Transactions With Certain Related Persons
MFB Financial has followed a policy of offering to its directors and executive officers real estate mortgage loans secured by their principal residence and other loans. These loans are made in the ordinary course of business with the same collateral, interest rates and underwriting criteria as those of comparable transactions prevailing at the time and do not involve more than the normal risk of collectibility or present other unfavorable features.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
The Compensation Committee which consists of all of the outside directors of the Holding Company, will determine the compensation of all of the Holding Company’s officers. Mr. Hums, who is a member of the Committee, is a former officer of the Holding Company, having retired in 1995.
PROPOSAL II — RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS
The Board of Directors has renewed the Holding Company’s arrangement with Crowe Chizek to be its auditors for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, subject to the ratification of the Holding Company’s stockholders. A representative of Crowe Chizek is expected to attend the Meeting to respond to appropriate questions and to make a statement if desired.
Audit Fees
The firm of Crowe Chizek served as the Holding Company’s independent public accountants for each of the last two fiscal years ended September 30, 2003 and 2004. The aggregate fees billed by Crowe Chizek for the audit of the Holding Company’s financial statements included in its annual report on Form 10-K and for the review of its financial statements included in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2003 and 2004, were $70,050 and $75,000, respectively.
Audit-Related Fees
The aggregate fees billed in each of fiscal 2003 and 2004 for assurance and related services by Crowe Chizek that are reasonably related to the audit or review of the Holding Company’s financial statements and that were not covered in the Audit Fees disclosure above were $11,782 and $14,691.
Tax Fees
The aggregate fees billed in each of fiscal 2003 and 2004 for professional services rendered by Crowe Chizek for tax compliance, tax advice or tax planning were $12,950 and $17,595, respectively.
All Other Fees
During fiscal 2003 and 2004, $6,895 and $25,320 in fees, respectively, were billed for additional professional services rendered by Crowe Chizek not included in the disclosure above. Services rendered included consulting services.
Board of Directors Pre-Approval
The Holding Company’s Audit Committee formally adopted resolutions pre-approving its engagement of Crowe Chizek to act as its independent auditor for the last two fiscal years ended September 30, 2004. The Audit Committee also pre-approved all audit-related, tax and other services rendered by Crowe Chizek during those fiscal years. The Audit Committee has not adopted pre-approval policies and procedures in accordance with paragraph (c)(7)(i) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, because it anticipates that in the future
13
the engagement of Crowe Chizek will be made by the Audit Committee and all non-audit and audit services to be rendered by Crowe Chizek will be pre-approved by the Audit Committee.
Our independent auditors performed all work described above with their respective full-time, permanent employees.
SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE
Section 16(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), requires that the Holding Company’s officers and directors and persons who own more than 10% of the Holding Company’s Common Stock file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Officers, directors and greater than 10% shareholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish the Holding Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms that they file.
Based solely on its review of the copies of such forms received by it, and/or written representations from certain reporting persons that no Forms 5 were required for those persons, the Holding Company believes that for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2004, all filing requirements applicable to its officers and directors with respect to Section 16(a) of the 1934 Act were satisfied in a timely manner, except that Robert C. Beutter, a director of the Holding Company, filed a Form 4 reporting the grant of a stock option for 12,000 shares of the Holding Company’s Common Stock on March 16, 2004, about four months late.
SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS
Any proposal which a shareholder wishes to have presented at the next Annual Meeting of the Holding Company must be received at the main office of the Holding Company for inclusion in the proxy statement no later than 120 days in advance of December 13, 2005. Any such proposal should be sent to the attention of the Secretary of the Holding Company at 4100 Edison Lakes Parkway, Mishawaka, Indiana 46545, and will be subject to the requirements of the proxy rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and, as with any shareholder proposal (regardless of whether included in the Holding Company’s proxy materials), the Holding Company’s articles of incorporation, by-laws and Indiana law.
A shareholder proposal being submitted for presentation at the Annual Meeting but not for inclusion in the Holding Company’s proxy statement and form of proxy, will normally be considered untimely if it is received by the Holding Company later than 120 days prior to the Annual Meeting. If, however, less than 130 days’ notice or prior public disclosure of the date of the next Annual Meeting is given or made to shareholders (which notice or public disclosure of the date of the meeting shall include the date of the Annual Meeting specified in publicly available By-Laws, if the Annual Meeting is held on such date), such proposal shall be considered untimely if it is received by the Holding Company later than the close of business on the 10th day following the day on which such notice of the date of the meeting was mailed or such public disclosure was made. If the Holding Company receives notice of such proposal after such time, each proxy that the Holding Company receives will confer upon it the discretionary authority to vote on the proposal in the manner the proxies deem appropriate, even though there is no discussion of the proposal in the Holding Company’s proxy statement for the next Annual Meeting.
OTHER MATTERS
Management is not aware of any business to come before the Annual Meeting other than those matters described in the Proxy Statement. However, if any other matters should properly come before the Annual Meeting, it is intended that the proxies solicited hereby will be voted with respect to those other matters in accordance with the judgment of the persons voting the proxies.
14
The cost of solicitation of proxies will be borne by the Holding Company. The Holding Company will reimburse brokerage firms and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for reasonable expenses incurred by them in sending proxy material to the beneficial owners of the Common Stock. In addition to solicitation by mail, directors, officers, and employees of the Holding Company may solicit proxies personally or by telephone without additional compensation.
Each shareholder is urged to complete, date and sign the proxy and return it promptly in the enclosed envelope.