Past Due Loans
Past due loans still accruing interest totaled $36.0 million or 0.25% of total loans held for investment at March 31, 2021, compared to $49.8 million or 0.36% of total loans held for investment at December 31, 2020, and $75.1 million or 0.59% of total loans held for investment at March 31, 2020. Excluding the impact of the PPP loans(1), past due loans still accruing interest were 0.28% of total adjusted loans held for investment at March 31, 2021, compared to 0.39% of total adjusted loans held for investment at December 31, 2020. Of the total past due loans still accruing interest, $9.8 million or 0.07% of total loans held for investment were loans past due 90 days or more at March 31, 2021, compared to $13.6 million or 0.10% of total loans held for investment at December 31, 2020, and $12.9 million or 0.10% of total loans held for investment at March 31, 2020.
Net Charge-offs
For the first quarter of 2021, net charge-offs were $1.2 million or 0.03% of total average loans on an annualized basis, compared to $1.8 million or 0.05% for the fourth quarter of 2020, and $5.0 million or 0.16% for the first quarter of 2020. Excluding the impact of the PPP loans(1), net charge-offs for the first quarter of 2021 were 0.04% of total adjusted average loans on an annualized basis, compared to 0.06% for the fourth quarter of 2020. The majority of net charge-offs in the first quarter of 2021 were related to the third-party consumer loan portfolio. The Company continues to hold the third-party consumer loan portfolio for investment but is not originating or acquiring any additional loans for this portfolio.
Provision for Credit Losses
The Company recorded a negative provision for credit losses of $13.6 million for the first quarter of 2021, which was approximately $189,000 smaller than the negative provision recorded in the previous quarter, and which decreased $73.8 million compared to the provision for credit losses of $60.2 million recorded during the same quarter in 2020. The provision for credit losses for the first quarter of 2021 reflected a negative provision of $16.4 million in provision for loan losses and $2.8 million in provision for unfunded commitments. The decrease in the provision for credit losses as compared to the same quarter in 2020 was driven by the benign credit impacts since the pandemic began, the significant recovery in the economy since last year as well as the improvement in the economic forecast utilized in estimating the ACL as of March 31, 2021.
Allowance for Credit Losses
At March 31, 2021, the ACL was $155.7 million and included an allowance for loan and lease losses (“ALLL”) of $142.9 million and a reserve for unfunded commitments (“RUC”) of $12.8 million. The ACL at March 31, 2021 decreased $14.8 million from December 31, 2020, due to lower expected losses than previously estimated as a result of benign credit quality metrics to date and an improved economic outlook due to the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as additional government stimulus inclusive of more PPP funding.
At March 31, 2021, the ALLL decreased $17.6 million and the RUC increased $2.8 million from December 31, 2020. The increase in the RUC was primarily due to increased funding assumptions on construction projects in the first quarter of 2021, attributable to less uncertainty related to COVID-19. The ALLL as a percentage of the total loan portfolio was 1.00% at March 31, 2021 and 1.14% at December 31, 2020. The ACL as percentage of total loans was 1.09% at March 31, 2021 and 1.22% at December 31, 2020. When excluding PPP loans(1), which are 100% guaranteed by the SBA, the ALLL as a percentage of total adjusted loans decreased 13 basis points from the prior quarter to 1.12% at March 31, 2021, and the ACL as a percentage of total adjusted loans at March 31, 2021 decreased 11 basis points to 1.22% from the prior quarter. The ratio of the ALLL to nonaccrual loans was 341.4% at March 31, 2021, compared to 378.2% at December 31, 2020.
NONINTEREST INCOME
Noninterest income decreased $1.2 million to $31.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 from $32.2 million in the prior quarter, primarily driven by a $1.2 million decline in service charges on deposit accounts due to a decline in NSF and overdraft fees during the first quarter of 2021, a decrease in mortgage banking income of $858,000 driven by lower mortgage origination volumes, and lower loan-related interest rate swap income of $950,000 due to lower transaction volumes. These quarterly declines were partially offset by increases in several other non-interest income categories including an increase in fiduciary and asset management fees of $368,000, an increase in insurance related income of $481,000, and an increase in unrealized gains on equity method investments of approximately $700,000.
(1) These are financial measures not calculated in accordance with GAAP. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures, see Alternative Performance Measures (non-GAAP) section of the Key Financial Results