Operating Expenses (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]

Components of our operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 are presented in the following table.

Table 21.1 – Components of Operating Expenses



	Years Ended December 31,
(In Thousands)	2018		2017		2016
Fixed compensation expense	$	24,445	$	22,111	$	24,332
Variable compensation expense ⁽¹⁾	14,589		20,574		16,581
Equity compensation expense	12,388		10,141		9,093
Total compensation expense	51,422		52,826		50,006
Systems and consulting	7,451		7,073		9,037
Loan acquisition costs ⁽²⁾	7,697		5,022		5,744
Office costs	4,705		4,248		4,550
Accounting and legal	5,529		2,842		3,658
Corporate costs	1,955		1,856		2,106
Other operating expenses	4,023		3,289		3,284
Operating expenses before restructuring charges	82,782		77,156		78,385
Restructuring charges⁽³⁾	—		—		10,401
Total Operating Expenses	$	82,782	$	77,156	$	88,786


(1)	Variable compensation expense in 2017 includes $2 million of costs associated with the hiring of a new executive officer.


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

(3)

For the year ended December 31, 2016, restructuring charges included $5 million of fixed compensation expense and $3 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.