miscellaneous other non-interest expense, $221,000 in legal fees, $55,000 in service contracts expense, $48,000 in audit and accounting fees, $22,000 in insurance expense, $22,000 in expenses related to the hiring of personnel, $14,000 in directors, officers and employee expense, $11,000 in directors compensation, and $2,000 in telephone expense. These increases were partially offset by decreases of $15,000 in consulting fees and $7,000 in office supplies,.
The increase of $231,000 in miscellaneous other non-interest expense was mainly due to an increase of $82,000 in regulatory insurance premiums and assessments due to an increase in our total assets, and increases of $73,000 in public company expenses, $52,000 in dues and subscriptions, $36,000 in miscellaneous charge-offs, and $8,000 in check and correspondence bank charges, partially offset by a decrease of $23,000 in miscellaneous other expenses.
The increase of $221,000 in legal fees was due to the increased expenses associated with being a fully public company.
Real estate owned expense increased by $181,000, or 1,005.6%, to $199,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2022 from $18,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 due to a write down of $189,000 on the fair market value of a foreclosed property because the increase in interest rates caused an increase in the capitalization rate thereby resulting in a reduction in the calculated fair market value of the property.
Occupancy expense increased by $109,000, or 22.3%, to $598,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2022 from $489,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 primarily as a result of the cost of operating additional branch offices.
Outside data processing expense increased by $78,000, or 19.7%, to $473,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2022 from $395,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 due to the cost of operating additional two branches and additional data processing services.
Advertising expense increased by $42,000, or 116.7%, to $78,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2022 from $36,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 due mainly to the resumption of advertising and promotional products to promote the opening of additional branch offices.
Equipment expense increased by $30,000, or 13.1%, to $259,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2022 from $229,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 due to the purchases of additional equipment to support the Company’s branch expansion.
Salaries and employee benefits decreased by $75,000, or 1.9%, to $4.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 from $4.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 primarily due to an increase in loan origination offset expenses related to loan origination fees due to an increase in loan originations and a decrease in employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) compensation cost. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in compensation expense due to an increase in the number of full time equivalent personnel due to the opening of two additional branch offices and an increase in bonus accruals for loan production personnel as loan originations increased.
Income Taxes. We recorded income tax expense of $2.4 million and $265,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. For the three months ended September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021, we had approximately $185,000 in tax exempt income. Our effective income tax rates were 24.2% and 26.6% for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Results of Operations for the Nine months Ended September 30, 2022 and 2021
Financial Highlights
Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 was $16.6 million compared to net income of $7.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 was greater than net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 primarily due to an increase in net interest income and a decrease in the provision for loan losses, partially offset by a decrease in non-interest income, an increase in non-interest expense, and an increase in income tax expense. The decrease in the provision for loan losses was because the Company recorded $3.6 million in provision for loan losses during the nine months ended September 30,