| ● | Other expenses decreased $129 thousand and decreased $302 thousand for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, versus 2020, respectively, primarily due to a decrease in the reserve for legal expenses. |
Income Tax Expense
For the quarter ended September 30, 2021, the Company reported income tax expense of $3.2 million for an effective tax rate of 25.4 percent, compared to income tax expense of $1.9 million and an effective tax rate of 24.5 percent for the prior year’s quarter. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company reported income tax expense of $8.6 million for an effective tax rate of 24.6 percent, compared to an income expense of $5.0 million and an effective tax rate of 23.3 percent for the nine months ended September 30, 2021.
On July 1, 2018, New Jersey’s Assembly Bill 4202 was signed into law. The bill, effective January 1, 2018, imposed a temporary surtax on corporations earning New Jersey allocated income in excess of $1 million at a rate of 2.5% for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019, and at a rate of 1.5% for years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2021. In addition, New Jersey adopted mandatory unitary combined reporting for its Corporation Business Tax, which became effective for periods on or after January 1, 2019.
On September 29, 2020, New Jersey’s Assembly Bill 4721 was signed into law. The bill, retroactively effective January 1, 2020, extends the 2.5% corporate income surtax until December 31, 2023. If the federal corporate tax rate is increased to a rate of at least 35% of taxable income, the surtax will be suspended.
For additional information on income taxes, see Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Financial Condition at September 30, 2021
Total assets increased $32.2 million or 1.6 percent, to $2 billion at September 30, 2021, when compared to year end 2020. This increase was primarily due to an increase of $37.6 million in net loans, primarily due to strong commercial loan growth and residential construction loan growth, partially offset by a decrease in residential mortgage loans, and a $36.4 million decrease in SBA PPP loans due to loans being forgiven and paid off.
Total deposits increased $148.2 million, primarily due to increases of $166.6 million in savings deposits, $60.9 million in noninterest-bearing demand deposits and $39.8 million in interest-bearing demand deposits, partially offset by a decrease of $119.1 million in time deposits. Borrowed funds decreased $140 million due to decreased FHLB advances resulting from core deposit growth, SBA PPP forgiveness and residential mortgage paydowns.
Total shareholders’ equity increased $22.4 million over year end 2020, primarily due to earnings, accumulated other comprehensive income and an increase in common stock, partially offset by treasury stock purchases and dividends paid during the nine months ended September 30, 2021.
These fluctuations are discussed in further detail in the paragraphs that follow.
Securities Portfolio
The Company’s securities portfolio consists of AFS and HTM debt securities and equity investments. Management determines the appropriate security classification of AFS and HTM at the time of purchase. The investment securities portfolio is maintained for asset-liability management purposes, as well as for liquidity and earnings purposes.
AFS debt securities are investments carried at fair value that may be sold in response to changing market and interest rate conditions or for other business purposes. Activity in this portfolio is undertaken primarily to manage liquidity and interest rate risk, to take advantage of market conditions that create economically attractive returns and as an additional source of earnings. AFS debt securities consist primarily of obligations of U.S. Government sponsored entities, obligations of state and political subdivisions, mortgage-backed securities, and corporate and other securities.