reflecting how management has had to increase the offered rates to be competitive in the current rising interest rate environment, as well as management’s strategic decision to leverage wholesale funding and brokered deposits.
Net Interest Income. Net interest income increased $1.0 million, or 23.9%, to $5.3 million for the year ended June 30, 2024 compared to $4.3 million for the year ended June 30, 2023. The increase is a reflection of the above noted factors and management’s decision to utilize wholesale funding and brokered deposits to invest in high yielding assets in an attempt to negate cost of funds pressure on core deposits and our historical fixed rate residential loan portfolio and mortgage backed securities.
Provision for Credit Losses. Based on an analysis of the factors described in “Critical Accounting Policies—Allowance for Credit Losses,” management concluded that a provision for credit losses of $578,000 was required for the year ended June 30, 2024, which included a provision of $463,000 for loan and a provision of $156,000 for unfunded loan commitments. The allowance for credit losses was $773,000 and $263,000 at June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and represented 0.60% of total loans at June 30, 2024, and 0.29% of total loans at June 30, 2023. See Notes 1 and 2 within Item 8 for further discussion on the adoption of of ASC 326 during the year.
Total nonperforming loans were $554,000 at June 30, 2024, compared to $304,000 at June 30, 2023. Classified loans totaled $64,000 at June 30, 2024, compared to $67,000 at June 30, 2023, and total loans past due greater than 30 days were $761,000 and $733,000 at those respective dates. As a percentage of nonperforming loans, the allowance for loan losses was 139.5% at June 30, 2024 compared to 86.5% at June 30, 2023.
The allowance for credit losses reflects the estimate management believes to be appropriate to cover current expected credit losses which were inherent in the loan portfolio. While management believes the estimates and assumptions used in the determination of the adequacy of the allowance are reasonable, such estimates and assumptions could be proven incorrect in the future, and the actual amount of future provisions may exceed the amount of past provisions, and the increase in future provisions that may be required may adversely impact the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. In addition, bank regulatory agencies periodically review the allowance for loan losses and may require an increase in the provision for possible loan losses or the recognition of loan charge-offs, based on judgments different than those of management.
Non-Interest Income. Non-interest income totaled $230,000 for the year ended June 30, 2024, an increase of $22,000, or 10.6%, from $208,000 for the year ended June 30, 2023. The increase was primarily due to normal fluctuations in the volume of fees on loans and deposits.
Noninterest Expense. Noninterest expense increased $2.3 million, or 44.6%, to $7.5 million for the year ended June 30, 2024, compared to $5.2 million for the year ended June 30, 2023. The increase is driven from increases in salaries and employee benefits as we continue to add key positions vital to the expansion and growth of the Bank, data processing fees as we continue to add new products and modules for the benefit of customers, FDIC insurance premiums associated with our overall deposit growth, advertising and marketing expenses related to the rebranding of the Bank, as noted elsewhere in this form, and certain one-time expenses as noted below.
One-time Expenses Related to Conversion
At the time of the conversion on July 13, 2022, the Bank estimated that it would incur a one-time expense in the third quarter 2022 related to the termination of the defined benefit plan of approximately $3.1 million. Given the increase in interest rates since the time of the initial estimation, the actual cost of termination of the defined benefit plan is expected to be approximately $1.35 million, with over $1 million of those expenses occurring in fiscal year 2023.
In January 2023, the board of directors agreed to take the necessary steps to become a regional commercial bank, ultimately electing to become a Covered Savings Association (CSA) instead of remaining as a Qualified Thrift Lender (QTL). The board of directors, in conjunction with the decreased one-time expenses related to the termination of the defined benefit plan, approved $1.85 million of one-time expenses for, among other things, investments in products, services, software, operating system modules, branding, personnel, consulting fees and training related to obtaining the capabilities required of a regional commercial bank.