The prior quarter noninterest income included a $1.8 million gain on the sale-leaseback of a banking center in downtown Brockton and a $1.0 million loss on the sale of $17.5 million of available-for-sale securities, and no such items occurred in the quarter ended September 30, 2024.
Total noninterest income decreased $1.0 million, or 8.9%, compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to a $1.6 million, or 31.3%, decrease in mortgage banking income as the $1.0 million improvement on the gain on sale of mortgage loans was offset by the loss on the MSR valuation. The prior year quarter reflected a $125,000 increase in the MSR valuation. The decrease in mortgage banking income was partially offset by improved earnings on the bank-owned life insurance and an increase in deposit account fees.
Noninterest Expense
Total noninterest expense decreased $876,000 or 2.6%, to $32.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from $33.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The primary driver was a $819,000 decrease in marketing expense. In the prior quarter, marketing expense included a $675,000 contribution for the bargain purchase price on the sale-leaseback noted above. Compensation and benefits expenses decreased $425,000 due to accrual adjustments for 2024 management incentives partially offset by increased commission on mortgage originations.
Total noninterest expense increased $396,000, or 1.2%, compared to the prior year quarter of $31.9 million. The primary driver was a $414,000 increase in other expenses due to an increase in cloud computing expenses and deposit expenses.
Provision for Income Taxes
The effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 was 8.53% and 21.3%. The effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2024 was 23.28%. The decrease on a linked quarter basis reflects a discrete tax benefit as a result of the filing of amended tax returns to properly reflect tax exempt interest.
Asset Quality and Allowance for Credit Losses
Total nonperforming assets were $28.4 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $9.8 million at June 30, 2024 and $18.8 million at September 30, 2023. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets were 0.49% at September 30, 2024, 0.17% at June 30, 2024, and 0.33% at September 30, 2023. The third quarter 2024 increase is primarily a result of a single, $17.2 million credit, collateralized by suburban office space, that required a $4.7 million specific reserve allocation and is on nonaccrual status.
The Company recorded a $5.9 million provision for credit losses for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. The provision for loan credit losses was $5.0 million, and the provision for unfunded commitments was $855,000. The provision for loan credit losses was primarily due to the specific reserve allocation noted above and provisioning for commercial loan growth, partially offset by improved qualitative factor adjustments for residential real estate mortgages as consumer metrics considered in the model improved. For the quarter ended June 30, 2024, a provision for credit losses of $615,000 was recorded, a result of a provision for loan credit losses of $1.1 million partially offset by a $534,000 negative provision for unfunded commitments. The Company recorded a negative provision for credit losses of $113,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The ACL on loans was $54.0 million, or 1.11% of total loans, at September 30, 2024, compared to $49.1 million, or 1.02% of total loans, at June 30, 2024 and $48.3 million, or 1.02% of total loans, at September 30, 2023. The ACL on unfunded commitments, included in other liabilities on the unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets, amounted to $3.7 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $2.9 million at June 30, 2024 and $4.2 million at September 30, 2023.
Net charge-offs totaled $182,000, or 0.02%, of average loans outstanding on an annualized basis, for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, $195,000, or 0.02% of average loans outstanding on an annualized basis, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and net recoveries of $18,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.
As of September 30, 2024 and June 30, 2024, classified commercial loans amounted to $57.5 million and $1.7 million, respectively. The increase in classified loans on a linked quarter basis includes an increase of $48.0 million in commercial real estate loans, primarily from three credits included in the office sector that totaled to $37.0 million with a $5.2 million specific reserve allocation. Management continues to perform comprehensive reviews and works proactively with creditworthy borrowers facing financial stress to implement prudent accommodations to improve the Bank’s prospects of contractual repayment.
Balance Sheet
Total assets decreased $11.1 million, or 0.2%, to $5.78 billion at September 30, 2024, from $5.79 billion at June 30, 2024. The linked-quarter decrease primarily reflects a decrease in cash and cash equivalents and other assets, partially offset by loan growth.
Available-for-sale securities increased $7.7 million to $276.8 million at September 30, 2024 from $269.1 million at June 30, 2024. The unrealized loss on securities available for sale decreased to $52.2 million as of September 30, 2024, as compared to $65.3 million of unrealized losses as of June 30, 2024. Securities held to maturity were $19.6 million at September 30, 2024.