of its fiduciary duties. Further, our Board may elect not to implement a Reverse Stock Split at its sole discretion, if it believes as a result of changed circumstances or otherwise that to abandon the Reverse Stock Split would bemotivation tool for participants in the best interest of our shareholders.

If our Board elects to implement the Reverse Stock Split, our Board would authorize our management to file Articles of Amendment to our Articles of Incorporation with the Florida Secretary of State to effect the Reverse Stock Split. If our Board elects to implement the Reverse Stock Split, the number of issued and outstanding shares of our common stock would be reduced in accordance with the ratio of the selected Reverse Stock Split. The par value of our common stock would remain unchanged, and the number of our authorized shares of common stock, which is presently 200,000,000, would be decreased proportionally. For example, if we implemented a one-for-five Reverse Stock Split, our authorized shares would be reduced to 40,000,000 and if we implemented a one-for-20 Reverse Stock Split, our authorized shares would be reduced to 10,000,000. Because the number of authorized shares of our common stock will be reduced by the same proportion as the ratio of our Reverse Stock Split, the Reverse Stock Split will not result in an increase to the proportion of our authorized but unissued shares of common stock. If our Board elects to implement the Reverse Stock Split, the ratio selected by our Board would be publicly disclosed by us to our shareholders on or before the date on which the Articles of Amendment to our Articles of Incorporation effecting the Reverse Stock Split is filed with the Florida Secretary of State.

You may elect to vote in favor of the Reverse Stock Split, against the Reverse Stock Split, or you may abstain from voting on the proposal. The proposed form of amendment to our Articles of Incorporation to implement the Reverse Stock Split is attached to this Proxy Statement asAnnex A.

Purpose of the Reverse Stock Splitplan.

 

The Board believes that a Reverse Stock Split is desirable for a number of reasons, including:

Help us Comply with New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Continued Listing Requirements. Our common stock is quoted on the NYSE under the symbol “OCN”. On the record date, the last sale price of our common stock was $0.57 per share. As previously disclosed, we were notified on April 8, 2020 by the NYSE that we were non-compliant with the NYSE’s continued listing standards because the average closing price of our common stock over the 30 trading-day period ending April 7, 2020 was less than $1.00. If we are not able to regain compliance with the NYSE’s share price standards, which generally require that on the last trading day of any calendar month during the six months ended October 8, 2020, our common stock has a closing share price of at least $1.00 and an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over the 30 trading-day period ending on the last trading day of that month, we will be de-listed from the NYSE, absent a determination by the NYSE to grant general or Company-specific relief due to the extraordinary circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise. On April 3, 2020, the NYSE filed two proposals with the SEC, designed to assist NYSE-listed companies with temporary relief in response to the market-wide declines as a result of COVID-19. One of the proposals seeks to suspend the application of the NYSE’s continued listing requirements of a minimum $1.00 price and $50 million market capitalization/shareholder’s equity through June 30, 2020. The likelihood of NYSE relief, and the precise nature of any such relief, remain uncertain at this time. Therefore, we believe we should effectuate the Reverse Stock Split in order to potentially increase our stock price and therefore our ability comply with the continued listing requirements of the NYSE.

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Increase in Eligible Institutional and Other Investors. We believe a Reverse Stock Split has the ability to increase the price of our common stock and potentially decrease its volatility, and thus may facilitate investment in our stock by a broader range of institutional investors. For example, many funds and institutions have investment guidelines and policies that prohibit them from investing in stocks with a price below a certain threshold. We believe that increased institutional investor interest in the Company and our common stock may potentially lead to an increase in the market price of our common stock, as well as the trading volume and liquidity of our common stock.

Increase Analyst and Broker Interest. We believe a Reverse Stock Split would help increase analyst and broker-dealer interest in our common stock as many brokerage and investment advisory firms’ policies can discourage analysts, advisors, and broker/dealers from following or recommending companies with low stock prices. Because of the trading volatility and lack of liquidity often associated with lower-priced stocks, many brokerage houses have adopted investment guidelines and policies and practices that either prohibit or discourage them from investing or trading such stocks or recommending them to their clients and customers. Some of those guidelines, policies and practices may also function to make the processing of trades in lower-priced stocks economically unattractive to broker-dealers. Additionally, because brokers’ commissions and dealer mark-ups/mark-downs on transactions in lower-priced stocks generally represent a higher percentage of the stock price than commissions and mark-ups/mark-downs on higher-priced stocks, the current average price per share of our common stock can result in shareholders or potential shareholders paying transaction costs representing a higher percentage of the total share value than would otherwise be the case if the share price were substantially higher.

In evaluating the Reverse Stock Split, our Board of Directors also considered a number of negative factors commonly associated with reverse stock splits. These factors include the negative perception of reverse stock splits held by some investors and analysts, as well as the fact that the stock prices of some companies that effect reverse stock splits do not necessarily trade at levels commensurate with expectations based on the applicable reverse stock split ratios. See “- Risks of the Reverse Stock Split” below for more information on the risks associated with the Reverse Stock Split. Our Board, however, may determine that these potential negative factors would be significantly outweighed by the potential benefits, and may believe that the increase of the per share market price of our common stock that may result from the Reverse Stock Split may allow us to maintain the listing of our common stock on the NYSE, encourage greater interest in our common stock from market participants, and enhance the marketability of our common stock.

Risks of the Reverse Stock Split

Before voting on this proposal, you should consider the following risks associated with the implementation of the Reverse Stock Split.

The Reverse Stock Split may not increase our market capitalization, which would prevent us from realizing some of the anticipated benefits of the Reverse Stock Split. The market price of our common stock is based on a number of factors which may be unrelated to the number of shares outstanding. These factors may include our performance, general economic and market conditions and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. The market price per share may not rise in inverse proportion to the reduction in the number of shares outstanding before the Reverse Stock Split, and any increase in share price may not be maintained. For example, based on the closing price of our common stock on March 31, 2020, of $0.50 per share, if our Board were to implement the Reverse Stock Split and utilize a ratio of one-for-20, we cannot assure you that the post-split market price of our common stock would be $10.00 (that is $0.50 multiplied by 20) per share or greater. Accordingly, the total market capitalization of our common stock after the Reverse Stock Split may be lower than the total market capitalization before the Reverse Stock Split.

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Even if the Reverse Stock Split is implemented, we may still become ineligible for continued listing on the NYSE. In the future, the market price of our common stock following the Reverse Stock Split may not equal or exceed the market price prior to the Reverse Stock Split. The long- and near-term effect of a Reverse Stock Split upon the market price of our common stock cannot be predicted with any certainty. Even if the Reverse Stock Split is implemented, we may still become ineligible for continued listing on the NYSE.

If the Reverse Stock Split is effected, the resulting per-share market price may not attract institutional investors or investment funds and may not satisfy the investing guidelines of such investors and, consequently, the trading liquidity of our common stock may not improve. There can be no assurance that the Reverse Stock Split will result in a per-share market price that will attract institutional investors or investment funds or that such share price will satisfy the investing guidelines of institutional investors or investment funds. As a result, the trading liquidity of our common stock may not necessarily improve.

The reduced number of issued shares of common stock resulting from the Reverse Stock Split could adversely affect the liquidity of our common stock. As noted above, the Reverse Stock Split may not increase interest in our common stock and to the contrary, the reduced number of shares issued and outstanding after the Reverse Stock Split could adversely affect the liquidity of our common stock by reducing the number of shares available for trading.

Effects of the Reverse Stock Split

Reduction of the number of Shares Held by Individual Shareholders. After the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split, each common shareholder will own fewer shares of our common stock. However, the Reverse Stock Split will affect all of our common shareholders uniformly and will not affect any common shareholder’s percentage ownership interests in us, except to the extent that the Reverse Stock Split results in any of our shareholders owning a fractional share as described below. As discussed further below, we will round up any fractional shares. The number of shareholders of record will not be affected by the Reverse Stock Split. However, if the Reverse Stock Split is approved, it will increase the number of shareholders who own “odd lots” of less than 100 shares of our common stock. Brokerage commissions and other costs of transactions in odd lots may be higher than the costs of transactions of more than 100 shares of common stock.

Reduction in Total Outstanding Shares.The proposed Reverse Stock Split will reduce the total number of outstanding shares of common stock by a factor based on the ratio of the split. The following table shows the number of shares of our common stock outstanding both before the Reverse Stock Split and after the Reverse Stock Split:

Reverse Split Ratio Number of Shares Authorized 

Approximate Number of
Shares Issued

and
Outstanding(1)

 Percentage of Authorized Common Stock Number of Shares Available for Issuance
Current Shares 200,000,000 134,956,288 67.5% 65,043,712
1-for-5 40,000,000 26,991,258 67.5% 13,008,742
1-for-10 20,000,000 13,495,629 67.5% 6,504,371
1-for-15 13,333,333 8,997,086 67.5% 4,336,247
1-for-20 10,000,000 6,747,814 67.5% 3,252,186
1-for-25 8,000,000 5,398,252 67.5% 2,601,748

(1) As of the Record Date, March 27, 2020.

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Change in Number and Exercise Price of Employee and Equity Awards. The Reverse Stock Split will reduce the number of shares of common stock available for issuance undercurrently maintains the 2017 Performance Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”). In addition, awards remain outstanding under our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2007 Plan” and equitytogether with the 2017 Plan, the “Legacy Plans”). As of April 15, 2021, a total of 634,875 shares of the Company’s common stock were subject to outstanding awards granted under Legacy Plans, and no additional shares of the Company’s common stock were available for new award agreements issuedgrants under the 2017 Plan.

The Board of Directors believes that the number of shares currently available under the 2017 Plan in proportiondoes not give the Company sufficient authority and flexibility to adequately provide for future incentives. If shareholders approve the split ratio. Under2021 Plan, no new awards will be granted under the terms of our outstanding equity awards,2017 Plan after the Reverse Stock Split will cause a reduction inAnnual Meeting. In that case, the number of shares of the Company’s common stock issuable upon exercise or vesting of such awards in proportionthat remain available for award grants under the 2017 Plan immediately prior to the split ratioAnnual Meeting will become available for award grants under the 2021 Plan. An additional 490,000 shares of the Reverse Stock SplitCompany’s common stock will also be made available for award grants under the 2021 Plan. In addition, if shareholders approve the 2021 Plan, any shares of common stock underlying RSUs granted under Legacy Plans that fail to vest, are canceled, or otherwise terminate after the Annual Meeting will also be available for award grant purposes under the 2021 Plan. None of the shares of the Company’s common stock underlying stock options that expire, are canceled, or otherwise terminate after the Annual Meeting will be available for award grant purposes under the 2021 Plan.

If shareholders do not approve the 2021 Plan, the Company will continue to have the authority to grant awards under the 2017 Plan. If shareholders approve the 2021 Plan, the termination of our grant authority under the 2017 Plan will not affect awards then outstanding under the Legacy Plans.

Summary Description of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan

The principal terms of the 2021 Plan are summarized below. The following summary is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the 2021 Plan, which appears as Annex A to this proxy statement.

Purpose. The purpose of the 2021 Plan is to promote the success of the Company by providing an additional means for us to attract, motivate, retain and reward selected employees and other eligible persons through the grant of awards. Equity-based awards are also intended to further align the interests of award recipients and our shareholders.

Administration. Our Board of Directors or one or more committees appointed by our Board of Directors will causeadminister the 2021 Plan. Our Board of Directors has delegated general administrative authority for the 2021 Plan to the Compensation Committee. The Board of Directors or a proportionate increasecommittee thereof (within its delegated authority) may delegate different levels of authority to different committees or persons with administrative and grant authority under the 2021 Plan. (The appropriate acting body, be it the Board of Directors or a committee or other person within its delegated authority, is referred to in this proposal as the “Administrator”.)

The Administrator has broad authority under the 2021 Plan, including, without limitation, the authority:

to select eligible participants and determine the type(s) of award(s) that they are to receive;
to grant awards and determine the terms and conditions of awards, including the price (if any) to be paid for the shares or the award and, in the case of share-based awards, the number of shares to be offered or awarded;
to determine any applicable vesting and exercise conditions for awards (including any applicable performance and/or time-based vesting or exercisability conditions) and the extent to which such conditions have been satisfied, or determine that no delayed vesting or exercise is required, to determine the circumstances in which any performance-based goals (or the applicable measure of performance) will be adjusted and the nature and impact of any such adjustment, to establish the events (if any) on which exercisability or vesting may accelerate (including specified terminations of employment or service or other circumstances), and to accelerate or extend the vesting or exercisability or extend the term of any or all outstanding awards;
to cancel, modify, or waive the Company’s rights with respect to, or modify, discontinue, suspend, or terminate any or all outstanding awards, subject to any required consents;
subject to the other provisions of the 2021 Plan, to make certain adjustments to an outstanding award and to authorize the conversion, succession or substitution of an award;
to determine the method of payment of any purchase price for an award or shares of the Company’s common stock delivered under the 2021 Plan, as well as any tax-related items with respect to an award, which may be in the form of cash, check, or electronic funds transfer, by the delivery of already-owned shares of the Company’s common stock or by a reduction of the number of shares deliverable pursuant to the award, by services rendered by the recipient of the award, by notice and third party payment or cashless exercise on such terms as the Administrator may authorize, or any other form permitted by law;
to modify the terms and conditions of any award, establish sub-plans and agreements and determine different terms and conditions that the Administrator deems necessary or advisable to comply with laws in the countries where the Company or one of its subsidiaries operates or where one or more eligible participants reside or provide services;
to approve the form of any award agreements used under the 2021 Plan; and
to construe and interpret the 2021 Plan, make rules for the administration of the 2021 Plan, and make all other determinations for the administration of the 2021 Plan.

No Repricing. In no case (except due to an adjustment to reflect a stock split or other event referred to under “Adjustments” below, or any repricing that may be approved by shareholders) will the Administrator (1) amend an outstanding stock option or stock appreciation right to reduce the exercise price or base price of suchthe award, (2) cancel, exchange, or surrender an outstanding stock option or stock appreciation right in exchange for cash or other awards at any time that the exercise price or base price of the award is greater than fair market value or under any other circumstances that would constitute repricing the award, or (3) cancel, exchange, or surrender an outstanding stock option or stock appreciation right in exchange for an option or stock appreciation right with an exercise or base price that is less than the exercise or base price of the original award.

Eligibility. Persons eligible to receive awards under the 2021 Plan include officers or employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, directors of the Company, and certain consultants and advisors to the extent theyCompany or any of its subsidiaries. As of April 15, 2021, the Company and its subsidiaries had approximately 4,900 employees (including all of the Company’s named executive officers), and six members of our Board of Directors who are stock options.not employed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries (“non-management directors”), all of which are considered eligible under the 2021 Plan. As of April 15, 2021, the Company and its subsidiaries had approximately 108 consultants and advisors who were also considered eligible under the 2021 Plan. In 2020, 93 employees and all non-management directors received awards under the 2017 Plan.

Aggregate Share Limit. The maximum number of shares of the Company’s common stock issuable upon exercisethat may be issued or vestingtransferred pursuant to awards under the 2021 Plan equals the sum of stock optionthe following (such total number of shares, the “Share Limit”):

490,000 shares, plus
the number of shares available for additional award grant purposes under the 2017 Plan as of April 14, 2021, the date the Board of Directors approved the 2021 Plan (the “Effective Date”), plus
the number of any shares subject to restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards granted under the 2017 Plan that are outstanding and unvested as of the Effective Date which are forfeited, terminated, cancelled, or otherwise reacquired after the Effective Date without having become vested (with any such shares taken into account based on the premium share-counting rule discussed below for full-value awards).

As of the Effective Date, no shares were available for additional award grant purposes under the 2017 Plan. Accordingly, if shareholders approve the 2021 Plan, the 490,000 shares requested above will initially be available for award grant purposes under the 2021 Plan. As noted above, no additional awards will be roundedgranted under the 2017 Plan if shareholders approve the 2021 Plan. As of the Effective Date, approximately 499,536 shares (before taking into account the premium share-counting rule discussed below) were subject to potential forfeit under restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards then outstanding under the nearest whole share and no cash payment will be madeLegacy Plans.

Shares issued in respect of such rounding.

Effect on cash-settled and equity-settled RSUs and relevant performance metrics. The number of outstanding Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)any “full-value award” granted under the 2021 Plan will be proportionately reduced and rounded down tocounted against the nearest whole unit. The remaining fractional unit will be converted toShare Limit as 1.2 shares for every one share actually issued in connection with the award. For example, if the Company granted a cash obligation not subject to the termsbonus of the Plan but administered according to the same vesting, performance and other terms contained in the corresponding Award agreement. As applicable, performance requirements assigned to RSU vesting that are based on share price metrics (including total shareholder return) will be increased in proportion to the split ratio.

Regulatory Effects. Our common stock is currently registered under Section 12(b)100 shares of the Exchange Act and we are subject to the periodic reporting and other requirements of the Exchange Act. The Reverse Stock Split will not affect the registration of theits common stock under the Exchange Act2021 Plan, 120 shares would be counted against the Share Limit with respect to that award. For this purpose, a “full-value award” generally means any award granted under the 2021 Plan other than a stock option or our obligationstock appreciation right.

Additional Share Limits. The following other limits are also contained in the 2021 Plan. These limits are in addition to, publicly file financial and other information withnot in lieu of, the Securities and Exchange Commission. IfShare Limit for the Reverse Stock Split is implemented, we will remain subject to NYSE continued listing standards, including compliance with the minimum price per share requirementsplan described above and, in order to continue to tradethe case of share-based limits, are applied on a one-for-one basis without applying the NYSE.premium share-counting ratio for full-value awards discussed above.

In addition to the above, the Reverse Stock Split will have the following effects upon our common stock:

 

 The per share loss and net book value of our common stock will be increased because there will be a lessermaximum number of shares of our commonthat may be delivered pursuant to options qualified as incentive stock outstanding;options granted under the plan is 333,333 shares.
   
 The authorized common stock andmaximum grant date fair value for awards granted to a non-management director under the par2021 Plan during any one calendar year is $300,000, except that this limit will be $400,000 as to (1) a non-management director who is serving as the independent Chair of the Board of Directors or as a lead independent director at the time the applicable grant is made or (2) any new non-management director for the calendar year in which the non-management director is first elected or appointed to the Board of Directors. For purposes of this limit, the “grant date fair value” of an award means the value of the common stockaward on the date of grant of the award determined using the equity award valuation principles applied in the Company’s financial reporting. This limit does not apply to, and will remain $0.01 per share;be determined without taking into account, any award granted to an individual who, on the grant date of the award, is an officer or employee of the Company or one of its subsidiaries. This limit applies on an individual basis and not on an aggregate basis to all non-management directors as a group.

Share-Limit Counting Rules. The Share Limit of the 2021 Plan is subject to the following rules:

Shares that are subject to or underlie full-value awards which expire or for any reason are canceled, terminated, forfeited, fail to vest, or for any other reason are not paid or delivered under the 2021 Plan will not be counted against the Share Limit and will again be available for subsequent awards under the 2021 Plan.
   
 The stated capital on our balance sheet attributableShares that underlie stock appreciation rights and stock options which expire or for any reason are cancelled or terminated, are forfeited, fail to vest, or for any other reason are not paid or delivered under the 2021 Plan shall be counted against the Share Limit and shall not be available for subsequent awards under the 2021 Plan.
To the extent that shares are delivered pursuant to the commonexercise of a stock will be decreased andoption or stock appreciation right granted under the additional paid-in capital account will be credited with2021 Plan, the amount bynumber of shares as to which the stated capitalportion of the stock option or stock appreciation right is decreased.exercised shall be counted against the Share Limit. (For purposes of clarity, if a stock option or stock appreciation right relates to 100,000 shares and is exercised at a time when the net number of shares due to the participant is 15,000 shares (taking into account any shares withheld to satisfy any applicable exercise or base price of the award and any shares withheld to satisfy any tax withholding obligations arising in connection with such exercise), 100,000 shares shall be charged against the Share Limit with respect to such award.)
Shares that are exchanged by a participant or withheld by the Company to pay the exercise price of a stock option or stock appreciation right granted under the 2021 Plan, as well as any shares exchanged or withheld to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to any stock option or stock appreciation right, will not be available for subsequent awards under the 2021 Plan.
Shares that are exchanged by a participant or withheld by the Company as full or partial payment in connection with any full-value award granted under the 2021 Plan or the Legacy Plans, as well as any shares exchanged by a participant or withheld by the Company to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to any full-value award granted under the 2021 Plan or the Legacy Plans, will not be counted against the Share Limit and will again be available for subsequent awards under the 2021 Plan (with any such shares becoming available for subsequent awards taking into account the premium share-counting rule discussed above for full-value awards).
To the extent that an award is settled in cash or a form other than shares, the shares that would have been delivered had there been no such cash or other settlement will not be counted against the Share Limit and will again be available for subsequent awards under the 2021 Plan.
In the event that shares are delivered in respect of a dividend equivalent right, the actual number of shares delivered with respect to the award shall be counted against the Share Limit. (For purposes of clarity, if 1,000 dividend equivalent rights are granted and outstanding when the Company pays a dividend, and 50 shares are delivered in payment of those rights with respect to that dividend, 60 shares shall be counted against the Share Limit, after giving effect to the share-counting rule discussed above for full-value awards.) Except as otherwise provided by the Administrator, shares delivered in respect of dividend equivalent rights shall not count against any individual award limit under the 2021 Plan other than the aggregate Share Limit.

 

SharesIn addition, the 2021 Plan generally provides that shares issued in connection with awards that are granted by or become obligations of common stock outstanding after the Reverse Stock Split will be fully paid and non-assessable. The amendmentCompany through the assumption of awards (or in substitution for awards) in connection with an acquisition of another company will not change anycount against the shares available for issuance under the 2021 Plan. The Company may not increase the applicable share limits of the other terms of our common stock. The2021 Plan by repurchasing shares of common stock outstanding afteron the Reverse Stock Split will havemarket (by using cash received through the same votingexercise of stock options or otherwise).

Types of Awards. The 2021 Plan authorizes stock options, stock appreciation rights, and rights to dividends and distributions and will be identicalother forms of awards granted or denominated in all other respects to the shares ofCompany’s common stock outstanding prioror units of the Company’s common stock, as well as cash bonus awards. The 2021 Plan retains flexibility to the Reverse Stock Split.offer competitive incentives and to tailor benefits to specific needs and circumstances. Any award may be structured to be paid or settled in cash.

 

BecauseA stock option is the number of authorizedright to purchase shares of ourthe Company’s common stock willat a future date at a specified price per share (the “exercise price”). The per share exercise price of an option generally may not be reducedless than the fair market value of a share of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The maximum term of an option is ten years from the date of grant. An option may either be an incentive stock option or a nonqualified stock option. Incentive stock option benefits are taxed differently from nonqualified stock options, as described under “Federal Income Tax Consequences of Awards Under the 2021 Plan” below. Incentive stock options are also subject to more restrictive terms and are limited in amount by the same proportion asU.S. Internal Revenue Code and the ratio2021 Plan. Incentive stock options may only be granted to employees of our Reverse Stock Split, the Reverse Stock Split will not result in an increase to the proportion of our authorized but unissued shares of common stock.Company or a subsidiary.

 

Once we implement a Reverse Stock Split, all share certificates issued priorA stock appreciation right is the right to receive payment of an amount equal to the Reverse Stock Split will continue to be valid. Inexcess of the future, newfair market value of a share certificatesof the Company’s common stock on the date of exercise of the stock appreciation right over the base price of the stock appreciation right. The base price will be issued reflectingestablished by the ReverseAdministrator at the time of grant of the stock appreciation right and generally may not be less than the fair market value of a share of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. Stock Split, but thisappreciation rights may be granted in connection with other awards or independently. The maximum term of a stock appreciation right is ten years from the date of grant.

The other types of awards that may be granted under the 2021 Plan include, without limitation, stock bonuses, restricted stock, performance stock, stock units or phantom stock (which are contractual rights to receive shares of stock, or cash based on the fair market value of a share of stock), dividend equivalents which represent the right to receive a payment based on the dividends paid on a share of stock over a stated period of time, or similar rights to purchase or acquire shares, and cash awards.

Any awards under the 2021 Plan (including awards of stock options and stock appreciation rights) may be fully-vested at grant or may be subject to time- and/or performance-based vesting requirements.

Minimum Vesting Requirement. Except as described below, each award granted under the 2021 Plan will be subject to a minimum vesting period of one year. An award may provide that it will vest earlier than the first anniversary of the date of grant of the award due to the death, disability, or involuntary termination of the employment or services of the award holder, or in connection with a “Change in Control” of the Company (as such term is defined in the 2021 Plan). Awards may, however, be granted under the 2021 Plan with minimum vesting requirements of less than one year, or no way will affectvesting requirements, provided that the validity of your current share certificates. When implemented, the Reverse Stock Split will adjust thetotal number of shares held by each shareholder without any further action on the part of our shareholders. After the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split, each book-entry share certificate issued priorCompany’s common stock subject to the Reverse Stock Splitsuch awards will be re-issued by our transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC (AST), to account for the Reverse Stock Split.

After the effective datenot exceed 5% of the Reverse Stock Split, each physical share certificate issued prior to the Reverse Stock Split will be deemed to represent the number of shares shown on the certificate, divided by the split ratio. Physical share certificates will be re-issued in book-entry form in due course as such certificates are tendered for exchange or transfer to our transfer agent in accordance with instructions in a transmittal letter that will be provided to shareholders of record.

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As applicable, if a share certificate issued prior to the Reverse Stock Split bears a restrictive legend, the replacement share certificate that will be issued following the Reverse Stock Split will contain the same restrictive legend. Also, if applicable, for purposes of determining the term of the restrictive period applicable to shares after the Reverse Stock Split for purposes of Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the time period during which a shareholder has held their existing pre-Reverse Stock Split shares will be included in the total holding period.

We request that shareholders do not send in any of their stock certificates at this time and follow the instructions on the transmittal letter that will be sent to record holders of physical certificates by our stock transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC (AST).Share Limit.

 

ProcedureDividend Equivalents; Deferrals. The Administrator may provide for Implementing the Reversedeferred payment of awards, and may determine the other terms applicable to deferrals. The Administrator may provide that awards under the 2021 Plan (other than options or stock appreciation rights), and/or deferrals, earn dividends or dividend equivalents based on the amount of dividends paid on outstanding shares of Common Stock, Splitprovided that as to any dividend equivalent rights granted in connection with an award granted under the 2021 Plan that is subject to vesting requirements, no dividend equivalent payment will be made as to a portion of an award unless the related vesting conditions of that portion of an award are satisfied (or, in the case of a restricted stock or similar award where the dividend must be paid as a matter of law, the dividend payment will be subject to forfeiture or repayment, as the case may be, if the related vesting conditions are not satisfied).

The Reverse Stock Split would become effective uponAssumption and Termination of Awards. If an event occurs in which the filingCompany does not survive (or does not survive as a public company in respect of Articlesits common stock), including, without limitation, a dissolution, merger, combination, consolidation, conversion, exchange of Amendment to our Articlessecurities, or other reorganization, or a sale of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of Florida. The exact dateall or substantially all of the filingbusiness, stock or assets of the ArticlesCompany, awards then-outstanding under the 2021 Plan may not automatically become fully vested pursuant to the provisions of Amendmentthe 2021 Plan so long as such awards are assumed, substituted for or otherwise continued (i.e. no “single-trigger” awards). However, if awards then-outstanding under the 2021 Plan are to be terminated in such circumstances (without being assumed or substituted for), such awards would generally become fully vested (with any performance goals applicable to the award being deemed met at the “target” performance level), subject to any exceptions that will effectuate the Reverse Stock Split will be determinedAdministrator may provide for in an applicable award agreement. The Administrator also has the discretion to establish other change in control provisions with respect to awards granted under the 2021 Plan, subject to the prohibition on “single-trigger” awards. For example, the Administrator could provide for the acceleration of vesting or payment of an award in connection with a corporate event followed by termination of the award holder’s employment. For the treatment of outstanding equity awards held by our Board based on its evaluation as to when such action will be the most advantageous to us and our shareholders. In addition, our Board reserves the right, notwithstanding shareholder approval and without further action by the shareholders, to elect not to proceednamed executive officers in connection with the Reverse Stock Split if, at any time prior to filing the amendment to our Articles, our Board,a termination of employment and/or a change in its sole discretion, determines that it is no longer in our best interest and the best interests of our shareholders to proceed with the Reverse Stock Split.

After the filingcontrol of the Articles of Amendment, our common stock will have a new CUSIP number, which is a number used to identify our equity securities, and stock certificates withCompany, please see the prior CUSIP number will need to be exchanged for stock certificates withdiscussion under the new CUSIP number by following the procedures described below.

As soon as practicable after the Reverse Stock Split is implemented, our transfer agent will act as exchange agent for purposes of implementing the exchange of physical stock certificates for record holders (i.e., shareholders who hold their shares directlyheading “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in their own name and not through a broker). Record holders of pre-Reverse Stock Split physical share certificates will be asked to surrender to the transfer agent certificates representing pre-Reverse Stock Split shares in exchange for a book-entry certificate representing post-Reverse Stock Split shares in accordance with the procedures to be set forth in a letter of transmittal for from our transfer agent. No new certificates will be issued to a shareholder until such shareholder has surrendered such shareholder’s outstanding physical share certificate(s) together with the properly completed and executed letter of transmittal to the exchange agent.

For street name holders of pre-Reverse Stock Split shares (i.e., shareholders who hold their shares through a broker), your broker will make the appropriate adjustment to the number of shares held in your account following the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split.Control” above.

 

SHAREHOLDERS SHOULD NOT DESTROY ANY STOCK CERTIFICATE(S) AND SHOULD NOT SUBMIT ANY CERTIFICATE(S) UNTIL THEY RECEIVE A TRANSMITTAL FORM FROM OUR TRANSFER AGENT.Transfer Restrictions.

No service charges, brokerage commissions Subject to certain exceptions contained in Section 5.7 of the 2021 Plan, awards under the 2021 Plan generally are not transferable by the recipient other than by will or transfer taxesthe laws of descent and distribution and are generally exercisable, during the recipient’s lifetime, only by the recipient. Any amounts payable or shares issuable pursuant to an award generally will be payable by any shareholder, except that if any new stock certificates arepaid only to be issued in a name other than that in which the surrendered certificate(s) are registered it will be a condition of such issuance that (1)recipient or the person requesting such issuance pays all applicable transfer taxes resulting fromrecipient’s beneficiary or representative. The Administrator has discretion, however, to establish written conditions and procedures for the transfer (or priorof awards to transfer of such certificate, if any)other persons or establishes to our satisfactionentities, provided that such taxes have been paid or are not payable, (2) the transfer compliestransfers comply with all applicable federal and state securities laws and (3) the surrendered certificate is properly endorsed and otherwiseare not made for value (other than nominal consideration, settlement of marital property rights, or for interests in proper form for transfer.

Fractional Shares

No fractional shares of common stock will be issued as a resultan entity in which more than 50% of the Reverse Stock Split. Instead, shareholders who otherwise would be entitled to a fraction of a share of common stock will, in lieu of such fractional share, receive one whole share of common stock.

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Accounting Matters

The par value per share of our common stock will remain unchanged at $0.01 per share after the Reverse Stock Split. As a result, on the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split, the stated capital on our consolidated balance sheet attributable to common stock will be reduced and the additional paid-in-capital account will be increasedvoting securities are held by the amountaward recipient or by which the stated capital is reduced. Per share net income or loss will be increased because there will be fewer shares of our common stock outstanding. We do not anticipate that any other accounting consequences, including changes to the amount of stock-based compensation expense to be recognized in any period, will arise as a result of the Reverse Stock Split.

Certain Federal Income Tax Consequencesrecipient’s family members).

 

Each shareholderAdjustments. As is advised to consult their own tax advisorcustomary in incentive plans of this nature, each share limit and the number and kind of shares available under the 2021 Plan and any outstanding awards, as well as the following discussionexercise or purchase prices of awards, and performance targets under certain types of performance-based awards, are subject to adjustment in the event of certain reorganizations, mergers, combinations, recapitalizations, stock splits, stock dividends, or other similar events that change the number or kind of shares outstanding, and extraordinary dividends or distributions of property to the shareholders.

No Limit on Other Authority. Except as expressly provided with respect to the termination of the authority to grant new awards under the 2017 Plan if shareholders approve the 2021 Plan, the 2021 Plan does not limit the authority of the Board of Directors or any committee to grant awards or authorize any other compensation, with or without reference to the Company’s common stock, under any other plan or authority.

Termination of or Changes to the 2021 Plan and Outstanding Awards. The Board of Directors may amend or terminate the 2021 Plan at any time and in any manner. Shareholder approval for an amendment will be required only to the extent then required by applicable law or deemed necessary or advisable by the Board of Directors. Unless terminated earlier by the Board of Directors and subject to any extension that may be limited, modifiedapproved by shareholders, the authority to grant new awards under the 2021 Plan will terminate on April 14, 2031. Outstanding awards, as well as the Administrator’s authority with respect thereto, generally will continue following the expiration or not apply based on your own particular situation.termination of the plan. Generally speaking, outstanding awards may be amended by the Administrator (except for a repricing), but the consent of the award holder is required if the amendment (or any plan amendment) materially and adversely affects the holder.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of Awards under the 2021 Plan

The following summary of certain United StatesU.S. federal income tax consequences of the Reverse Stock Split2021 Plan under current federal law, which is based on current law, includingsubject to change, are summarized in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and is for general information only. This summary addresses only shareholders who are United States Persons, as defined in Section 7701(a)(30)following discussion of the Code and who hold the pre-Reverse Stock Split shares and post-Reverse Stock Split shares as capital assets. This summary does not purport to be complete and does not address shareholders subject to special rules, such as financial institutions, tax-exempt organizations, insurance companies, dealers in securities, mutual funds, non-U.S. shareholders, shareholders who hold the pre-Reverse Stock Split shares as part of a straddle, hedge, or conversion transaction, shareholders who hold the pre-Reverse Stock Split shares as qualified small business stock within the meaning of Section 1202 of the Code, shareholders who hold the pre-Reverse Stock split shares as Section 1244 stock within the meaning of Section 1244 of the Code, shareholders who are subjectgeneral tax principles applicable to the alternative minimum tax provisions of the Code, and shareholders who acquired their pre-Reverse Stock Split shares pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options or otherwise as compensation. This summary does not address tax considerations under state, local and/or non-U.S. income tax and other laws. If a partnership holds pre-Reverse Stock Split shares, the tax treatment of a partner in such partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of such partnership. Furthermore, we have not obtained a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service or an opinion of legal or tax counsel with respect to the consequences of the Reverse Stock Split and do not intend to do so.2021 Plan. This summary is not binding uponintended to be exhaustive and, among other considerations, does not describe the deferred compensation provisions of Section 409A of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or the courts, and there can be no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service or the courts will accept the positions expressed herein.

The Reverse Stock Split is intended to constitute a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368 of the Code. Assuming the Reverse Stock Split qualifies as a reorganization for federal income tax purposes, we will not recognize taxable income, gain or loss as a result of the transaction.

Assuming the Reverse Stock Split qualifies as a reorganization for federal income tax purposes, a shareholder generally will not recognize income, gain or loss on the Reverse Stock Split, except possiblyCode to the extent ofan award is subject to and does not satisfy those rules, nor does it describe state, local, or international tax consequences.

With respect to nonqualified stock options, the company is generally entitled to deduct and the participant recognizes taxable income in an amount equal to the difference between the option exercise price and the fair market value of the shares received solely asat the time of exercise. With respect to incentive stock options, the company is generally not entitled to a resultdeduction nor does the participant recognize income at the time of exercise, although the stock “round up” (see below). The aggregate tax basis of the post-Reverse Stock Split shares received by a shareholder willparticipant may be equalsubject to the aggregate tax basis of its pre-Reverse Stock Split shares plus the value of the shares received solely as a result of the stock “round up”. The holding period of the post-Reverse Stock Split shares received by a shareholder will include the holding period of the pre-Reverse Stock Split shares exchanged by such shareholder as part of this transaction for all shares received other than any received as a result of the “round-up.” The shares received as a result of the “round-up” may have a new holding period starting on the date of the Reverse Stock Split.U.S. federal alternative minimum tax.

 

The current federal income tax consequences of other awards authorized under the 2021 Plan generally follow certain basic patterns: nontransferable restricted stock “round up” are unclear, andsubject to a holdersubstantial risk of forfeiture results in income recognition equal to the excess of the pre-Reverse Stock Split sharesfair market value over the price paid (if any) only at the time the restrictions lapse (unless the recipient elects to accelerate recognition as of the date of grant); bonuses, stock appreciation rights, cash and stock-based performance awards, dividend equivalents, stock units, and other types of awards are generally subject to tax at the time of payment; and compensation otherwise effectively deferred is taxed when paid. In each of the foregoing cases, the company will generally have a corresponding deduction at the time the participant recognizes income.

If an award is accelerated under the 2021 Plan in connection with a “change in control” (as this term is used under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code), the Company may recognize incomenot be permitted to deduct the portion of the compensation attributable to the acceleration (“parachute payments”) if it exceeds certain threshold limits under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (and certain related excise taxes may be triggered). Furthermore, under Section 162(m) of the Code, the aggregate compensation in excess of $1,000,000 payable to current or gainformer Named Executive Officers (including amounts attributable to equity-based and other incentive awards) may not be deductible by the Company in certain circumstances.

Specific Benefits under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan

The Company has not approved any awards that are conditioned upon shareholder approval of the 2021 Plan. The Company is not currently considering any other specific award grants under the 2021 Plan, other than the annual grants of restricted stock units to our non-management directors described in the following paragraph. If the 2021 Plan had been in existence in fiscal 2020, the Company expects that its award grants for fiscal 2020 would not have been substantially different from those actually made in that year under the 2017 Plan. For information regarding stock-based awards granted to the Company’s named executive officers during fiscal year 2020, please see the discussion under the heading “Executive Compensation” above. The Company granted similar awards in March 2021, with the difference that the March 2021 equity awards to executives were settleable in stock rather than cash to the extent of available shares. The Company generally expects to continue granting similar awards on an annual basis under the value2021 Plan.

As described under “Board of Directors Compensation” above, our current compensation policy for non-management directors provides for each non-management director to receive an annual award of restricted stock units, with the number of shares subject to each award to be determined by dividing $100,000 by the closing price of our stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on the grant date as described above. Assuming, for illustrative purposes only, that the price of the common stock used for the conversion of the dollar amount set forth above into shares received solelyis $50, the number of shares that would be allocated to the Company’s six non-management directors as a resultgroup pursuant to the annual grant formula is approximately 12,000 shares per year and approximately 120,000 shares in the aggregate over the 10-year term of the 2021 Plan. This calculation also assumes that there continue to be six non-management directors seated and that there are no changes to the awards granted under the director equity grant program.

The following paragraphs include additional information to help you assess the potential dilutive impact of the Company’s equity awards and the 2021 Plan. The Legacy Plans are the Company’s only equity plans with outstanding awards. No new grants may be authorized under the 2007 Plan. While there continues to be authority to grant awards under the 2017 Plan, no shares under the 2017 Plan remain available.

Overhang” refers to the number of shares of the Company’s common stock that are subject to outstanding awards or remain available for new award grants. As of December 31, 2020, 326,174 shares of the Company’s common stock were subject to outstanding restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards, including 125,395 subject to performance-based vesting criteria, granted under the Legacy Plans, 124,866 shares of the Company’s common stock were subject to outstanding stock options, including 51,563 subject to performance-based vesting criteria, granted under the Legacy Plans, and 249,746 shares of the Company’s common stock were available for new award grants under the 2017 Plan. As of December 31, 2020, the weighted average exercise price and weighted average remaining term of the stock “round up.”options outstanding under the Legacy Plans were $274.30 and 3.06 years, respectively. In this 2021 Plan proposal, the number of shares of the Company’s common stock subject to restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards granted during any particular period or outstanding on any particular date is presented based on the actual number of shares of the Company’s common stock covered by those awards and before applying the provisions of the 2017 Plan for counting these awards against the plan’s Share Limit as 1.2 for every share actually issued pursuant to the award.

The weighted-average number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding in each of the last three fiscal years was 8,913,558 shares issued and outstanding in 2018; 8,962,961 shares issued and outstanding in 2019; and 8,748,725 shares issued and outstanding in 2020. The number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2020 and April 15, 2021 was 8,687,750 and 8,708,271 shares, respectively.

 

PLEASE CONSULT YOUR OWN TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND FOREIGN INCOME AND OTHER TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE REVERSE STOCK SPLIT AND THE RECEIPT OF ANY “ROUND UP” SHARES IN YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE AND THE LAWS OF ANY OTHER TAXING JURISDICTION.Burn rate” refers to the number of shares that are subject to awards that we grant over a particular period of time. The total number of shares of the Company’s common stock subject to awards that the Company granted under the 2017 Plan in each of the last three fiscal years, and to date (as of April 15, 2021) for 2021, are as follows:

 

 66129,068 shares in 2018 (which was 1.5% of the weighted-average number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding in 2018), of which 105,843 shares were subject to restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards (including 6,201 subject to performance-based vesting conditions, assuming achievement of target performance levels), and 23,225 shares were subject to time-vesting stock options;
 
122,118 shares in 2019 (which was 1.4% of the weighted-average number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding in 2019), of which 118,691 shares were subject to restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards (including 43,611 subject to performance-based vesting conditions, assuming achievement of target performance levels), and 3,427 shares were subject to time-vesting stock options;
204,054 shares in 2020 (which was 2.3% of the weighted-average number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding in 2020), all of which were shares subject to restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards (including 75,000 subject to performance-based vesting conditions, assuming achievement of target performance levels).
232,099 shares in 2021 through April 15, 2021 (which was 2.7% of the number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding on April 15, 2021), all of which were shares subject to restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards (including 116,053 subject to performance-based vesting conditions, assuming achievement of target performance levels).

 

Thus, the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock subject to awards granted under the 2017 Plan per year over the last three fiscal years (2018, 2019 and 2020) has been, on average, 1.7% of the weighted-average number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding for the corresponding year. Performance-based vesting awards have been included above in the year in which the award was granted. The actual number of performance-based vesting restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards that became eligible to vest each year because the applicable performance-based condition was satisfied in that year (subject to the satisfaction of any applicable time-based vesting requirements) was as follows: 25,153 in 2018, 23,731 in 2019, 21,790 in 2020, and 15,874 to date (as of April 15, 2021) in 2021. No Appraisal Rightsshares subject to performance-based stock options became eligible to vest in 2018, 2019, 2020, or 2021 to date.

 

Shareholders have no rights under the Florida Business Corporation Act or under our charter documents to exercise dissenters’ rights of appraisal with respect to the Reverse Stock Split.

No Expected Anti-Takeover Effects

Because the Reverse Stock Split will not result in Ocwen having additional authorized and unissued shares, we do not expect the Reverse Stock Split to have any impact on the ability of the Company to engage in a merger, business combination or other transformative transaction, nor do we expect it to impact the ability of any party to assume control of us through a hostile-takeover, tender offer or proxy contest. Additionally, the Reverse Stock Split is not intended to effect a going private transaction.

Neither our Articles of Incorporation nor our Bylaws presently contain any provisions having anti-takeover effects, with the exception of our Board’s ability to issue preferred stock, at any time and from time to time, with such voting powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, qualification, limitations or restrictions as adopted by our Board. The Reverse Stock Split Proposal is not a plan by our Board to adopt a series of amendments to our Articles or Bylaws to institute an anti-takeover provision. We do not have any plans or proposals to adopt other provisions or enter into other arrangements that may have material anti-takeover consequences.

Rather, as discussed above, the reason for the Reverse Stock Split is to increase the ability of institutions to purchase our common stock and the interest in our common stock by analysts and brokers as well as help us comply with NYSE continued listing standards.

Interests of Certain Persons in this Proposal Four

Certain of our officers and directors have an interest in Proposal Four as a result of their ownershiptotal number of shares of our common stock.stock that were subject to awards granted under Legacy Plans that terminated or expired in each of the last three fiscal years, and to date (as of April 15, 2021) in 2021, are as follows: 385,601 in 2018, 38,091 in 2019, 13,056 in 2020, and 10,159 in 2021.

The Compensation Committee anticipates that the 490,000 additional shares requested for the 2021 Plan (together with the shares available for new award grants under the 2017 Plan on the Annual Meeting date and assuming usual levels of shares becoming available for new awards as a result of forfeitures of outstanding awards) will provide the Company with flexibility to continue to grant equity awards under the 2021 Plan through approximately 2023 (reserving sufficient shares to cover potential payment of performance-based awards at maximum payment levels). However, this is only an estimate, in the Reverse Stock Split will affect allCompany’s judgment, based on current circumstances. The total number of our common shareholders uniformly and will not affect any common shareholder’s percentage ownership interests in us, exceptshares that are subject to the extent that the Reverse Stock Split resultsCompany’s award grants in any one year or from year-to-year may change based on a number of variables, including, without limitation, the value of the Company’s common stock (since higher stock prices generally require that fewer shares be issued to produce awards of the same grant date fair value), changes in competitors’ compensation practices or changes in compensation practices in the market generally, changes in the number of employees, changes in the number of directors and officers, whether and the extent to which vesting conditions applicable to equity-based awards are satisfied, acquisition activity and the need to grant awards to new employees in connection with acquisitions, the need to attract, retain and incentivize key talent, the type of awards the Company grants, and how the Company chooses to balance total compensation between cash and equity-based awards.

The closing market price for a share of the Company’s common stock as of April 14, 2021 was $26.30 per share.

Information as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year with respect to compensation plans under which our shareholders owning a fractional share as describedequity securities are authorized for issuance is contained under the heading “Equity Compensation Plan Information” above.

 

Consequences ifVote Required for Approval of the Reverse Stock Split is Not Approved2021 Equity Incentive Plan

 

In the eventThe Board of Directors believes that the Reverse Stock Split is not approved by shareholders, we intend to actively monitor the trading price of our common stock on the NYSE and will consider available options in order to comply with the NYSE listing rules. We believe that our ability to remain listed on the NYSE may be significantly and negatively affected if a Reverse Stock Split is not implemented. If we are unable to achieve an increase in our stock price and our common stock is subsequently delisted, we would experience significant negative impacts, including but not limited to, impairment of our ability to obtain debt or equity financing to support our operations, and our shareholders could experience significant negative impacts, including but not limited to, decreased trading volume and liquidity of our common stock. Therefore, if the membersadoption of the Board believe, due to changing circumstances or otherwise, that it is in2021 Plan will promote the best interests of the Company and its shareholders and therefore requiredwill help the Company and its subsidiaries to attract, retain and reward persons important to our success.

All members of the Board of Directors and all of the Company’s executive officers are eligible for awards under the 2021 Plan and thus have a personal interest in the approval of the 2021 Plan.

The proposal for approval of the 2021 Plan will be approved if the votes cast by the Board’s fulfillment of its fiduciary duties, to act to prevent delistingholders of the Company,shares represented at the Board reserves discretionAnnual Meeting and entitled to implementvote in favor of the Reverseproposal exceed the votes cast opposing the proposal. Under New York Stock Split.Exchange listing standards applicable to shareholder approval of equity compensation plans, abstentions will be counted as votes cast and therefore will have the same effect as votes against the proposal. Broker “non-votes” will not be counted as votes cast and therefore will not be counted for purposes of determining whether the 2021 Plan has received a majority vote in favor of this proposal.

 

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR” THE ADVISORY APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO OUR ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION TO IMPLEMENTTHE 2021 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN AS DESCRIBED ABOVE AND SET FORTH IN ANNEX A REVERSE STOCK SPLIT AS DISCLOSED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT. HERETO.

 

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APPROVAL OF THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING

(Proposal Five)

If, at the Annual Meeting, the number of shares of common stock present in person or represented by proxy and voting in favor of Proposal Four to approve the Reverse Stock Split is insufficient to approve such proposal, the Company believes it is advisable that the Company should be authorized to move to adjourn the Annual Meeting in order to enable the Board of Directors to solicit additional proxies for the approval of Proposal Four. If we determine that this is necessary, we will ask our shareholders to vote only on Proposals One, Two, Three and Five and not on Proposal Four. We do not intend to call a vote on this Proposal Five if Proposal Four is approved by the requisite number of shares of our common stock at the Annual Meeting.

If our shareholders approve this Proposal Five to adjourn the Annual Meeting, we could adjourn the Annual Meeting and use the additional time to solicit additional proxies, including the solicitation of proxies from shareholders that have previously voted. Among other things, approval of this Proposal Five could mean that, even if we had received proxies representing a sufficient number of votes “AGAINST” Proposal Four to defeat such proposal, we could adjourn the Annual Meeting without a vote on the Reverse Stock Split and seek to convince the holders of those shares to change their votes to votes in favor of Proposal Four.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR” THE AUTHORITY OF THE COMPANY TO ADJOURN THE ANNUAL MEETING, IF NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE, TO SOLICIT ADDITIONAL PROXIES IN THE EVENT THAT THERE ARE NOT SUFFICIENT VOTES AT THE TIME OF THE ANNUAL MEETING TO APPROVE PROPOSAL FOUR.

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BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

 

Ocwen’s Related Party Transactions Approval Policy (the “Policy”) sets forth our policies and procedures for the review, approval and monitoring of Related Party Transactions (which, as defined in the Policy and subject to certain exceptions, includes transactions in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 and that involve Ocwen and (i) any person who is a director, nominee for director or senior vice-president or higher ranking employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries and any other person who performs policy-making functions for the Company, (ii) any person who beneficially owns more than five percent of any class of the Company’s voting securities, (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing persons, (iv) any entity or individual controlling or under common control with the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (v) any entity or individual covered by paragraph f or g of the definition of “Related Parties” in the Glossary of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 850, Related Party Disclosures (“ASC 850”) such that disclosures of transactions with such entity or individual would be required in the Company’s audited financial statements under ASC 850, (vi) any entity or individual sharing any risk, compliance, internal audit or vendor oversight function with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (vii) any Specified Companies designated by the Risk and Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors notwithstanding that such Specified Companies are not "related persons"“related persons” as defined in Item 404 of SEC Regulation S-K ("(“Item 404''404’’) or "related parties"“related parties” as defined in ASC 850. Our written Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which is available atwww.ocwen.com, also includes policies and procedures that broadly cover situations in which conflicts of interest may arise.

 

The Risk and Compliance Committee (the “Committee”) of the Board of Directors provides independent review, approval and oversight of Related Party Transactions as required under the Policy.

 

In connection with the review and approval of a Related Party Transaction, the Committee is to be provided with the pertinent details of the proposed Related Party Transaction, including the terms of the transaction, the business purpose of the transaction, and the perceived benefits or any detriments to Ocwen. In determining whether to approve a Related Party Transaction, the Committee may consider the following factors, as well as any others it deems appropriate, to the extent relevant to the transaction (i) whether the transaction is in the best interests of Ocwen; (ii) whether there are any alternatives to the Related Party Transaction; (iii) whether the Related Party Transaction is on terms comparable to those available to third parties; (iv) the potential for the Related Party Transaction to lead to an actual or apparent conflict of interest and any safeguards imposed to prevent such actual or apparent conflicts, (v) the overall fairness of the Related Party Transaction to Ocwen and (vi) any impact, positive or negative, on borrowers or mortgage loan investors. The Committee may request or require members of management to make certain modifications to a proposed Related Party Transaction prior to its approval of such Related Party Transaction.

 

Relationship with Altisource

 

Based on information contained in filings under the Exchange Act, we understand that Deer Park Road Management Company, LP, an Ocwen shareholder reporting beneficial ownership of over 5% of our common stock, also reports beneficial ownership of 19.8%23.7% of the common stock of Altisource Portfolio Solutions, S.A. (“Altisource”) as of December 31, 2019.March 26, 2021. Pursuant to SEC guidance, we consider this shareholder to have an indirect material interest in our transactions with Altisource, and, pursuant to our Policy, we consider our transactions with Altisource and certain of its subsidiaries to be Related Party Transactions notwithstanding that such Specified Companies are not “related persons” as defined in Item 404 or “related parties” as defined in ASC 850.

 

Our relationship with Altisource is governed by a series of agreements that set forth the terms on which we do business with Altisource. The key agreements are summarized below.

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Ocwen Financial Corporation is a party to a number of long-term agreements with Altisource S.à r.l., and certain other subsidiaries of Altisource, including a Services Agreement, under which Altisource provides various services, such as property valuation services, property preservation and inspection services and title services, among other things. This agreement expires August 31, 2025 and includes renewal provisions. Ocwen and Altisource have also entered into a Master Services Agreement pursuant to which Altisource currently provides title services to Ocwen’s subsidiary PHH Mortgage Corporation doing business as Liberty Reverse Mortgage.Ocwen for reverse mortgage loans. Ocwen also has a General Referral Fee Agreement with Altisource pursuant to which Ocwen receives referral fees which are paid out of the commission that would otherwise be paid to Altisource as the selling broker in connection with certain real estate sales services provided by Altisource. In February 2019, Ocwen and Altisource S.à r.l (a subsidiary of Altisource) signed a Binding Term Sheet, which among other things, confirmed Altisource’s cooperation with the deboarding of loans from Altisource’s REALServicing servicing system to Black Knight MSP. The Binding Term Sheet also amends certain provisions in the Services Agreement. After certain conditions have been met and where Ocwen has the right to select the services provider, Ocwen agreed to use Altisource to provide the types of services that Altisource currently provides under the Services Agreement for at least 90% of services for all portfolios for which Ocwen is the servicer or subservicer, except that Altisource will be the provider for all such services for the portfolios: (i) acquired by Ocwen pursuant to loan servicing under agreements from Homeward Residential, Inc. (acquired in 2012) or assigned and assumed by Ocwen from Residential Capital, LLC, et al (assets acquired in 2013); and (ii) acquired from Ocwen, excluding certain portfolios in which PHH has an interest, by New Residential Investment Corp. or its affiliates prior to the date of the Binding Term Sheet.

The Binding Term Sheet also sets forth a framework for negotiating additional service level changes under the Services Agreement in the future. As specified in the Binding Term Sheet, if Altisource fails certain performance standards for specified periods of time, then Ocwen may terminate Altisource as a provider for the applicable service(s), subject to Altisource’s right to cure. For certain claims arising from service referrals received by Altisource after the effective date of the Binding Term Sheet, the provisions include reciprocal indemnification obligations in the event of negligence by either party, and Altisource’s indemnification of Ocwen in the event of breach by Altisource of its obligations under the Services Agreement. The limitations of liability provisions include an exception for losses either party suffers as a result of third-party claims.

For the year ended December 31, 2019,2020, we paiddid not pay Altisource significant amounts under these agreements.

Relationship with Oaktree

On December 21, 2020, we entered into a transaction agreement with affiliates of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”) to form a joint venture for the purpose of investing in GSE MSRs that PHH Mortgage Corporation will subservice. Oaktree and Ocwen will hold 85% and 15% of the venture, respectively, and have agreed to invest equity up to $250 million over three years. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the first half of 2021. Upon closing, Ocwen also agreed to issue to Oaktree up to 4.9% of Ocwen’s then outstanding common stock at a price of $23.15 per share, and to issue to Oaktree warrants to purchase additional common stock equal to 3% of Ocwen’s then outstanding common stock at a purchase price of $24.31 per share, subject to anti-dilution adjustments.

On February 9, 2021, we executed an agreement with Oaktree to issue to Oaktree in a private placement $285 million of Ocwen senior secured notes in two separate tranches. The initial tranche of $199.5 million senior secured notes (the “Company Notes”) was issued on March 4, 2021 to certain special purpose entities owned by funds and accounts managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (the “Oaktree Investors”). The net proceeds before expenses from the issuance to Oaktree of $18.3the initial tranche of senior secured notes was $175.0 million (after $24.5 million of original issue discount). The Company Notes were issued pursuant to Altisource undera Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement, dated February 9, 2021, between the Company and the Oaktree Investors. The additional $85.5 million tranche of senior secured notes to be issued to Oaktree is subject to certain conditions, including, but not limited to, the closing of the MSR joint venture with Oaktree. The net proceeds before expenses from the issuance to Oaktree of the additional tranche of senior secured notes and the warrants will be approximately $75.0 million (after $10.5 million of original issue discount).

In addition, concurrently with the initial issuance of the Company Notes, we issued to the Oaktree Investors warrants to purchase 1,184,768 shares of our agreementscommon stock at an exercise price of $26.82 per share subject to anti-dilution adjustments. The warrants may be exercised at any time until the expiration date of March 4, 2027. The warrants, however, cannot be exercised to the extent that affiliates of Oaktree would beneficially own in excess of 9.9% of our outstanding stock following such issuance without 61 days advance notice.

Also in connection with Altisource.the closing of the initial tranche of senior secured notes to Oaktree on March 4, 2021, Messrs. Jason Keller and Brian Laibow, who serve in management roles with the Oaktree Investors, joined Ocwen in the role of non-voting observers to our Board of Directors. Under our agreement with Oaktree, the Oaktree Investors may designate two Board of Directors observers for as long as the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Second Lien Notes is at least $100 million or the Oaktree Investors and their affiliates collectively own at least 15.0% of all issued and outstanding common stock of the Company (assuming the exercise of certain warrants held by them in full).

 

OTHER BUSINESS

 

The Board of Directors knows of no other business or nominees as of the date of printing this proxy statement other than the proposals described above in this proxy statement that will be presented for consideration at the meeting. If any other business or nominees should properly come before the meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof, it is the intention of the management proxy holders to vote in accordance with their judgment, unless otherwise restricted by law.

 

SUBMISSION OF SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR 20212022 ANNUAL MEETING

 

Requirements for Proposals to be Considered for Inclusion in Proxy Materials

Any proposal which a shareholder desires to have considered for inclusion in our proxy materials relating to our 20212022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, must be received by the Secretary of Ocwen at our principal executive offices no later than December [•], 202017, 2021 and must comply with the procedures prescribed in Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

Requirements for Proposals Not Intended for Inclusion in Proxy Materials and for Nomination of Director Candidates

If a shareholder wants to present a proposal, or nominate a person for election as Director, at the 20202022 Annual Meeting, we must receive written notice of the proposal or nomination no earlier than December [•], 202017, 2021 and no later than January [●], 2021,16, 2022, which notice of the proposal or nomination must meet the requirements set forth in Sections 1.1 and 2.2 of our Bylaws, respectively. Under the circumstances described in, and upon compliance with, Rule 14a-4(c) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, management proxies would be allowed to use their discretionary voting authority to vote on any matter with respect to which the foregoing requirements have been met.

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Requests to have a shareholder proposal considered for inclusion in our 20212022 proxy materials and notices of intent to present a proposal or nomination directly at the 20212022 Annual Meeting should be mailed to our Secretary at Ocwen Financial Corporation, 1661 Worthington Road, Suite 100, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409. Notices should be sent by first class United States mail or by a nationally recognized courier service. If you use the mail, we recommend that you use certified mail, return receipt requested.

 

ANNUAL REPORTS

 

A copy of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20192020 was mailed on or about April [•], 202016, 2021 to shareholders of record as of March 27, 2020.26, 2021. The annual report is not part of the proxy solicitation materials and can be found on our websitewww.ocwen.com in the Financial Information section under the “Shareholders” tab.

 

We will furnish without charge to each person whose proxy is solicited and to any beneficial owner entitled to vote as of the Record Date for the meeting, on written request, a copy of the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20192020 required to be filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such requests should be directed to our Secretary at Ocwen Financial Corporation, 1661 Worthington Road, Suite 100, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409.

 

OTHER MATTERS

 

Proxies will be solicited on behalf of the Board of Directors by mail or electronic means, and we will pay the solicitation costs. Copies of this proxy statement and our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20192020 will be supplied to Brokers for the purpose of soliciting proxies from beneficial owners. In addition to solicitations by mail or electronic means, our Directors, officers and employees may solicit proxies personally or by telephone without additional compensation. The shares represented by all valid proxies received by phone, by Internet or by mail will be voted in the manner specified. Where specific choices are not indicated, the shares represented by all valid proxies received will be voted: (i) “for all” the nominees for Director named earlier in this proxy statement, (ii) “for” the ratification, on an advisory basis, of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2020,2021, (iii) “for” the approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement, and (iv) “for” the approval on an advisory basis, of an amendment to our Articles of Incorporation to implement a reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding common stock and reduce the number of authorized shares of our common stock by the same proportion as the ratio of our reverse stock split, and (v) “for” the approval to authorize an adjournment of the Annual Meeting to solicit additional proxies for Proposal Four.2021 Equity Incentive Plan. Should any matter not described above be properly presented at the meeting, it is the intention of the management proxy holders to vote in accordance with their judgment, unless otherwise restricted by law. As of the date of this proxy statement, management was not aware that any matters not referred to in this proxy statement would be presented for action at the 20202021 Annual Meeting. If you are interested in participating in the virtual Annual Meeting and voting at that time, please see “Annual Meeting Participation” above for further details on participation requirements.

 

We have adopted a procedure called “householding,” which the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved. Under this procedure, shareholders of record who have the same address and last name and did not receive their proxy materials electronically will receive only one copy of our proxy materials unless we receive contrary instructions from one or more of such shareholders. Upon oral or written request, we will deliver promptly a separate copy of the proxy materials to a shareholder at a shared address to which a single copy of proxy materials was delivered. If you are a shareholder of record at a shared address to which we delivered a single copy of the proxy materials and you desire to receive a separate copy of the proxy materials for the Annual Meeting or for our future meetings, or if you are a shareholder at a shared address to which we delivered multiple copies of the proxy materials and you desire to receive one copy in the future, please submit your request to the Householding Department of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. at 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, New York 11717, or at 1-800-542-1061.1-866-540-7095. If you are a beneficial shareholder, please contact your Broker directly if you have questions, require additional copies of the proxy materials, wish to receive multiple reports by revoking your consent to householding or wish to request single copies of the proxy materials in the future.

 

This proxy statement and our 20192020 annual report may be viewed online atwww.ocwen.com in the Financial Information section under the “Shareholders” tab. If you are a shareholder of record, you can elect to access future annual reports and proxy statements electronically by following the instructions provided on the proxy card. If you choose this option, you will receive a notice by mail listing the website locations, and your choice will remain in effect until you notify us by mail that you wish to resume mail delivery of these documents. If you hold your common stock through a Broker, refer to the information provided by that entity for instructions on how to elect this option.

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ANNEX A

Assumes a Reverse Stock Split ratio of 1-for-10 for illustrative purposes only. If approved and implemented, the actual Reverse Stock Split ratio will be between, and including, one-for-five and one-for-25.

ARTICLES OF AMENDMENT TO

AMENDED AND RESTATED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

OF OCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION

2021 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

1.PURPOSE OF PLAN

The purpose of this Ocwen Financial Corporation 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (this “Plan”) of Ocwen Financial Corporation, a Florida corporation (the “Corporation”Corporation), acting pursuantis to promote the provisions of Sections 607.1006 and 607.10025 of the Florida Business Corporation Act, does hereby adopt the following Articles of Amendment to its Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation:

FIRST: The namesuccess of the Corporation is: Ocwen Financial Corporation.by providing an additional means through the grant of awards to attract, motivate, retain and reward selected employees and other eligible persons and to enhance the alignment of the interests of the selected participants with the interests of the Corporation’s stockholders.

 

2.ELIGIBILITY

SECOND: These Articles

The Administrator (as such term is defined in Section 3.1) may grant awards under this Plan only to those persons that the Administrator determines to be Eligible Persons. An “Eligible Person” is any person who is either: (a) an officer (whether or not a director) or employee of Amendment have been adopted and approvedthe Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries; (b) a director of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries; or (c) an individual consultant or advisor who renders or has rendered bona fide services (other than services in connection with a share division pursuant to Section 607.10025the offering or sale of securities of the Florida Business Corporation Act. The resolutions approvingor one of its Subsidiaries in a capital-raising transaction or as a market maker or promoter of securities of the divisionCorporation or one of its Subsidiaries) to the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries and who is selected to participate in this Plan by the Administrator; provided, however, that a person who is otherwise an Eligible Person under clause (c) above may participate in this Plan only if such participation would not adversely affect either the Corporation’s eligibility to use Form S-8 to register under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the offering and sale of shares were adoptedissuable under this Plan by the Corporation or the Corporation’s compliance with any other applicable laws. An Eligible Person who has been granted an award (a “participant”) may, if otherwise eligible, be granted additional awards if the Administrator shall so determine. As used herein, “Subsidiary” means any corporation or other entity a majority of whose outstanding voting stock or voting power is beneficially owned directly or indirectly by the Corporation; and approved byBoard” means the Board of Directors of the Corporation on [ ], without shareholder action. Shareholder action was not required pursuant to Section 607.10025(2) of the Florida Business Corporation Act.Corporation.

 

THIRD: The amendment to the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation set forth below does not adversely affect the rights or preferences of the holders of outstanding shares of the Corporation’s common stock, and the percentage of authorized shares of the Corporation’s common stock remaining unissued after the division will not exceed the percentage of authorized shares of the Corporation’s common stock that were unissued before the division.

FOURTH: Paragraph one (1) of Article III of the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

“The total number of shares of stock of all classes and series the Company shall have authority to issue is [40,000,000] shares consisting of (i) [20,000,000] shares of common stock, par value of $0.01 per share and (ii) 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 with such rights, preferences and limitations as may be set from time to time by resolution of the board of directors and the filing of Articles of Amendment as required by the Florida Business Corporation Act. Upon the filing and effectiveness (the “Effective Time”) pursuant to the Florida Business Corporation Act of these Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation, each [ten (10)] shares of Common Stock either issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall, automatically and without any action on the part of the respective holders thereof, be combined and converted into one (1) share of Common Stock (the “Reverse Stock Split”). No fractional shares shall be issued in connection with the Reverse Stock Split. Shareholders who otherwise would be entitled to receive fractional shares of Common Stock shall be entitled to receive shares rounded up to the nearest whole share. Each certificate that immediately prior to the Effective Time represented shares of Common Stock (“Old Certificates”), shall from and after the Effective Time, automatically and without the necessity of presenting the same for exchange, represent that number of shares of Common Stock into which the shares of Common Stock represented by the Old Certificate shall have been combined, subject to the elimination of fractional share interests as described above.”

FIFTH: That these Articles of Amendment shall become effective at [time] eastern time on [date], in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Florida Statutes.

3.72PLAN ADMINISTRATION

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned duly authorized officer of the Corporation has executed these Articles of Amendment as of this _____ day of _____, 20__.

 

 OCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION3.1The Administrator. This Plan shall be administered by and all awards under this Plan shall be authorized by the Administrator. The “Administrator” means the Board or one or more committees (or subcommittees, as the case may be) appointed by the Board or another committee (within its delegated authority) to administer all or certain aspects of this Plan. Any such committee shall be comprised solely of one or more directors or such number of directors as may be required under applicable law. A committee may delegate some or all of its authority to another committee so constituted. The Board or a committee comprised solely of directors may also delegate, to the extent permitted by applicable law, to one or more officers of the Corporation, its authority under this Plan. The Board or another committee (within its delegated authority) may delegate different levels of authority to different committees or persons with administrative and grant authority under this Plan. Unless otherwise provided in the Bylaws of the Corporation or the applicable charter of any Administrator: (a) a majority of the members of the acting Administrator shall constitute a quorum, and (b) the vote of a majority of the members present assuming the presence of a quorum or the unanimous written consent of the members of the Administrator shall constitute action by the acting Administrator.

3.2Powers of the Administrator. Subject to the express provisions of this Plan, the Administrator is authorized and empowered to do all things necessary or desirable in connection with the authorization of awards and the administration of this Plan (in the case of a committee or delegation to one or more officers, within any express limits on the authority delegated to that committee or person(s)), including, without limitation, the authority to:

(a)determine eligibility and, from among those persons determined to be eligible, determine the particular Eligible Persons who will receive an award under this Plan;
   
 By:(b)grant awards to Eligible Persons, determine the price (if any) at which securities will be offered or awarded and the number of securities to be offered or awarded to any of such persons (in the case of securities-based awards), determine the other specific terms and conditions of awards consistent with the express limits of this Plan, establish the installments (if any) in which such awards shall become exercisable or shall vest (which may include, without limitation, performance and/or time-based schedules), or determine that no delayed exercisability or vesting is required (subject to the minimum vesting rules of Section 5.2), establish any applicable performance-based exercisability or vesting requirements, determine the circumstances in which any performance-based goals (or the applicable measure of performance) will be adjusted and the nature and impact of any such adjustment, determine the extent (if any) to which any applicable exercise and vesting requirements have been satisfied, establish the events (if any) on which exercisability or vesting may accelerate (which may include, without limitation, retirement and other specified terminations of employment or services, or other circumstances), and establish the events (if any) of termination, expiration or reversion of such awards;
(c)approve the forms of any award agreements (which need not be identical either as to type of award or among participants);
 
 Name:(d)construe and interpret this Plan and any agreements defining the rights and obligations of the Corporation, its Subsidiaries, and participants under this Plan, make any and all determinations necessary under this Plan and any such agreements, further define the terms used in this Plan, and prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to the administration of this Plan or the awards granted under this Plan;
 
 Title:(e)cancel, modify, or waive the Corporation’s rights with respect to, or modify, discontinue, suspend, or terminate any or all outstanding awards, subject to any required consent under Section 8.6.5;
 
(f)accelerate, waive or extend the vesting or exercisability, or modify or extend the term of, any or all such outstanding awards (in the case of options or stock appreciation rights, within the maximum ten-year term of such awards) in such circumstances as the Administrator may deem appropriate (including, without limitation, in connection with a termination of employment or services or other events of a personal nature) subject to any required consent under Section 8.6.5;
(g)adjust the number of shares of Common Stock subject to any award, adjust the price of any or all outstanding awards or otherwise waive or change previously imposed terms and conditions, in such circumstances as the Administrator may deem appropriate, in each case subject to Sections 4 and 8.6 (and subject to the no repricing provision below);
(h)determine the date of grant of an award, which may be a designated date after but not before the date of the Administrator’s action to approve the award (unless otherwise designated by the Administrator, the date of grant of an award shall be the date upon which the Administrator took the action approving the award); provided, that the grant date of any award may not be modified once such grant date has occurred;
(i)determine whether, and the extent to which, adjustments are required pursuant to Section 7.1 hereof and take any other actions contemplated by Section 7 in connection with the occurrence of an event of the type described in Section 7;
(j)acquire or settle (subject to Sections 7 and 8.6) rights under awards in cash, stock of equivalent value, or other consideration (subject to the no repricing provision below); and
(k)determine the fair market value of the Common Stock or awards under this Plan from time to time and/or the manner in which such value will be determined.

3.3Prohibition on Repricing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 3.2 and except for an adjustment pursuant to Section 7.1 or a repricing approved by stockholders, in no case may the Administrator (1) amend an outstanding stock option or stock appreciation right (“SAR”) to reduce the exercise price or base price of the award, (2) cancel, exchange, or surrender an outstanding stock option or SAR in exchange for cash or other awards at any time that the exercise price or base price of the award is greater than fair market value or under any other circumstances that would constitute repricing the award, or (3) cancel, exchange, or surrender an outstanding stock option or SAR in exchange for an option or SAR with an exercise or base price that is less than the exercise or base price of the original award.
3.4Binding Determinations. Any determination or other action taken by, or inaction of, the Corporation, any Subsidiary, or the Administrator relating or pursuant to this Plan (or any award made under this Plan) and within its authority hereunder or under applicable law shall be within the absolute discretion of that entity or body and shall be conclusive and binding upon all persons. Neither the Board nor any Board committee, nor any member thereof or person acting at the direction thereof, shall be liable for any act, omission, interpretation, construction or determination made in good faith in connection with this Plan (or any award made under this Plan), and all such persons shall be entitled to indemnification and reimbursement by the Corporation in respect of any claim, loss, damage or expense (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees) arising or resulting therefrom to the fullest extent permitted by law and/or under any directors and officers liability insurance coverage that may be in effect from time to time. Neither the Board nor any other Administrator, nor any member thereof or person acting at the direction thereof, nor the Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries, shall be liable for any damages of a participant should an option intended as an ISO (as defined below) fail to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), applicable to ISOs, should any other award(s) fail to qualify for any intended tax treatment or be subject to tax, penalty, or interest under Section 409A of the Code or other tax penalties, should any award grant or other action with respect thereto not satisfy Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise for any tax or other liability imposed on a participant with respect to an award.
3.5Reliance on Experts. In making any determination or in taking or not taking any action under this Plan, the Administrator may obtain and may rely upon the advice of experts, including employees and professional advisors to the Corporation. No director, officer or agent of the Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries shall be liable for any such action or determination taken or made or omitted in good faith.
3.6Delegation. The Administrator may delegate ministerial, non-discretionary functions to individuals who are officers or employees of the Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries or to third parties.

4.SHARES OF COMMON STOCK SUBJECT TO THE PLAN; SHARE LIMITS

4.1Shares Available. Subject to the provisions of Section 7.1, the capital stock that may be delivered under this Plan shall be shares of the Corporation’s authorized but unissued Common Stock and any shares of its Common Stock held as treasury shares. For purposes of this Plan, “Common Stock” shall mean the common stock of the Corporation and such other securities or property as may become the subject of awards under this Plan, or may become subject to such awards, pursuant to an adjustment made under Section 7.1.
4.2Aggregate Share Limit. The maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be delivered pursuant to awards granted to Eligible Persons under this Plan (the “Share Limit”) is equal to the sum of the following:

(1)490,000 shares of Common Stock, plus
(2)the number of shares of Common Stock available for additional award grant purposes under the Corporation’s 2017 Performance Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”) as of the date of stockholder approval of this Plan (the “Stockholder Approval Date”) and determined immediately prior to the termination of the authority to grant new awards under the 2017 Plan as of the Stockholder Approval Date, plus
(3)the number of any shares subject to restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards granted under the 2017 Plan and the Corporation’s 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2007 Plan”, and together with the 2017 Plan, the “Legacy Plans”) that are outstanding and unvested on the Stockholder Approval Date that are forfeited, terminated, cancelled or otherwise reacquired by the Corporation without having become vested, provided that in order to take the Full-Value Award ratio below into account, each share subject to any such award shall be credited as 1.2 shares when determining the number of shares that shall become available for new awards under this Plan.

provided that in no event shall the Share Limit exceed 1,089,443 shares (which is the sum of (i) the 490,000 shares set forth above, plus (ii) zero shares available under the 2017 Plan for additional award grant purposes as of the Effective Date (as such term is defined in Section 8.6.1), plus (iii) 599,443 shares, which is a maximum of 499,536 shares subject to restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards previously granted and outstanding and unvested under the Legacy Plans as of the Effective Date that could become available under the Legacy Plans as a result of the forfeiture, termination or cancellation of such awards multiplied by a factor of 1.2 (the share-counting ratio for such awards under clause (3) above).

Shares issued in respect of any “Full-Value Award” granted under this Plan shall be counted against the foregoing Share Limit as 1.2 shares for every one share issued in connection with such award. (For example, if a stock bonus of 100 shares of Common Stock is granted under this Plan, 120 shares shall be counted against the Share Limit in connection with that award.) For this purpose, a “Full-Value Award” means any award that is not a stock option grant or a SAR grant.

4.3Additional Share Limits. The following limits also apply with respect to awards granted under this Plan. These limits are in addition to, not in lieu of, the aggregate Share Limit in Section 4.2.

(a)The maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be delivered pursuant to options qualified as incentive stock options granted under this Plan is 333,333 shares.
(b)Awards that are granted under this Plan during any one calendar year to any person who, on the grant date of the award, is a non-employee director are subject to the limits of this Section 4.3(b). The maximum number of shares of Common Stock subject to those awards that are granted under this Plan during any one calendar year to an individual who, on the grant date of the award, is a non-employee director is the number of shares that produce a grant date fair value for the award that, when combined with the grant date fair value of any other awards granted under this Plan during that same calendar year to that individual in his or her capacity as a non-employee director, is $300,000; provided that this limit is $400,000 as to (1) a non-employee director who is serving as the independent Chair of the Board or as a lead independent director at the time the applicable grant is made or (2) any new non-employee director for the calendar year in which the non-employee director is first elected or appointed to the Board. For purposes of this Section 4.3(b), a “non-employee director” is an individual who, on the grant date of the award, is a member of the Board who is not then an officer or employee of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries. For purposes of this Section 4.3(b), “grant date fair value” means the value of the award as of the date of grant of the award and as determined using the equity award valuation principles applied in the Corporation’s financial reporting. The limits of this Section 4.3(b) do not apply to, and shall be determined without taking into account, any award granted to an individual who, on the grant date of the award, is an officer or employee of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries. The limits of this Section 4.3(b) apply on an individual basis and not on an aggregate basis to all non-employee directors as a group.
(c)The Corporation may not increase the Share Limit by repurchasing shares of Common Stock on the market (by using cash received through the exercise of stock options or otherwise).

4.4Share-Limit Counting Rules. The Share Limit shall be subject to the following provisions of this Section 4.4:

(a)Shares that are subject to or underlie Full Value Awards granted under this Plan, which expire or for any reason are cancelled or terminated, are forfeited, fail to vest, or for any other reason are not paid or delivered under this Plan shall not be counted against the Share Limit and shall be available for subsequent awards under this Plan. Shares that underlie SARS and stock options which expire or for any reason are cancelled or terminated, are forfeited, fail to vest, or for any other reason are not paid or delivered under this Plan shall be counted against the Share Limit and shall not be available for subsequent awards under this Plan.
(b)To the extent that shares of Common Stock are delivered pursuant to the exercise of a stock option or SAR granted under this Plan, the number of shares as to which the portion of the stock option or SAR so exercised relates shall be counted against the Share Limit as opposed to only counting the net number of shares actually issued in connection with such exercise. (For purposes of clarity, if a stock option or SAR right relates to 100,000 shares and is exercised as to all 100,000 shares at a time when the net number of shares due to the participant in connection with such exercise is 15,000 shares (taking into account any shares withheld to satisfy any applicable exercise or base price of the award and any shares withheld to satisfy any tax withholding obligations in connection with such exercise), 100,000 shares shall be counted against the Share Limit with respect to such award.)
(c)Shares that are exchanged by a participant or withheld by the Corporation as full or partial payment in connection with any stock option or SAR granted under this Plan, as well as any shares exchanged by a participant or withheld by the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to any stock option or SAR granted under this Plan, shall not be available for subsequent awards under this Plan.
(d)Shares that are exchanged by a participant or withheld by the Corporation as full or partial payment in connection with any Full-Value Award granted under this Plan or the Legacy Plans, as well as any shares exchanged by a participant or withheld by the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to any Full-Value Award granted under this Plan or the Legacy Plans, shall not be counted against the Share Limit and shall be available for subsequent awards under this Plan, provided that any one (1) share so exchanged or withheld in connection with any Full-Value Award shall be credited as 1.2 shares when determining the number of shares that shall again become available for subsequent awards under this Plan.
(e)To the extent that an award granted under this Plan is settled in cash or a form other than shares of Common Stock, the shares that would have been delivered had there been no such cash or other settlement shall not be counted against the Share Limit and shall be available for subsequent awards under this Plan.
(f)In the event that shares of Common Stock are delivered in respect of a dividend equivalent right granted under this Plan, the number of shares delivered with respect to the award shall be counted against the Share Limit. (For purposes of clarity, if 1,000 dividend equivalent rights are granted and outstanding when the Corporation pays a dividend, and 50 shares are delivered in payment of those rights with respect to that dividend, 60 shares (after giving effect to the Full-Value Award premium counting rules) shall be counted against the Share Limit). Except as otherwise provided by the Administrator, shares delivered in respect of dividend equivalent rights shall not count against any individual award limit under this Plan other than the aggregate Share Limit.

Refer to Section 8.10 for application of the share limits of this Plan, including the limits in Sections 4.2 and 4.3, with respect to assumed awards. Each of the numerical limits and references in Sections 4.2 and 4.3, and in this Section 4.4, is subject to adjustment as contemplated by Section 4.3, Section 7 and Section 8.10. The share limits of Section 4.3 shall be applied on a one-for-one basis without applying the Full-Value Award premium counting rule taken into account in determining the Share Limit.

4.5No Fractional Shares; Minimum Issue. Unless otherwise expressly provided by the Administrator, no fractional shares shall be delivered under this Plan. The Administrator may pay cash in lieu of any fractional shares in settlements of awards under this Plan. The Administrator may from time to time impose a limit (of not greater than 100 shares) on the minimum number of shares that may be purchased or exercised as to awards (or any particular award) granted under this Plan unless (as to any particular award) the total number purchased or exercised is the total number at the time available for purchase or exercise under the award.

5.AWARDS

5.1Type and Form of Awards. The Administrator shall determine the type or types of award(s) to be made to each selected Eligible Person. Awards may be granted singly, in combination or in tandem. Awards also may be made in combination or in tandem with, in replacement of, as alternatives to, or as the payment form for grants or rights under any other employee or compensation plan of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries. The types of awards that may be granted under this Plan are:

5.1.1 Stock Options. A stock option is the grant of a right to purchase a specified number of shares of Common Stock during a specified period as determined by the Administrator. An option may be intended as an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code (an “ISO”) or a nonqualified stock option (an option not intended to be an ISO). The agreement evidencing the grant of an option will indicate if the option is intended as an ISO; otherwise it will be deemed to be a nonqualified stock option. The maximum term of each option (ISO or nonqualified) shall be ten (10) years. The per share exercise price for each option shall be not less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant of the option. When an option is exercised, the exercise price for the shares to be purchased shall be paid in full in cash or such other method permitted by the Administrator consistent with Section 5.5.

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5.1.2 Additional Rules Applicable to ISOs. To the extent that the aggregate fair market value (determined at the time of grant of the applicable option) of stock with respect to which ISOs first become exercisable by a participant in any calendar year exceeds $100,000, taking into account both Common Stock subject to ISOs under this Plan and stock subject to ISOs under all other plans of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries (or any parent or predecessor corporation to the extent required by and within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder), such options shall be treated as nonqualified stock options. In reducing the number of options treated as ISOs to meet the $100,000 limit, the most recently granted options shall be reduced first. To the extent a reduction of simultaneously granted options is necessary to meet the $100,000 limit, the Administrator may, in the manner and to the extent permitted by law, designate which shares of Common Stock are to be treated as shares acquired pursuant to the exercise of an ISO. ISOs may only be granted to employees of the Corporation or one of its subsidiaries (for this purpose, the term “subsidiary” is used as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code, which generally requires an unbroken chain of ownership of at least 50% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of each subsidiary in the chain beginning with the Corporation and ending with the subsidiary in question). No ISO may be granted to any person who, at the time the option is granted, owns (or is deemed to own under Section 424(d) of the Code) shares of outstanding Common Stock possessing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Corporation, unless the exercise price of such option is at least 110% of the fair market value of the stock subject to the option and such option by its terms is not exercisable after the expiration of five years from the date such option is granted. If an otherwise-intended ISO fails to meet the applicable requirements of Section 422 of the Code, the option shall be a nonqualified stock option.

5.1.3 Stock Appreciation Rights. A stock appreciation right or “SAR” is a right to receive a payment, in cash and/or Common Stock, equal to the excess of the fair market value of a specified number of shares of Common Stock on the date the SAR is exercised over the “base price” of the award, which base price shall be set forth in the applicable award agreement and shall be not less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant of the SAR. The maximum term of a SAR shall be ten (10) years.

5.1.4 Other Awards; Dividend Equivalent Rights. The other types of awards that may be granted under this Plan include: (a) stock bonuses, restricted stock, performance stock, stock units, phantom stock or similar rights to purchase or acquire shares, whether at a fixed or variable price (or no price) or fixed or variable ratio related to the Common Stock, and any of which may (but need not) be fully vested at grant (except as provided below with respect to dividend equivalent rights) or vest upon the passage of time, the occurrence of one or more events, the satisfaction of performance criteria or other conditions, or any combination thereof; or (b) cash awards. Dividend equivalent rights may be granted as a separate award or in connection with another award under this Plan; provided, however, that dividend equivalent rights may not be granted as to a stock option or SAR granted under this Plan. The payment of dividends on any unvested award or portion thereof is expressly prohibited, except with respect to restricted stock, regarding which the applicable award agreement shall provide that in the event a dividend is paid on unvested shares which fail to vest, the dividend shall be repaid by the award holder. With respect to all other awards, dividend equivalents may accrue during the vesting period and payment may be made upon vesting. Dividend equivalents as to the portion of an award that is subject to unsatisfied vesting requirements will be subject to termination and forfeiture to the same extent as the corresponding portion of the award to which they relate in the event the applicable vesting requirements are not satisfied.

5.2Minimum Vesting Requirement. Except for any accelerated vesting required pursuant to Section 7 or as provided in the next sentence, each award granted under this Plan shall be subject to a minimum vesting requirement of one year and no portion of any such award may provide that it will vest earlier than the first anniversary of the date of grant of the award other than due to the death, disability, or involuntary termination of the employment or services of the award holder, or in connection with a Change in Control (as such term is defined in Section 7.3) (the “Minimum Vesting Requirement”). Awards may be granted under this Plan with minimum vesting requirements of less than one year, or no vesting requirements, provided that the total number of shares of Common Stock subject to such awards shall not exceed 5% of the Share Limit.

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5.3Award Agreements. Each award shall be evidenced by a written or electronic award agreement or notice in a form approved by the Administrator (an “award agreement”), and, in each case and if required by the Administrator, executed or otherwise electronically accepted (including deemed acceptance) by the recipient of the award in such form and manner as the Administrator may require. The Administrator may authorize any officer of the Corporation (other than the particular award recipient) to execute any or all award agreements on behalf of the Corporation. The award agreement shall set forth the material terms and conditions of the award as established by the Administrator consistent with the express limitations of this Plan.
5.4Deferrals and Settlements. Payment of awards may be in the form of cash, Common Stock, other awards or combinations thereof as the Administrator shall determine, and with such restrictions (if any) as it may impose, as set forth in the applicable award agreement. The Administrator may also require or permit participants to elect to defer the issuance of shares or the settlement of awards in cash under such rules and procedures as it may establish under this Plan and in accordance with the applicable award agreement. The Administrator may also provide that deferred settlements include the payment or crediting of interest or other earnings on the deferral amounts, or the payment or crediting of dividend equivalents where the deferred amounts are denominated in shares.
5.5Consideration for Common Stock or Awards. The purchase price (if any) for any award granted under this Plan or the Common Stock to be delivered pursuant to an award, as applicable, may be paid by means of any lawful consideration as determined by the Administrator, including, without limitation, one or a combination of the following methods:

(a)a reduction in compensation otherwise payable to the recipient of such award or for services rendered by the recipient of such award;
(b)cash, check payable to the order of the Corporation, or electronic funds transfer;
(c)notice and third-party payment in such manner as may be authorized by the Administrator;
(d)the delivery of previously owned shares of Common Stock;
(e)by a reduction in the number of shares otherwise deliverable pursuant to the award; or
(f)subject to such procedures as the Administrator may adopt, pursuant to a “cashless exercise” with a third party who provides financing for the purposes of (or who otherwise facilitates) the purchase or exercise of awards.

In no event shall any shares newly-issued by the Corporation be issued for less than the minimum lawful consideration for such shares or for consideration other than consideration permitted by applicable state law. Shares of Common Stock used to satisfy the exercise price of an option shall be valued at their fair market value. The Corporation will not be obligated to deliver any shares unless and until it receives full payment of the exercise or purchase price therefor and any related withholding obligations under Section 8.5 and any other conditions to exercise or purchase have been satisfied. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the applicable award agreement, the Administrator may at any time eliminate or limit a participant’s ability to pay any purchase or exercise price of any award or shares by any method other than cash payment to the Corporation.

5.6Definition of Fair Market Value. For purposes of this Plan, “fair market value” shall mean, unless otherwise determined or provided by the Administrator in the circumstances, the closing price (in regular trading) for a share of Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”) for the date in question or, if no sales of Common Stock were reported on the Exchange on that date, the closing price (in regular trading) for a share of Common Stock on the Exchange for the next preceding day on which sales of Common Stock were reported on the Exchange. The Administrator may, however, provide with respect to one or more awards that the fair market value shall equal the closing price (in regular trading) for a share of Common Stock on the Exchange on the last trading day preceding the date in question or the average of the high and low trading prices of a share of Common Stock on the Exchange for the date in question or the most recent trading day. If the Common Stock is no longer listed or is no longer actively traded on the Exchange as of the applicable date, the fair market value of the Common Stock shall be the value as reasonably determined by the Administrator for purposes of the award in the circumstances. The Administrator also may adopt a different methodology for determining fair market value with respect to one or more awards if a different methodology is necessary or advisable to secure any intended favorable tax, legal or other treatment for the particular award(s) (for example, and without limitation, the Administrator may provide that fair market value for purposes of one or more awards will be based on an average of closing prices (or the average of high and low daily trading prices) for a specified period preceding the relevant date).

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5.7Transfer Restrictions.

5.7.1 Limitations on Exercise and Transfer. Unless otherwise expressly provided in (or pursuant to) this Section 5.7 or required by applicable law or the award agreement: (a) all awards are non-transferable and shall not be subject in any manner to sale, transfer, anticipation, alienation, assignment, pledge, encumbrance or charge; (b) awards shall be exercised only by the participant; and (c) amounts payable or shares issuable pursuant to any award shall be delivered only to (or for the account of) the participant.

5.7.2 Exceptions. The Administrator may permit awards to be exercised by and paid to, or otherwise transferred to, other persons or entities pursuant to such conditions and procedures, including limitations on subsequent transfers, as the Administrator may, in its sole discretion, establish in writing. Any permitted transfer shall be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and shall not be for value (other than nominal consideration, settlement of marital property rights, or for interests in an entity in which more than 50% of the voting interests are held by the Eligible Person or by the Eligible Person’s family members).

5.7.3 Further Exceptions to Limits on Transfer. The exercise and transfer restrictions in Section 5.7.1 shall not apply to:

(a)transfers to the Corporation (for example, in connection with the expiration or termination of the award),
(b)the designation of a beneficiary to receive benefits in the event of the participant’s death or, if the participant has died, transfers to or exercise by the participant’s beneficiary, or, in the absence of a validly designated beneficiary, transfers by will or the laws of descent and distribution,
(c)subject to any applicable limitations on ISOs and to such procedures as the Administrator may prescribe, transfers to a family member (or former family member) pursuant to a domestic relations order if received by the Administrator,
(d)if the participant has suffered a disability, permitted transfers or exercises on behalf of the participant by his or her legal representative, or
(e)the authorization by the Administrator of “cashless exercise” procedures with third parties who provide financing for the purpose of (or who otherwise facilitate) the exercise of awards consistent with applicable laws and any limitations imposed by the Administrator.

5.8International Awards. One or more awards may be granted to Eligible Persons who provide services to the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries outside of the United States. Any awards granted to such persons may be granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of any applicable sub-plans, if any, appended to this Plan and approved by the Administrator from time to time. The awards so granted need not comply with other specific terms of this Plan, provided that stockholder approval of any deviation from the specific terms of this Plan is not required by applicable law or any applicable listing agency.

6.EFFECT OF TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT OR SERVICE ON AWARDS

6.1General. The Administrator shall establish the effect (if any) of a termination of employment or service on the rights and benefits under each award under this Plan and in so doing may make distinctions based upon, inter alia, the cause of termination and type of award. If the participant is not an employee of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries, is not a member of the Board, and provides other services to the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries, the Administrator shall be the sole judge for purposes of this Plan (unless a contract or the award otherwise provides) of whether the participant continues to render services to the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries and the date, if any, upon which such services shall be deemed to have terminated.

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6.2Events Not Deemed Terminations of Employment. Unless the express policy of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries, or the Administrator, otherwise provides, or except as otherwise required by applicable law, the employment relationship shall not be considered terminated in the case of (a) sick leave, (b) military leave, or (c) any other leave of absence authorized by the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries, or the Administrator; provided that, unless reemployment upon the expiration of such leave is guaranteed by contract or law or the Administrator otherwise provides, such leave is for a period of not more than three months. In the case of any employee of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries on an approved leave of absence, continued vesting of the award while on leave from the employ of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries may be suspended until the employee returns to service, unless the Administrator otherwise provides or applicable law otherwise requires. In no event shall an award be exercised after the expiration of any applicable maximum term of the award.
6.3Effect of Change of Subsidiary Status. For purposes of this Plan and any award, if an entity ceases to be a Subsidiary of the Corporation a termination of employment or service shall be deemed to have occurred with respect to each Eligible Person in respect of such Subsidiary who does not continue as an Eligible Person in respect of the Corporation or another Subsidiary that continues as such after giving effect to the transaction or other event giving rise to the change in status unless the Subsidiary that is sold, spun-off or otherwise divested (or its successor or a direct or indirect parent of such Subsidiary or successor) assumes the Eligible Person’s award(s) in connection with such transaction.

7.ADJUSTMENTS; ACCELERATION

7.1Adjustments.

(a)Subject to Section 7.2, upon (or, as may be necessary to effect the adjustment, immediately prior to): any reclassification, recapitalization, stock split (including a stock split in the form of a stock dividend) or reverse stock split; any merger, combination, consolidation, conversion or other reorganization; any spin-off, split-up, or similar extraordinary dividend distribution in respect of the Common Stock; or any exchange of Common Stock or other securities of the Corporation, or any similar, unusual or extraordinary corporate transaction in respect of the Common Stock; then the Administrator shall equitably and proportionately adjust (1) the number and type of shares of Common Stock (or other securities) that thereafter may be made the subject of awards (including the specific share limits, maximums and numbers of shares set forth elsewhere in this Plan), (2) the number, amount and type of shares of Common Stock (or other securities or property) subject to any outstanding awards, (3) the grant, purchase, or exercise price (which term includes the base price of any SAR or similar right) of any outstanding awards, and/or (4) the securities, cash or other property deliverable upon exercise or payment of any outstanding awards, in each case to the extent necessary to preserve (but not increase) the level of incentives intended by this Plan and the then-outstanding awards.
(b)Unless otherwise expressly provided in the applicable award agreement, upon (or, as may be necessary to effect the adjustment, immediately prior to) any event or transaction described in the preceding paragraph or a sale of all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Corporation as an entirety, the Administrator shall equitably and proportionately adjust the performance standards and/or period applicable to any then-outstanding performance-based awards to the extent necessary to preserve (but not increase) the level of incentives intended by this Plan and the then-outstanding performance-based awards.
(c)It is intended that, if possible, any adjustments contemplated by the preceding two paragraphs be made in a manner that satisfies applicable U.S. legal, tax (including, without limitation and as applicable in the circumstances, Section 424 of the Code as to ISOs, Section 409A of the Code as to awards intended to comply therewith and not be subject to taxation thereunder, and Section 162(m) of the Code as to any Qualifying Option or SAR and any Qualified Performance-Based Award) and accounting (so as to not trigger any unintended charge to earnings with respect to such adjustment) requirements.
(d)Without limiting the generality of Section 3.4, any good faith determination by the Administrator as to whether an adjustment is required in the circumstances pursuant to this Section 7.1, and the extent and nature of any such adjustment, shall be conclusive and binding on all persons.

7.2Corporate Transactions - Assumption and Termination of Awards.

(a)Upon any event in which the Corporation does not survive, or does not survive as a public company in respect of its Common Stock (including, without limitation, a dissolution, merger, combination, consolidation, conversion, exchange of securities, or other reorganization, or a sale of all or substantially all of the business, stock or assets of the Corporation, in any case in connection with which the Corporation does not survive or does not survive as a public company in respect of its Common Stock), then the Administrator may make provision for a cash payment in settlement of, or for the termination, assumption, substitution or exchange of any or all outstanding share-based awards or the cash, securities or property deliverable to the holder of any or all outstanding share-based awards, based upon, to the extent relevant under the circumstances, the distribution or consideration payable to holders of the Common Stock upon or in respect of such event. Upon the occurrence of any event described in the preceding sentence in connection with which the Administrator has made provision for the award to be terminated (and the Administrator has not made a provision for the substitution, assumption, exchange or other continuation or settlement of the award or the award otherwise would not continue in accordance with its terms in the circumstances): (1) unless otherwise provided in the applicable award agreement, each then-outstanding option and SAR shall become fully vested, all shares of restricted stock then outstanding shall fully vest free of restrictions, and each other award granted under this Plan that is then outstanding shall become payable to the holder of such award (with any performance goals applicable to the award in each case being deemed met, unless otherwise provided in the award agreement, at the “target” performance level); and (2) each award shall terminate upon the related event; provided that the holder of an option or SAR shall be given reasonable advance notice of the impending termination and a reasonable opportunity to exercise his or her outstanding vested options and SARs (after giving effect to any accelerated vesting required in the circumstances) in accordance with their terms before the termination of such awards (except that in no case shall more than ten days’ notice of the impending termination be required and any acceleration of vesting and any exercise of any portion of an award that is so accelerated may be made contingent upon the actual occurrence of the event).
(b)No award granted under this Plan shall provide that such award will automatically accelerate and become vested upon a Change in Control other than as provided in Section 7.2(a) (i.e., in connection with a termination or settlement of the award in connection with a transaction referenced in Section 7.2(a)). For clarity, the Administrator may provide, as to one or more awards granted under this Plan and subject to the minimum vesting provisions of Section 5.2, that the award will accelerate and become vested should the award holder’s employment or service terminate (including, but not limited to, in connection with a Change in Control) in such circumstances as the Administrator may provide.
(c)For purposes of this Section 7.2, an award shall be deemed to have been “assumed” if (without limiting other circumstances in which an award is assumed) the award continues after an event referred to above in this Section 7.2, and/or is assumed and continued by the surviving entity following such event (including, without limitation, an entity that, as a result of such event, owns the Corporation or all or substantially all of the Corporation’s assets directly or through one or more subsidiaries (a “Parent”)), and confers the right to purchase or receive, as applicable and subject to vesting and the other terms and conditions of the award, for each share of Common Stock subject to the award immediately prior to the event, the consideration (whether cash, shares, or other securities or property) received in the event by the stockholders of the Corporation for each share of Common Stock sold or exchanged in such event (or the consideration received by a majority of the stockholders participating in such event if the stockholders were offered a choice of consideration); provided, however, that if the consideration offered for a share of Common Stock in the event is not solely the ordinary common stock of a successor corporation or a Parent, the Administrator may provide for the consideration to be received upon exercise or payment of the award, for each share subject to the award, to be solely ordinary common stock of the successor corporation or a Parent equal in fair market value to the per share consideration received by the stockholders participating in the event.
(d)The Administrator may adopt such valuation methodologies for outstanding awards as it deems reasonable in the event of a cash or property settlement and, in the case of options, SARs or similar rights, but without limitation on other methodologies, may base such settlement solely upon the excess if any of the per share amount payable upon or in respect of such event over the exercise or base price of the award. In the case of an option, SAR or similar right as to which the per share amount payable upon or in respect of such event is less than or equal to the exercise or base price of the award, the Administrator may terminate such award in connection with an event referred to in this Section 7.2 without any payment in respect of such award.
(e)In any of the events referred to in this Section 7.2, the Administrator may take such action contemplated by this Section 7.2 prior to such event (as opposed to on the occurrence of such event) to the extent that the Administrator deems the action necessary to permit the participant to realize the benefits intended to be conveyed with respect to the underlying shares. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrator may deem an acceleration and/or termination to occur immediately prior to the applicable event and, in such circumstances, will reinstate the original terms of the award if an event giving rise to an acceleration and/or termination does not occur.

(f)Without limiting the generality of Section 3.4, any good faith determination by the Administrator pursuant to its authority under this Section 7.2 shall be conclusive and binding on all persons.
(g)Subject to Section 7.2(b), the Administrator may override the provisions of this Section 7.2 by express provision in the award agreement and may accord any Eligible Person a right to refuse any acceleration, whether pursuant to the award agreement or otherwise, in such circumstances as the Administrator may approve. The portion of any ISO accelerated in connection with an event referred to in this Section 7.2 (or such other circumstances as may trigger accelerated vesting of the award) shall remain exercisable as an ISO only to the extent the applicable $100,000 limitation on ISOs is not exceeded. To the extent exceeded, the accelerated portion of the option shall be exercisable as a nonqualified stock option under the Code.

 

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7.3Definition of Change in Control. As used in this Plan, “Change in Control” shall mean the occurrence, after the Effective Date, of any of the following:

(a)Any “person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act, a “Person”), alone or together with its affiliates and associates, including any group of persons which is deemed a “person” under Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act (other than the Corporation or any subsidiary thereof or any employee benefit plan (or related trust) of the Corporation or any subsidiary thereof, or any underwriter in connection with a firm commitment public offering of the Corporation’s capital stock), becomes the “beneficial owner” (as such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act, except that a person shall also be deemed the beneficial owner of all securities which such person may have a right to acquire, whether or not such right is presently exercisable, referred to herein as “Beneficially Own” or “Beneficial Owner” as the context may require) of thirty-three and one third percent or more of (i) the then outstanding shares of the Corporation’s common stock (“Outstanding Company Common Stock”) or (ii) securities representing thirty-three and one-third percent or more of the combined voting power of the Corporation’s then outstanding voting securities (“Outstanding Company Voting Securities”) (in each case, other than an acquisition in the context of a merger, consolidation, reorganization, asset sale or other extraordinary transaction covered by, and which does not constitute a Change in Control Event under, clause (c) below);
(b)A change, during any period of two consecutive years, of a majority of the Board as constituted as of the beginning of such period, unless the election, or nomination for election by the Corporation’s stockholders, of each director who was not a director at the beginning of such period was approved by vote of at least two-thirds of the Incumbent Directors then in office (for purposes hereof, “Incumbent Directors” shall consist of the directors holding office as of the Effective Date and any person becoming a director subsequent to such date whose election, or nomination for election by the Corporation’s stockholders, is approved by a vote of at least a majority of the Incumbent Directors then in office);
(c)Consummation of a reorganization, merger, statutory share exchange or consolidation or similar extraordinary corporate transaction (or series of related transactions) involving the Corporation, a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Corporation, or the acquisition of assets or stock of another entity by the Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries (each, a “Business Combination”), in each case unless, following such Business Combination, (1) all or substantially all of the individuals and entities that were the beneficial owners of the Outstanding Company Common Stock and the Outstanding Company Voting Securities immediately prior to such Business Combination beneficially own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the then-outstanding shares of common stock and the combined voting power of the then-outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, as the case may be, of the entity resulting from such Business Combination (including, without limitation, an entity that, as a result of such transaction, owns the Corporation or all or substantially all of the Corporation’s assets directly or through one or more subsidiaries (a “Parent”), (2) no Person (excluding any entity resulting from such Business Combination or a Parent or any employee benefit plan (or related trust) of the Corporation or such entity resulting from such Business Combination or Parent, and excluding any underwriter in connection with a firm commitment public offering of the Corporation’s capital stock) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, more than 30% of, respectively, the then-outstanding shares of common stock of the entity resulting from such Business Combination or the combined voting power of the then-outstanding voting securities of such entity, except to the extent that the ownership in excess of 30% existed prior to the Business Combination, and (3) at least a majority of the members of the board of directors or trustees of the entity resulting from such Business Combination or a Parent were members of the Incumbent Board at the time of the execution of the initial agreement or of the action of the Board providing for such Business Combination; or
(d)Approval by the stockholders of the Corporation of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Corporation other than in the context of a transaction covered by, and that does not constitute a Change in Control under, clause (c) above.

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8.OTHER PROVISIONS

8.1Compliance with Laws. This Plan, the granting and vesting of awards under this Plan, the offer, issuance and delivery of shares of Common Stock, and/or the payment of money under this Plan or under awards are subject to compliance with all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules and regulations (including but not limited to state and federal securities law and federal margin requirements) and to such approvals by any listing, regulatory or governmental authority as may, in the opinion of counsel for the Corporation, be necessary or advisable in connection therewith. The person acquiring any securities under this Plan will, if requested by the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries, provide such assurances and representations to the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries as the Administrator may deem necessary or desirable to assure compliance with all applicable legal and accounting requirements.
8.2No Rights to Award. No person shall have any claim or rights to be granted an award (or additional awards, as the case may be) under this Plan, subject to any express contractual rights (set forth in a document other than this Plan) to the contrary.
8.3No Employment/Service Contract. Nothing contained in this Plan (or in any other documents under this Plan or in any award) shall confer upon any Eligible Person or other participant any right to continue in the employ or other service of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries, constitute any contract or agreement of employment or other service or affect an employee’s status as an employee at will, nor shall interfere in any way with the right of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries to change a person’s compensation or other benefits, or to terminate his or her employment or other service, with or without cause. Nothing in this Section 8.3, however, is intended to adversely affect any express independent right of such person under a separate employment or service contract other than an award agreement.
8.4Plan Not Funded. Awards payable under this Plan shall be payable in shares or from the general assets of the Corporation, and no special or separate reserve, fund or deposit shall be made to assure payment of such awards. No participant, beneficiary or other person shall have any right, title or interest in any fund or in any specific asset (including shares of Common Stock, except as expressly otherwise provided) of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries by reason of any award hereunder. Neither the provisions of this Plan (or of any related documents), nor the creation or adoption of this Plan, nor any action taken pursuant to the provisions of this Plan shall create, or be construed to create, a trust of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries and any participant, beneficiary or other person. To the extent that a participant, beneficiary or other person acquires a right to receive payment pursuant to any award hereunder, such right shall be no greater than the right of any unsecured general creditor of the Corporation.
8.5Tax Withholding. Upon any exercise, vesting, or payment of any award, or upon the disposition of shares of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of an ISO prior to satisfaction of the holding period requirements of Section 422 of the Code, or upon any other tax withholding event with respect to any award, arrangements satisfactory to the Corporation shall be made to provide for any taxes the Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries may be required to withhold with respect to such award event or payment. Such arrangements may include (but are not limited to) any one of (or a combination of) the following:

(a)The Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries shall have the right to require the participant (or the participant’s personal representative or beneficiary, as the case may be) to pay or provide for payment of the amount of any taxes which the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries may be required to withhold with respect to such award event or payment.
(b)The Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries shall have the right to deduct from any amount otherwise payable in cash (whether related to the award or otherwise) to the participant (or the participant’s personal representative or beneficiary, as the case may be) the amount of any taxes which the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries may be required to withhold with respect to such award event or payment.
(c)In any case where a tax is required to be withheld in connection with the delivery of shares of Common Stock under this Plan, the Administrator may in its sole discretion (subject to Section 8.1) require or grant (either at the time of the award or thereafter) to the participant the right to elect, pursuant to such rules and subject to such conditions as the Administrator may establish, that the Corporation reduce the number of shares to be delivered by (or otherwise reacquire) the appropriate number of shares, valued in a consistent manner at their fair market value or at the sales price in accordance with authorized procedures for cashless exercises, necessary to satisfy the applicable withholding obligation on exercise, vesting or payment.

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8.6Effective Date, Termination and Suspension, Amendments.

8.6.1 Effective Date. This Plan is effective as of April 14, 2021, the date of its approval by the Board (the “Effective Date”). This Plan shall be submitted for and subject to stockholder approval no later than twelve months after the Effective Date. Unless earlier terminated by the Board and subject to any extension that may be approved by stockholders, this Plan shall terminate at the close of business on the day before the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date. After the termination of this Plan either upon such stated termination date or its earlier termination by the Board, no additional awards may be granted under this Plan, but previously granted awards (and the authority of the Administrator with respect thereto, including the authority to amend such awards) shall remain outstanding in accordance with their applicable terms and conditions and the terms and conditions of this Plan.

8.6.2 Board Authorization. The Board may, at any time, terminate or, from time to time, amend, modify or suspend this Plan, in whole or in part. No awards may be granted during any period that the Board suspends this Plan.

8.6.3 Stockholder Approval. Only to the extent then required by applicable law or deemed necessary or advisable by the Board, any amendment to this Plan shall be subject to stockholder approval.

8.6.4 Amendments to Awards. Without limiting any other express authority of the Administrator under (but subject to) the express limits of this Plan, the Administrator by agreement or resolution may waive conditions of or limitations on awards to participants that the Administrator in the prior exercise of its discretion has imposed, without the consent of a participant, and (subject to the requirements of Sections 3.2 and 8.6.5) may make other changes to the terms and conditions of awards. Any amendment or other action that would constitute a repricing of an award is subject to the no-repricing provision of Section 3.3.

8.6.5 Limitations on Amendments to Plan and Awards. No amendment, suspension or termination of this Plan or amendment of any outstanding award agreement shall, without written consent of the participant, affect in any manner materially adverse to the participant any rights or benefits of the participant or obligations of the Corporation under any award granted under this Plan prior to the effective date of such change. Changes, settlements and other actions contemplated by Section 7 shall not be deemed to constitute changes or amendments for purposes of this Section 8.6 and shall not require stockholder approval or the consent of the award holder.

8.7Privileges of Stock Ownership. Except as otherwise expressly authorized by the Administrator or this Plan, a participant shall not be entitled to any privilege of stock ownership as to any shares of Common Stock not actually delivered to and held of record by the participant. Except as expressly required by Section 7.1 or otherwise expressly provided by the Administrator, no adjustment will be made for dividends or other rights as a stockholder for which a record date is prior to such date of delivery.
8.8Governing Law; Severability.

8.8.1 Choice of Law. This Plan, the awards, all documents evidencing awards and all other related documents shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida, notwithstanding any Florida or other conflict of law provision to the contrary.

8.8.2 Severability. If a court of competent jurisdiction holds any provision invalid and unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Plan shall continue in effect.

8.8.3 Plan Construction. It is intended that this Plan, as well as awards granted under this Plan, comply with, and not result in any tax, penalty or interest under, Section 409A of the Code. This Plan, as well as awards granted under this Plan, shall be construed and interpreted accordingly.

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8.9Captions. Captions and headings are given to the sections and subsections of this Plan solely as a convenience to facilitate reference. Such headings shall not be deemed in any way material or relevant to the construction or interpretation of this Plan or any provision thereof.
8.10Stock-Based Awards in Substitution for Stock Options or Awards Granted by Other Corporation. Awards may be granted to Eligible Persons in substitution for or in connection with an assumption of employee stock options, SARs, restricted stock or other stock-based awards granted by other entities to persons who are or who will become Eligible Persons in respect of the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries, in connection with a distribution, merger or other reorganization by or with the granting entity or an affiliated entity, or the acquisition by the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries, directly or indirectly, of all or a substantial part of the stock or assets of the employing entity. The awards so granted need not comply with other specific terms of this Plan, provided the awards reflect adjustments giving effect to the assumption or substitution consistent with any conversion applicable to the Common Stock (or the securities otherwise subject to the award) in the transaction and any change in the issuer of the security. Any shares that are delivered and any awards that are granted by, or become obligations of, the Corporation, as a result of the assumption by the Corporation of, or in substitution for, outstanding awards previously granted or assumed by an acquired company (or previously granted or assumed by a predecessor employer (or direct or indirect parent thereof) in the case of persons that become employed by the Corporation or one of its Subsidiaries in connection with a business or asset acquisition or similar transaction) shall not be counted against the Share Limit or other limits on the number of shares available for issuance under this Plan.
8.11Non-Exclusivity of Plan. Nothing in this Plan shall limit or be deemed to limit the authority of the Board or the Administrator to grant awards or authorize any other compensation, with or without reference to the Common Stock, under any other plan or authority.
8.12No Corporate Action Restriction. The existence of this Plan, the award agreements and the awards granted hereunder shall not limit, affect, or restrict in any way the right or power of the Corporation or any Subsidiary (or any of their respective shareholders, boards of directors or committees thereof (or any subcommittees), as the case may be) to make or authorize: (a) any adjustment, recapitalization, reorganization or other change in the capital structure or business of the Corporation or any Subsidiary, (b) any merger, amalgamation, consolidation or change in the ownership of the Corporation or any Subsidiary, (c) any issue of bonds, debentures, capital, preferred or prior preference stock ahead of or affecting the capital stock (or the rights thereof) of the Corporation or any Subsidiary, (d) any dissolution or liquidation of the Corporation or any Subsidiary, (e) any sale or transfer of all or any part of the assets or business of the Corporation or any Subsidiary, (f) any other award, grant, or payment of incentives or other compensation under any other plan or authority (or any other action with respect to any benefit, incentive or compensation), or (g) any other corporate act or proceeding by the Corporation or any Subsidiary. No participant, beneficiary or any other person shall have any claim under any award or award agreement against any member of the Board or the Administrator, or the Corporation or any employees, officers or agents of the Corporation or any Subsidiary, as a result of any such action. Awards need not be structured so as to be deductible for tax purposes.
8.13Other Company Benefit and Compensation Programs. Payments and other benefits received by a participant under an award made pursuant to this Plan shall not be deemed a part of a participant’s compensation for purposes of the determination of benefits under any other employee welfare or benefit plans or arrangements, if any, provided by the Corporation or any Subsidiary, except where the Administrator expressly otherwise provides or authorizes in writing. Awards under this Plan may be made in addition to, in combination with, as alternatives to or in payment of grants, awards or commitments under any other plans, arrangements or authority of the Corporation or its Subsidiaries.
8.14Clawback Policy and Forfeiture Provisions.

8.14.1 All awards granted under this Plan (including any proceeds, gains or other economic benefit actually or constructively received by the award holder upon any receipt, vesting, payment or exercise of any award or upon the receipt or resale of any shares of Common Stock underlying the award) are subject to the terms and provisions of the Corporation’s recoupment, clawback or similar policy as it may be in effect from time to time, as well as any similar provisions of applicable law, such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder, any of which could in certain circumstances require repayment or forfeiture of awards or any shares of Common Stock or other cash or property received with respect to the awards (including any value received from a disposition of the shares acquired upon payment of the awards).