percent at March 31, 2021. The allowance for loan losses was $25.1 million at March 31, 2022, compared to $24.8 million at December 31, 2021. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loans decreased to 6.33 percent at March 31, 2022 from 6.73 percent at December 31, 2021, primarily as a result of improving credit quality of the portfolio, which has resulted in lower net charge-offs, and a reduction of certain qualitative adjustments to reserves related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Management believes that the level of the allowance for loan losses is sufficient to absorb losses inherent in the portfolio. If loan performance deteriorates resulting in elevated delinquencies or net charge-offs, provision for loan losses may increase in future periods.
Capital and Dividends. The Corporation declared a quarterly cash dividend of 40 cents per share during the first quarter of 2022, which was paid on April 1, 2022. These dividends represent a payout ratio of 25.2 percent of earnings per share for the first quarter of 2022. The Board of Directors of the Corporation continually reviews the amount of cash dividends per share and the resulting dividend payout ratio in light of changes in economic conditions, current and future capital requirements, and expected future earnings.
Total consolidated equity decreased $9.7 million at March 31, 2022 compared to December 31, 2021, due primarily to unrealized losses in the market value of securities available for sale, which are recognized as a component of other comprehensive income. The Corporation’s securities available for sale are fixed income debt securities, and their decline in market value during the first quarter of 2022 was a result of rising market interest rates. The Corporation expects to recover its investments in debt securities through scheduled payments of principal and interest, and unrealized losses are not expected to affect the earnings or regulatory capital of the Corporation or the Bank.
In November 2021, the Board of Directors authorized a program, effective December 1, 2021, to repurchase up to $10.0 million of the Corporation’s common stock through November 30, 2022. During the first quarter of 2022, the Corporation repurchased 9,717 shares, or $493,000, of its common stock under this share repurchase program.
About C&F Financial Corporation. C&F Financial Corporation’s common stock is listed for trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol CFFI. The common stock closed at a price of $52.39 per share on April 20, 2022. At March 31, 2022, the book value of the Corporation was $56.57 per share and the tangible book value per share was $48.93. For more information about the Corporation’s tangible book value per share, which is not calculated in accordance with GAAP, please see “Use of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures,” below.
C&F Bank operates 31 banking offices and 4 commercial loan offices located throughout the Hampton to Charlottesville corridor and the Northern Neck region in Virginia and offers full wealth management services through its subsidiary C&F Wealth Management, Inc. C&F Mortgage Corporation and its subsidiary C&F Select LLC provide mortgage loan origination services through offices located in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. C&F Finance Company provides automobile, marine and RV loans through indirect lending programs offered in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia through its offices in Richmond and Hampton, Virginia.
Additional information regarding the Corporation’s products and services, as well as access to its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are available on the Corporation’s website at http://www.cffc.com.
Use of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures. The accounting and reporting policies of the Corporation conform to GAAP in the United States and prevailing practices in the banking industry. However, certain non-GAAP measures are used by management to supplement the evaluation of the Corporation’s performance. These include adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share, adjusted ROE, adjusted return on tangible common equity (ROTCE), adjusted ROA, tangible book value per share, and the following fully-taxable equivalent (FTE) measures: interest income on loans-FTE, interest income on securities-FTE, total interest income-FTE and net interest income-FTE.
Management believes that the use of these non-GAAP measures provides meaningful information about operating performance by enhancing comparability with other financial periods, other financial institutions, and between different sources of interest income. The non-GAAP measures used by management enhance comparability by excluding the effects