The provision for credit losses on loans decreased by $282,000, or 79.9%, from $353,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 to $71,000 for the current quarter. The decrease was primarily attributable to decreased loan production during the quarter. Net charge-offs increased $38,000 from $510,000 for the first quarter of 2025 to $548,000 for the first quarter of 2026. The increase was primarily due to increased net charge-offs of $176,000 in indirect automobile loans and $44,000 in consumer loans, substantially offset by decreased net charge-offs of $183,000 in commercial loans. The percentage of overdue account balances to total loans decreased to 1.44% as of March 31, 2026 from 1.52% as of December 31, 2025, while non-performing assets decreased $235,000, or 6.4%, to $3.5 million at March 31, 2026.
Non-interest income totaled $1.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, a decrease of $285,000, or 16.3%, from the comparable period in 2025, due primarily to a decrease of $232,000, or 55.8%, in other non-interest income investment as swap fee income decreased. Investment advisory fee income decreased $33,000, net gain on sale of loans decreased $28,000 and service charges on deposit accounts also decreased by $9,000. These decreases were only slightly offset by a $10,000 increase in the cash surrender value of life insurance and a $7,000 gain on the disposal of premises and equipment.
For the first quarter of 2026, non-interest expense totaled $9.7 million, an increase of $230,000, or 2.4%, compared to the same period in 2025. This increase was primarily driven by higher salaries and benefits expense of $399,000, reflecting increased compensation and medical insurance costs, as well as higher occupancy costs of $152,000 due to increased repair expenses and a rise in data processing costs of $84,000. These increases were partially offset by declines in professional fees of $84,000, FDIC insurance expense of $78,000, marketing expenses of $55,000, and amortization of intangible assets of $13,000.
Balance Sheet Analysis
Total assets decreased by $16.9 million to $1.28 billion at March 31, 2026, compared to $1.30 billion at March 31, 2025. The decline was primarily attributable to a $16.6 million, or 1.7%, decrease in loans receivable, reflecting a $17.7 million reduction in indirect automobile loans in line with a strategic decision to reduce their concentration in the portfolio. Available-for-sale securities declined by $6.0 million, or 3.7%, primarily due to $6.6 million in paydowns, calls, and maturities and a $507,000 increase in unrealized losses, partially offset by $992,000 in purchases. Other assets decreased by $3.7 million, largely due to a decline in the fair value of the Company’s interest rate swaps. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in cash and cash equivalents of $10.9 million, or 10.7%, driven by higher balances held at the FHLB and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Past due loans decreased $945,000, or 6.5%, between December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026, finishing at $13.6 million, or 1.44% of total loans, down from $14.5 million, or 1.52% of total loans at year-end 2025. The decrease was most notable in indirect automobile loans, reflecting the positive impact of more conservative underwriting standards. The allowance for credit losses was 0.84% of total loans and 227.65% of non-performing loans at March 31, 2026 as compared to 0.87% of total loans and 225.76% of non-performing loans at December 31, 2025. Non-performing assets totaled $3.5 million at March 31, 2026, a decrease of $235,000, from $3.7 million at December 31, 2025.
Total liabilities decreased by $18.7 million, or 1.6%, to $1.15 billion at March 31, 2026. The decline was primarily driven by a $20.0 million, or 79.5%, reduction in borrowings and a $3.7 million, or 14.6%, decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities, due to a decrease in deferred compensation with the retirement of a director and deferred stock conversion costs. These decreases were partially offset by a $6.2 million, or 0.6%, increase in deposits. The growth in deposits was attributable to a $7.8 million, or 0.9%, increase in interest-bearing deposits, while non-interest-bearing deposits declined by $1.6 million, or 0.7%. Uninsured deposits were approximately 27.5% and 27.9% of the Bank’s total deposits as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively.
Stockholders' equity increased $1.8 million, or 1.3%, to $138.6 million at March 31, 2026. The increase was primarily due to $2.2 million in net income partially offset by $400,000 increase in the net unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities. The Company's ratio of average equity to average assets was 10.69% for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 10.09% for the year ended December 31, 2025.