Exhibit 10.20
JOSEPH J. SAVAGE
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT, dated as of April 24, 2002, among WEBSTER BANK (the "Bank"),
WEBSTER FINANCIAL CORPORATION (the "Company") and JOSEPH J. SAVAGE (the
"Employee").
WHEREAS, the respective Boards of Directors of the Company and the Bank
have approved and authorized the entry into this Agreement with the Employee;
WHEREAS, the parties desire to enter into this Agreement to set forth
the terms and conditions for the employment relationships of the Employee with
the Company and the Bank.
NOW, THEREFORE, it is AGREED as follows:
1. EMPLOYMENT. The Employee is employed as Executive Vice President,
Commercial Banking, of both the Company and the Bank from the date hereof
through the term of this Agreement. As an executive of the Company and of the
Bank, the Employee shall render executive, policy, and other management services
to the Company and the Bank of the type customarily performed by persons serving
in similar executive officer capacities. The Employee shall also perform such
duties as the Chief Executive Officer and the Boards of Directors of the Company
and of the Bank may from time to time reasonably direct. During the term of this
Agreement, there shall be no material increase or decrease in the duties and
responsibilities of the Employee otherwise than as provided herein, unless the
parties otherwise agree in writing. During the term of this Agreement, the
Employee shall not be required to relocate to an area more than 35 miles from
the Bank's home office in order to perform the services hereunder.
2. SALARY. The Bank agrees to pay the Employee during the term of this
Agreement a base salary as follows: from the date hereof through December 31,
2002, a salary at an annual rate equal to $240,000, which salary may be adjusted
in January of each subsequent year during the term of this Agreement, as
determined by the Boards of Directors of the Company and the Bank. In
determining salary adjustments, the Boards of Directors may compensate the
Employee for increases in the cost of living and may also provide for
performance or merit adjustments. The salary under this Section 2 shall be
payable by the Bank to the Employee not less frequently than monthly. The
Company shall reimburse the Bank for a portion of the salary paid to the
Employee hereunder, which portion shall represent an appropriate allocation for
the services rendered to the Company hereunder. The Employee shall not be
entitled to receive fees for serving as a director of the Company or of the
Bank, or for serving as a member of any committee of the Board of Directors of
the Company or of the Bank, if he is elected to such positions.
3. DISCRETIONARY BONUSES. In addition to his salary under Section 2
hereof, the Employee shall be eligible to receive such discretionary bonuses as
may be authorized, declared, and paid by the Board of Directors of the Company
or of the Bank. No other compensation provided for in this Agreement shall be
deemed a substitute for such bonuses when and as declared by the Board of
Directors of the Company or the Bank.
4. PARTICIPATION IN RETIREMENT AND EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS; FRINGE
BENEFITS. The Employee shall be eligible to participate in any plan of the
Company or of the Bank relating to stock options, stock purchases, pension,
thrift, profit sharing, employee stock ownership, group life insurance, medical
coverage, disability insurance, education, or other retirement or employee
benefits that the Bank or the Company has adopted or may adopt for the benefit
of its executive employees. The Employee shall also be eligible to participate
in any other fringe benefits which are now or may be or become applicable to the
Company's or the Bank's executive employees. In addition, the Employee shall be
provided with a standard automobile or an automobile allowance for business use.
Participation in these plans and fringe benefits shall not reduce the salary
payable to the Employee under Section 2 hereof.
5. TERM. The initial term of employment under this Agreement shall be
for a period commencing on the date hereof and ending on December 31, 2004. The
Company and the Bank may renew this Agreement by written notice to the Employee
for one additional year on December 31, 2002 and each subsequent December 31
during the term of this Agreement, unless the Employee gives contrary written
notice to the other parties hereto prior to such renewal date. Each initial term
and all such renewed terms are collectively referred to herein as the term of
this Agreement. This Agreement shall terminate on the "Effective Date" (as
defined in the Change of Control Employment Agreement referred to immediately
below) of that certain Change of Control Employment Agreement, dated as of April
24, 2002, by and between the Company and the Employee, and this Agreement shall
be of no further force or effect after such Effective Date.
6. STANDARDS. The Employee shall perform the Employee's duties and
responsibilities under this Agreement in accordance with such reasonable
standards as may be established from time to time by the Board of Directors of
the Company or the Bank. The reasonableness of such standards shall be measured
against standards for executive performance generally prevailing in the savings
institutions industry.
7. VACATIONS. The Employee shall be entitled to an annual paid vacation
of at least four weeks per year, or such longer period as the Board of Directors
of the Company or the Bank may approve, in accordance with the vacation policy
of the Company or the Bank, as applicable. The timing of paid vacations shall be
scheduled in a reasonable manner by the Employee.
8. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT.
(a) (i) The Board of Directors of the Company or the Bank may
terminate the Employee's employment at any time, but any termination by such
Board of Directors other than termination for cause shall not prejudice the
Employee's right to compensation or other benefits under this Agreement. The
Employee shall have no right to receive compensation or other benefits for any
period after termination for cause. The term "termination for cause" shall mean
termination because of the Employee's personal dishonesty, incompetence, willful
misconduct, breach of fiduciary duty involving personal profit, intentional
failure to perform stated duties, willful violation of any law, rule, or
regulation (other than traffic violations or similar offenses) or final
cease-and-desist order, or material breach of any provision of this Agreement.
In determining incompetence, the acts or omissions shall be measured against
standards generally prevailing in the savings institutions industry; provided,
that it shall be the Company's or the Bank's burden to prove the alleged acts
and omissions and the prevailing nature of the standards the Company or the Bank
shall have alleged are violated by such acts and/or omissions.
(ii) The parties acknowledge and agree that damages which
will result to the Employee for termination without cause shall be extremely
difficult or impossible to establish or prove, and agree that, unless the
termination is for cause, the Bank shall be obligated, concurrently with such
termination, to make a lump sum cash payment to the Employee as liquidated
damages of an amount equal to the sum of (a) the Employee's then current annual
base salary under Section 2 of this Agreement and (b) the amount of any bonuses
paid to the Employee pursuant to the Webster Financial Corporation and Webster
Bank Annual Incentive Compensation Plan during the then current fiscal year
(which was earned with respect to the prior fiscal year) multiplied by a
fraction, the numerator of which is the number of full months during the then
current fiscal year in which the Employee was employed hereunder and the
denominator of which is 12. The Employee agrees that, except for such other
payments and benefits to which the Employee may be entitled as expressly
provided by the terms of this Agreement, such liquidated damages shall be in
lieu of all other claims which Employee may make by reason of such termination.
Such payment to the Employee shall be made on or before the Employee's last day
of employment with the Company or the Bank. The liquidated damages amount shall
not be reduced by any compensation which the Employee may receive for other
employment with another employer after termination of his employment with the
Company or the Bank.
(iii) In addition to the liquidated damages above
described that are payable to the Employee for termination without cause, the
following shall apply in the event of any termination without cause: (1) the
Employee shall continue to be entitled to medical and dental coverage as if his
employment had not been terminated until the earliest of: (A) the expiration of
one year after the date
his employment terminates, (B) the expiration of the remaining term of this
Agreement under Section 5, and (C) the date on which the Employee accepts other
employment on a substantially full time basis; and (2) all insurance or other
provisions for indemnification, defense or hold-harmless of officers or
directors of the Company or the Bank which are in effect on the date the notice
of termination is sent to the Employee shall continue for the benefit of the
Employee with respect to all of his acts and omissions while an officer or
director as fully and completely as if such termination had not occurred, and
until the final expiration or running of all periods of limitation against
action which may be applicable to such acts or omissions.
(b) If the Employee is suspended and/or temporarily prohibited
from participating in the conduct of the Bank's affairs by a notice served under
Section 8(e)(3) or (g)(1) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended, the
Company's and the Bank's obligations under this Agreement shall be suspended as
of the date of service, unless stayed by appropriate proceedings. If the charges
in the notice are dismissed, the Bank may in its discretion (i) pay the Employee
all or part of the compensation withheld while such contractual obligations were
suspended, and (ii) reinstate in whole or in part any of its obligations which
were suspended.
(c) If the Employee is removed and/or permanently prohibited
from participating in the conduct of the Bank's affairs by an order issued under
Section 8(e)(4) or (g)(1) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended, all
obligations of the Company and the Bank under this Agreement shall terminate as
of the effective date of the order, but vested rights of the parties shall not
be affected.
(d) If the Bank is in default (as defined in Section 3(x)(1)
of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended), all obligations under this
Agreement shall terminate as of the date of default, but this paragraph shall
not affect any vested rights of the parties.
(e) All obligations under this Agreement shall be terminated,
except to the extent determined that continuation of this Agreement is necessary
for the continued operation of the Bank, (i) by the Director of the Office of
Thrift Supervision (the "Director") or his or her designee, at the time the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation enters into an agreement to provide
assistance to or on behalf of the Bank under the authority contained in Section
13(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended, or (ii) by the Director
or his or her designee at the time that the Director or his or her designee
approves a supervisory merger to resolve problems related to operation of the
Bank or when the Bank is determined by the Director or his or her designee to be
in an unsafe or unsound condition. Any rights of the parties that have already
vested, however, shall not be affected by any termination hereunder.
(f) The Employee shall have no right to terminate employment
under this Agreement prior to the end of the term of this Agreement, unless such
termination is approved by the Board of Directors of the Company or the Bank. In
the event that the Employee violates this provision, the Company and the Bank
shall be entitled, in addition to their other legal remedies, to enjoin the
employment of the Employee with any significant competitor of the Bank for a
period of one year or the remaining term of this Agreement plus six months,
whichever is less. The term "significant competitor" shall mean any commercial
bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, or mortgage banking company,
or a holding company affiliate of any of the foregoing, which at the date of its
employment of the Employee has an office out of which the Employee would be
primarily based within 35 miles of the Bank's home office.
(g) In the event the employment of the Employee is terminated
by the Company or the Bank without cause under Section 8(a) hereof, and the Bank
fails to make timely payment of the amounts then owed to the Employee under this
Agreement, the Employee shall be entitled to reimbursement for all reasonable
costs, including attorneys' fees, incurred by the Employee in taking action to
collect such amounts or otherwise to enforce this Agreement, plus interest on
such amounts at the rate of one percent above the prime rate (defined as the
base rate on corporate loans at large U.S. money center commercial banks, as
published by The Wall Street Journal), compounded monthly, for the period from
the date the payment is due to be paid to the Employee until payment is made.
Such reimbursement and interest shall be in addition to all rights which the
Employee is otherwise entitled to under this Agreement.
(h) If during the term of this Agreement, the Employee's
employment with the Company and the Bank is terminated (whether voluntarily or
involuntarily), the Employee agrees to maintain the confidentiality of, and not
to use, any non-public information which he acquired during his employment
concerning the Company or the Bank, their respective subsidiaries, or any
director, officer, employee or agent of the aforesaid entities, including any
information as to the customers, business or personnel practices of such
entities. The Employee agrees, for a period of one year after the date of
termination of his employment with the Company and the Bank, that he will not:
(i) offer employment (or a consulting, agency, independent contractor or other
similar paid position) to any employee of the Company, the Bank or any of their
respective subsidiaries, or (ii) induce, encourage or solicit any such employee
to accept employment (or any aforesaid position) with any company or entity with
which the Employee may then be employed or otherwise affiliated.
9. DISABILITY. If the Employee shall become disabled or incapacitated
to the extent that the Employee is unable to perform the Employee's duties and
responsibilities hereunder, the Employee shall be entitled to receive disability
benefits of the type provided for other executive employees of the Company and
the Bank and the obligations of the Company and the
Bank hereunder shall be limited to providing such benefits for the period of
such disability.
10. NO ASSIGNMENTS; SUCCESSORS. This Agreement is personal to each of
the parties hereto. No party may assign or delegate any rights or obligations
hereunder without first obtaining the written consent of the other party hereto.
However, in the event of the death of the Employee, all rights to receive
payments hereunder shall become rights of the Employee's estate. The Company
and/or the Bank shall require any successor (whether direct or indirect, by
purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the
business and/or assets of the Company or the Bank expressly to assume and agree
to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the
Company and the Bank would have been required to perform if no succession had
taken place. All references herein to the "Company" and the "Bank" shall refer
to any such successor.
11. OTHER CONTRACTS. The Employee shall not, during the term of this
Agreement, have any other paid employment other than with a subsidiary of the
Company, except with the prior approval of the Boards of Directors of the
Company and the Bank.
12. AMENDMENTS OR ADDITIONS; ACTION BY BOARDS OF DIRECTORS. No
amendments or additions to this Agreement shall be binding unless in writing and
signed by all parties hereto. The prior approval by the Boards of Directors of
the Company and the Bank shall be required in order for the Company and the Bank
to authorize any amendments or additions to this Agreement, to give any consents
or waivers of provisions of this Agreement, or to take any other action under
this Agreement, including any termination of employment with or without cause
under Section 8(a) hereof.
13. SECTION HEADINGS. The section headings used in this Agreement are
included solely for convenience and shall not affect, or be used in connection
with, the interpretation of this Agreement.
14. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed
severable, and the invalidity or unenforceability of any provision shall not
affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions hereof.
15. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the
United States to the extent applicable, and otherwise by the laws of the State
of Connecticut, excluding the choice of law rules thereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have duly executed this
Agreement, or caused this Agreement to be duly executed on their behalf, as of
the day and year first above written.
Attest: WEBSTER FINANCIAL CORPORATION
/s/ Renee P. Seefried By /s/ James C. Smith
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Chief Executive Officer
Attest: WEBSTER BANK
/s/ Renee P. Seefried By /s/ James C. Smith
- --------------------------------- ---------------------------------
Chief Executive Officer
EMPLOYEE
/s/ Joseph J. Savage
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Joseph J. Savage