Interest and Dividend Income.
Interest and dividend income increased $68,000, or 1.1%, to $6.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2021 from $6.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020. The increase in interest and dividend income was primarily due to a $334,000 increase in interest income on securities, partially offset by a $264,000 decrease in interest income on loans. The increase in interest income on securities resulted from a 15 basis point, or 7.0%, increase in the average yield on securities to 2.24% from 2.09%, and a $49.5 million, or 31.9%, increase in the average balance of securities to $204.7 million from $155.2 million. The decrease in interest on loans resulted from a 8 basis point, or 2.0%, decrease in the average yield on loans to 4.08% from 4.16%, and a $15.2 million, or 3.0%, decrease in the average balance of loans to $500.2 million from $515.4 million.
Interest expense decreased $561,000, or 47.2%, to $627,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 from $1.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020. This decrease was due to a 40 basis point, or 50.4%, decrease in the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities to 0.40% from 0.80%, partially offset by a $37.2 million, or 6.3%, increase in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities to $628.9 million from $591.7 million.
Interest expense on interest-bearing deposits decreased by $562,000, or 52.4%, to $511,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 from $1.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020. This decrease was due to a decrease in the average cost of interest-bearing deposits to 0.34% for the three months ended December 31, 2021 from 0.77% for the three months ended December 31, 2020, partially offset by a $33.8 million, or 6.0%, increase in the average balance of interest-bearing deposits to $594.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2021 from $560.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020.
Interest expense on borrowings increased $1,000, or 0.9%, to $116,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2021, from $115,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2020. This increase was due to an increase in the average balance of borrowings to $35.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2021, from $31.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020, mostly offset by a 13 basis point decrease in the average cost of such borrowings to 1.33% for the three months ended December 31, 2021 from 1.46% for the three months ended December 31, 2020.
Provision for Loan Losses.
We establish provisions for loan losses, which are charged to operations in order to maintain the allowance for loan losses at a level we consider necessary to absorb probable credit losses inherent in our loan portfolio. We recorded a credit for loan losses of $(76,000) for the three months ended December 31, 2021, compared to a credit for loan losses of $(49,000) for the three months ended December 31, 2020. During the three months ended December 31, 2021, net recoveries of $1,000 were recorded, while during the three months ended December 31, 2020, net charge-offs of $8,000 were recorded.
Noninterest income decreased $23,000, or 1.6%, to $1.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2021 from $1.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in net gain on sale of loans and a decrease in other service charges and fees, partially offset by an increase in brokerage commissions, an increase in mortgage banking income, net, and an increase in other income. For the three months ended December 31, 2021, the net gain on the sale of loans decreased $328,000 to $156,000, and other service charges and fees decreased $17,000 to $86,000, while brokerage commissions increased $57,000 to $288,000, mortgage banking income, net, increased $39,000 to $142,000, and other income increased $193,000 to $423,000 from the three months ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in net gain on sale of loans was a result of a decrease in loans sold, while the decrease in other service charges and fees was due to a decrease in the number of fees charged in the three months ended December 31, 2021. The increase in brokerage commissions was due to higher renewal commissions earned in the three months ended December 31, 2021, and the increase in mortgage banking income, net was the result of an increase in the loans originated and sold through the FHLBC Mortgage Partnership Finance program and an increase in the value of our mortgage servicing rights in the three months ended December 31, 2021. The increase in other income was mostly due to an increase in debit card and ATM income.
Noninterest expense increased $334,000, or 7.4%, to $4.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2021 from $4.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020. The largest components of this increase were compensation and benefits, which increased $208,000, or 7.0%, and equipment expense, which increased $60,000, or 14.2%. These increases were partially offset by decreases in advertising, which decreased $41,000, or 30.2%,