Dear Shareholder:
We are pleased to offer this handbook to both new and existing People's United Financial, Inc. shareholders. It is designed to answer questions regularly asked about stock ownership, such as when and how dividends are paid, how to change addresses and what to do if certificates are lost.
If you need information concerning your dividends or your ownership records, please contact our transfer agent, Mellon Investor Services LLC. Or you can contact us directly through our Investor Relations department at People's United Financial. For your reference, there are postal and e-mail addresses as well as phone numbers listed in the Contact Information section of this web site.
Thank you for investing in People's United Financial. We value you as a shareholder and remain committed to building the long-term value of your investment.
Sincerely,
John A. Klein
Chairman, CEO and President
People's United Financial, Inc.
As a People's United Financial shareholder, you will automatically receive our Annual Reports and proxy statements.
The Annual Report, mailed to shareholders in March, provides a comprehensive review of the company's activities during the previous year as well as financial statements certified by an independent auditor.
The company's annual meeting is held each year, usually in April, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. All shareholders of record on the record date of the annual meeting are invited to attend.
The notice of the annual meeting, proxy statement and proxy materials are mailed with the Annual Report in March. As an alternative, you may elect to forgo receipt of hard copy reports and view the proxy statement and Annual Report on this web site. The proxy statement contains information about the management of the company and describes the business to be considered at the annual meeting. The proxy card is your ballot to vote on items of business at the meeting. You may register your vote on items of business in one of the following four ways:
1. Sign and return your proxy card.
2. Call your vote in using the telephone number listed on your proxy card.
3. Register your vote over the Internet at the web address listed on your proxy card.
4. Attend the annual meeting and vote in person.
If you have more than one shareholder account or if two or more members of your household own shares, you are receiving multiple mailings of the company's communications. You can help us control the cost of mailings by consolidating your accounts or by requesting that accounts be encoded to suppress unneeded mailings.
People's United Financial common stock is traded on the NASDAQ National Market System under the trading symbol PBCT.
Your stock certificates are valuable documents and should be carefully safeguarded. In addition to the market value they represent, they are tangible evidence of your share ownership in People's United Financial. Do not endorse your certificates until you are ready to sell or transfer your shares. Endorsed certificates are fully negotiable and can easily be sold if lost or stolen.
As a service to our shareholders, People's United Financial offers a safekeeping program that allows you to deposit your certificates with our transfer agent, free of charge. Certificates forwarded to Mellon Investor Services by registerd mail will be automatically covered by a blanket bond up to the first $100,000 of value. This safekeeping program protects your shares against loss, theft or accidental destruction and provides a convenient way for you to keep track of your shares.
If you choose not to participate in People's United Financial safekeeping program, we recommend keeping your stock certificates in a safe place such as a bank safe deposit box. We also recommend you keep a detailed record of each certificate in a separate place and include in this record the certificate number, the number of shares, the cost of the shares, the date of issuance and the owner's name exactly as it appears on the face of the certificate.
If your certificates are lost or stolen, notify Mellon Investor Services immediately at 1-800-953-2592 so a stop order can be placed against the certificates. Mellon Investor Services will send you the necessary forms to replace the certificates.
You will be required to pay a premium of approximately 2 percent of the current market value of the shares represented by the missing certificates to secure a surety bond. The bond is standard practice and protects the transfer agent in the event the original certificates are found and submitted for transfer.
Replacement may take several weeks. If your certificates are found prior to issuance of a replacement, please notify Mellon Investor Services so the stop transfer order can be removed.
If your stock is held for you by a stockbroker or Mellon Investor Services, you should be receiving quarterly statements. These statements list the amount of shares you own, the value of your account, your account number and the phone number of the stockbroker or agent who has possession of your shares. If you are receiving dividend checks only (without any accompanying account statement) directly from Mellon Investor Services, then you have personal possession of your stock certificates.
Unless you provide a tax identification number (in most instances, this is a social security number for U.S. citizens), the Interest and Dividend Compliance Act of 1983 requires our dividend disbursement agent (Mellon Investor Services) to withhold 31 percent of your taxable dividends. Only one number is required on each shareholder account. Corporate shareholders should provide a corporate tax identification number.
Each year at the end of January, if dividends have been paid to you during the prior year, a statement will be sent to you and to the Internal Revenue Service as required by law. Any questions about the statement should be addressed to our transfer agent in writing.
To transfer shares to another owner, you must complete the assignment form on the back of the stock certificates or a separate stock power to be attached to your certificates. The required steps are:
1. Fill in the Social Security number, name and address of the person receiving the shares. If there is more than one person, review the acceptable abbreviations noted on the certificate and indicate the manner in which the new account is to be registered
2. Specify the number of shares to be transferred to each. If you are transferring only part of the shares represented by the certificates, a new certificate will be issued to you for the balance.
3. Provide the transfer agent's name (Mellon Investor Services LLC).
4. Sign your certificates exactly as your name appears on the face of the certificates and have your signature guaranteed by a commercial bank or brokerage. The stock certificates should be sent by registered mail, return receipt requested to:
Mellon Investor Services LLC
Security Receipts Department
85 Challenger Road
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey 07660
The transfer procedures described above are unnecessary if you want your certificates reissued in different denominations, provided all the certificates in question are issued on the same account with identical registrations. Simply send your stock certificates and a letter of instruction to Mellon Investor Services LLC by registered mail, return receipt requested.
The letter should state the desired denominations for the new certificates and the address to which you want it delivered. You do not need to complete the reverse side of the certificates or stock power. Please note, however, that regular transfer procedures are required if the certificates were not issued on the same account.
In the event of the death of a stockholder, the required steps are:
1. Send a letter indicating the death of the stockholder and provide a name to which the stock ownership should be transferred.
2. Provide the Social Security number, name and address of the deceased person, and the name, address and Social Security number of the person to whom the new certificate will be issued.
3. Provide a photocopy of the death certificate.
4. Provide consent of transfer form (executor responsibility).
5. Sign the stock certificates or stock power, with the signature guaranteed by a commercial bank or brokerage, and return the certificates, letter, death certificate and paperwork, certifying executor responsibility, by registered mail, return receipt requested, to:
Mellon Investor Services LLC
Security Receipts Department
85 Challenger Road
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey 07660
(because regulations vary from state to state, we recommend you contact Mellon Investor Services to confirm these procedures.)
Shares given to a minor under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or Uniform Gifts to Minors Act are registered in the name of a custodian for the minor and are subject to the provisions of the applicable Act. These Acts provide that the shares will be delivered to the minor when he or she attains the age of majority.
The age of majority and other provisions of the Acts may vary from state to state. To determine when and under what circumstances a custodian must deliver the shares to a minor, check with your stockbroker. If you need further information, contact our transfer agent or consult your legal advisor.
To sell stock that is in an account held by Mellon Investor Services, simply call 1-800-953-2592 to initiate your sell order. Mellon Investor Services will record sales orders on the date of receipt, and process them, when practicable, on the next business day the stock market is open, at least once each week. Proceeds from the sale, less applicable fees, will be sent to you by check.
To sell stock in your possession, the certificates must be presented to a licensed stockbroker. The assignment on the back of the certificates or stock power must be completed. The name of the agent receiving the stock for sale should be written in the space indicated. The certificates should be mailed or delivered to that firm. You may choose to process your transactions at People's Securities, Inc., the brokerage subsidiary of People's United Bank. To locate the office nearest you, and open an account, call 1-800-772-4400.
The Board of Directors of People's United Financial establishes the amount of each quarterly dividend, if any, and fixes the record and payment date for the dividend each quarter. You must be a shareholder of record on the record date to be eligible for the dividend. Securities trading regulations provide that if you purchase stock on the two trading days immediately preceding the record date, these shares are not eligible for that quarter's dividend.
To ensure delivery of dividend checks, it is important that you notify the transfer agent of any change of address. Abandoned property laws in each state require us to escheat (transfer title to) uncashed dividends to the state of your last known address when they have remained uncashed for a statutory period of time. Also, you should cash or deposit your dividend checks promptly to reduce the possibility of loss or theft. Banks also may refuse payment if checks are more than 90 days old.
If you do not receive your dividend check within ten business days after the payment date, or if a check that you received is lost or destroyed, please contact our transfer agent to obtain a replacement. Replacement normally takes approximately two weeks after Mellon Investor Services receives notification.
People's United Bank Financial shareholders the convenience of having quarterly dividends deposited directly into their checking or savings accounts. This service is free of charge and gives stockholders immediate access to their dividends each quarter on the payment date. Participants will receive notice each quarter that their dividend has been deposited to the designated account. Confirmation of that deposit must come directly from your bank.
To take advantage of this service, complete the authorization form attached to the top of your dividend check, sign it and return it to:
Mellon Investor Services LLC
P.O. Box 3316
So. Hackensack, New Jersey 07660
A separate form must be completed for each stockholder account you have.
As another service to our shareholders, People's United Financial offers a dividend reinvestment and stock purchase program. The program provides an efficient and economical way to build your investment in People's United Financial by automatically reinvesting the dividends paid on your People's United Bank common stock in additional shares of stock or by purchasing additional shares of People's United Financial common stock directly through the program administrator.
You may participate in the dividend reinvestment and stock purchase program if you own People's United Financial common stock that is registered in your name or you can participate by making your initial investment in common stock through the program with a minimum initial investment of $250.
To enroll in the program, please refer to the Mellon Shareholder Services Investor Services Program brochure and complete the corresponding enrollment form. Once enrolled, you can purchase between $100 and $10,000 of People's United Financial common stock ($10,000 maximum per month) with a check or money order sent to the program administrator, Mellon Bank, N.A., or you may authorize an automatic monthly payment from your bank account.
If you elect to have your dividends reinvested or you initiate a purchase or sales transaction, a quarterly statement will be mailed to you. If your program account has no transactions, you will receive an annual statement detailing the status of your holdings.
To receive a hard copy of the People's United Financial Shareholder Handbook, please call
(203) 338-7228 or e-mail Debbie.Healey@peoples.com
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