On December 6, 2021, the ESOP was terminated with the assets in the ESOP merged into the employee’s 401(k) plan. After the merger of the ESOP into the 401(k) plan, the Company allocated $4 million into eligible participant’s accounts.

In 2020 and 2019, the Company allocated 405,167 and 349,356 shares, respectively, to participants in the ESOP. For each of the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, the Company recorded expense of $4 million.

The Bank has established a Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SERP”), which provided additional unfunded, non-qualified benefits to certain participants in the ESOP in the form of Company common stock. The SERP was frozen in 1999. Trust-held assets, consisting entirely of Company common stock, amounted to 1,006,186 and 2,191,915 shares, respectively, at December 31, 2021 and 2020, including shares purchased through dividend reinvestment. The cost of these shares is reflected as a reduction of paid-in capital in excess of par in the Consolidated Statements of Condition.

At December 31, 2021, the Company had a total of 8,548,783 shares available for grants as restricted stock, options, or other forms of related rights under the 2020 Incentive Plan, which was approved by the Company’s shareholders at its Annual Meeting on June 3, 2020. The Company granted 3,131,949 shares of restricted stock, with an average fair value of $11.20 per share on the date of grant, during the twelve months ended December 31, 2021.

During 2020 and 2019, the Company granted 2,421,345 shares and 2,031,198 shares, respectively, of restricted stock, which had average fair values of $11.61 and $10.45 per share on the respective grant dates. The shares of restricted stock that were granted during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 vest over a period of five years. Compensation and benefits expense related to the restricted stock grants is recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period and totaled $27 million, $28 million, and $31 million, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019.

The following table provides a summary of activity with regard to restricted stock awards in the year ended December 31, 2021:


	For the Year Ended December 31, 2021
	Number of Shares			Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested at beginning of year		6,228,048		$	12.43
Granted		3,131,949			11.20
Vested		(2,107,282	)		13.15
Canceled		(302,380	)		11.71
Unvested at end of year		6,950,335			11.68

As of December 31, 2021, unrecognized compensation cost relating to unvested restricted stock totaled $55 million. This amount will be recognized over a remaining weighted average period of 2.9 years.

The following table provides a summary of activity with regard to Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units ("PSUs") in the twelve months ended December 31, 2021:


	Number of Shares		Performance Period	Expected Vesting Date
Outstanding at beginning of year		477,872
Granted		356,740	January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2023	March 31, 2024
Outstanding at end of period		834,612