What is Material Information?
Information is material if a reasonable investor would think that it is important in deciding whether to buy, sell or hold stock, or if it could affect the market price of the stock. Either good or bad information may be material. If you are unsure whether the information is material, assume it is material.
Examples of material information typically include, but are not limited to:
•Financial or accounting problems;
•Estimates of future earnings or losses;
•Significant non-recurring gains or losses;
•Events that could result in restating financial information;
•A proposed acquisition, sale or merger;
•Changes in directors or in key management personnel;
•Beginning or settling a major lawsuit;
•Changes in dividend policies;
•Declaring a stock split;
•A stock repurchase program; or
•A stock or bond offering.
What is Non-Public Information?
Non-public information is information that has not yet been made public by the Company. Information only becomes public when the Company makes an official announcement (in a publicly accessible conference call, in a press release or in SEC filings, for example) and the investing public has had an opportunity to assimilate it.
Trading Guidelines
A. | Rules Applicable to All Directors, Officers and Employees. |
No director, officer or employee may trade any security, whether issued by the Company or by any other company, while in possession of “material inside information” about the issuer. Further, no director, officer or employee may disclose “material inside information” to any other person (including immediate family members, friends or stockbrokers) so that such other person may trade in the stock. It is usually safe to buy or sell stock after the information is officially announced, as long as you do not know of other material information that has not yet been announced. Even after the information is announced, you should generally wait one full trading day before buying or selling securities to allow the market to absorb the information.
This means the following with respect to any Bank or Company employee benefit plans:
●401(k) Plan. If the Bank’s 401(k) plan permits participants to invest in Company common stock, an officer or employee who has material inside information regarding the Company may not (i) initiate a transfer of funds into or out of the