ARROW FINANCIAL CORP

Item 1.

Legal Proceedings

Arrow, including its subsidiaries, is not currently the subject of any material pending legal proceedings, other than ordinary routine litigation occurring in the normal course of their business. On an ongoing basis, Arrow is often the subject of, or a party to, various legal claims by other parties against Arrow, by Arrow against other parties, or involving Arrow, which arise in the normal course of business. The various pending legal claims against Arrow will not, in the opinion of management based upon consultation with counsel, result in any material liability. Legal expenses incurred in connection with loss contingencies are expensed as incurred.

As previously disclosed in certain of the Company’s filings with the SEC, on June 23, 2023, Robert C. Ashe filed a putative class action complaint (the "Ashe Lawsuit") against the Company in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. In addition to the Company, the complaint names as defendants Thomas J. Murphy, the Company’s former CEO and from September 30, 2022 to February 20, 2023, its interim CFO, Edward J. Campanella, the Company’s former CFO, and Penko Ivanov, the Company’s current CFO (“Individual Defendants” and, together with the Company, the "Defendants"). The complaint alleges that the Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations and compliance policies in the Company’s public filings between March 12, 2022 and May 12, 2023. The complaint further alleges that the Individual Defendants are liable for these materially false and misleading statements as "controlling persons" of the Company. Based on these allegations, the complaint brings two claims for violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder and of Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. Mr. Ashe, on behalf of a purported class of shareholders, seeks compensatory damages as well as recovery of the costs and fees associated with the litigation. On December 5, 2023, plaintiff Ashe filed an amended complaint that changed the putative class period to the period from August 5, 2022 through May 12, 2023, but challenged substantially the same statements on the same basis. On February 9, 2024, the Company moved to dismiss the action in its entirety. On June 7, 2024, the parties reached a settlement (subject to court approval). On February 13, 2025 the court approved the settlement, which did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial results or financial position and was fully recognized during 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

On December 12, 2023 the Company became aware that Stephen Bull filed a complaint (the "Shareholder Derivative Complaint") on behalf of Arrow against the three Individual Defendants, as well as against all members of Arrow’s board of directors during the class period in Ashe. The Company is named solely as a nominal defendant in the action and would be the beneficiary of any recovery. The Shareholder Derivative Complaint alleges breaches of fiduciary duty (i) by the Ashe individual defendants based on substantially the same allegedly misleading statements pleaded in the Ashe complaint; and (ii) the director defendants by failing to adequately oversee the individual defendants and maintain internal and disclosure controls. Plaintiffs seek (i) unspecified damages (which would be payable to the Company) for costs incurred as a result of the alleged misstatements, including costs of investigation, remediation, and litigation, (ii) repayment of the director defendants’ compensation on an unjust enrichment theory, (iii) an order directing the Company to take all necessary actions to reform and improve its corporate governance, and (iv) the recovery of costs and fees associated with the litigation. The Shareholder Derivative Complaint also asserts various federal securities claims based on the same alleged misrepresentations as set forth in the Ashe Lawsuit. On April 30, 2025, the parties filed a motion preliminarily to approve a settlement under which the Company has agreed to make certain adjustments to its governance structure and processes. The parties are continuing to negotiate any attorneys’ fee and expense award to plaintiff’s counsel. The settlement is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's financial results or position.