Companies First Financial Corp /IN/
First Financial Corp /IN/ (BFSI): executive pay, fiscal 2025
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CEO pay, last three years
- $1,050,992FY2023
- $1,351,844FY2024
- $2,395,725FY2025
CEO total pay was $2,395,725 in fiscal 2025, up from $1,351,844 in fiscal 2024.
FY2025: salary $675,350 · bonus $0 · stock awards $523,503 · option awards $0
Frequently asked questions
Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.
Full detail
Every table from the filing. Open any section.
Summary compensation table
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norman Lowery | $675,350 | $0 | $523,503 | $0 | $486,252 | $614,372 | $96,248 | $2,395,725 |
| Chief Executive Officer, First Financial Bank, N.A. and | ||||||||
| Mark Franklin | 308,509 | 0 | 119,677 | 0 | 129,574 | — | 41,142 | 598,902 |
| Chief Lending Officer, First Financial Bank, N.A. and | ||||||||
| Stephen Panagouleas | 306,700 | 0 | 59,450 | 0 | 128,730 | — | 34,492 | 529,372 |
| Chief Credit Officer | ||||||||
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.
Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norman Lowery | $2,395,725 | $1,351,844 | $1,050,992 | ↑ +1,043,881 |
| Mark Franklin | 598,902 | 557,954 | 534,912 | ↑ +40,948 |
| Stephen Panagouleas | 529,372 | 298,950 | — | ↑ +230,422 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis
Our goal is to maintain a competitive, balanced compensation program that rewards our NEOs for current year performance and for the creation of long-term shareholder value, without exposing the Corporation to unreasonable risk. The philosophy is grounded in three principles: Pay for Performance, Competitiveness, and Shareholder Alignment.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Pearl Meyer |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Panagouleas | RSU | 2025-02-04 | — | — | 1,214 | — | $59,425 |
| Norman Lowery | RSU | 2025-02-04 | — | — | 10,694 | — | 523,471 |
| Mark Franklin | RSU | 2025-02-04 | — | — | 2,444 | — | 119,633 |
Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Panagouleas | $59,425 | $0 | $0 | 0.0% |
| Norman Lowery | 523,471 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Mark Franklin | 119,633 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norman Lowery | RSU | 8,554 | — | $516,832 |
Director compensation
No director compensation table is on file for fiscal year 2025.
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $70,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | $750 |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 6,000 / 6,000 / 6,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $7 |
Peer group, and who names First Financial Corp /IN/ as a peer
Companies that benchmark against BFSI
No companies currently name BFSI as a compensation peer in their most recent disclosure.
This is the complete answer, not a partial one — the list is never padded.
Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Chief executive pay against the peer group
Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Civista Bancshares, Inc. | 2025 | Dennis Shaffer | $573,657 | $166,246 | $0 | $258,146 | $2,894,036 |
| 2 | Lakeland Financial Corp. | 2025 | David Findlay | 739,654 | 1,304,582 | 0 | 393,128 | 2,473,892 |
| 3 | First Financial Corp /IN/ | 2025 | Norman Lowery | 675,350 | 523,503 | 0 | 486,252 | 2,395,725 |
| 4 | First Mid Bancshares, Inc. | 2025 | Joseph Dively | 543,400 | 514,272 | 0 | 1,019,364 | 2,109,337 |
| 5 | German American Bancorp Inc. | 2025 | D. Neil Dauby | 770,000 | 517,464 | 0 | 602,525 | 2,068,536 |
| 6 | City Holding Co. | 2025 | Charles Hageboeck | 699,000 | 404,867 | 0 | 796,860 | 1,922,194 |
| 7 | Great Southern Bancorp Inc. | 2025 | Joseph Turner | 518,072 | 0 | 93,756 | 872,970 | 1,815,277 |
| 8 | Bank First Corporation | 2025 | Michael Molepske | 805,838 | 463,787 | 0 | 463,763 | 1,800,787 |
| 9 | Farmers National Banc Corp. | 2025 | Kevin Helmick | 686,850 | 331,913 | 0 | 536,250 | 1,644,243 |
| 10 | Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. | 2025 | Mark Gooch | 721,962 | 137,090 | 0 | 740,400 | 1,639,760 |
| 11 | MidWest One Financial Group, Inc. | 2024 | Charles Reeves | 646,875 | 400,003 | 0 | 534,039 | 1,611,393 |
| 12 | CNB Financial Corp. | 2025 | Michael D. Peduzzi | 653,993 | 270,672 | 0 | 309,273 | 1,500,484 |
| 13 | Peoples Bancorp, Inc. | 2025 | Tyler Wilcox | 700,000 | 259,195 | 0 | 416,800 | 1,500,327 |
| 14 | West Bancorporation, Inc. | 2025 | David Nelson | 608,000 | 303,493 | 0 | 477,245 | 1,456,493 |
| 15 | HBT Financial, Inc. | 2025 | J. Lance Carter | 570,686 | 278,600 | 0 | 427,815 | 1,294,800 |
| 16 | Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. | 2025 | Lars Eller | 519,841 | 109,148 | 0 | 283,573 | 969,335 |
| 17 | Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. | 2026 | Greg Steffens | 468,000 | 37,776 | 38,070 | 0 | 756,303 |
| 18 | First Business Financial Services, Inc. | 2025 | James Hartlieb | 315,000 | 110,985 | 0 | 147,195 | 620,487 |
Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.
Incentive design against the same peers
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Financial Corp /IN/ | not disclosed | Restricted Stock 100 | not disclosed | Pearl Meyer |
| Bank First Corporation | 74.6% | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Pearl Meyer |
| City Holding Co. | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | Yes — Total Shareholder Return (TSR) | McLagan |
| Civista Bancshares, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 100 | Yes — Relative TSR vs. Peer Group (3 year average) | Blanchard Consulting Group |
| CNB Financial Corp. | 47.29% | RSU 50 · PRSU 50 | No | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. | 75% | not disclosed | No | Pearl Meyer |
| Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. | not disclosed | Stock Awards 100 | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Farmers National Banc Corp. | 150% | PSU 50 · RSU 25 · Cash LTI 25 | No | Aon |
| First Business Financial Services, Inc. | 134% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | Yes — Total Shareholder Return (TSR) | McLagan |
| First Mid Bancshares, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Blanchard Consulting |
| German American Bancorp Inc. | 67% | RSU 100 | No | BCG |
| Great Southern Bancorp Inc. | not disclosed | Option 100 | not disclosed | Pearl Meyer & Partners, LLC |
| HBT Financial, Inc. | 149.09% | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | No | McLagan Partners Inc. |
| Lakeland Financial Corp. | 106% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | No | Pearl Meyer & Partners |
| MidWest One Financial Group, Inc. | 127.0% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. |
| Peoples Bancorp, Inc. | 60% | Restricted Common Shares 100 | No | Pay Governance |
| Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Blanchard Consulting Group |
| West Bancorporation, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | No | McLagan |
Read from each company’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company’s filing does not state the item.
Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
No say-on-pay vote is on file for this company.
CEO pay ratio
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | 37 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | $2,408,812 |
| Median employee compensation | $65,294 |
Insider trades since the proxy
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
Sources (27 citations)
Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.
- Section 01, Norman Lowery. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 2,395,725. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Mark Franklin. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 598,902. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Stephen Panagouleas. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 529,372. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Stephen Panagouleas RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Norman Lowery RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Mark Franklin RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 37 : 1. View filing ↗
- Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
- Section 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
- Civista Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-07. CEO total compensation as printed in Civista Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,894,036. View filing ↗
- Lakeland Financial Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEFR 14A, filed 2026-03-05. CEO total compensation as printed in Lakeland Financial Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,473,892. View filing ↗
- First Financial Corp /IN/ (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. CEO total compensation as printed in First Financial Corp /IN/'s own proxy. As printed: 2,395,725. View filing ↗
- First Mid Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. CEO total compensation as printed in First Mid Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,109,337. View filing ↗
- German American Bancorp Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-18. CEO total compensation as printed in German American Bancorp Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,068,536. View filing ↗
- City Holding Co., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. CEO total compensation as printed in City Holding Co.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,922,194. View filing ↗
- Great Southern Bancorp Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-31. CEO total compensation as printed in Great Southern Bancorp Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,815,277. View filing ↗
- Bank First Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Bank First Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 1,800,787. View filing ↗
- Farmers National Banc Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-16. CEO total compensation as printed in Farmers National Banc Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,644,243. View filing ↗
- Community Trust Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-18. CEO total compensation as printed in Community Trust Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,639,760. View filing ↗
- MidWest One Financial Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-11. CEO total compensation as printed in MidWest One Financial Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,611,393. View filing ↗
- CNB Financial Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-16. CEO total compensation as printed in CNB Financial Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,500,484. View filing ↗
- Peoples Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-06. CEO total compensation as printed in Peoples Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,500,327. View filing ↗
- West Bancorporation, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-03. CEO total compensation as printed in West Bancorporation, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,456,493. View filing ↗
- HBT Financial, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-08. CEO total compensation as printed in HBT Financial, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,294,800. View filing ↗
- Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 969,335. View filing ↗
- Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-09-21. CEO total compensation as printed in Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 756,303. View filing ↗
- First Business Financial Services, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-05. CEO total compensation as printed in First Business Financial Services, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 620,487. View filing ↗