Fiscal year 2024 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.
Each company listed discloses GNTY in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named GNTY in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Abston | $688,953 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $493,335 | $134,519 | $30,390 | $1,347,196 |
| Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Kirk Lee | 394,350 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 224,896 | 89,156 | 23,587 | 731,989 |
| President | ||||||||
| Harold Lower | 326,158 | 0 | 10,153 | 143,650 | 95,213 | 10,447 | 28,668 | 614,289 |
| Senior Executive Vice President | ||||||||
| W. Travis Brown | 298,508 | 0 | 9,787 | 0 | 91,704 | 8,545 | 17,978 | 426,522 |
| Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer | ||||||||
| Shalene Jacobson | 259,777 | 0 | 7,866 | 0 | 91,700 | 7,303 | 22,696 | 389,342 |
| Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial 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.
| Named executive officer | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | FY2022 total | Δ FY2023→2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Abston | $1,347,196 | — | — | — |
| Kirk Lee | 731,989 | — | — | — |
| Harold Lower | 614,289 | — | — | — |
| W. Travis Brown | 426,522 | — | — | — |
| Shalene Jacobson | 389,342 | — | — | — |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Lower | OPTION | 2024-04-30 | — | — | 5,000 | — | $143,650 |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Lower | $0 | $0 | $143,650 | 0.0% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown | RSU | 700 | — | $24,220 |
| Harold Lower | RSU | 333 | — | 11,522 |
| Brown | RSU | 321 | — | 11,107 |
| Shalene Jacobson | SAR | 1,100 | 23.03 | — |
| Brown | SAR | 2,400 | 28.87 | — |
| Brown | SAR | 2,000 | 33.09 | — |
| Harold Lower | SAR | 2,400 | 28.87 | — |
| Shalene Jacobson | RSU | 2,000 | — | 69,200 |
| Shalene Jacobson | RSU | 770 | — | 26,642 |
| Shalene Jacobson | SAR | 4,000 | 30.5 | — |
| Harold Lower | SAR | 5,000 | 28.73 | — |
| Shalene Jacobson | RSU | 258 | — | 8,927 |
| Brown | RSU | 160 | — | 5,536 |
| Harold Lower | RSU | 770 | — | 26,642 |
The Company has an executive compensation program designed to offer competitive cash and equity compensation and benefits that will attract, motivate and retain highly qualified and talented executives who will help maximize the Company s financial performance and earnings growth.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Pearl Meyer & Partners |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | false |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024-05-15 | 5,841,004 | 552,066 | 68,148 | 91.36% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-05-17 | 6,881,945 | 19,906 | 147,053 | 99.71% | 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.
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company's computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024-05-15 | 91.36%a |
| 2023 | 2023-05-17 | 99.71%b |
a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “A broker non-vote or a withholding of authority to vote with respect to one or more nominees for director will not have the effect of a vote against such nominee or nominees because broker non-votes and abstentions are counted for purposes of determining the presence or absence of a quorum, but are not counted as votes cast at the annual meeting.”.
b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “A broker non-vote or a withholding of authority to vote with respect to one or more nominees for director will not have the effect of a vote against such nominee or nominees because broker non-votes and abstentions are counted for purposes of determining the presence or absence of a quorum, but are not counted as votes cast at the annual meeting.”.
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.
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | 26 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | $1,347,196 |
| Median employee compensation | $50,908 |
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher B. ElliottIndependent · Corporate Governance and Nominating (Chair) · Audit (Chair) · KSOP · Compensation | $56,474 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $44,145 | $100,619 |
| Jeffrey W. BrownIndependent · Audit · KSOP · Newly elected | 51,924 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46,620 | 98,544 |
| Carl Johnson, JrIndependent · KSOP (Chair) · Audit · Corporate Governance and Nominating | 52,674 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,120 | 97,794 |
| James S. BunchIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Corporate Governance and Nominating · Audit | 53,474 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42,645 | 96,119 |
| James M. Nolan, JrIndependent · Audit · Compensation · Corporate Governance and Nominating | 52,374 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42,270 | 94,644 |
| Richard W. BakerIndependent · Compensation · Corporate Governance and Nominating | 47,574 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46,620 | 94,194 |
| Bradley K. DrakeIndependent · Compensation · Corporate Governance and Nominating · Audit · KSOP | 54,024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29,895 | 83,919 |
| Kirk L. LeeEmployee director | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Tyson T. AbstonEmployee director | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Annual cash retainer | $21,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $0 |
| Per board meeting fee | $650 |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 750 / 400 / 400 |
| Stock ownership guideline | — |
| Component | FY2024 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $368,518 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $0 |
| All other compensation | $297,315 |
| Total cost of the board | $665,833 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Of the companies Guaranty Bancshares names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.
Reciprocity shown where the peer's own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer's filing. A dash means the peer's current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Guaranty Bancshares.
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 | Equity Bancshares, Inc. | 2025 | Brad Elliott | $857,995 | $663,156 | $281,500 | $854,427 | $3,073,975 |
| 2 | Civista Bancshares, Inc. | 2025 | Dennis Shaffer | 573,657 | 166,246 | 0 | 258,146 | 2,894,036 |
| 3 | Stellar Bancorp, Inc. | 2024 | Robert Franklin, Jr | 785,000 | 1,088,106 | 0 | 763,151 | 2,678,922 |
| 4 | Business First Bancshares, Inc. | 2025 | David Melville, III | 801,500 | 864,506 | 0 | 666,582 | 2,582,764 |
| 5 | Third Coast Bancshares, Inc. | 2025 | Bart Caraway | 654,231 | 385,457 | 0 | 0 | 2,503,561 |
| 6 | Bank7 Corp. | 2025 | Thomas Travis | 788,461 | 825,001 | 0 | 0 | 2,375,029 |
| 7 | SmartFinancial, Inc. | 2025 | William Carroll, Jr. | 657,297 | 476,757 | 0 | 509,433 | 1,717,633 |
| 8 | Investar Holding Corporation | 2025 | John D'Angelo | 647,689 | 381,184 | 0 | 408,500 | 1,484,431 |
| 9 | Guaranty Bancshares | 2024 | Tyson Abston | 688,953 | 0 | 0 | 493,335 | 1,347,196 |
| 10 | Southside Bancshares, Inc. | 2025 | Keith Donahoe | 580,000 | 252,032 | 0 | 220,121 | 1,224,314 |
| 11 | Red River Bancshares, Inc. | 2025 | R. Blake Chatelain | 571,006 | 26,005 | 0 | — | 1,132,306 |
| 12 | Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. | 2025 | Lars Eller | 519,841 | 109,148 | 0 | 283,573 | 969,335 |
| 13 | Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. | 2025 | Greg A. Steffens | 461,000 | 37,763 | 40,590 | 0 | 690,774 |
| 14 | First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. | 2025 | Michael Mineer | 413,333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 464,421 |
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.
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guaranty Bancshares | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Pearl Meyer & Partners |
| Bank7 Corp. | not disclosed | RSU 100 | Yes — TSR > 50% of peers | The Hunt Financial Group |
| Business First Bancshares, Inc. | 123.93% | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | No | Aon's Human Capital Solutions practice (McLagan) |
| Civista Bancshares, Inc. | 74% | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Blanchard Consulting Group |
| Equity Bancshares, Inc. | 132.1% | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | Yes — Total Stockholder Return (TSR) | Blanchard Consulting Group |
| Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. | not disclosed | Stock Awards 100 | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Investar Holding Corporation | not disclosed | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Blanchard Consulting Group |
| Red River Bancshares, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Blanchard Consulting Group |
| SmartFinancial, Inc. | 127.3% | RSU 100 | No | Blanchard Consulting Group |
| Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. | 16.7% | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Southside Bancshares, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Stellar Bancorp, Inc. | 102.33% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | No | Aon Human Capital Solutions |
| Third Coast Bancshares, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | HFG |
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.
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.
| # | Supports | Document | Filed | Accession | Location in document |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Section 01, Tyson Abston | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 31. As printed: 1,347,196. Filing ↗machine: t17 · r2 · c29 · span 620930–620939 |
| 2 | Section 01, Kirk Lee | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 31. As printed: 731,989. Filing ↗machine: t17 · r10 · c29 · span 691509–691516 |
| 3 | Section 01, Harold Lower | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 31. As printed: 614,289. Filing ↗machine: t17 · r14 · c29 · span 727743–727750 |
| 4 | Section 01, W. Travis Brown | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 31. As printed: 426,522. Filing ↗machine: t17 · r18 · c29 · span 764118–764125 |
| 5 | Section 01, Shalene Jacobson | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 31. As printed: 389,342. Filing ↗machine: t17 · r6 · c29 · span 657325–657332 |
| 6 | Section 03, Harold Lower OPTION | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t17 · r14 · c13 · span 722852–722859 |
| 7 | Section 07, pay ratio | DEF 14A | — | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 26 : 1.machine: span 1422559–1422566 |
| 8 | Section 08, Christopher B. Elliott | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 100,619. Filing ↗machine: t27 · r7 · c11 · span 1559567–1559574 |
| 9 | Section 08, Jeffrey W. Brown | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 98,544. Filing ↗machine: t27 · r4 · c11 · span 1547383–1547389 |
| 10 | Section 08, Carl Johnson, Jr | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 97,794. Filing ↗machine: t27 · r8 · c11 · span 1563629–1563635 |
| 11 | Section 08, James S. Bunch | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 96,119. Filing ↗machine: t27 · r5 · c11 · span 1551441–1551447 |
| 12 | Section 08, James M. Nolan, Jr | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 94,644. Filing ↗machine: t27 · r9 · c11 · span 1567692–1567698 |
| 13 | Section 08, Richard W. Baker | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 94,194. Filing ↗machine: t27 · r3 · c11 · span 1543323–1543329 |
| 14 | Section 08, Bradley K. Drake | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 83,919. Filing ↗machine: t27 · r6 · c11 · span 1555501–1555507 |
| 15 | Section 08, Kirk L. Lee | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 16 | Section 08, Tyson T. Abston | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 17 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-05-16 | 0000950170-24-061056 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 91.36% (votes for as printed: 5,841,004). Filing ↗ |
| 18 | Section 06, 2023 vote | Form 8-K | 2023-05-18 | 0000950170-23-022935 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.71% (votes for as printed: 6,881,945). Filing ↗ |
| 19 | Section 03b vehicle mix (computed) | 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 |
| 20 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | computed | Cash 368,518 + equity 0 + all other 297,315 = 665,833, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 665,833 |
| 21 | Equity Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-12 | 0001193125-26-103215 | CEO total compensation as printed in Equity Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,073,975. Filing ↗machine: t185 · r2 · c31 · span 655068–655077 |
| 22 | Civista Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-07 | 0001193125-26-145510 | CEO total compensation as printed in Civista Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,894,036. Filing ↗machine: span 535149–535158 |
| 23 | Stellar Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2025-04-10 | 0001104659-25-033748 | CEO total compensation as printed in Stellar Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,678,922. Filing ↗machine: t25 · r1 · c47 · span 884964–884973 |
| 24 | Business First Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001437749-26-011695 | CEO total compensation as printed in Business First Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,582,764. Filing ↗machine: t162 · r8 · c22 · span 576719–576728 |
| 25 | Third Coast Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-16 | 0001193125-26-159039 | CEO total compensation as printed in Third Coast Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,503,561. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c27 · span 240742–240751 |
| 26 | Bank7 Corp., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-03 | 0001140361-26-013116 | CEO total compensation as printed in Bank7 Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,375,029. Filing ↗machine: t96 · r4 · c18 · span 260736–260745 |
| 27 | SmartFinancial, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-07 | 0001104659-26-040440 | CEO total compensation as printed in SmartFinancial, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,717,633. Filing ↗machine: t125 · r5 · c14 · span 980764–980773 |
| 28 | Investar Holding Corporation, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001437749-26-011771 | CEO total compensation as printed in Investar Holding Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 1,484,431. Filing ↗machine: t121 · r2 · c25 · span 746704–746713 |
| 29 | Guaranty Bancshares (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2025-03-31 | 0000950170-25-047789 | CEO total compensation as printed in Guaranty Bancshares's own proxy. As printed: 1,347,196. Filing ↗machine: t17 · r2 · c29 · span 620930–620939 |
| 30 | Southside Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-25 | 0000705432-26-000069 | CEO total compensation as printed in Southside Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,224,314. Filing ↗machine: r8 · c48 · span 587992–588001 |
| 31 | Red River Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-13 | 0001071236-26-000028 | CEO total compensation as printed in Red River Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,132,306. Filing ↗machine: t19 · r2 · c19 · span 367929–367938 |
| 32 | Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-24 | 0001140361-26-010915 | CEO total compensation as printed in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 969,335. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c21 · span 457783–457790 |
| 33 | Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2025-09-19 | 0001104659-25-091709 | CEO total compensation as printed in Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 690,774. Filing ↗machine: t45 · r6 · c26 · span 506049–506056 |
| 34 | First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-21 | 0001408534-26-000024 | CEO total compensation as printed in First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 464,421. Filing ↗machine: t7 · r2 · c10 · span 148583–148591 |
| 35 | Section 10a, Red River Bancshares, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001071236-26-000028 | Red River Bancshares, Inc. names Guaranty Bancshares in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗ |
| 36 | Section 10a, Investar Holding Corporation reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001437749-26-011771 | Investar Holding Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Guaranty Bancshares. Filing ↗ |
| 37 | Section 10a, Business First Bancshares, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001437749-26-011695 | Business First Bancshares, Inc. names Guaranty Bancshares in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗ |
| 38 | Section 10a, Civista Bancshares, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001193125-26-145510 | Civista Bancshares, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Guaranty Bancshares. Filing ↗ |
| 39 | Section 10a, Southside Bancshares, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0000705432-26-000069 | Southside Bancshares, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Guaranty Bancshares. Filing ↗ |
| 40 | Section 10a, Stellar Bancorp, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-25-033748 | Stellar Bancorp, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Guaranty Bancshares. Filing ↗ |
| 41 | Section 10a, Equity Bancshares, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001193125-26-103215 | Equity Bancshares, Inc. names Guaranty Bancshares in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗ |