Operating Expenses

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]

Components of our operating expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 are presented in the following table.

Table 19.1 – Components of Operating Expenses



	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In Thousands)	2017		2016		2017		2016
Fixed compensation expense	$	5,233	$	5,253	$	16,556	$	19,022
Variable compensation expense	6,467		5,802		14,713		11,824
Equity compensation expense	2,337		2,031		7,634		7,117
Total compensation expense	14,037		13,086		38,903		37,963
Systems and consulting	1,856		2,692		5,183		7,274
Loan acquisition costs ⁽¹⁾	1,187		1,393		3,397		4,680
Office costs	988		1,056		3,231		3,501
Accounting and legal	519		721		2,322		3,043
Corporate costs	415		478		1,363		1,589
Other operating expenses	920		925		2,390		2,367
Operating expenses before restructuring charges	19,922		20,351		56,789		60,417
Restructuring charges ⁽²⁾	—		4		—		10,545
Total Operating Expenses	$	19,922	$	20,355	$	56,789	$	70,962


(1)	Loan acquisition costs primarily includes underwriting and due diligence costs related to the acquisition of residential loans held-for-sale at fair value.

(2)

For the nine months ended September 30, 2016, restructuring charges included $5 million of fixed compensation expense and $4 million of equity compensation expense related to one-time termination benefits, as well as $2 million of other contract termination costs, associated with the restructuring of our conforming and commercial mortgage banking operations and related charges associated with the departure of Redwood's President announced in the first quarter of 2016.