Second Quarter Earnings
Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 was $4.5 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, compared to $2.5 million, or $0.33 per diluted share for the same period in 2020. Returns on average assets and common equity for the current quarter were 1.84% and 13.76%, respectively, compared to 1.20% and 8.77% for the same period of 2020.
Net interest income for the second quarter of 2021 increased $1.5 million, or 16.3%, to $10.7 million, due to growth in average interest earning assets totaling $126.5 million, or 15.3%, to $952.3 million when compared to the same period in 2020. Our net interest margin remained stable at 4.49% for the second quarter of 2021 compared to 4.47% for the same period in 2020. Average loans in the quarter increased $106.4 million, or 17.9%, to $700.3 million when compared to the second quarter of 2020 fueled by growth in our commercial and multifamily loan portfolios. Our loan-to-deposit ratio was 77.3% with loan growth funded by low-cost deposits.
The provision for loan losses was $850 thousand for the second quarter of 2021, a $1.1 million decrease from the same period in 2020. The second quarter 2021 provision for loan losses was driven by a prudent increase in the general reserve primarily attributable to loan growth coupled with the inherent credit and extended duration risk associated with the NFL consumer post settlement portfolio. As of June 30, 2021, Esquire had nonperforming loans to total loans of 0.32%, an allowance to nonperforming loans of 617% and an allowance to loans of 1.98%.
Noninterest income increased $2.5 million, or 85.0%, to $5.5 million for the second quarter of 2021, as compared to the second quarter of 2020, driven by our payment processing platform. Payment volumes for this platform increased $3.1 billion, or 99%, to $6.2 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, driven by expansion of our sales channels through ISOs, increased number of merchants, volume increases and increased fee allocation arrangements, as well as the reopening of the economy as the pandemic restrictions continued to ease nationally.
Noninterest expense increased $2.3 million, or 34.4%, to $9.1 million for the second quarter of 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020. This increase was primarily driven by increases in employee compensation and benefits, advertising and marketing, data processing costs and occupancy and equipment. Employee compensation and benefits costs increased $1.6 million, or 38.3%, due to increases in staffing of 26% to support our investment in digital platforms and related sales/marketing divisions, and the impact of salary and stock-based compensation increases. Advertising and marketing costs increased $273 thousand as we continue our digital marketing efforts and thought leadership in our national verticals. We have also re-engaged in our traditional high touch marketing and sales efforts at conferences and other in-person industry forums. Data processing costs increased $136 thousand, or 17.6%, due to increased processing volume, primarily driven by our core banking platform, and additional costs related to our technology implementations. Occupancy and equipment costs increased $135 thousand, or 23.5%, primarily due to amortization of our investments in internally developed software to support our new digital platform and additional office space to support our continued growth.
The Company’s efficiency ratio was 56.5% for the three months ended June 30, 2021, as compared to 55.9% for the same period in 2020. The increase in the efficiency ratio was attributable to the investments in our digital platforms and related sales/marketing divisions as we continue to invest in our future, reaching more prospective clients nationally within our litigation and payment processing verticals.
The effective tax rate was 27.0% for the second quarter of 2021, as compared to 26.5% for the same period in 2020.
Year to Date Earnings
Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2021 was $8.7 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, compared to $5.1 million, or $0.67 per diluted share for the same period in 2020. Returns on average assets and common equity for the six months ended June 30, 2021 were 1.82% and 13.53%, respectively, compared to 1.23% and 8.99% for the same period of 2020.
Net interest income for the second quarter of 2021 increased $2.4 million, or 12.9%, to $20.7 million, due to growth in average interest earning assets totaling $124.5 million, or 15.5%, to $929.3 million when compared to the same period in 2020. Our net interest margin decreased 9 basis points to 4.50% for the six months ended 2021 compared to 4.59% for the same period in 2020 primarily due to the historically low interest rate environment and its negative effects on interest earning asset yields. Average loans for the six months increased $112.4 million, or 19.5%, to $689.0 million when compared to the same period in 2020 with growth in our commercial and multifamily loan portfolios.
The provision for loan losses was $2.7 million for the six months ended 2021, a $1.2 million decrease from the same period in 2020. The provision for loan losses for the six months ended June 30, 2021 was driven by a prudent increase in the general reserve attributable to loan growth as well as the inherent credit and extended duration risk associated with the NFL consumer post settlement portfolio.
Noninterest income increased $4.9 million, or 80.0%, to $10.9 million for the six months ended 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, driven by our payment processing platform. Payment volumes for this platform increased $5.0 billion, or 80.2%, to $11.2 billion