De Franco Company reported an ending balance in its retained earnings account of $16,500 on its December 31 2020 Statement of Financial Position. During 2020, De Franco had reported a net loss of $2,500 on its Income Statement. The company had also declared, but had not yet paid, a cash dividend of $1,000. In addition, during 2020 the company had issued additional common shares for $5,000, reported an actuarial gain of $4,000, net of tax, on remeasurement of its defined benefit pension plan, and had recorded the correction of a prior years' error, net of tax, in the amount of $500 (credit). Based upon the above information, the balance in its retained earnings account as at January 1 2020 must have been:

a.	$19,500
b.	$20,000
c.	$20,500
d.	None of the above