3. Leases

In the first quarter of 2019, the Company adopted ASU 2016-02, "Leases". The ASU requires the recognition of a right-of use asset and lease liability on the consolidated balance sheet by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under previous guidance. The Company elected the modified retrospective method which did not result in a cumulative-effect adjustment at the date of adoption.

The Company and its subsidiaries have operating leases for office space and equipment expiring at various dates through 2034. The Company leases its corporate headquarters at 85 Broad Street, New York, New York which houses its executive management team and many administrative functions for the firm as well as its research, trading, investment banking, and asset management divisions and an office in Troy, Michigan, which among other things, houses its payroll and human resources departments. In addition, the Company has 93 retail branch offices in the United States as well as offices in London, England, St. Helier, Jersey, Geneva, Switzerland, Frankfurt, Germany, Tel Aviv, Israel and Hong Kong, China.

The majority of the leases are held by the Company's subsidiary, Viner Finance Inc., which is a consolidated subsidiary and 100% owned by the Company.

Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet; the Company recognizes lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Most leases include an option to renew and the exercise of lease renewal options is at our sole discretion. The Company did not include the renewal options as part of the right of use assets and liabilities.

The depreciable life of assets and leasehold improvements is limited by the expected lease term. Our lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants.

As of December 31, 2019, the Company had right of use operating lease assets of $160.3 million (net of accumulated amortization of $25.2 million) which are comprised of real estate leases of $157.3 million (net of accumulated amortization of $23.3 million) and equipment leases of $3.0 million (net of accumulated amortization of $1.9 million). As of December 31, 2019, the Company had operating lease liabilities of $203.1 million which are comprised of real estate lease liabilities of $200.1 million and equipment lease liabilities of $3.0 million. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had not made any cash payments for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities or right of use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease obligations. The Company had no finance leases or embedded leases as of December 31, 2019.

As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The Company used the incremental borrowing rate on January 1, 2019 for operating leases that commenced prior to that date. The Company used the incremental borrowing rate as of the lease commencement date for the operating leases commenced subsequent to January 1, 2019.

The following table presents the weighted average lease term and weighted average discount rate for our operating leases as of December 31, 2019:




	As of December 31, 2019

Weighted average remaining lease term (in years)	8.31
Weighted average discount rate	7.89%

The following table presents operating lease costs recognized for the year ended December 31, 2019, which are included in occupancy and equipment costs on the consolidated statements of income:



(Expressed in thousands)
	For the Year Ended December 31, 2019

Operating lease costs:
Real estate leases - Right-of-use lease asset amortization	$	23,308
Real estate leases - Interest expense	15,815
Equipment leases - Right-of-use lease asset amortization	1,878
Equipment leases - Interest expense	227

The maturities of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2019 are as follows:



(Expressed in thousands)
	As of December 31, 2019

2020	$	42,585
2021	37,531
2022	33,416
2023	31,187
2024	27,234
After 2025	108,098
Total lease payments	$	280,051
Less interest	(76,911		)
Present value of lease liabilities	$	203,140

As of December 31, 2019, the Company had $11.1 million of additional operating leases that have not yet commenced.

In November 2016, the SEC issued a no action letter related to the treatment of operating leases under SEC Rule 15c3-1 (the “Rule”) in the context of the adoption of ASU 2016-02, “Leases” which provided relief, if certain conditions are met, to broker-dealers in the net capital treatment of operating lease assets which would otherwise be treated as a non-allowable asset. The application of this guidance resulted in no additional charges to net capital for operating leases during the year ended December 31, 2019.

Lease Commitments

The Company and its subsidiaries have operating leases for office space, equipment and furniture and fixtures expiring at various dates through 2034. Future minimum rental commitments under such office and equipment leases as of December 31, 2019 are as follows:



(Expressed in thousands)
	As of December 31, 2019

2020	$	42,635
2021	38,361
2022	34,442
2023	32,238
2024	28,309
2025 and thereafter	115,230
	$	291,215

The above table includes leases which have been signed by the Company in which the Company is responsible for rent charges associated with its occupancy.

Certain of the leases contain provisions for rent increases based on changes in costs incurred by the lessor.