Columbia Financial (CLBK) CEO Kemly Thomas Receives Award

What Happened

• Kemly Thomas, President & CEO and Director of Columbia Financial (CLBK), was reported as acquiring 160.422 shares on September 18, 2026 at $11.58 per share, a total value of about $1,858. The transaction is coded as an award/acquisition (A) and reflects phantom stock purchased into a rabbi trust under a stock-based deferral plan.

Key Details

• Transaction date and price: 2026-09-18 at $11.58 per share (160.422 shares; ~$1,858 total).
• Shares owned after transaction: Not stated in the supplied filing.
• Footnote F1: These are phantom stock units purchased on a non-discretionary basis by the trustee of the Bank’s rabbi trust under the Columbia Bank Stock Based Deferral Plan; units will be settled in shares upon distribution to the reporting person.
• Additional footnotes (F2–F8) in the filing describe various equity awards and option vesting schedules under the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan.
• Timeliness: Period of report is 2026-09-18 and the Form 4 was filed 2026-09-22 — this meets the two-business-day filing requirement and is not late.

Context

• This was not an open-market purchase but a routine compensation-related acquisition (phantom stock into a deferred compensation vehicle). Such awards are part of executive pay and, while a purchase, are typically compensation-driven rather than a direct signal of personal market buying for investment purposes. The phantom units will convert to actual shares when distributed under the plan’s terms.