Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-05-22

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (WSBF)

Fiscal year 2025 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.

$785,156
William Bruss total, FY2025
1st
CEO pay percentile vs peers
10.9:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
95.35%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against WSBF
3 companies name WSBF as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses WSBF 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 WSBF in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
William Bruss$439,035$0$65,848$0$214,596$0$65,677$785,156
President and Chief Executive Officer of Waterstone Financial and WaterStone Bank
Mark Gerke300,760045,1080147,007068,333561,208
Chief Financial Officer of Waterstone Financial and WaterStone Bank
Julie Glynn276,455041,4640130,510060,200508,629
Chief Retail Officer of WaterStone Bank
Jeffrey McGuiness463,50000033,28008,750505,530
Chief Executive Officer and President of Waterstone Mortgage Corporation
Ryan Gordon264,555039,6770122,089068,687495,008
Chief Credit Officer of WaterStone Bank

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 FY20242025
William Bruss$785,156$714,583$616,847+70,573
Mark Gerke561,208499,482419,484+61,726
Julie Glynn508,629449,934386,242+58,695
Jeffrey McGuiness505,530577,267459,360−71,737
Ryan Gordon495,008446,617369,826+48,391

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

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
Mark GerkeEVP/Chief Financial Officer2026-05-21A10,000$15$149,800CommonForm 4 ↗
Mark GerkeEVP/Chief Financial Officer2026-05-21D10,00018183,435CommonForm 4 ↗
Mark GerkeEVP/Chief Financial Officer2026-05-21D10,00000Derivative, Class A CommonForm 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
Ryan J. GordonPSU2025-02-281,8802,820$39,677
Mark GerkePSU2025-02-282,1383,20645,108
Julie GlynnPSU2025-02-281,9652,94741,464
William BrussPSU2025-02-283,1204,68165,848
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Ryan J. Gordon$0$39,677$0100.0%
Mark Gerke045,1080100.0%
Julie Glynn041,4640100.0%
William Bruss065,8480100.0%

% 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
Julie GlynnRSU3,197$30,697
GordonRSU3,06029,380
William BrussRSU3,62839,016
Julie GlynnRSU2,28424,582
GordonRSU8,19290,787
Mark GerkeRSU2,48626,719
Jeffrey McGuinessOption10,00011.55
Mark GerkeRSU3,47933,412
William BrussRSU5,07848,760
GordonRSU2,18623,507
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The primary objectives of our executive compensation programs are to attract and retain highly-qualified executives and to encourage extraordinary management efforts through well-designed incentive opportunities, with the goal of improving the performance of Waterstone Financial, Inc. and its subsidiaries consistent with the interests of our shareholders.

CEO STI target (% of salary)
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
20262026-05-1911,280,893549,962134,10295.35%Passed
20252025-05-2012,977,351928,485123,96793.32%Passed
20242024-05-2112,988,0511,082,811132,31292.3%Passed
20232023-05-1614,792,186801,24895,80894.86%Passed
20222022-05-1716,463,161709,155332,07695.87%Passed
20212021-05-1817,716,630736,113198,88496.01%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
20262026-05-1995.35%a
20252025-05-2093.32%b
20242024-05-2192.3%c

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

c. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

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)10.9 : 1
CEO total compensation$785,156
Median employee compensation$71,809
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Douglas S. GordonNot independent · Executive Committee$200,000$0$0$0$0$200,000
Molly MulroyIndependent · Audit Committee · Partial-year service · Newly elected17,500120,018000137,518
Laura PiotrowskiIndependent · Audit Committee (Chair) · Partial-year service · Newly elected17,500120,018000137,518
Patrick S. LawtonIndependent · Board Chair · Compensation Committee (Chair) · Executive Committee97,500000097,500
Michael L. HansenIndependent · Audit Committee (Chair) · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY88,500000088,500
Derek TyusIndependent · Audit Committee · Compensation Committee75,000000075,000
Ellen S. BartelIndependent · Audit Committee · Nominating/Governance (Co-Chair)75,000000075,000
Stephen J. SchmidtIndependent · Compensation Committee · Nominating/Governance (Co-Chair)75,000000075,000
Kristine A. RappeIndependent · Compensation Committee · Executive Committee · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY · Partial-year service37,500000037,500
William F. BrussEmployee director00000
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$65,000
Annual equity retainer
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)23,500 / 10,000
Stock ownership guideline3x annual board cash compensation
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$683,500
Equity awards (grant-date value)$240,036
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$923,536

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

10

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.

10a

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies Waterstone Financial, Inc. 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 Waterstone Financial, Inc..

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
1MVB Financial Corp.2025Larry Mazza$850,000$600,368$0$1,381,208$5,056,856
2Metropolitan Bank Holding Corporation2025Mark DeFazio1,000,0002,549,97201,200,0004,784,685
3Independent Bank Corporation2025Jeffrey Tengel1,097,3851,094,31801,123,6693,606,962
4Civista Bancshares, Inc.2025Dennis Shaffer573,657166,2460258,1462,894,036
5Greene County Bancorp, Inc.2025Donald Gibson715,00000860,2002,164,000
6Hingham Institution for Savings2025Robert Gaughen Jr.1,570,4220001,604,925
7RBB Bancorp2025Johnny Lee597,333387,4010463,3451,485,674
8Northfield Bancorp, Inc.2024Steven Klein749,086436,8080169,6321,477,009
9FS Bancorp, Inc.2025Joseph Adams590,000152,050285,18201,442,575
10Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.2025Lars Eller519,841109,1480283,573969,335
11Waterstone Financial, Inc.2025William Bruss439,03565,8480214,596785,156

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.

10c

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Waterstone Financial, Inc.not disclosedPSU 100NoMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Civista Bancshares, Inc.74%RSU 100not disclosedBlanchard Consulting Group
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.not disclosedStock Awards 100not disclosednot disclosed
FS Bancorp, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedPearl Meyer & Partners, LLC
Greene County Bancorp, Inc.not disclosedPhantom Stock Option 100NoAON
Hingham Institution for Savingsnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedPearl Meyer
Independent Bank Corporationnot disclosedPSU 57 · RSU 43NoMercer
Metropolitan Bank Holding Corporationnot disclosednot disclosedNoFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.
MVB Financial Corp.216.66%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoPay Governance LLC
Northfield Bancorp, Inc.52%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoAon
RBB Bancorp110.3%RSU 50 · PSU 50NoPearl Meyer

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.

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, William BrussDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 785,156. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r2 · c7 · span 444080–444087
2Section 01, Mark GerkeDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 561,208. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r5 · c7 · span 450136–450143
3Section 01, Julie GlynnDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 508,629. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r8 · c7 · span 456118–456125
4Section 01, Jeffrey McGuinessDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 505,530. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r14 · c7 · span 468903–468910
5Section 01, Ryan GordonDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 495,008. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r11 · c7 · span 462095–462102
6Section 03, Ryan J. Gordon PSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Summary Compensation Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r11 · c4 · span 461431–461437
7Section 03, Mark Gerke PSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Summary Compensation Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r5 · c4 · span 449472–449478
8Section 03, Julie Glynn PSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Summary Compensation Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r8 · c4 · span 455454–455460
9Section 03, William Bruss PSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Summary Compensation Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r2 · c4 · span 443416–443422
10Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 10.9 : 1. Filing ↗
11Section 08, Douglas S. GordonDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 200,000. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r5 · c8 · span 841063–841070
12Section 08, Molly MulroyDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 137,518. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r8 · c8 · span 845808–845815
13Section 08, Laura PiotrowskiDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 137,518. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r9 · c8 · span 847619–847626
14Section 08, Patrick S. LawtonDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 97,500. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r6 · c8 · span 842584–842590
15Section 08, Michael L. HansenDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 88,500. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r4 · c8 · span 839403–839409
16Section 08, Derek TyusDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 75,000. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r13 · c8 · span 854236–854242
17Section 08, Ellen S. BartelDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 75,000. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r2 · c8 · span 836495–836501
18Section 08, Stephen J. SchmidtDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 75,000. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r11 · c8 · span 850619–850625
19Section 08, Kristine A. RappeDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 37,500. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r10 · c8 · span 849098–849104
20Section 08, William F. BrussDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
21Section 02, Mark Gerke 2026-05-21Form 42026-05-220001437749-26-018181Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
22Section 02, Mark Gerke 2026-05-21Form 42026-05-220001437749-26-018181Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
23Section 02, Mark Gerke 2026-05-21Form 42026-05-220001437749-26-018181Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
24Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-05-190001437749-26-017794Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 95.35% (votes for as printed: 11,280,893). Filing ↗
25Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-05-200001437749-25-017840Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 93.32%. Filing ↗
26Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-05-210001437749-24-017837Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 92.3% (votes for as printed: 12,988,051). Filing ↗
27Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)ComputedcomputedΔ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
28Section 03b vehicle mix (computed)ComputedcomputedRSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio
29Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 683,500 + equity 240,036 + all other 0 = 923,536, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 923,536
30MVB Financial Corp., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-070001277902-26-000048CEO total compensation as printed in MVB Financial Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,056,856. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c27 · span 558090–558100
31Metropolitan Bank Holding Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-200001104659-26-032365CEO total compensation as printed in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 4,784,685. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c36 · span 1579768–1579777
32Independent Bank Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-260000776901-26-000079CEO total compensation as printed in Independent Bank Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 3,606,962. Filing ↗machine: span 925147–925156
33Civista Bancshares, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-070001193125-26-145510CEO total compensation as printed in Civista Bancshares, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,894,036. Filing ↗machine: span 535149–535158
34Greene County Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-09-190001140361-25-035495CEO total compensation as printed in Greene County Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,164,000. Filing ↗machine: t77 · r1 · c12 · span 173930–173939
35Hingham Institution for Savings, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-04CEO total compensation as printed in Hingham Institution for Savings's own proxy. As printed: 1,604,925. Filing ↗
36RBB Bancorp, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-100001437749-26-011980CEO total compensation as printed in RBB Bancorp's own proxy. As printed: 1,485,674. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r1 · c29 · span 847867–847876
37Northfield Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-04-140001493225-25-000050CEO total compensation as printed in Northfield Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,477,009. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c8 · span 1688255–1688264
38FS Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-060001437749-26-011384CEO total compensation as printed in FS Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,442,575. Filing ↗machine: t170 · r1 · c25 · span 492793–492802
39Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-240001140361-26-010915CEO total compensation as printed in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 969,335. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c21 · span 457783–457790
40Waterstone Financial, Inc. (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-090001437749-26-011833CEO total compensation as printed in Waterstone Financial, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 785,156. Filing ↗machine: t109 · r2 · c7 · span 444080–444087
41Section 10a, Independent Bank Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A0000776901-26-000079Independent Bank Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Waterstone Financial, Inc.. Filing ↗
42Section 10a, MVB Financial Corp. reciprocityDEF 14A0001277902-26-000048MVB Financial Corp.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Waterstone Financial, Inc.. Filing ↗
43Section 10a, FS Bancorp, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001437749-26-011384FS Bancorp, Inc. names Waterstone Financial, Inc. in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
44Section 10a, Civista Bancshares, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-145510Civista Bancshares, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Waterstone Financial, Inc.. Filing ↗
45Section 10a, Metropolitan Bank Holding Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A0001104659-26-032365Metropolitan Bank Holding Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Waterstone Financial, Inc.. Filing ↗
46Section 10a, RBB Bancorp reciprocityDEF 14A0001437749-26-011980RBB Bancorp's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Waterstone Financial, Inc.. Filing ↗
47Section 10a, Northfield Bancorp, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001493225-25-000050Northfield Bancorp, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Waterstone Financial, Inc.. Filing ↗