Noninterest Income
Noninterest income of $1.5 million in the second quarter of 2021 was a decrease of $155,000, or 9.6%, over the second quarter of 2020. Gains (losses) on securities transactions decreased $270,000 year over year as securities losses of $28,000 were recognized in the second quarter of 2021 compared with gains of $242,000 in the second quarter of 2020. Mortgage loan income of $235,000 in the second quarter of 2021 was a decrease of $138,000 year over year. Offsetting these decreases to noninterest income was an increase of $139,000 in other noninterest income, which was $435,000 in the second quarter of 2021. The increase was driven mainly by an increase of $199,000 in partnership investment income, partially offset by decreases of $39,000 and $48,000 in swap fee and brokerage/commission fee income, respectively. Additionally, there was an increase of $119,000 in service charges and fees, which were $651,000.
Noninterest income was $3.1 million for the first six months of 2021, an increase of $138,000, or 4.7%, over noninterest income of $3.0 million for the first six months of 2020. Other noninterest income was $882,000 for the first six months of 2021, an increase of $290,000 over the same period in 2020. The increase was the result of increases of $312,000 and $141,000 in partnership income and insurance commissions, respectively, offset by a decrease of $120,000 in swap fee income. Service charges and fees of $1.3 million for the first six months of 2021 was an increase of $126,000 over the same period in 2020. These increases were primarily offset by a decrease of $215,000 in gain (loss) on securities transactions, net, which were losses of $12,000 for the first six months of 2021 compared with gains of $203,000 for the first six months of 2020. Mortgage loan income was $555,000 for the first six months of 2021, a decrease of $39,000 over the same period in 2020.
Noninterest Expense
Noninterest expenses were $9.2 million for the second quarter of 2021. This is an increase of $1.3 million, or 16.8%, from noninterest expenses of $7.9 million for the second quarter of 2020. The largest component of the increase was an increase in other noninterest expenses, which were $2.3 million in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of $932,000 over the same quarter one year earlier. The increase reflects $570,000 of merger related expenses from legal, professional and director fees during the second quarter of 2021, along with non-merger related increases of $105,000 and $73,000 in legal and professional fees, respectively. Salaries and employee benefits of $5.4 million in the second quarter of 2021 increased $739,000 over the second quarter of 2020. The second quarter of 2020 was positively affected by credits to internal costs for the volume of PPP loans that were booked in the quarter, as these costs were deferred and amortized over the life of the respective loans. Data processing fees of $741,000 in the second quarter of 2021 reflected an increase of $168,000 year over year. Offsetting these increases was a year-over-year decline of $427,000 in other real estate expenses, net, which reflect gains on the disposition of other real estate owned in the second quarter of 2021, in which they were a credit of $431,000. Also offsetting these increases year over year were a decrease of $48,000 in FDIC assessment, which was $108,000 in the second quarter of 2021, a decrease of $28,000 in equipment expenses, which was $317,000, and a decrease of $17,000 in occupancy expenses, which was $761,000.
Noninterest expenses were $17.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $1.5 million, or 9.0%, year over year. Other operating expenses were $3.9 million and increased by $1.0 million in the first six months of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020. Part of the increase is attributed to $570,000 in merger related expenses, a downward adjustment of $154,000 related to an assessment of the fair value of a qualified affordable housing project investment, and non-merger related increases of $201,000 and $114,000 in legal and professional fees, respectively, incurred during the second quarter of 2021. Salaries and employee benefits of $10.6 million were an increase of $795,000 for the first six months of 2021 over the same period in 2020. A portion of this increase, $559,000, was the result of the large loan volume of PPP loans in the second quarter of 2020 that generated ASC 310-20 credits to salaries and employee benefits. Data processing fees, which were $1.3 million, increased by $184,000, or 15.8%, for the first six months of 2021 over the same period in 2020. Offsetting these increases was a decrease of $422,000 in OREO expenses, net, as a result of gains recognized in the second quarter of 2021 on the disposition of OREO. Also offsetting these increases was a decline of $112,000 in equipment expenses, which was $605,000 for the first half of 2021.