Provision for Loan Losses. We recorded a credit of ($8,000) to the provision for loan losses for the three months ended June 30, 2021 compared to no provision for loan losses for the three months ended June 30, 2020. The allowance for loan losses was $858,000, or 1.16% of total loans, at June 30, 2021, compared to $850,000, or 1.22% of total loans, at December 31, 2020, and $850,000, or 1.20%, of total loans, at June 30, 2020. Classified (substandard, doubtful and loss) loans decreased to $0 at June 30, 2021 from $559,000 at December 31, 2020 and $564,000 at June 30, 2020. There were no non-performing loans at June 30, 2021, December 31, 2020 or June 30, 2020. There were net recoveries of $8,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2021. There were no charge-offs or recoveries for the three months ended June 30, 2020.
Noninterest Income. Noninterest income increased $145,000, or 73.6%, to $342,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2021 from $197,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2020. The increase was principally due to an increase of $144,000, or 94.1%, in fees on loans sold.
Noninterest Expense. Noninterest expense increased $33,000, or 5.2%, to $663,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2021 from $630,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to an increase of $76,000, or 20.1%, in salaries and employee benefits, resulting primarily from an increase in commissions and related expenses on higher loan volume period to period, as well as increases of $1,000, or 5.0%, in insurance expense and $1,000, or 1.8%, in other expenses. The increases were offset in part by decreases of $1,000, or 2.0%, in occupancy expense, $1,000, or 5.9%, in FDIC deposit insurance premiums and OCC assessment, $9,000, or 31.0%, in data processing expense, $29,000, or 49.2%, in accounting and consulting expense and $5,000, or 23.8%, in legal expense.
In future periods, if we make grants of awards under our equity incentive plan which was approved by our stockholders, we would expect our noninterest expense to increase due to increased compensation expenses.
Income Tax Expense. There was no income tax expense for the three months ended June 30, 2021, principally due to net operating loss tax carryforwards from prior years. There was an income tax benefit of $62,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2020 resulting from the recordation of expected refunds from the carryback of tax net operating losses as now allowed by the CARES Act. The effective tax rate was 0.00% for the three months ended June 30, 2021 compared to (63.92%) for the same quarter in 2020.
To provide financial assistance and liquidity to taxpayers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CARES Act amended the federal income tax rules with regard to the usage of net operating losses (“NOLs”) for corporate taxpayers. The CARES Act allows for the carryback of losses arising in a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2021, to be carried back to each of the five taxable years preceding the taxable year of the loss. The CARES Act also temporarily repeals the 80% limitation for NOLs arising in tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and beginning before January 1, 2021 and carried to another tax year. These NOLs are now permitted to fully offset the loss corporation’s pre-2021 taxable income.
Comparison of Operating Results for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2021 and 2020
General. We had net income of $163,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2021, compared to a net loss of $43,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2020, an increase of $206,000. The increase in net income resulted from an increase in net interest income of $38,000, an increase in noninterest income of $196,000 and a decrease in noninterest expense of $34,000, offset, in part, by a decrease in the income tax benefit of $62,000.
Interest Income. Interest income decreased $214,000, or 13.1%, to $1.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 from $1.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020. This decrease was attributable to decreases in interest on loans receivable of $141,000, or 9.2%, interest on investment securities of $19,000, or 40.4%, and interest on other interest-earning assets of $54,000, or 85.7%. The average balance of loans increased $1.5 million, or 1.9%, to $77.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 from $75.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, and the average yield on loans decreased 44 basis points to 3.60% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 from 4.04% for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The average balance of investment securities increased $698,000, or 13.8%, to $5.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 from $5.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, while the average yield on investment securities decreased 88 basis points to 0.98% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 from