Net interest income and non-interest income comprised total revenue of $17.1 million, $15.0 million, and $14.3 million for the quarters ended March 31, 2022, December 31, 2021, and March 31, 2021, respectively.
Non-Interest Expense:
The Company’s non-interest expense for the quarters ended March 31, 2022, December 31, 2021, and March 31, 2021 was $10.9 million, $10.0 million, and $10.1 million, respectively. The increase in non-interest expense was primarily due to a reduction in capitalized loan origination costs combined with an increase in salaries and benefits related to investments to support the continued growth of the business and the seasonal impact of higher payroll taxes. Excluding capitalized loan origination costs, non-interest expense for the first quarter of 2022, the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2021 was $11.9 million, $11.6 million, and $11.6 million, respectively.
The Company’s efficiency ratio, the ratio of non-interest expense to revenues, was 63.99%, 66.90%, and 70.70% for the quarters ended March 31, 2022, December 31, 2021, and March 31, 2021, respectively.
Balance Sheet:
Total assets of $1.86 billion as of March 31, 2022, represented a decrease of $155.4 million, or 8%, compared to $2.01 billion at December 31, 2021 and a decrease of $88.0 million, or 5%, compared to $1.95 billion at March 31, 2021. The decrease in total assets from previous quarters was primarily due to decreased liquidity resulting from deposit outflows related to forgiveness of PPP loans combined with a reduction in PPPLF activity.
Total gross loans increased by $23.8 million, or 2%, to $1.40 billion at March 31, 2022, from $1.38 billion at December 31, 2021 and decreased by $69.8 million, or 5% compared to $1.47 billion at March 31, 2021.
During the first quarter of 2022, commercial and real estate other loans increased by $48.5 million and $44.4 million, respectively, due to organic growth. Partially offsetting these increases within the total loan portfolio, SBA loans decreased by $37.4 million primarily due to PPP loan forgiveness. Additionally, during the first quarter of 2022, the Company sold $39.8 million of residential solar loans.
Year-over-year, commercial and real estate other loans increased by $83.8 million and $168.1 million, respectively, due to organic growth. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in SBA loans of $320.2 million primarily due to PPP loan forgiveness.
As a result of the CARES Act PPP, which was launched in April 2020 and re-launched in January 2021, the Company funded approximately $491.3 million in loans. Approximately $454.4 million of those balances have been granted forgiveness by the SBA as of March 31, 2022.
Total deposits decreased by $79.6 million, or 5%, to $1.60 billion at March 31, 2022, from $1.68 billion at December 31, 2021 and decreased by $29.2 million, or 2%, from $1.63 billion at March 31, 2021. The decrease in total deposits from the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 was primarily due to a reduction in non-interest bearing demand deposits of $24.5 million, money market and savings deposits of $30.7 million, and time deposits of $23.6 million.
Compared to the same period last year, the decrease in total deposits was primarily concentrated in time deposits as the result of reduced reliance on brokered certificates of deposit. Non-interest bearing deposits, primarily commercial business operating accounts, represented 46.7% of total deposits at March 31, 2022, compared to 45.9% at December 31, 2021 and 45.6% at March 31, 2021.