Interest income on cash and cash equivalents increased $45,000, or 42.9%, to $150,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $105,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 due a 126 basis point increase in the average yield from 4.84% for the three months ended March 31, 2023 to 6.10% for the three months ended March 31, 2024 due to the higher interest rate environment. The increase was also due to a $1.1 million increase in the average balance to $9.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $8.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, reflecting the increase of liquidity due to increased deposits and lower loan originations.
Interest income on loans increased $508,000, or 6.6%, to $8.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to $7.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 due primarily to 29 basis point increase in the average yield from 4.32% for the three months ended March 31, 2023 to 4.61% for the three months ended March 31, 2024, offset by a $4.5 million decrease in the average balance to $713.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $718.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023.
Interest income on securities increased $433,000, or 39.5%, to $1.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 primarily due to a 96 basis point increase in the average yield from 2.71% for the three months ended March 31, 2023 to 3.67% for the three months ended March 31, 2024, and, to a lesser extent, to a $4.7 million increase in the average balance to $166.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $162.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023.
Interest expense increased $2.9 million, or 64.9%, from $4.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 to $7.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 due to higher costs and average balances on interest-bearing liabilities.
Interest expense on interest-bearing deposits increased $2.3 million, or 60.7%, to $6.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $3.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase was due to a 157 basis point increase in the average cost of deposits to 3.82% for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from 2.25% for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase in the average cost of deposits was due to the higher interest rate environment and a change in the composition of the deposit portfolio. The average balances of certificates of deposit increased $13.1 million to $516.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $503.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 while average NOW and money market accounts and savings accounts decreased $43.3 million and $10.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, respectively, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023.
Interest expense on Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings increased $663,000, or 85.3%, from $777,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 to $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to an increase in the average balance of borrowings of $56.7 million to $153.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $96.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase was also due to an increase in the average cost of borrowings of 51 basis points to 3.78% for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from 3.27% for the three months ended March 31, 2023 due to the new borrowings being at higher rates. Cash flow hedges used to manage interest rate risk totaled $105.0 million at March 31, 2024. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the use of the cash flow hedges reduced the interest expense on the Federal Home Loan Bank advances and certificates of deposit by $288,000.
Net interest income decreased $1.9 million, or 41.4%, to $2.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $4.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease reflected a 100 basis point decrease in our net interest rate spread to 0.68% for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from 1.68% for the three months ended March 31, 2023. Our net interest margin decreased 87 basis points to 1.18% for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from 2.05% for the three months ended March 31, 2023.
We recorded a $35,000 provision for credit losses for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to no provision for credit losses for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023. The provision in the first quarter of 2024 was due to an increase in corporate securities.
Non-interest income increased by $16,000, or 5.6%, to $299,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $283,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2023. Bank-owned life insurance income increased $26,000, or 14.0%, due to higher balances during 2024, which was partially offset by a lower gain on sale of loans.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, non-interest expense increased $126,000, or 3.6%, over the comparable 2023 period. Professional fees increased $48,000, or 31.8% due to higher consulting expense related to strategic business planning. FDIC insurance premiums increased $41,000, or 67.7%, due to a higher assessment rate in 2024. Data processing expense increased $27,000, or 9.6%, due to higher processing costs. The decrease in advertising expense of $37,000, or 25.3%, was due to reduced promotions for branch locations and less promotions on deposit and loan products. Other expense increased $67,000, or 37.6%, due to higher loan expense.
Income tax expense decreased $585,000, or 196.2%, to a benefit of $287,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from a $298,000 expense for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease was due to $2.0 million of lower taxable income.
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