STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION [Text Block]

NOTE 22 – STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

On May 24, 2016, the Corporation’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the First BanCorp. Omnibus Incentive Plan, as amended (the “Omnibus Plan”), to, among other things, increase the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the Omnibus Plan, extend the term of the Omnibus Plan to May 24, 2026 and re-approve the material terms of the performance goals under the Omnibus Plan for purposes of the then- effective Section 162(m) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Omnibus Plan provides for equity-based and non equity-based compensation incentives (the “awards”) through the grant of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance shares, other stock-based awards and cash-based awards. The Omnibus Plan authorizes the issuance of up to 14,169,807 shares of common stock, subject to adjustments for stock splits, reorganizations and other similar events. As of December 31, 2020, 5,670,102 authorized shares of common stock were available for issuance under the Omnibus Plan. The Corporation’s Board of Directors, based on the recommendation of the Corporation’s Compensation and Benefits Committee, has the power and authority to determine those eligible to receive awards and to establish the terms and conditions of any awards, subject to various limits and vesting restrictions that apply to individual and aggregate awards.

Restricted Stock

Under the Omnibus Plan, the Corporation may grant restricted stock to plan participants, subject to forfeiture upon the occurrence of certain events until the dates specified in the participant’s award agreement. While the restricted stock is subject to forfeiture and does not contain non-forfeitable dividend rights, participants may exercise full voting rights with respect to the shares of restricted stock granted to them. The restricted stock granted under the Omnibus Plan is typically subject to a vesting period. During 2020, the Corporation awarded to its independent directors 59,797 shares of restricted stock that are subject to one-year vesting from the dates of grant. In addition, during 2020, the Corporation awarded 851,673 shares of restricted stock to employees; fifty percent (50%) of those shares vest on the two-year anniversary of the grant date and the remaining 50% vest on three-year anniversary of the grant date. Included in those 851,673 shares of restricted stock were 47,194 shares granted to retirement-eligible employees. The total expense determined for the restricted stock awarded to retirement-eligible employees was charged against earnings as of the grant date. During 2019, the Corporation awarded to its independent directors 51,841 shares of restricted stock that were subject to one-year vesting periods from the dates of grant. In addition, during 2019, the Corporation awarded 262,371 shares of restricted stock to employees; 50% of those shares vest on the two-year anniversary of the grant date and the remaining 50% vest on the three-year anniversary of the grant date. Included in those 262,371 shares of restricted stock were 16,808 shares granted to retirement-eligible employees. The fair value of the shares of restricted stock granted in 2020 and 2019 was based on the market price of the Corporation’s outstanding common stock on the date of the respective grant.

The following table summarizes the restricted stock activity in 2020 under the Omnibus Plan:
		2020
	Number of		Weighted-
	shares of		Average
	restricted		Grant Date
	stock		Fair Value
Unvested shares outstanding at beginning of year		644,805	$	8.51
Granted		911,470		4.16
Forfeited		(3,086)		6.07
Vested		(232,466)		7.23
Unvested shares outstanding at end of year		1,320,723	$	5.74

For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Corporation recognized $3.2 million, $2.8 million and $3.4 million, respectively, of stock-based compensation expense related to restricted stock awards. As of December 31, 2020, there was $3.2 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested shares of restricted stock. The weighted average period over which the Corporation expects to recognize such cost was 1.5 years as of December 31, 2020.

Stock-based compensation accounting guidance requires the Corporation to reverse compensation expense for any awards that are forfeited due to employee or director turnover. Quarterly changes in the estimated forfeiture rate may have a significant effect on stock-based compensation, as the Corporation recognizes the effect of adjusting the rate for all expense amortization in the period in which the forfeiture estimate is changed. If the actual forfeiture rate is higher than the estimated forfeiture rate, an adjustment is made to increase the estimated forfeiture rate, which will result in a decrease in the expense recognized in the financial statements. If the actual forfeiture rate is lower than the estimated forfeiture rate, an adjustment is made to decrease the estimated forfeiture rate, which will result in an increase in the expense recognized in the financial statements.

Performance Units

Under the Omnibus Plan, the Corporation may award performance units to Omnibus Plan participants. During 2020, the Corporation granted 502,307 units to executives, with each unit representing the value of one share of the Corporation’s common stock. The performance units granted in 2020 are for the performance period beginning January 1, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2022 and are subject to three-year service periods from the date of grant. These awards do not contain non-forfeitable rights to dividend equivalent amounts and can only be settled in shares of the Corporation’s common stock. The performance units will vest based on the achievement of a pre-established tangible book value per share target as of December 31, 2022. All of the performance units will vest if performance is at the pre-established performance target level or above. However, the participants may vest with respect to 50% of the awards to the extent that performance is below the target but at 80% of the pre-established performance target level (the “80% minimum threshold”), which is measured based upon the growth in the tangible book value during the performance cycle. If performance is between the 80% minimum threshold and the pre-established performance target level, the participants will vest on a proportional amount. No performance units will vest if performance is below the 80% minimum threshold.

During 2019 and 2018, the Corporation awarded 200,053 and 304,408 performance units to executives, respectively. The performance units are subject to three-year service periods from the date of grant and a pre-established performance target level as described above.

The following table summarizes the performance units activity during 2020 under the Omnibus Plan:

	Year Ended
(Number of units)	December 31, 2020
Performance units at beginning of year	504,461
Additions	502,307
Performance units at December 31, 2020	1,006,768

The fair values of the performance units awarded during 2020 and 2019 were based on the market price of the Corporation’s outstanding common stock on the respective date of the grant. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, the Corporation recognized $1.8 million, $1.1 million, and $0.6 million, respectively, of stock-based compensation expense related to performance units. As of December 31, 2020, there was $2.6 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested performance units that the Corporation expects to recognize over the next three years. The total amount of compensation expense recognized reflects management’s assessment of the probability that the pre-established performance goal will be achieved. The Corporation will recognize a cumulative adjustment to compensation expense in the then-current period to reflect any changes in the probability of achievement of the performance goals.

Other awards

Under the Omnibus Plan, the Corporation may grant shares of unrestricted stock to plan participants. During the third quarter of 2020, the Corporation granted to its independent directors 19,157 shares of unrestricted stock that were fully vested on the grant date. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Corporation recognized $0.1 million of stock-based compensation expense related to unrestricted stock awards. There were no grants of unrestricted stock in 2019.

Salary stock

Effective April 1, 2013, the Corporation’s Board of Directors determined to increase the salary amounts paid to certain executive officers, primarily by paying the increased salary amounts in the form of shares of the Corporation’s common stock issued under the Omnibus Plan, instead of cash. During 2018, the Corporation issued 268,709 shares of common stock with a weighted-average market value per share of $6.51 as salary stock compensation. This resulted in compensation expense of $1.7 million recorded in 2018. Effective July 1, 2018, the Corporation ceased paying additional salary amounts in the form of stock in accordance with its revised executive compensation program.

Shares withheld

During 2020, the Corporation withheld 51,814 shares (2019 – 176,015 shares) of the restricted stock that vested during such period to cover the officers’ payroll and income tax withholding liabilities; these shares are held as treasury shares. The Corporation paid in cash any fractional share of salary stock to which an officer was entitled. In the consolidated financial statements, the Corporation treats shares withheld for tax purposes as common stock repurchases.