Amerant Bancorp Inc.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a party other than the Registrant ☐

Check the appropriate box:

AMERANT BANCORP INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of filing fee (Check all boxes that apply):

AMERANT BANCORP INC.220 Alhambra CircleCoral Gables, FL 33134

Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on June 2, 2026

To the Shareholders of Amerant Bancorp Inc.:

Notice is hereby given that the annual meeting (“Annual Meeting”) of the shareholders of Amerant Bancorp Inc. (“Amerant”, the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) will be held on June 2, 2026, at 8:00 a.m., Eastern Time in a virtual meeting format only. You will be able to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting online, vote your shares electronically and submit questions at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMTB2026.

There is no physical location for the Annual Meeting and you will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting physically in-person. The Annual Meeting will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m., Eastern Time.

A recording of the Annual Meeting, including any questions asked and answers given, will be available for a period of 12 months following the Annual Meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMTB2026. Please refer to the “Questions and Answers about the Proxy Materials and the Annual Meeting” section of this Proxy Statement for more details on how to attend the Annual Meeting.

The Annual Meeting is for the following purposes:

to elect directors to serve until the 2027 annual meeting of shareholders;

to approve, on a non-binding, advisory basis, the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers—Say-on-Pay;

to ratify the appointment of RSM US LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026; and

to transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournments thereof.

Shareholders of record at the close of business on April 7, 2026, are entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting. We are taking advantage of the Securities and Exchange Commission rules allowing us to furnish proxy materials to shareholders on the Internet. We believe that these rules provide you with proxy materials more quickly and reduce the environmental impact of our Annual Meeting. Accordingly, we are mailing to shareholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials containing instructions on how to access and review our Notice and Proxy Statement and Annual Report to Shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2025.

It is important that your shares be represented and voted at the meeting. You have the following options for voting your shares:

(i) vote via the internet;

(ii) vote via the telephone;

(iii) complete and return the proxy card sent to you; or

(iv) vote electronically during the virtual meeting.

If you would like to receive a paper copy of our proxy materials, please follow the instructions for requesting these materials in the proxy statement.

By Order of the Board of Directors

Odilon AlmeidaChairman of the Board

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