Our investments in mortgage-backed securities have been issued by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, which are U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, or Ginnie Mae, which is a U.S. government agency. These entities guarantee the payment of principal and interest on our mortgage-backed securities. As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, we owned $674.3 million and $705.9 million, respectively, of mortgage-backed securities issued by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and Ginnie Mae. We did not record a provision for credit losses on investment securities during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 or 2023 as all our securities were issued either by U.S. government agencies or U.S. government-sponsored enterprises.
Critical Accounting Policies
There are no material changes to the critical accounting policies disclosed in Territorial Bancorp Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Comparison of Financial Condition at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023
Assets. At September 30, 2024, our total assets were $2.2 billion, a decrease of $38.2 million, or 1.7%, from December 31, 2023. The decrease in assets was primarily due to decreases of $31.6 million in total investment securities and $20.8 million in total loans, that were partially offset by a $16.5 million increase in cash and cash equivalents.
Cash and Cash Equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents were $143.1 million at September 30, 2024, an increase of $16.5 million, or 13.0%, since December 31, 2023. The increase in cash and cash equivalents was primarily due to a $33.7 million increase in deposits, a $31.6 million decrease in total investment securities, and a $20.8 million decrease in the loan portfolio, that were partially offset by a $65.0 million decrease in Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances.
Loans. Total loans were $1.3 billion at September 30, 2024, or 58.3% of total assets. During the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the loan portfolio decreased by $20.8 million, or 1.6%. The decrease in the loan portfolio primarily occurred as principal repayments exceeded the origination of new loans.
Securities. Total investment securities, including $19.9 million of investment securities available for sale, were $674.3 million at September 30, 2024, or 30.7% of total assets. During the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the investment securities portfolio decreased by $31.6 million, or 4.5%. The decrease in the investment securities balance was primarily due to principal repayments. At September 30, 2024, none of the underlying collateral for the securities consisted of subprime or Alt-A (traditionally defined as nonconforming loans having less than full documentation) loans.
Deposits. Deposits were $1.7 billion at September 30, 2024, an increase of $33.7 million, or 2.1%, since December 31, 2023. The growth in deposits was primarily due to an increase of $114.7 million in certificates of deposit, which was partially offset by decreases of $51.0 million in passbook savings and $26.7 million in checking accounts. The increase in certificates in deposit was primarily due to a $92.7 million increase in certificates of deposit held by state and local governments. The decrease in passbook savings and checking accounts occurred as customers sought higher interest rates than what we offer.
Borrowings. Total borrowings were $237.0 million at September 30, 2024, a decrease of $65.0 million, or 21.5%, since December 31, 2023. Our borrowings consist of advances from the FHLB and Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) and funds borrowed under securities sold under agreements to repurchase.
Stockholders’ Equity. Total stockholders’ equity was $248.7 million at September 30, 2024, a decrease of $2.3 million, or 0.9%, from $251.1 million at December 31, 2023. The decrease in stockholders’ equity was primarily due to the net loss incurred during the year.