Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-09-28

Finward Bancorp (FNWD)

CEO Benjamin J. Bochnowski was paid $480,686 in fiscal year 2025, ↓ down 5.4% from fiscal year 2024 (SEC filing 0001193125-26-142083 ↗): executive and director compensation, incentive-plan design, equity activity, and governance — every figure in this brief is traceable to its exact location in the company’s SEC filing — the document, the section, the page, and the table, linked directly.

$480,686 ↓
Benjamin J. Bochnowski total, FY2025
—
CEO pay percentile vs peers
—
CEO-to-median pay ratio
94.12%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote

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FNWD's next annual pay disclosure, estimated April 5, 2027.est. Filing ↗

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Benjamin J. Bochnowski$416,146$0$0$0$32,868$0$31,672$480,686
President and Chief Executive Officer
Todd M. Scheub316,11306,849021,411027,864372,237
Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer; President of Peoples Bank
Robert T. Lowry275,77405,250015,566030,205326,795
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
Benjamin L. Schmitt250,16904,690014,120020,537289,516
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

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 officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Benjamin J. Bochnowski$480,686$508,236$468,536↓ −27,550
Todd M. Scheub372,237401,195316,712↓ −28,958
Robert T. Lowry326,795373,412318,541↓ −46,617
Benjamin L. Schmitt289,516343,271—↓ −53,755

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

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$480,686 Benjamin J. Bochnowski total, FY2025

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Data as of September 28, 2026 · Source: 0001193125-26-142083 · Velarion Executive Compensation Database, deposited on Zenodo (doi:10.5281/zenodo.22283855).

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01b

Executives — the named officers

One page per officer: the same table above, read for one person at a time — his own figure and every fiscal year the register holds.

ExecutiveRoleFY2025 total
Benjamin J. BochnowskiCEO$480,686
Benjamin L. SchmittCFO$289,516
Robert T. LowryCOO$326,795
Todd M. ScheubPresident$372,237
01c

Board of directors

One page per director: the seat, the committees and the fee table, read for one person at a time.

DirectorRoleFY2025 total
Amy W. Han, Ph.DIndependent Director$40,491
Anthony M. Puntillo, D.D.S., M.S.DIndependent Director$44,033
Carolyn M. BurkeIndependent Director$40,491
Danette Garza, J.D., CPAIndependent Director$40,491
James L. Wieser, J.DFormer director (through FY2025)$22,875
Jennifer R. EvansIndependent Director$42,824
Joel GorelickChair of the Board$73,616
Martin P. AlwinIndependent Director$40,491
Robert E. Johnson, IIIIndependent Director$44,616
Robert W. YoumanIndependent Director$44,033
02

Equity transactions since the proxy statement was filed

Every insider equity transaction reported on Form 4 after the 2025 proxy statement — acquisitions, dispositions, exercises, and withholdings — and therefore not reflected in any table in that document.

InsiderRoleTransaction dateCodeSharesPriceValueSecuritySource
Joel GorelickDirector2026-05-22A372$32$11,993CommonForm 4 ↗
Anthony PuntilloDirector2026-05-22A3723211,993CommonForm 4 ↗
Robert W. YoumanDirector2026-05-22A3723211,993CommonForm 4 ↗
Martin P. AlwinDirector2026-05-22A3723211,993CommonForm 4 ↗
Amy Wong HanDirector2026-05-22A3723211,993CommonForm 4 ↗
Jennifer R. EvansDirector2026-05-22A3723211,993CommonForm 4 ↗
Robert E. Johnson, IIIDirector2026-05-22A3723211,993CommonForm 4 ↗
Benjamin J. BochnowskiDirector2026-06-30A6.2136223CommonForm 4 ↗
Amy Wong HanDirector2026-06-30A3.5936128CommonForm 4 ↗
Robert E. Johnson, IIIDirector2026-06-30A5.4536195CommonForm 4 ↗
Todd M. ScheubExecutive Vice President2026-06-30A38.96361,402CommonForm 4 ↗
Robert T. LowryExecutive Vice President2026-06-30A50.64361,823CommonForm 4 ↗
Anthony PuntilloDirector2026-06-30A6.5236233CommonForm 4 ↗
Robert T. LowryExecutive Vice President2026-09-25A42.07431,829CommonForm 4 ↗
Todd M. ScheubExecutive Vice President2026-09-25A32.36431,407CommonForm 4 ↗
Benjamin J. BochnowskiDirector2026-09-25A5.1643224CommonForm 4 ↗
Anthony PuntilloDirector2026-09-25A5.3843234CommonForm 4 ↗

Transaction codes per Form 4: A acquisition · S open-market sale · F tax withholding · M option exercise · G gift. Value = shares × price as reported. Dividend-equivalent and fractional-share accrual rows (derivative Class A, under $10,000 and under 2,000 shares) are aggregated per date; every row appears in full below.

03

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Robert T. LowryPSU—————$5,250
Todd M. ScheubPSU—————6,849
Benjamin L. SchmittPSU—————4,690
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Robert T. Lowry$0$5,250$0100.0%
Todd M. Scheub06,8490100.0%
Benjamin L. Schmitt04,6900100.0%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

04

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Todd M. ScheubRSU257—$9,044
Todd M. ScheubRSU1,017—35,788
Benjamin J. BochnowskiRSU1,815—63,870
Benjamin L. SchmittRSU2,458—86,497
Robert T. LowryRSU197—6,932
Robert T. LowryRSU1,024—36,035
Robert T. LowryRSU937—32,973
Benjamin L. SchmittRSU176—6,193
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The Compensation and Benefits Committee aims to award compensation appropriate for the Bancorp that furthers long-term strategic objectives, remains consistent with the Bancorp's culture, avoids incentive structures encouraging excessive risk-taking, attracts and retains key management, and aligns management's interests with long-term shareholder interests.

CEO STI target (% of salary)35%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-05-222,720,043169,92814,67794.12%Passed
20252025-05-222,520,818338,72967,82688.15%Passed
20242024-05-242,532,835225,11449,87391.84%Passed
20232023-05-052,545,328101,90941,49896.15%Passed
20222022-05-202,299,938258,796146,10889.89%Passed
20202020-05-152,113,95448,162104,94797.77%Passed

Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year's compensation.

Say-on-pay — history, company's computation

Meeting yearMeeting dateApproval — company's computation
20262026-05-2294.12%a
20252025-05-2288.15%b
20242024-05-2491.84%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the advisory vote on executive compensation.”.

b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the advisory vote on executive compensation.”.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the advisory vote on executive compensation.”.

Approval percentages are the company's own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.

07

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)—
CEO total compensation—
Median employee compensation—
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Joel GorelickIndependent · Board Chair · Executive (Chair)$61,625$11,991$0—$0$73,616
Robert E. Johnson, IIIIndependent · Risk Management and Compliance (Chair) · Compensation and Benefits · Executive32,62511,99100044,616
Anthony M. Puntillo, D.D.S., M.S.DIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair) · Audit · Executive32,04211,9910—044,033
Robert W. YoumanIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Risk Management and Compliance32,04211,9910—044,033
Jennifer R. EvansIndependent · Compensation and Benefits (Chair) · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Risk Management and Compliance30,83311,9910—042,824
Amy W. Han, Ph.DIndependent · Compensation and Benefits · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Executive28,50011,9910—040,491
Carolyn M. BurkeIndependent · Audit · Compensation and Benefits · Risk Management and Compliance28,50011,9910—040,491
Danette Garza, J.D., CPAIndependent · Audit · Compensation and Benefits · Risk Management and Compliance · Not standing for re-election28,50011,9910—040,491
Martin P. AlwinIndependent · Audit · Compensation and Benefits · Risk Management and Compliance28,50011,9910—040,491
James L. Wieser, J.DIndependent · Departed during FY22,875—0—022,875
Benjamin J. BochnowskiEmployee director · Executive000—00
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$28,500
Annual equity retainer$12,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)5,000 / 5,000 / 5,000
Stock ownership guideline$100,000
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$326,042
Equity awards (grant-date value)$107,919
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$433,961

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

10b

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.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Finward Bancorp2025Benjamin J. Bochnowski$416,146$0$0$32,868$480,686

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.

10d

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Finward Bancorp in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Benjamin J. Bochnowski (President and Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Finward Bancorp in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $480,686.
How did shareholders vote on Finward Bancorp's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 94.12% of shareholders supported Finward Bancorp's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Finward Bancorp spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Finward Bancorp reported total board compensation of $433,961 for fiscal 2025.

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.

11

Source register

Each figure's location is given both for the eye (section · page · table · row · column) and for a script (table/row/column index and exact character span in the filed document). Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

#SupportsDocumentFiledAccessionLocation in document
1Section 01, Benjamin J. BochnowskiDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Summary Compensation Table for 2025” · page 17. As printed: 480,686. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c19 · span 228740–228748
2Section 01, Todd M. ScheubDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Summary Compensation Table for 2025” · page 17. As printed: 372,237. Filing ↗machine: r9 · c19 · span 235712–235720
3Section 01, Robert T. LowryDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Summary Compensation Table for 2025” · page 17. As printed: 326,795. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c19 · span 232252–232260
4Section 01, Benjamin L. SchmittDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Summary Compensation Table for 2025” · page 17. As printed: 289,516. Filing ↗machine: r12 · c19 · span 239160–239168
5Section 03, Robert T. Lowry PSUDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t45 · r6 · c11 · span 231754–231759
6Section 03, Todd M. Scheub PSUDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t45 · r9 · c11 · span 235214–235219
7Section 03, Benjamin L. Schmitt PSUDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t45 · r12 · c11 · span 238662–238667
8Section 07, pay ratio10-K2026-03-250001628280-26-021073Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: —. Filing ↗
9Section 08, Joel GorelickDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 73,616. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r6 · c7 · span 358801–358807
10Section 08, Robert E. Johnson, IIIDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 44,616. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r8 · c7 · span 360523–360529
11Section 08, Anthony M. Puntillo, D.D.S., M.S.DDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 44,033. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r9 · c7 · span 361387–361393
12Section 08, Robert W. YoumanDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 44,033. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r11 · c7 · span 363201–363207
13Section 08, Jennifer R. EvansDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 42,824. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r4 · c7 · span 357081–357087
14Section 08, Amy W. Han, Ph.DDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 40,491. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r7 · c7 · span 359647–359653
15Section 08, Carolyn M. BurkeDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 40,491. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r3 · c7 · span 356210–356216
16Section 08, Danette Garza, J.D., CPADEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 40,491. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r5 · c7 · span 357934–357940
17Section 08, Martin P. AlwinDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 40,491. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r2 · c7 · span 355365–355371
18Section 08, James L. Wieser, J.DDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 22,875. Filing ↗machine: t62 · r10 · c2 · span 362018–362025
19Section 08, Benjamin J. BochnowskiDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
20Section 02, Joel Gorelick 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-270001628280-26-038380Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
21Section 02, Anthony Puntillo 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-270001628280-26-038384Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
22Section 02, Robert W. Youman 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-270001628280-26-038386Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
23Section 02, Martin P. Alwin 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-270001628280-26-038399Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
24Section 02, Amy Wong Han 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-270001628280-26-038411Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
25Section 02, Jennifer R. Evans 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-290001628280-26-039007Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
26Section 02, Robert E. Johnson, III 2026-05-22Form 42026-07-020001628280-26-046716Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
27Section 02, Benjamin J. Bochnowski 2026-06-30Form 42026-07-010001628280-26-046398Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
28Section 02, Amy Wong Han 2026-06-30Form 42026-07-010001628280-26-046416Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
29Section 02, Robert E. Johnson, III 2026-06-30Form 42026-07-020001628280-26-046716Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
30Section 02, Todd M. Scheub 2026-06-30Form 42026-07-010001628280-26-046413Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
31Section 02, Robert T. Lowry 2026-06-30Form 42026-07-010001628280-26-046441Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
32Section 02, Anthony Puntillo 2026-06-30Form 42026-07-010001628280-26-046401Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
33Section 02, Robert T. Lowry 2026-09-25Form 42026-09-280001628280-26-063744Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
34Section 02, Todd M. Scheub 2026-09-25Form 42026-09-280001628280-26-063755Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
35Section 02, Benjamin J. Bochnowski 2026-09-25Form 42026-09-280001628280-26-063746Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
36Section 02, Anthony Puntillo 2026-09-25Form 42026-09-280001628280-26-063748Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
37Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-05-260001628280-26-038070Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.12% (votes for as printed: 2,720,043). Filing ↗
38Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-05-290001193125-25-130618Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 88.15% (votes for as printed: 2,520,818). Filing ↗
39Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-05-290001437749-24-018592Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 91.84% (votes for as printed: 2,532,835). Filing ↗
40Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)Computed——Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
41Section 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).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio
42Section 09b board cost (computed)Computed——Cash 326,042 + equity 107,919 + all other 0 = 433,961, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 433,961
43Finward Bancorp (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142083CEO total compensation as printed in Finward Bancorp's own proxy. As printed: 480,686. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c19 · span 228740–228748

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