Thomas Cestare. On January 27, 2026, the Board of Directors increased the number of directors constituting the entire Board of Directors from seven to eight, and elected Mr. Cestare to serve as a Class I director. Mr. Cestare has served on the board of directors of Newtek Bank since January 2023. In addition, Mr. Cestare is a partner and chief operating officer of Patriot Financial Partners, LP, a private equity firm focused on investing in community banks, thrifts and financial services related companies throughout the United States. Patriot Financial Partners, LP is the financial manager for the investment entities that comprise the Patriot Financial Group, which holds shared voting and dispositive power as to 2,307,692 Common Shares. Mr. Cestare has over 35 years of experience in banking. Previously, Mr. Cestare served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer at Beneficial Bancorp from 2010-2020, and was responsible for, among other things, corporate finance and accounting, risk management, investor relations and corporate planning, budgeting and forecasting. Prior to joining Beneficial, Mr. Cestare was the executive vice president and chief accounting officer of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. Prior to joining Sovereign in 2005, Mr. Cestare was a Partner with the public accounting firm of KPMG LLP focusing on banks and other financial service companies. Mr. Cestare has served on the boards of many civic and professional organizations during his career including the Police Athletic League and the Preservation Alliance of Philadelphia. Mr. Cestare received his B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware. Mr. Cestare's experience in banking, financial services, finance and accounting provides a significant addition to the Board of Directors.