NET INTEREST INCOME
The Corporation’s primary source of operating income is net interest income, which is equal to the difference between the amounts of interest income and interest expense. Tables I, II and III include information regarding the Corporation’s net interest income in 2021 and 2020. In each of these tables, the amounts of interest income earned on tax-exempt securities and loans have been adjusted to a fully taxable-equivalent basis. Accordingly, the net interest income amounts reflected in these tables exceed the amounts presented in the consolidated financial statements. The discussion that follows is based on amounts in the tables.
Fully taxable equivalent net interest income was $79,074,000 in 2021, $10,529,000 (15.4%) higher than in 2020. Interest income was $7,496,000 higher in 2021 as compared to 2020; interest expense was lower by $3,033,000 in comparing the same periods. As presented in Table II, the Net Interest Margin was 3.69% in 2021, unchanged from 2020, and the “Interest Rate Spread” (excess of average rate of return on earning assets over average cost of funds on interest-bearing liabilities) increased to 3.55% in 2021 from 3.49% in 2020. The overall increase in net interest income resulted mainly from the acquisition of Covenant in the third quarter 2020 and income from the PPP loan program.
Accretion and amortization of purchase accounting adjustments related to the Covenant and Monument acquisitions had a positive effect on net interest income in 2021 of $2,659,000, including an increase in income on loans of $1,289,000 and net reductions in interest expense on time deposits and borrowed funds totaling $1,370,000. In comparison, the net positive impact on net interest income of purchase accounting adjustments was $3,272,000 in 2020. The net positive impact to the net interest margin from purchase accounting adjustments was 0.13% in 2021 and 0.18% in 2020.
INTEREST INCOME AND EARNING ASSETS
Interest income totaled $85,636,000 in 2021, an increase of 9.6% from 2020. Interest and fees on loans receivable increased $7,175,000, or 10.3%, to $76,781,000 in 2021 from $69,606,000 in 2020. Interest and fees on PPP loans totaled $6,530,000 in 2021, an increase of $3,606,000 over the total in 2020. Table III shows the increase in interest on loans including $8,016,000 attributable to an increase in volume and a decrease of $841,000 related to a decrease in average yield.
The average balance of loans receivable increased $151,658,000 (10.5%) to $1,596,756,000 in 2021 from $1,445,098,000 in 2020. The increase in average loans outstanding includes the effect of loans acquired from Covenant, effective July 1, 2020.
The fully taxable equivalent yield on loans in 2021 was 4.81% compared to 4.82% in 2020. In 2021, rates on variable rate loans and rates on most new loan originations decreased, and prepayments of loans increased, consistent with falling market interest rates throughout most of 2020 and 2021. Further, yields on loans acquired from Covenant on July 1, 2020 were recorded at then-current market yields, which were lower than the Corporation’s average portfolio yield before the acquisition. The overall yield on loans in 2021 included a benefit from the acceleration of fees recognized on PPP loans as repayments have been received from the SBA. As shown in Table II, in 2021, the average balance of 1st Draw PPP loans was $44,735,000 with an average yield of 7.77% and the average balance of 2nd Draw PPP loans was $52,917,000 with an average yield of 5.77%.
Interest income on available-for-sale debt securities totaled $8,471,000 in 2021, an increase of $268,000 from the total for 2020. As indicated in Table II, average available-for-sale debt securities (at amortized cost) totaled $390,163,000 in 2021, an increase of $61,718,000 (18.8%) from 2020. The average yield on available-for-sale debt securities decreased to 2.17% in 2021 from 2.50% in 2020, reflecting acceleration of calls and prepayments of amortizing securities and purchases of lower-yielding securities at recent, lower market rates.
Interest income from interest-bearing deposits in banks totaled $318,000 in 2021, an increase of $67,000 from the total for 2020. The most significant categories of assets within this category include interest-bearing balances held with the Federal Reserve and investments in certificates of deposit issued by other banks. The average balance increased $75,565,000, as increases in deposits and funds from loan repayments outpaced uses of funds for loan originations, purchases of securities and repayments of borrowings. The average balance of interest-bearing due from banks was 7.3% of average earning assets in 2021 as compared to 4.3% in 2020. The average yield on interest-bearing due from banks fell to 0.20% in 2021 from 0.31% in 2020, due to a decrease in market rates.