As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12, 2006
Registration No. 333-_____
 
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
 
SHORE BANCSHARES, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Maryland
52-1974638
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

18 East Dover Street, Easton, Maryland 21601
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Shore Bancshares, Inc. 2006 Stock and Incentive Compensation Plan
(Full Title of the Plan)
 
W. Moorhead Vermilye
President
Shore Bancshares, Inc.
18 East Dover Street, Easton, Maryland 21601
(410) 822-1400
(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Agent for Service)

Copies to:
Andrew D. Bulgin, Esquire
Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, LLC
The Garrett Building
233 East Redwood Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
(410) 576-4280
 
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of Shares to be
Registered
Amount to be
Registered(1)
Proposed Maximum
Offering Price Per
Share(3)
Proposed Maximum
Aggregate Offering
Price(1)(3)
Amount of
Registration Fee
Common Stock,
par value $.01 per share
 
631,972 Shares(2)
 
$27.84
 
$16,704,000
 
$1,787.33

(1)
Plus an indeterminable number of additional shares that may become issuable by operation of the anti-dilution provisions of the plan.
(2)
Includes 31,972 shares subject to options granted under the Shore Bancshares, Inc. 1998 Stock Option Plan that were outstanding as of April 26, 2006, adjusted pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions thereof, and that have not been exercised as of the date hereof and that expire, lapse or terminate after April 26, 2006. These shares were previously registered on a Form S−8 Registration Statement (Reg. No. 333−64319) and a registration fee has previously been paid with respect thereto.
(3)
Estimated solely for purposes of determining the registration fee. The proposed maximum aggregate offering price per Share has been computed pursuant to Rule 457(h) based upon the average of the high and low prices of the Shares as reported on the Nasdaq Stock Market on June 6, 2006.


PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS

Item 1. Plan Information.

Omitted pursuant to the instructions and provisions of Form S-8.

Item 2. Registrant Information and Employee Plan Information.

Omitted pursuant to the instructions and provisions of Form S-8.

PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) by Shore Bancshares, Inc. (the “Corporation”) pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are, as of their respective dates, hereby incorporated by reference in this registration statement:

(i) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 (which includes certain information contained in the Corporation’s definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A for the 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, filed with the SEC on March 24, 2006, and incorporated therein by reference);

(ii) Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, filed with the SEC on May 9, 2006;

(iii) Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on May 1, 2006 and May 17, 2006; and

(v) Description of the Corporation’s common stock which appears in the Corporation’s Registration Statement on Form 10, or any description of the common stock that appears in any prospectus forming a part of any subsequent registration statement of the Corporation or in any registration statement filed pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.

In addition, all documents subsequently filed by the Corporation pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all of the Shares offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all Shares then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in and made a part of this registration statement from the date of filing of such documents, provided, however, that nothing in this registration statement shall be deemed to incorporate information furnished but not filed on Form 8-K. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this registration statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in a document subsequently filed modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this registration statement.

The Corporation will promptly provide without charge to each person to whom a prospectus is delivered a copy of any or all information that has been incorporated herein by reference (not including exhibits to the information that is incorporated by reference unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into such information) upon the written or oral request of such person. Written requests should be directed to: Shore Bancshares, Inc., Corporate Secretary, 18 East Dover Street, Easton, Maryland 21601. Telephone requests should be directed to the Corporation at (410) 822-1400.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

Not applicable. The common stock of the Corporation is registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

The Maryland General Corporation Law permits a corporation to indemnify its present and former directors, among others, against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made a party by reason of their services in those capacities, unless it is established that:

 
(1)
the act or omission of the director was material to the matter giving rise to such proceeding and

 
(A)
was committed in bad faith or

 
(B)
was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty;

 
(2)
the director actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property, or services; or

 
(3)
in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.

Maryland law permits a corporation to indemnify a present and former officer to the same extent as a director.

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In addition to the foregoing, a court of appropriate jurisdiction: (1) shall order indemnification of reasonable expenses incurred by a director who has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any proceeding identified above, or in the defense of any claim, issue or matter in the proceeding; and (2) may under certain circumstances order indemnification of a director or an officer who the court determines is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification in view of all of the relevant circumstances, whether or not the director or officer has met the standards of conduct set forth in the preceding paragraph or has been declared liable on the basis that a personal benefit improperly received in a proceeding charging improper personal benefit to the director or the officer, provided, however, that if the proceeding was an action by or in the right of the corporation or involved a determination that the director or officer received an improper personal benefit, no indemnification may be made if the director or officer is adjudged liable to the corporation, except to the extent of expenses approved by a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

The Maryland General Corporation Law also permits a corporation to pay or reimburse, in advance of the final disposition of a proceeding, reasonable expenses incurred by a present or former director or officer made a party to the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity, provided that the corporation shall have received:

 
(1)
a written affirmation by the director or officer of his good faith belief that he has met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification by the corporation; and

 
(2)
a written undertaking by or on behalf of the director to repay the amount paid or reimbursed by the corporation if it shall ultimately be determined that the standard of conduct was not met.

The Corporation has provided for indemnification of directors, officers, employees and agents in Section (a)(5) of Article Seventh of its Articles of Incorporation, as amended and restated (the “Charter”). This provision of the Charter reads as follows:

(5) The Corporation shall indemnify (A) its directors and officers, whether serving the Corporation or at its request any other entity, to the full extent required or permitted by the General Laws of the State of Maryland now or hereafter in force, including the advance of expenses under the procedures and to the full extent permitted by law and (B) other employees and agents to such extent as shall be authorized by the Board of Directors or the Corporation’s Bylaws and be permitted by law. The foregoing rights of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may be entitled. The Board of Directors may take such action as is necessary to carry out these indemnification provisions and is expressly empowered to adopt, approve and amend from time to time such by-laws, resolutions or contracts implementing such provisions or such further indemnification arrangements as may be permitted by law. No amendment of the Charter of the Corporation or repeal of any of its provisions shall limit or eliminate the right to indemnification provided hereunder with respect to acts or omissions occurring prior to such amendment or repeal.

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The Maryland General Corporation Law authorizes a Maryland corporation to limit by provision in its Articles of Incorporation the liability of directors and officers to the corporation or to its stockholders for money damages except to the extent:

 
(1)
the director or officer actually receives an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services, for the amount of the benefit or profit actually received, or

 
(2)
a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the director or officer is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the director’s or officer’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding.

The Corporation has limited the liability of its directors and officers for money damages in Section (a)(6) of Article Seventh of the Charter. This provision reads as follows:

(6) To the fullest extent permitted by Maryland statutory or decisional law, as amended or interpreted, no director or officer of the Corporation shall be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for money damages. No amendment of the Charter of the Corporation or repeal of any of its provisions shall limit or eliminate the limitation on liability provided to directors and officers hereunder with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such amendment or repeal.

As permitted under Section 2-418(k) of the Maryland General Corporation Law, the Corporation has purchased and maintains insurance on behalf of its directors and officers against any liability asserted against such directors and officers in their capacities as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such persons under the provisions of Maryland law governing indemnification.

Section 8(k) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (the “FDI Act”) provides that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) may prohibit or limit, by regulation or order, payments by any insured depository institution or its holding company for the benefit of directors and officers of the insured depository institution, or others who are or were “institution-affiliated parties,” as defined under the FDI Act, to pay or reimburse such person for any liability or legal expense sustained with regard to any administrative or civil enforcement action which results in a final order against the person. The FDIC has adopted regulations prohibiting, subject to certain exceptions, insured depository institutions, their subsidiaries and affiliated holding companies from indemnifying officers, directors or employees for any civil money penalty or judgment resulting from an administrative or civil enforcement action commenced by any federal banking agency, or for that portion of the costs sustained with regard to such an action that results in a final order or settlement that is adverse to the director, officer or employee.

Item 7. Exemption From Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

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Item 8. Exhibits.

Exhibit 4
Shore Bancshares, Inc. 2006 Stock and Incentive Compensation Plan (incorporated by reference to Appendix A of the Corporation’s definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A for the 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, filed with the SEC on March 24, 2006).

Exhibit 5
Opinion of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, LLC as to legality of Shares to be issued (filed herewith).

Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, LLC (included in their opinion in Exhibit 5).
 
Exhibit 23.2
Consent of Stegman & Company, independent certified public accountants (filed herewith).

Item 9. Undertakings.

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the Corporation pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.

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(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof;

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering;

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Easton, State of Maryland, on this 7th day of June, 2006.
 
     
  SHORE BANCSHARES, INC.
 
 		  
 		  
 
  By:   /s/ W. Moorhead Vermilye
 
W. Moorhead Vermilye
  President and Chief Executive Officer
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons as of the date indicated below.
 
Signature
  
Title
  
Date
         
/s/ Herbert L. Andrew, III
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Herbert L. Andrew, III
        
         
/s/ Blenda W. Armistead
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Blenda W. Armistead
  
 
    
         
/s/ Lloyd L. Beatty, Jr.
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Lloyd L. Beatty, Jr.
        
         
/s/ Paul M. Bowman
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Paul M. Bowman
        
         
/s/ Daniel T. Cannon
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Daniel T. Cannon
        
         
/s/ Thomas H. Evans
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Thomas H. Evans
        
       
 
/s/ Mark Freestate
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Mark Freestate
        
 
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/s/ Richard C. Granville
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Richard C. Granville
        
         
/s/ W. Edwin Kee
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
W. Edwin Kee
        
         
/s/ Neil R. LeCompte
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Neil R. LeCompte
        
         
/s/ Jerry F. Pierson
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Jerry F. Pierson
        
         
/s/ Christopher F. Spurry
  
Director
  
June 7, 2006
Christopher F. Spurry
        
         
/w/ W. Moorhead Vermilye
  
Director,
  
June 7, 2006
W. Moorhead Vermilye
  
President and CEO
    
         
/s/ Susan E. Leaverton
  
Treasurer and
  
June 7, 2006
Susan E. Leaverton
  
Principal Accounting Officer
    

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Exhibit Index

Exhibit
Number
Description of Exhibits

4
  
Shore Bancshares, Inc. 2006 Stock and Incentive Compensation Plan (incorporated by reference to Appendix A of the Corporation’s definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A for the 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, filed with the SEC on March 24, 2006).

5
  
Opinion of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, LLC as to legality of Shares to be issued (filed herewith).

23.1
Consent of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, LLC (included in their opinion in Exhibit 5).
 
23.2
Consent of Stegman & Company, independent certified public accountants (filed herewith).

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