added during 2020. Noninterest expenses for Wealth Management decreased by $0.2 million in the second quarter of 2020, when compared to the second quarter of 2019, due to lower compensation and benefits and professional services and marketing expenses. The $0.4 million decrease in corporate expenses was due primarily to lower professional services and marketing expenses.
Six Months Ended June 30, 2020 as Compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2019
Our net income and income before taxes in the first six months of 2020 were $31.1 million and $43.7 million, respectively, as compared to $23.7 million and $33.5 million, respectively, in the first six months of 2019. The $10.2 million increase in income before taxes was the result of a $9.6 million increase in income before taxes for Banking, a $0.1 million decrease in income before taxes for Wealth Management, and a $0.8 million decrease in corporate noninterest expenses. The increase in Banking was due to higher net interest income, a lower provision for credit losses and higher noninterest income, which were partially offset by higher noninterest expenses. The decrease in Wealth Management was due to lower noninterest income.
Our effective tax rate for the six months of 2020 was 28.9% as compared to 29.4% for the first six months of 2019 and as compared to our statutory tax rate of 29.0%.
Net interest income for Banking increased 12% from $83.0 million in the first six months of 2019, to $93.4 million in the first six months of 2020 due primarily to a 10% increase in interest-earning assets. On a consolidated basis our net yield on interest earning assets was 2.94% for the first six months of 2020 as compared to 2.86% in the first six months of 2019. This increase was due to an increase in the net interest rate spread, from 2.33% in the first six months of 2019 to 2.53% in the first six months of 2020. The increase in the net interest rate spread was due to a decrease in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities, from 1.95% in the first six months of 2019, to 1.38% in the first six months of 2020, which was partially offset by a decrease in yield on total interest-earning assets, from 4.28% in the first six months of 2019, to 3.92% in the first six months of 2020. The decrease in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities was due to decreased costs of interest-bearing deposits, resulting from decreases in deposit market rates, and decreased costs of borrowings, as the average rate on FHLB advances and other overnight borrowings decreased from 2.56% in the first six months of 2019 to 1.44% in the first six months of 2020. The yield on interest-earning assets decreased as new loans added to the portfolio bear interest rates lower than the current portfolio rates, due to decreases in market rates. The average balance outstanding under the holding company line of credit decreased from $3.8 million in the first six months of 2019 to $3.2 million in the first six months of 2020.
The $5.4 million provision for credit losses in the first six months of 2020 includes $2 million resulting from the computation of the provision for credit losses related to loans under CECL, as compared to what the computation would have been if CECL was not adopted, and a $1.8 million allowance taken in the first quarter of 2020 due to a change in expected cash flows of an interest only strip security. The $1.8 million provision for credit losses in the first six months of 2019 was due to growth in loan balances and $0.6 million of net chargeoffs.
Noninterest income in Banking in the first six months of 2020 was $1.8 million higher than the corresponding period in 2019 due a $1.8 increase in loan fees. Noninterest income for Wealth Management increased by $0.4 million in the first six months of 2020 when compared to the first six months of 2019 due primarily to higher investment management fees as a result of a corresponding increase in AUM.
Noninterest expense in Banking decreased from $52.4 million in the first six months of 2019 to $51.3 million in the first six months of 2020, due to a decrease in customer service costs, which were partially offset by increases in compensation and benefits and occupancy and depreciation. Customer service costs for Banking decreased from $7.7 million in the first six months of 2019 to $4.0 million in the first six months of 2020 due to decreases in the earnings credit rates paid on the related deposit balances, as interest rates declined during the first six months of 2020. Compensation and benefits for Banking increased $1.5 million during the first six months of