Three months ended June 30, 2025 vs. Three months ended June 30, 2024
The decrease in noninterest income of $238,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024, was primarily due to increased service charges and fees, offset by losses on the sales of investment securities and changes in the first quarter valuation estimates of other real estate owned during the second quarter of 2025.
Noninterest Expense
Generally, noninterest expense is composed of all employee expenses and costs associated with operating our facilities, obtaining and retaining customer relationships and providing bank services. The largest component of noninterest expense is salaries and employee benefits. Noninterest expense also includes operational expenses, such as occupancy expenses, depreciation and amortization of our facilities and our furniture, fixtures and office equipment, legal and professional fees, data processing and network expenses, regulatory fees, including Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) assessments, marketing expenses, and loan operations and repossessed asset related expenses.
The following table presents, for the periods indicated, the major categories of noninterest expense:
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For the Three Months Ended June 30, |
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For the Six Months Ended June 30, |
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(Dollars in thousands) |
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2025 |
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2024 |
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Increase (Decrease) |
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2025 |
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2024 |
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Increase (Decrease) |
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Noninterest Expense: |
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Salaries and employee benefits |
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$ |
18,179 |
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$ |
15,917 |
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$ |
2,262 |
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14.2 |
% |
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$ |
36,520 |
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$ |
32,419 |
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$ |
4,101 |
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12.6 |
% |
Occupancy and equipment expenses |
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2,783 |
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2,763 |
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20 |
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0.7 |
% |
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5,617 |
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5,420 |
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197 |
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3.6 |
% |
Legal and professional fees |
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1,927 |
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1,621 |
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306 |
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18.9 |
% |
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3,358 |
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3,006 |
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352 |
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11.7 |
% |
Data processing and network expenses |
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1,162 |
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1,046 |
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116 |
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11.1 |
% |
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2,282 |
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2,464 |
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(182 |
) |
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(7.4 |
)% |
Regulatory assessments |
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1,203 |
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1,005 |
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198 |
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19.7 |
% |
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2,509 |
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1,985 |
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524 |
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26.4 |
% |
Advertising and marketing |
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503 |
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406 |
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97 |
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23.9 |
% |
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912 |
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761 |
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151 |
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19.8 |
% |
Software purchases and maintenance |
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1,149 |
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1,211 |
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(62 |
) |
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(5.1 |
)% |
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2,408 |
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2,416 |
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(8 |
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(0.3 |
)% |
Loan operations and other real estate owned expense |
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439 |
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262 |
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177 |
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67.6 |
% |
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708 |
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488 |
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220 |
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45.1 |
% |
Telephone and communications |
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115 |
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141 |
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(26 |
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(18.4 |
)% |
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290 |
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275 |
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15 |
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5.5 |
% |
Other |
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1,386 |
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1,257 |
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129 |
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10.3 |
% |
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2,350 |
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2,309 |
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41 |
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1.8 |
% |
Total noninterest expense |
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$ |
28,846 |
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$ |
25,629 |
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$ |
3,217 |
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12.6 |
% |
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$ |
56,954 |
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$ |
51,543 |
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$ |
5,411 |
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10.5 |
% |
Six months ended June 30, 2025 vs. Six months ended June 30, 2024
The increase in noninterest expense of $5.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2024, was primarily due to increases in salaries and employee benefit expenses, increased legal and professional fees, and increases in regulatory assessments.
Salaries and employee benefits are the largest component of noninterest expense and include payroll expense, the cost of incentive compensation, benefit plans, health insurance and payroll taxes. Salaries and employee benefits were $36.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, an increase of $4.1 million, or 12.6%, compared to $32.4 million for the same period in 2024. The increase was primarily due to increased salary expense resulting from new hires, increased bonus expense and a reduction in salary expense deferral related to loan fundings during the first half of 2025. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the average number of employees was 386, compared to an average number of employees of 361 for the six months ended June 30, 2024.
Occupancy and equipment expenses were $5.6 million and $5.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Building, leasehold, furniture, fixtures and equipment depreciation included in net occupancy and equipment expense totaled $2.1 million and $2.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Legal and professional fees were $3.4 million and $3.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The increase was primarily due to increased expenses related to the securitization of loans in the second quarter of 2025.
Regulatory assessment fees increased from $2.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 to $2.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025. The increase was primarily due to our growth in total assets from $4.47 billion at June 30, 2024 to $4.94 billion at June 30, 2025 and a change in our quarterly assessment rate.
Three months ended June 30, 2025 vs. Three months ended June 30, 2024
The increase in noninterest expense of $3.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024, was primarily due to increases in salaries and employee benefit expenses, increased legal and professional fees, and increase in regulatory assessments.
Salaries and employee benefits are the largest component of noninterest expense and include payroll expense, the cost of incentive compensation, benefit plans, health insurance and payroll taxes. Salaries and employee benefits were $18.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, an increase of $2.3 million, or 14.2%, compared to $15.9 million for the same period in 2024. The increase was