Credit Quality
The Company’s non-performing loans dropped to $12.0 million at March 31, 2024, from $15.1 million at December 31, 2023. Non-performing loans to total loans was 0.38% at March 31, 2024, compared to 0.47% at December 31, 2023. Non-performing assets to total assets were 0.24% at March 31, 2024, compared to 0.30% at December 31, 2023. The Company’s loans which were 30-89 days delinquent were $14.1 million at March 31, 2024, or 0.44% of total loans.
The provision for credit losses and unfunded commitments was a recovery of $449,000 in the first quarter of 2024 compared to provision expense for credit losses and unfunded commitments of $8.6 million for the first quarter of 2023. On January 1, 2023, the Company completed its acquisition of Emclaire Financial Corp. As a result of this acquisition, the Company incurred a day one provision expense for credit losses and unfunded commitments of $7.7 million. The recovery of provision expense in the first quarter of 2024 was due to shrinkage in the loan portfolio and continued improvements in the Company’s credit metrics. Annualized net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans were 0.13% for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to 0.03% for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The allowance for credit losses to total loans was 1.04% at March 31, 2024, compared to 1.08% at December 31, 2023.
Net Interest Income
The Company’s net interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2024, totaled $31.7 million compared to $36.6 million in the first quarter of 2023. Average earning assets have declined $69.3 million when comparing the first quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2023 due to the runoff in investment securities exceeding the growth in loan balances. In addition, the net interest margin has declined from 3.07% in the first quarter of 2023 to 2.70% in the first quarter of 2024. The decline in net interest margin between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2023 was due to increased funding costs outstripping the increase in yields on earning assets. This increase in funding costs has been due to the rapid increase in deposit rates due to intense competition for deposits, the Federal Reserve’s rate hiking cycle, and runoff of deposit balances which are being replaced with more costly wholesale funding.
Noninterest Income
The Company reported noninterest income of $8.4 million during the first quarter of 2024 compared to $10.4 million for the first quarter of 2023. This decrease is primarily due to the Company completing the securities restructure in the first quarter of 2024, which resulted in a $2.1 million loss on the sale of the securities. In the first quarter of 2023, the Company recognized $121,000 in securities gains.
Service charges on deposit accounts were $1.6 million for the first quarter of 2024 compared to $1.4 million for the same period in 2023 due to increased activity. Bank owned life insurance income increased to $707,000 in the first quarter from $547,000 in the first quarter of 2023. A death benefit of $83,000 in 2024 and higher earnings credit on the policies drove the increase. Trust fees increased by $206,000 in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 due to continued strong growth in this line of business. Likewise, insurance commissions, retirement consulting fees and investment commissions all exhibited solid growth in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023. Debit card income declined $222,000 to $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to $1.8 million for the first quarter of 2023 reflecting a year-over-year decline in average customer spend per transaction. Other noninterest income declined to $1.1 million for the first three months of 2024 compared to $1.3 million for the first three months of 2023 as the Company received less SBIC income from its investments in 2024 compared to 2023.
Noninterest Expense
Noninterest expense was $27.0 million for the first three months of 2024 compared to $30.7 million for the first three months of 2023. This decrease was primarily driven by the Company recording $4.3 million in merger related charges in 2023. There were no merger related charges recorded in 2024. Salaries and employee benefits were $15.1 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to $14.6 million in the first quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily driven by higher salaries associated with employee raises. Occupancy and equipment expense decreased by $139,000 in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023 primarily due to several branch closures. FDIC and state and local taxes increased $123,000 to $1.3 million for the first three months of 2024 compared to $1.2 million for the first three months of 2023 due to an increase in the FDIC assessment rate. Professional fees increased $140,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to the first quarter of 2023 primarily due to increased legal fees. Intangible amortization declined $220,000 in the first three months of 2024 to $688,000 compared to $909,000 for the first three months of 2023 primarily due to the amortization from a prior acquisition running off. Other noninterest expense increased $309,000 in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Liquidity
At March 31, 2024, the Company’s loan to deposit ratio was 75.8% and the Company’s average deposit balance per account (excluding collateralized deposits) was $22,748. The Company has access to an additional $739.9 million of FHLB borrowing capacity at March 31, 2024, along with $274.6 million of available for sale securities that are not pledged.
About Farmers National Banc Corp.
Founded in 1887, Farmers National Banc Corp. is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Canfield, Ohio, with $5.1 billion in banking assets. Farmers National Banc Corp.’s wholly-owned subsidiaries are comprised of The Farmers National Bank of Canfield, a full-service national bank engaged in commercial and retail banking with 62 banking locations in Mahoning, Trumbull,