NOTE 16. STOCK BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

The Company’s 2003 Stock Incentive Plan as amended and restated, or the 2003 Plan, permits stock-based compensation awards to officers, directors, key employees and consultants. As of December 31, 2015, the 2003 Plan authorized grants of stock‑based compensation instruments to purchase or issue up to 19,686,565 shares of Company common stock, subject to adjustments provided by the 2003 Plan. The authorized amount includes 10,686,565 shares that were added to the 2003 Plan as a result of the CapitalSource Inc. merger. Such shares were available for grant under the former CapitalSource Inc. Equity Incentive Plan and remain available for: (a) former employees of CapitalSource Bank who remain employed with the Company, and (b) newly hired employees of the Company. As of December 31, 2015, there were 12,978,460 shares available for grant under the 2003 Plan, of which 9,550,459 shares related to those added from the CapitalSource Inc. merger.

Restricted Stock

The following table presents a summary of restricted stock transactions for the years indicated:



	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value (Per Share)
Unvested restricted stock, December 31, 2012	1,698,281		$30.68
Granted	673,900		$29.06
Shares vesting	(819,461	)	$24.84
Forfeited	(336,196	)	$48.92
Unvested restricted stock, December 31, 2013	1,216,524		$28.69
Granted	1,129,805		$40.37
Shares vesting	(1,183,024	)	$28.53
Forfeited	(54,800	)	$38.97
Unvested restricted stock, December 31, 2014	1,108,505		$40.24
Granted	501,622		$46.18
Shares vesting	(318,220	)	$40.26
Forfeited	(79,956	)	$41.88
Unvested restricted stock, December 31, 2015	1,211,951		$42.59

At December 31, 2015, there were 1,211,951 shares of unvested time‑based restricted common stock outstanding. The awarded shares of time‑based restricted common stock vest over a service period of three to four years from the date of the grant. For awards granted before December 11, 2014, time-based restricted common stock also vests immediately upon a change in control of the Company, as defined in the 2003 Plan, or upon death of the employee. For awards granted on or after December 11, 2014, time-based restricted stock are subject to "double-trigger" vesting, meaning that, in the event of a change in control of the Company, as defined in the 2003 Plan, and in the event an employee's employment is terminated by the Company without Cause or by the employee for Good Reason, as defined in the 2003 Plan, within 24 months after the change in control, such awards will vest, or upon death of the employee. In April 2014, upon closing of the CapitalSource Inc. merger, 1,013,377 of awarded shares of restricted common stock vested due to the triggering of the change of control provision contained within the 2003 Plan. We recorded a $26.1 million charge to earnings for the vesting of such shares. Such amount is included in acquisition, integration and reorganization costs on the accompanying consolidated statements of earnings in 2014. The vesting date fair value of restricted stock awards that vested during 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $14.7 million, $53.4 million and $30.9 million.

Compensation expense related to time‑based restricted stock awards is based on the fair value of the underlying stock on the award date and is recognized over the vesting period using the straight‑line method. Restricted stock amortization totaled $15.0 million, $9.8 million (excluding accelerated vesting of restricted stock of $26.1 million), and $8.5 million (excluding accelerated vesting of restricted stock of $12.4 million) for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. Such amounts are included in compensation expense on the accompanying consolidated statements of earnings. The income tax benefit recognized in the consolidated statements of earnings related to this expense was $5.6 million, $3.9 million, and $3.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

The amount of unrecognized compensation expense related to all unvested restricted stock as of December 31, 2015 totaled $41.1 million. Such expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.6 years.

The following table summarizes information about outstanding time-based restricted stock awards as of the date indicated:



	December 31, 2015
		Weighted			Weighted
		Average	Weighted		Average
	Number	Grant Date	Average		Remaining
	of Shares	Fair Value	Fair Value⁽¹⁾		Contractual
	Outstanding	(Per Share)	(In thousands)		Life (Years)
Time-based restricted stock granted in:
2013	9,666	$35.26	$	417	1.1
2014	711,633	$40.21	30,671		1.2
2015	490,652	$46.18	21,147		2.1
Outstanding time-based restricted stock awards	1,211,951	$42.59	$	52,235	1.6

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(1)	Determined using the $43.10 closing price of PacWest common stock on December 31, 2015.