average balance of securities to $224.6 million from $169.5 million. The decrease in interest on loans resulted from a 16 basis point, or 3.9%, decrease in the average yield on loans to 3.90% from 4.06%, and a $6.0 million, or 1.1%, decrease in the average balance of loans to $503.6 million from $509.6 million.
Interest expense decreased $291,000, or 32.3%, to $611,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2022 from $902,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The decrease was primarily due to a 22 basis point decrease in the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities, partially offset by a $45.1 million increase in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities.
Interest expense on interest-bearing deposits decreased by $291,000, or 36.9%, to $498,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2022 from $789,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2021. This decrease was due to a 23 basis point, or 41.7%, decrease in the average cost of interest-bearing deposits to 0.33% for the three months ended March 31, 2022 from 0.56% for the three months ended March 31, 2021, partially offset by a $46.5 million, or 8.2%, increase in the average balance of interest-bearing deposits to $611.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 from $564.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021.
Interest expense on borrowings was $113,000 for both the three months ended March 31, 2022 and the three months ended March 31, 2021. A 6 basis point, or 4.5%, increase in the average cost of borrowings to 1.42% for the three months ended March 31, 2022 from 1.36% for the three months ended March 31, 2021, was offset by a decrease in the average balance of borrowings of $1.4 million, or 4.3%, to $31.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022, from $33.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021.
Provision for Loan Losses.
We recorded a provision for loan losses of $242,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to a credit for loan losses of $(101,000) for the three months ended March 31, 2021. During the three months ended March 31, 2022, a net
charge-off
of $26,000 was recorded, while a net recovery of $3,000 was recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2021. See “Allowance for Loan Loss Activity” below for a discussion of the amount of the allowance and provision for loan losses.
Noninterest income decreased $193,000, or 11.7%, to $1.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 from $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in net gain on sale of loans, a decrease in net realized gain on sales of
securities, a decrease in bank-owned life insurance income, and a decrease in other service charges and fees, partially offset by an increase in mortgage banking income, net and an increase in other income. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, the net gain on the sale of loans decreased $207,000 to $32,000, the net realized gain on sales of
securities decreased $116,000 to $0, bank-owned life insurance income decreased $119,000 to $88,000, and other service charges and fees decreased $34,000 to $63,000, while mortgage banking income, net, increased $145,000 to $400,000, and other noninterest income increased $98,000 to $320,000. The decrease in gain on sale of loans was the result of a decrease in loans originated and sold through the FHLBC Mortgage Partnership Finance program in the three months ended March 31, 2022, and the decrease in net realized gain on sales of
securities was the result of no security sales in the three months ended March 31, 2022. The decrease in bank-owned life insurance income, net, was due to the receipt of death benefit proceeds in the three months ended March 31, 2021, and the decrease in other service charges and fees was due to a decrease in the number of fees charged in the three months ended March 31, 2022. The increase in mortgage banking income, net, was primarily due to an increase in the value of our mortgage servicing rights in the three months ended March 31, 2022, while the increase in other income was mostly due to an increase in debit card and ATM income.
Noninterest expense increased $436,000, or 9.5%, to $5.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 from $4.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The largest components of this increase were compensation and benefits, which increased $352,000, or 11.6%, and equipment expense, which increased $89,000, or 22.4%. These increases were partially offset by a $26,000, or 21.0%, decrease in advertising expense and a $47,000, or 40.5%, decrease in professional services. Compensation and benefits increased due to normal salary increases, annual incentive plan increases, and increased medical costs, while equipment expense increased as a result of an increase in the cost of core processing. Advertising decreased due to additional digital advertising in the three months ended March 31, 2021, while professional services decreased as a result of additional services received during the three months ended March 31, 2021.