respectively. The changes for the three months and nine months periods in 2023, compared to the same periods in 2022, is a result of the proportionality of tax-exempt income as compared to pre-tax income in the periods.
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
Overview
Assets
At September 30, 2023, total assets were $20.7 billion, an increase of $275.1 million or approximately 1.8% (annualized) from December 31, 2022. The increase in total assets was primarily due to an increase in LHFI, net of deferred fees and costs, of $834.5 million driven primarily by increases in the commercial and industrial, commercial real estate non-owner occupied and multifamily real estate portfolios, partially offset by a decline in the investment securities portfolio of $676.8 million, primarily due to the AFS securities sales during the first and third quarters of 2023 and the decline in market value of the AFS securities portfolio due to the impact of market interest rate fluctuations.
LHFI, net of deferred fees and costs, were $15.3 billion at September 30, 2023, an increase of $834.5 million or 7.7% (annualized) from December 31, 2022. At September 30, 2023, quarterly average LHFI, net of deferred fees and costs, increased $1.4 billion or 10.2% from the same period in the prior year. Refer to "Loan Portfolio" within this Item 2 and Note 3 "Loans and Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses" in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report for additional information on our loan activity.
At September 30, 2023, total investments were $3.0 billion, a decrease of $676.8 million from December 31, 2022. AFS securities totaled $2.1 billion at September 30, 2023, a $656.9 million decrease from December 31, 2022. At September 30, 2023, total net unrealized losses on the AFS securities portfolio were $523.1 million, compared to $462.5 million at December 31, 2022. HTM securities totaled $843.3 million at September 30, 2023, a $4.5 million decrease from December 31, 2022, with net unrealized losses of $81.2 million at September 30, 2023, compared to $45.8 million at December 31, 2022.
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
At September 30, 2023, total liabilities were $18.3 billion, an increase of $259.0 million or approximately 1.9% (annualized) from $18.1 billion at December 31, 2022, which was primarily driven by an increase in deposits of $854.8 million, partially offset by a decrease in borrowings of $688.0 million.
Total deposits at September 30, 2023 were $16.8 billion, an increase of $854.8 million or approximately 7.2% (annualized) from December 31, 2022. For the quarter ended September 30, 2023, quarterly average deposits increased $307.4 million or 1.9% from the same period in the prior year. Total deposits at September 30, 2023 increased from December 31, 2022 due to a $1.6 billion increase in interest-bearing deposits, which includes $1.1 billion of interest-bearing customer deposits and $509.3 million in brokered deposits, partially offset by a $738.3 million decrease in demand deposits, as customers continued to move funds from lower to higher yielding products. Refer to “Deposits” within this Item 2 for additional information on this topic.
Total short-term and long-term borrowings at September 30, 2023 were $1.0 billion, compared to $1.7 billion at December 31, 2022, a decrease of $688.0 million or 40.3% due to paydowns of short-term borrowings. Refer to Note 6 “Borrowings” in Part I, Item 1, and “Executive Overview” within this Item 2 of this Quarterly Report for additional information on our borrowing activity.
At September 30, 2023, stockholders’ equity was $2.4 billion, an increase of $16.1 million from December 31, 2022. The Company’s consolidated regulatory capital ratios continue to exceed the minimum capital requirements and are considered “well-capitalized” for regulatory purposes. Refer to “Capital Resources” within this Item 2, as well as Note 9 "Stockholders’ Equity" in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report for additional information on our capital resources.
During the third quarter of 2023, the Company declared and paid a quarterly dividend on the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock of $171.88 per share (equivalent to $0.43 per outstanding depositary share), consistent with the fourth quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2022. During the third quarter of 2023, the Company also declared and paid cash dividends of $0.30 per common share, consistent with the fourth quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2022.