The banking industry uses two key ratios to measure relative profitability of net interest revenue: (i) interest rate spread and (ii) net interest margin. The interest rate spread measures the difference between the average yield on interest-earning assets and the average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities. The interest rate spread eliminates the effect of non-interest-bearing deposits and other non-interest-bearing funding sources and gives a direct perspective on the effect of market interest rate movements. The net interest margin is an indication of the profitability of a financial institution’s loans and investments and is defined as net interest revenue as a percentage of total average interest-earning assets, which includes the positive effect of funding a portion of interest-earning assets with non-interest-bearing deposits.
For the six months ended June 30, 2021, the Company’s net interest margin was 3.47 percent, compared to 3.07 percent for the six months ended June 30, 2020. This increase is a result of a low-rate environment, and lower cost of funds.
Provision for Loan and Lease Losses. The provision for loan losses was a net recovery of $67,542 for the six months ended June 30, 2021, compared with a net provision of $324,968 during the six months ended June 30, 2020. As a percentage of outstanding loans at period end, the allowance for loan losses was 0.86 percent on June 30, 2021, compared to 0.88 percent at December 31, 2020.
The provision for loan and lease losses is based on management’s evaluation of inherent risks in the loan portfolio and the corresponding analysis of the allowance for loan losses.
Noninterest Income. Non-interest income is generated primarily from fees on deposit accounts, income from mortgage banking activity, income from bank owned life insurance and interchange processing fees. Total noninterest income for the six months ended June 30, 2021, was $672,550 and for the six months ended June 30, 2020, was $442,964, an increase of 51.8 percent. The increase was mainly a result of an increase of $131,577 in income derived from loans originated on the secondary market and an increase of $88,994 in fee income from debit card transactions.
Noninterest Expense. Total noninterest expense for the six-month period ended June 30, 2021, was $4.4 million, and $3.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, an increase of 42.6 percent. The 2021 increases in noninterest expenses were primarily due to increases in salaries and benefits expense of $404,242 resulting from newly hired positions and lower loan origination costs, increases of $627,727 in data processing expenses resulting from the core processing conversion and increases of $156,473 in legal and shareholder expenses related primarily to the reorganization into a bank holding company.
Comparison of Financial Condition as of June 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020
General. Total assets were $313.7 million on June 30, 2021, and $284.7 million on December 31, 2020. This growth was due primarily to an increase of $30.0 million in balances at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond resulting from the influx of deposits during the period. Net loans were $242.9 million on June 30, 2021, and $243.6 million on December 31, 2020.
Total deposits increased by $30.3 million, or 12.6 percent, to $270.2 million on June 30, 2021, from $239.9 million on December 31, 2020. Total shareholders’ equity increased by $1.2 million, or 4.4 percent, to $27.5 million on June 30, 2021, from $26.3 million on December 31, 2020. This net increase in shareholders’ equity was primarily due to an increase in earnings, net of dividends paid.
Investment Securities. Total investment securities on June 30, 2021, were $3.3 million, an increase of $137,335 from the end of 2020.
Investment securities that management has the ability and intent to hold to maturity are classified as “held-to-maturity” and are carried at cost, adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts. On June 30, 2021, and December 3, 2020, all investment securities were classified as held-to-maturity.
Loans. On June 30, 2021, total loans were $245.0 million, a decrease of $789,740, or 0.32 percent, from December 31, 2020. The largest changes were in commercial real estate, where increases were $12.4 million offset, in part, by the decrease in U.S. Small Business Administration loans of $11.1 million. The average yield on loans for the six months ended June 30, 2021, was 4.4 percent versus 4.5 percent for the year ended December 31, 2020.
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