“I am exceptionally proud of what our team has been able to accomplish over the past twelve years and I’m excited to see what heights we can reach partnering with a best-in-class regional bank,” Mr. Bass concluded.
Loan Portfolio and Composition
During the fourth quarter of 2021, gross loans increased to $2.32 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of 3.08% from $2.25 billion as of September 30, 2021, and a decrease of 2.78% from $2.39 billion as of December 31, 2020. PPP loan forgiveness, which has been the primary cause of the overall decrease in loans year over year, will not significantly impact loan growth going forward as only 237 PPP loans remain outstanding with a total recorded investment of $43.9 million as of December 31, 2021. Excluding the effect of PPP loan forgiveness, the loan portfolio as of December 31, 2021 increased by $131.6 million, or 24.3% annualized from September 30, 2021. Despite a large volume of loans moving from the pipeline to closed loans, the remaining pipeline is well over $1.0 billion and represents an exciting opportunity to fund additional projects in the coming quarters.
Asset Quality
Asset quality is strong with loans continuing to migrate into lower risk ratings during the fourth quarter of 2021 and with non-performing loans declining $855 thousand or 13.9% from the third quarter of 2021. We perceive the sentiment in the Texas economy to be optimistic despite continued labor and supply shortages and higher inflation that may persist longer than previously expected. The provision for loan losses recorded for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $970 thousand, which served to increase the allowance to $16.4 million, or 0.71% of the $2.32 billion in gross loans outstanding as of December 31, 2021. Provision expense for the fourth quarter of 2021 related primarily to the provisioning of new loans.
As of December 31, 2021, the nonperforming loans to loans held for investment ratio remains low at 0.22%, a decrease from 0.28% at September 30, 2021, and a decrease from 0.36% as of December 31, 2020. Annualized net charge-offs were 15 basis points for the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to 10 basis points for the third quarter of 2021.
Deposits and Borrowings
Deposits totaled $2.78 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of 4.2% from $2.67 billion as of September 30, 2021, and an increase of 13.2% from $2.46 billion as of December 31, 2020. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits increased $36.1 million, or 4.70%, from September 30, 2021, and increased $76.0 million, or 10.5%, from December 31, 2020. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits represented 28.9% of total deposits as of December 31, 2021, up from 28.7% of total deposits as of September 30, 2021, and down from 29.6% of total deposits as of December 31, 2020. Interest-bearing deposits, including money market and savings as of December 31, 2021 increased $96.6 million, or 29.1% annualized from September 30, 2021, primarily due to success in retaining and growing client relationships from COVID-19 related assistance programs. Growth in interest-bearing deposits was slightly offset by a decrease in time deposits of $20.9 million, or 3.6%, from September 30, 2021. The average cost of deposits was 0.22% for the fourth quarter of 2021, representing a 3 basis point decrease from the third quarter of 2021 and a 21 basis point decrease from the fourth quarter of 2020.
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