Noninterest Expense
Noninterest expense for the second quarter of 2021 was $15.2 million, an increase of $2.3 million, or 18%, from the second quarter of 2020. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, noninterest expense totaled $30.3 million, an increase of $4.6 million, or 18%, from the same period in 2020. The following table presents the components of noninterest expense.
Table 5 - Noninterest Expense
(dollars in thousands)
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| | Three Months Ended June 30, | | Change | | | Six Months Ended June 30, | | Change | |
| | 2021 | | 2020 | | $ | | % | | | 2021 | | 2020 | | $ | | % | |
Salaries and employee benefits | | $ | 10,362 | | $ | 8,466 | | $ | 1,896 | | | 22 | % | | $ | 20,783 | | $ | 16,942 | | $ | 3,841 | | | 23 | % |
Occupancy | | | 778 | | | 883 | | | (105) | | | (12) | | | | 1,512 | | | 1,677 | | | (165) | | | (10) | |
Equipment and software | | | 819 | | | 763 | | | 56 | | | 7 | | | | 1,593 | | | 1,542 | | | 51 | | | 3 | |
Professional services | | | 723 | | | 792 | | | (69) | | | (9) | | | | 1,645 | | | 1,497 | | | 148 | | | 10 | |
Communications and data processing | | | 869 | | | 670 | | | 199 | | | 30 | | | | 1,661 | | | 1,567 | | | 94 | | | 6 | |
Marketing and business development | | | 138 | | | 79 | | | 59 | | | 75 | | | | 246 | | | 232 | | | 14 | | | 6 | |
Travel, meals and entertainment | | | 47 | | | 34 | | | 13 | | | 38 | | | | 57 | | | 174 | | | (117) | | | (67) | |
FDIC premiums | | | 421 | | | 175 | | | 246 | | | 141 | | | | 696 | | | 175 | | | 521 | | | — | |
Other noninterest expense | | | 1,040 | | | 1,042 | | | (2) | | | (0) | | | | 2,153 | | | 1,975 | | | 178 | | | 9 | |
Total noninterest expense | | $ | 15,197 | | $ | 12,904 | | $ | 2,293 | | | 18 | | | $ | 30,346 | | $ | 25,781 | | $ | 4,565 | | | 18 | |
Salaries and employee benefits expense for the three months ended June 30, 2021, totaled $10.4 million, an increase of $1.9 million, or 22%, from the same period in 2020. For the first six months of 2021, salaries and employee benefits expense totaled $20.8 million, an increase of $3.8 million, or 23%, from the first six months of 2020. The increase for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 was primarily attributable to higher short-term and long-term incentive costs along with the impact of new hires and merit increases, as well as contract labor expense for PPP round two loan processing. Full time equivalent headcount totaled 211 at June 30, 2021 compared to 207 at June 30, 2020, a net increase of 4 positions.
Occupancy costs were $778,000 for the second quarter of 2021, a decrease of $105,000, or 12%, compared to the second quarter of 2020. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, occupancy costs were $1.5 million, a decrease of $165,000, or 10%, from the first six months of 2020. The decrease for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 was due to savings from relocating our operations center partially offset by expenses related to expansion of our corporate headquarters.
Professional services expense decreased $69,000, or 9%, from the three months ended June 30, 2020, to $723,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2021. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, professional services expense increased $148,000, or 10%, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2020. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, the increase was primarily driven by consulting expense for PPP round two loan processing and PPP round one loan forgiveness that was incurred in the first quarter of 2021.
Communications and data processing expense totaled $869,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $199,000, or 30%, compared to the same period in 2020. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, communications and data processing expense totaled $1.7 million, an increase of $94,000, or 6%, from the same period in 2020. The increases were due to increased volumes in the payments processing and fintech businesses.
For the three months ended June 30, 2021, travel, meals and entertainment expense increased $13,000, or 38%, compared to the same period in 2020. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, travel, meals and entertainment expense totaled $57,000, a decrease of $117,000, or 67%, from the same period in 2020.The decline for the six months ended June 30, 2021 was due to limitations from COVID-19 on non-essential business travel and an overall decrease in customer-related meals and entertainment expense.
FDIC premiums increased $246,000 for the second quarter of 2021 compared to the second quarter of 2020. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, FDIC premiums were $696,000, an increase of $521,000 from the first six months of 2020.