Financial Condition
Allowance for Credit Losses
The allowance for credit losses increased .2% to $109,325,000 at September 30, 2021 from $109,059,000 at December 31, 2020. The provision for credit losses charged to expense decreased 68.1% and 86.0% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 to $2,801,000 and $5,137,000, respectively, compared to $8,770,000 and $36,595,000 for the same periods of 2020. The credit loss expense charged to operations increased throughout 2020 as a result of increases in the ACL due to deteriorating economic conditions as a result of COVID-19 and the impact of those conditions on certain segments of our loan portfolio. Economic conditions during the first nine months of 2021 have stabilized, and in some segments, improved. The pool specific qualitative loss factors management deemed appropriate for the ACL calculation at December 31, 2020 remained constant in the September 30, 2021 ACL calculation, which positively impacted the calculation and resulted in a decrease in the credit loss expense charged to operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 compared to the same periods of 2020. We adopted the provisions of ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020, resulting in a transition from the long-standing incurred loss model to an expected credit loss model, which recognizes credit losses over the life of a financial asset. Expected credit losses capture historical information, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts of future conditions. Expected credit losses capture historical information, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts of future conditions. The allowance for credit losses was 1.48% of total loans at September 30, 2021 and 1.45% of total loans at December 31, 2020.
Investment Securities
Residential mortgage-backed debt securities are securities primarily issued by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, or Ginnie Mae. Investments in debt residential mortgage-backed securities issued by Ginnie Mae are fully guaranteed by the U.S. Government. Investments in debt residential mortgage-backed securities issued by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are not fully guaranteed by the U.S. Government, however, we believe that the quality of the bonds is similar to other AAA rated bonds with limited credit risk, particularly given the placement of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship by the federal government in early September 2008 and because securities issued by others that are collateralized by residential mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac are rated consistently as AAA rated securities.
Loans
Total loans decreased by 1.8% to $7,404,158,000 at September 30, 2021, from $7,541,754,000 at December 31, 2020.
Deposits
Deposits increased by 14.2% to $12,243,973,000 at September 30, 2021, compared to $10,721,860,000 at December 31, 2020. Deposits have continued to increase as customers have received proceeds from CARES Act programs, such as stimulus payments and PPP loan proceeds, and presumably decided to save and preserve cash instead of spending during these uncertain times.
Foreign Operations
On September 30, 2021, we had $15,677,496,000 of consolidated assets, of which approximately $135,843,000, or .9%, was related to loans outstanding to borrowers domiciled in foreign countries, compared to $138,970,000, or 1.0%, at December 31, 2020. Of the $135,843,000, 85.8% is directly or indirectly secured by U.S. assets, certificates of deposits and real estate; 6.8% is secured by foreign real estate or other assets; and 7.4% is unsecured.
Critical Accounting Policies
We have established various accounting policies that govern the application of accounting principles in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. The significant accounting policies are described in the notes to the