experienced net loan charge-offs of $151,000, or 0.02% of total loans, compared to net loan charge-offs of $875,000, or 0.13% of total loans, in 2018. Overall, the Company continued to maintain strong asset quality as its nonperforming assets totaled $2.0 million, or only 0.22% of total loans, at September 30, 2019.
…..NON-INTEREST INCOME….. Non-interest income for the first nine months of 2019 totaled $11.4 million and increased by $455,000, or 4.2%, from the prior year. Factors contributing to the higher level of non-interest income for the first nine months included:
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a $266,000 favorable change in investment security sale gains after the Company sold a portion of low balance, low yielding securities at a loss in 2018 to reposition the investment portfolio for stronger future returns. This line item was also favorably impacted by the investment security sale activity that occurred during the third quarter of 2019 and is discussed previously in the quarterly comparison comments;
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a $181,000 increase in net gains on loan sales into the secondary market primarily due to the sale of the guaranteed portion of a Small Business Administration loan that resulted in a $197,000 gain;
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a $118,000 decrease in revenue from deposit service charges due to a reduced level of overdraft fee income as the impact of the bank no longer charging a fee on overdrafts that result from signature based point of sale debit card transactions was evident in the first half of the year;
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a $71,000 increase in other income due to a higher level of letter of credit fees and increased revenue from check supply sales due to a favorable vendor contract renegotiation; and
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a $53,000 increase in mortgage related fees due to increased residential mortgage loan production.
…..NON-INTEREST EXPENSE….. Non-interest expense for the first nine months of 2019 totaled $31.3 million and increased by $753,000, or 2.5%, from the prior year. Factors contributing to the higher level of non-interest expense for the first nine months included:
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a $847,000 increase in salaries & benefits expense due to higher salaries which resulted from annual merit increases, the addition of several employees to address management succession planning, staffing our new financial banking center in Hagerstown, Maryland and higher health care costs and pension expense. These increased expenses more than offset reduced incentive compensation;
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a $307,000 increase in other expense due to increased investment in technology resulting in higher website costs and additional telecommunications expense. Also, there was a higher funding of the unfunded commitment reserve by $113,000 due to increased loan approvals during 2019;
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a $297,000 reduction in FDIC deposit insurance expense due to the application of the Small Bank Assessment Credit regulation, as previously discussed; and
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a $112,000 decrease in professional fees due to lower legal fees, recruitment costs and expenses for other professional services.
…..INCOME TAX EXPENSE…..The Company recorded an income tax expense of $1,403,000, or an effective tax rate of 20.7%, in the first nine months of 2019. This compares to the income tax expense of $1,178,000, or an effective tax rate of 16.8%, for the first nine months of 2018. The lower effective tax rate and income tax expense in 2018 reflects the benefits of corporate tax reform as a result of the enactment of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” late in the fourth quarter of 2017. As previously discussed in the quarterly comparison of the M.D. & A., the Company recognized a $264,000 income tax benefit in 2018 as the result of an additional contribution made to our defined benefit pension plan.
…..SEGMENT RESULTS.…. Retail banking’s net income contribution was $1,316,000 in the third quarter of 2019 and $3,673,000 for the first nine months of 2019 which was up by $171,000 from the third quarter of last year and by $1,068,000 from the net income contribution for the first nine months of 2018. The increase reflects a higher level of net interest income as the funding benefit for deposits provided by this segment improved due to the growth of total deposits. This funding benefit more than offset the impact of the immediate upward repricing of money market deposit accounts because of the increases to the federal