Allowance for Credit Losses
At September 30, 2021, the ACL was $109.3 million and included an allowance for loan and lease losses (“ALLL”) of $101.8 million and a reserve for unfunded commitments (“RUC”) of $7.5 million. The ACL at September 30, 2021 decreased $19.0 million from June 30, 2021, due to lower expected losses than previously estimated as a result of an improved economic forecast outlook and improvement in credit trends during the third quarter of 2021. The ACL as a percentage of total loans was 0.83% at September 30, 2021 and 0.94% at June 30, 2021. When excluding PPP loans(1), which are 100% guaranteed by the SBA, the ACL as a percentage of total adjusted loans at September 30, 2021 decreased 14 basis points to 0.86% from the prior quarter.
At September 30, 2021, the ALLL decreased $16.5 million and the RUC decreased $2.5 million from June 30, 2021. The ALLL as a percentage of the total loan portfolio was 0.77% at September 30, 2021 and 0.86% at June 30, 2021. When excluding PPP loans(1), which are 100% guaranteed by the SBA, the ALLL as a percentage of total adjusted loans decreased 12 basis points from the prior quarter to 0.80% at September 30, 2021.
NONINTEREST INCOME
Noninterest income increased $1.5 million to $30.0 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 from $28.5 million in the prior quarter, primarily driven by an increase in the unrealized gain on equity method investments of approximately $1.1 million that is included in other operating income, a $591,000 increase in deposit and other service charges, and increases in mortgage banking income of $199,000 and asset management fees of $210,000. These quarterly increases were partially offset by declines in other non-interest income categories including a $500,000 decrease in income on bank owned life insurance, as life insurance proceeds that were collected during the prior quarter were not matched during the third quarter of 2021.
NONINTEREST EXPENSE
Noninterest expense increased $3.3 million to $95.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 from $92.0 million in the prior quarter. This increase was mainly due to increases in salaries and benefits of $2.8 million, driven by performance based variable incentive compensation and profit-sharing expenses of $655,000, higher compensation costs of approximately $1.0 million as a result of branch banking pay structure changes made during the third quarter of 2021, and employee related recruiting, severance, and other cost increases of approximately $900,000. In addition, other expenses increased by $1.6 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 primarily due to OREO and related credit expenses increasing by $1.0 million, reflecting the impact of gains on the sale of closed branches recorded as a reduction to other expenses in the prior quarter. Noninterest expense increases were partially offset by declines in professional services fees of $616,000. Noninterest expense for the third quarter of 2021 also included approximately $200,000 in expenses related to PPP loan forgiveness processing, compared to approximately $250,000 in expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2021.
INCOME TAXES
The effective tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2021 was 18.0%, compared to 18.3% for the three months ended June 30, 2021. The decrease in the effective tax rate is primarily due to changes in the proportion of tax-exempt income to pre-tax income.
BALANCE SHEET
At September 30, 2021, total assets were $19.9 billion, a decrease of $53.7 million or approximately 1.1% (annualized) from June 30, 2021, and an increase of $5.0 million from September 30, 2020. Total assets have remained relatively consistent to these prior periods with loans decreasing due to PPP forgiveness, cash and cash equivalents increasing due to excess liquidity, and net growth in the investment securities portfolio.
At September 30, 2021, loans held for investment (net of deferred fees and costs) totaled $13.1 billion, including $466.6 million in PPP loans, a decrease of $558.3 million or 16.2% (annualized) from June 30, 2021, and average loans at September 30, 2021 decreased $520.3 million or 14.8% (annualized) from the prior quarter. Excluding the effects of the PPP(1), loans held for investment (net of deferred fees and costs) at September 30, 2021 decreased $165.6 million or 5.1% (annualized) from June 30, 2021, and average loans decreased $19.9 million or 0.6% (annualized) from the prior quarter. Loans held for investment (net of deferred fees and costs) decreased $1.2 billion or 8.6% from September