Quarterly Income Statement Summary:
The Company’s net interest income for the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, was $38.1 million, an increase of $3.7 million, or 10.6%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase was attributable to a 6.7% increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets and an 11-basis point increase in the net interest margin, from 3.25% to 3.36%, as the 32-basis point increase in the yield on interest-earning assets was partially offset by a 22-basis point increase in cost of interest-bearing liabilities.
Loan discount accretion and deposit premium amortization related to the May 2020 acquisition of Central Federal Savings & Loan Association, the February 2022 merger of FortuneBank, and the January 2023 acquisition of Citizens Bank & Trust resulted in $987,000 in net interest income for the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, as compared to $1.5 million in net interest income for the same period a year ago. Combined, this component of net interest income contributed nine basis points to net interest margin in the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, compared to 14 basis points during the same period of the prior fiscal year, and as compared to a nine basis point contribution in the linked quarter, ended September 30, 2024, when the net interest margin was 3.37%.
The Company recorded a PCL of $932,000 in the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, as compared to a PCL of $900,000 in the same period of the prior fiscal year. The current period PCL was the result of a $501,000 provision attributable to the ACL for loan balances outstanding and a $431,000 provision attributable to the allowance for off-balance sheet credit exposures.
The Company’s noninterest income for the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, was $6.9 million, an increase of $1.2 million, or 21.7%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase was primarily attributable to the Company’s realization of a $682,000 loss on sale of AFS securities in the year-ago period, as well as increases in deposit account charges and related fees, other loan fees, and wealth management fees. These increases were partially offset by lower net realized gains on sale of loans, which were primarily driven by a reduction in gains on sale of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, and lower loan late charges.
Noninterest expense for the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, was $24.9 million, an increase of $1.0 million, or 4.3%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase was attributable primarily to increases in compensation and benefits, legal and professional fees, other noninterest expense, and occupancy expenses. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to a trend increase in employee headcount, as well as annual merit increases. Legal and professional fees were elevated due to consulting fees tied to internal projects, recruiter costs, and the settlement of a legal matter. Other noninterest expense increased due to increased expenses associated with SBA loans and costs for employee travel and training. Lastly, occupancy and equipment expenses increased primarily due to depreciation on recent capitalized expenditures, including buildings, equipment, and signage. Partially offsetting these increases from the prior year period are lower data processing and telecommunication expenses, and a reduction in intangible amortization, as the core deposit intangible recognized in an older merger was fully amortized in the prior quarter.
The efficiency ratio for the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, was 55.3%, as compared to 58.5% in the same period of the prior fiscal year. The change was attributable to net interest income and noninterest income growing faster than operating expenses.