The Company adopted ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (CECL), as of January 1, 2023. Details of the day one accounting adjustments were described in both the first and second quarter press releases.
The Company recorded a $189,000 provision for credit losses in the third quarter of 2023 after recognizing $500,000 provision expense in the third quarter of 2022. For the first nine months of 2023, the Company recorded a $1.4 million provision for credit losses after recognizing a $225,000 benefit in the first nine-months of 2022 resulting in a net unfavorable change of $1.6 million. Included in the nine-month 2023 provision expense was the recognition of a $926,000 loss from a subordinated debt investment with Signature Bank which was closed by banking regulators on March 12, 2023. This was described in the Company’s first quarter 2023 press release. The 2023 provision for credit losses for the loan portfolio in both time periods was necessary due to risk rating and non-accrual activity. Total classified loan levels exhibited a net increase during the first nine months of 2023 due to the downgrade of several commercial real estate loan relationships earlier this year. Overall non-performing assets remain well controlled, totaling $5.9 million, or 0.59% of total loans, at September 30, 2023. Through nine months of 2023, the Company experienced net loan charge-offs of $187,000, or 0.03% of total average loans, which is lower than net charge-offs of $1.5 million, or 0.21% of total average loans, in the first nine months of 2022. In summary, the allowance for credit losses on the loan portfolio provided 207% coverage of non-performing assets, and 1.23% of total loans, at September 30, 2023, compared to 207% coverage of non-performing assets, and 1.08% of total loans, at December 31, 2022.
Total non-interest income in the third quarter of 2023 decreased by $70,000, or 1.6%, from the prior year's third quarter, but improved by $826,000, or 6.5%, for the first nine-months of 2023 when compared to the first nine-months of 2022. Wealth management fees demonstrated a slight improvement by $32,000, or 1.1%, for the third quarter of 2023, but are $582,000, or 6.5%, lower for the nine months compared to 2022. The market value of wealth management assets increased since the third quarter of 2022 and contributed to a favorable quarter versus quarter comparison for wealth management fee income. However, nine-month results for wealth management fees continue to reflect the unfavorable market conditions for both equity securities and particularly bonds which more than offset the positive impact of new customer business growth in the first half of 2023. Overall, the fair market value of wealth management assets declined since December 31, 2021, by $327.1 million, or 12.1%, and totaled $2.4 billion at September 30, 2023. Other income is $136,000, or 16.7%, lower for the third quarter of 2023 and $362,000, or 18.3%, lower for the nine months due to the recognition of a credit valuation adjustment to the market value of the interest rate swap contracts that the Company executed to accommodate the needs of certain borrowers while managing our interest rate risk position. The improvement to total non-interest income for the 2023 nine-month period was due to AmeriServ Financial Bank selling all 7,859 shares of the Class B common stock of Visa Inc. that the bank owned, resulting in a $1.7 million gain. The Company elected to capture this gain in 2023 due to volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets. Finally, net realized gains on loans held for sale decreased by $60,000, or 32.8%, for the first nine-months of 2023, as the limited housing supply along with sharply higher interest rates continues to unfavorably impact residential mortgage loan production.
Total non-interest expense in the third quarter of 2023 increased by $368,000, or 3.1%, when compared to the third quarter of 2022 and increased by $1.9 million, or 5.4%, during the first nine-months of 2023 when compared to the first nine-months of 2022. The rise in total non-interest expense for both time periods is primarily due to increased legal and professional fees related to the defense against an activist investor and a proxy contest at our 2023 annual meeting. These costs amounted to $308,000 in the third quarter of 2023 and $2.0 million for the nine-month period. As expected, costs related to the activist shareholder issue declined meaningfully between the second and third quarters of 2023 by $828,000. However, given a recent increase in activity by the activist investor, the Company cannot determine at this time whether these costs will remain at a lower level in the fourth quarter of 2023. Salaries & employee benefits increased by $287,000, or 4.1%, in the third quarter of 2023 and $822,000, or 3.8%, for the first nine months of 2023. The increase is attributable to the annual employee merit increases, a greater level of full-time equivalent employees (FTE) as the Company filled certain open positions that were vacant last year, and the impact that inflationary pressures are having on the cost of new hires. Partially offsetting the higher level of salaries were lower incentive compensation and pension expense as there are fewer employees in the defined benefit pension plan due to numerous retirements over the past few years. Data processing and IT expenses increased by $103,000 in the third quarter of 2023 and $371,000, or 12.7%, in the nine months of 2023 due to increased software costs from our core data provider and additional expenses related to monitoring our computing and network environment. These negative items were partially offset by a $1.4 million, or 29.0%, reduction in other expense for the nine months of 2023 as the Company did not have to recognize a pension settlement charge in 2023. The Company recorded income tax expense of $124,000, or an effective tax rate of 16.1%, in the third quarter of 2023, which compares to income tax expense of $526,000, or an effective tax rate of 20.0%, for the third quarter of 2022. For the nine-month period in 2023, the Company’s effective tax rate of 18.0% is lower than the 20.0% effective tax rate in 2022 due to the reduced level of pre-tax income this year.
The Company had total assets of $1.362 billion, shareholders' equity of $101.3 million, a book value of $5.91 per common share and a tangible book value(1) of $5.11 per common share on September 30, 2023. The decline in the Company’s book value and tangible book value per share at September 30, 2023 compared to December 31, 2022 reflects a decrease in the fair value of the Company’s available for sale investment securities by $6.1 million due to higher interest rates. Note that this caused a greater accumulated other comprehensive loss within total equity since December 31, 2022, as the decline in market value of the Company’s available for sale investment securities portfolio more than offset a positive market value adjustment for the interest