Note 9 – Employee Benefit Plans

Broadway Federal 401(k) Plan

A 401(k) benefit plan allows employee contributions for substantially all employees up to 15% of their compensation, which are matched at a rate equal to 50% of the first 6% of the compensation contributed. Expense totaled $93 thousand and $46 thousand for 2016 and 2015.

ESOP Plan

Employees participate in an Employee Stock Option Plan ("ESOP") after attaining certain age and service requirements. On December 21, 2016, the ESOP purchased 1,493,679 shares of the Company's common stock at $1.59 per share, for a total cost of $2.4 million, of which $1.2 million was funded with a loan from the Company. The loan will be repaid from the Bank's annual discretionary contributions to the ESOP, net of dividends paid, over a period of 20 years. Shares of the Company's common stock purchased by the ESOP are held in a suspense account until released for allocation to participants. When loan payments are made, shares are allocated to each eligible participant based on the ratio of each such participant's compensation, as defined in the ESOP, to the total compensation of all eligible plan participants. As the unearned shares are released from the suspense account, the Company recognizes compensation expense equal to the fair value of the ESOP shares during the periods in which they become committed to be released. To the extent that the fair value of the ESOP shares released differs from the cost of such shares, the difference is charged or credited to equity as additional paid-in capital. Dividends on allocated shares increase participant accounts. At the end of employment, participants will receive shares for their vested balance. Compensation expense related to the ESOP was $12 thousand for 2016 and $1.3 million for 2015.

Shares held by the ESOP were as follows:

	December 31,
	2016		2015
	(Dollars in thousands)
Allocated to participants		1,114,683		360,752
Suspense shares		739,748		-

Total ESOP shares		1,854,431		360,752


Fair value of unearned shares	$	1,213	$	-

At December 31, 2016, the outstanding balance of unallocated shares was $1.2 million, which is shown as Unearned ESOP shares in the equity section of the consolidated statements of financial condition. No shares were committed to be released as of December 31, 2016.

Deferred Compensation Plan

The Bank has a deferred compensation agreement with its former Chief Executive Officer ("Former CEO") whereby a stipulated amount will be paid to the Former CEO over a period of 15 years beginning on his retirement date in May 2013. Pursuant to the U.S Treasury Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Company is not permitted to make payments under this deferred compensation agreement. The amount accrued under this agreement was $1.2 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, and was accrued over the period of the Former CEO's active employment. Compensation expense was $46 thousand for 2016 and $104 thousand for 2015.