LEASES (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Leases [Abstract]

Lessee, Operating Leases

The Company leases 91 buildings and offices under non-cancelable operating leases. The leases contain various provisions for increases in rental rates, based either on changes in the published Consumer Price Index or a predetermined escalation schedule. Substantially all of the leases provide the Company with the option to extend the lease term one or more times following expiration of the initial term. The table below presents the lease ROU assets and lease liabilities recorded on the balance sheet at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 (dollars in thousands):

	December 31, 2023		December 31, 2022
Assets
Operating lease ROU assets	$	43,731	$	49,283
Liabilities
Operating lease liabilities	$	48,659	$	55,205

Weighted average remaining lease term
Operating leases	4.5 years		5.1 years
Weighted average discount rate
Operating leases	3.3	%	3.0	%

The table below presents certain information related to the lease costs for operating leases for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2023		2022		2021
Operating lease cost	$	13,848	$	16,647	$	17,541
Short-term lease cost	132		125		100
Variable lease cost	2,231		2,189		2,584
Less sublease income	(1,447)		(1,126)		(904)
Total lease cost (1)	$	14,764	$	17,835	$	19,321

(1)    Lease expenses and sublease income are classified within occupancy and equipment expense on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Operating cash flows paid for operating lease amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities were $14.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 and $15.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The Company recorded $6.8 million of lease ROU assets in exchange for operating lease liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2023 and $9.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The table below reconciles the undiscounted cash flows for each of the first five years beginning with 2023 and the total of the remaining years to the operating lease liabilities recorded on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position (in thousands):

	Operating Leases
2023	$	14,566
2024	12,782
2025	10,849
2026	7,341
2027	2,852
Thereafter	4,012
Total minimum lease payments	52,402
Less: amount of lease payments representing interest	(3,743)
Lease obligations	$	48,659

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had no undiscounted lease payments under an operating lease that had not yet commenced.