| | | 2020 | | | 2019 | |
| | | Average Balance | | | Interest Income/ Expense | | | Yield/ Rate | | | Average Balance | | | Interest Income/ Expense | | | Yield/ Rate | |
Net Interest Income (GAAP) | | | | | | | $ | 18,224 | | | | | | | | | | | $ | 17,718 | | | | | |
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…..PROVISION FOR LOAN LOSSES…..The Company recorded a $625,000 provision expense for loan losses in the first six months of 2020 compared to a $400,000 provision recovery in the first six months of 2019, which represents a net unfavorable shift of $1,025,000. The 2020 provision reflects management’s decision to strengthen certain qualitative factors within our allowance for loan losses calculation due to the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first six months of 2020, the Company experienced net loan charge-offs of $205,000, or 0.05% of total loans, compared to net loan charge-offs of $169,000, or 0.04%, in 2019. Overall, the Company continued to maintain strong asset quality as its nonperforming assets totaled $3.1 million, or only 0.34% of total loans, at June 30, 2020. Management will be carefully monitoring asset quality with a particular focus on customers that have requested payment deferrals during this difficult economic time.
…..NON-INTEREST INCOME…..Non-interest income for the first six months of 2020 totaled $7.6 million, increasing by $337,000, or 4.6%. Factors contributing to the higher level of non-interest income for the six-month period included:
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a $403,000 increase in income from residential mortgage loan sales into the secondary market due to the strong level of residential mortgage loan production. The higher level of residential mortgage loan production also resulted in mortgage related fees increasing by $150,000;
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a $210,000 increase in wealth management fees due to an improved level of fee income from the financial services business unit. In addition, the wealth management division has continued the effective execution of managing client accounts despite the volatility of the markets and the major market value decline that occurred in late March;
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a $251,000 decrease in other income due to the impact of the economic shutdown and, more significantly, after a gain recognized in 2019 on the sale of equity shares from a previous acquisition when no such gain occurred in 2020; and
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a $165,000 decrease in service charges on deposit accounts as the shutdown of the economy significantly decreased consumer spending activity based fees such as deposit service charges, including overdraft fees.
…..NON-INTEREST EXPENSE…..Non-interest expense for the first half of 2020 totaled $21.6 million and increased by $890,000, or 4.3%, from the prior year. Factors contributing to the higher level of non-interest expense for the six-month period included:
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a $674,000 increase in salaries & benefits expense due to increased pension expense, health care costs, incentive compensation, and total salaries. Pension expense increased by $376,000 as a result of the unfavorable impact that the lower interest rate environment has on the discount rates that are used to revalue the defined benefit pension obligation each year. There was also an increase in commissions earned due to the higher level of residential mortgage loan production while total salaries are higher by $193,000 due to annual merit increases;
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a $116,000 increase in total professional fees resulted from higher appraisal fees due to the significantly higher level of residential mortgage loan production, higher legal fees related to PPP loan processing, and a higher level of outside professional services; and
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an $88,000 increase in supplies, postage and freight expense related to costs incurred for personal protective equipment to keep our employees and customers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
…..INCOME TAX EXPENSE…..The Company recorded an income tax expense of $731,000, or an effective tax rate of 20.5%, in the first six months of 2020. This compares to the income tax expense of $961,000, or an effective tax rate of 20.8% for the first six months of 2019.
…..SEGMENT RESULTS.…..The community banking segment reported a net income contribution of $2,755,000 in the second quarter of 2020 and $5,279,000 for the first six months of 2020 which was down