FIRST BANCORP (FBNC)
Sector: Financials
2026 Annual Meeting Analysis
FIRST BANCORP · Meeting: April 28, 2026
Directors FOR
11
Directors AGAINST
0
Say on Pay
FOR
Auditor
FOR
Director Elections
Election of Directors
Director since 2008 with extensive finance and accounting experience; FBNC's 3-year return of 52.0% outpaces QABA by +18.6pp, well below the 65pp threshold required to trigger a vote against, and no overboarding, attendance, or independence concerns are present.
Appointed to the board in October 2025, which is within the 24-month new-director exemption window, so the TSR trigger does not apply; he has relevant banking leadership experience as CEO of First Bank and raises no other policy concerns.
Director since 2017 with deep banking industry expertise and CPA credentials qualifying her as the audit committee financial expert; the TSR trigger does not apply given FBNC's strong outperformance of QABA, and no overboarding or attendance issues are present.
Director since 2017 with relevant business leadership and succession planning expertise; FBNC's strong TSR relative to QABA does not trigger a vote against, and no other policy concerns are identified.
Long-tenured director and former President with 44 years of banking experience who recently retired in February 2026; the TSR trigger does not apply given FBNC's outperformance of QABA, and no overboarding or attendance concerns are present.
Director since 2021 with significant banking board experience and legal background; FBNC's 3-year TSR outpaces QABA by +18.6pp, far short of the 65pp trigger threshold, and no other policy concerns are identified.
Director since 2021 with substantial business oversight experience; FBNC's strong TSR relative to QABA does not trigger a vote against, and no overboarding or attendance issues are present.
CEO and Chair since 2012 with extensive financial services, legal, and regulatory experience; as an executive director he is subject to the same TSR trigger as all other directors, but FBNC's 3-year return of 52.0% outpaces QABA by only +18.6pp against a 65pp threshold, so no trigger fires, and no overboarding concerns exist.
Director since 2021 with financial planning, investment oversight, and banking board experience; the TSR trigger does not apply given FBNC's outperformance of QABA, and no other policy concerns are identified.
Director since 2015 with 30 years of executive leadership experience and current audit committee service at another company; FBNC's strong TSR relative to QABA does not trigger a vote against, and no overboarding or attendance issues are present.
Director since 2005 with business-building and financial oversight experience; FBNC's 3-year TSR of 52.0% outpaces QABA (First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index) by +18.6pp, well below the 65pp threshold required to trigger a vote against, and no other policy concerns are present.
All 11 director nominees receive a FOR vote. FBNC's 3-year price return of 52.0% outperforms QABA (First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index) by +18.6 percentage points, which is well below the 65pp underperformance threshold required to trigger a vote against any director given the company's strong positive absolute return. All directors attended at least 75% of meetings, no director appears overboarded, audit and compensation committee members are independent, and the board has designated a qualified audit committee financial expert.
Say on Pay
✓ FORCEO
Gregory A. Currie, Jr.
Total Comp
$1,914,798
Prior Support
94%%
The prior year Say on Pay vote received 94% shareholder support, signaling broad approval of the compensation program. CEO Gregory A. Currie, Jr. received total compensation of $1,914,798, which is reasonable for the CEO of a $2.2B market cap regional bank, and the pay structure is appropriately weighted toward variable compensation — base salary of $650,000 represents roughly 34% of total pay, with the remainder tied to annual performance bonuses and stock awards that vest over time. The company's stock has significantly outperformed QABA (First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index) over both the 1-year and 3-year periods, and the compensation program includes a meaningful clawback policy compliant with Dodd-Frank requirements, supporting a FOR vote.
Auditor Ratification
✓ FORAuditor
Crowe LLP
Tenure
N/A
Audit Fees
$1,094,100
Non-Audit Fees
$86,100
Non-audit fees (audit-related fees of $86,100) represent approximately 7.9% of core audit fees ($1,094,100), well below the 50% threshold that would raise independence concerns. Crowe LLP is a large national firm appropriate for a $2.2B market cap company. Tenure is not disclosed, but the policy requires confirmed data to trigger a vote against on tenure grounds, so the default FOR applies with this noted as a minor gap.
Overall Assessment
The 2026 First Bancorp annual meeting presents three standard proposals: election of 11 directors, ratification of Crowe LLP as auditor, and an advisory Say on Pay vote. All proposals receive a FOR vote — the board slate is well-qualified with no overboarding or TSR concerns given FBNC's strong outperformance of QABA, auditor fees are clean with a low non-audit ratio, and executive compensation is reasonably structured with strong prior shareholder support and meaningful pay-for-performance alignment.