In the third quarter Cullen/Frost earned $109.8 million or $1.73 per diluted common share compared with earnings of $115.8 million or $1.78 a share reported in the same quarter of last year.
Our return on average assets was 1.35% for the quarter compared to 1.49% in the third quarter last year.
Average deposits in the third quarter were up to $26.4 billion compared with $26.2 billion in the third quarter of last year.
Average loans in the third quarter were $14.5 billion up 5.8% from the third quarter of last year.
Our provision for loan losses was $8 million in the third quarter compared to $6.4 million in the second quarter of 2019 and $2.7 million in the third quarter of 2018.
Net charge-offs for the third quarter were $6.4 million compared with $15.3 million for the third quarter of last year.
Third quarter annualized net charge-offs were only 17 basis points of average loans.
Nonperforming assets were $105 million at the end of the third quarter compared to $76.4 million in the second quarter of 2019 and $86.4 million in the third quarter of last year.
Overall delinquencies for accruing loans at the end of the third quarter were $100 million or 69 basis points of period end loans.
Total problem loans which we define as risk grade 10 and higher of $487 million at the end of the third quarter compared to $457 million in the second quarter of this year and $504 million for the third quarter of last year.
Energy-related problem loans declined to $87.2 million at the end of the third quarter compared to $93.6 million at the end of the second quarter and $138.8 million in the third quarter of last year.
Energy loans in general represented 10.5% of our portfolio at the end of the third quarter well below our peak of more than 16% in 2015.
Our focus for commercial loans continues to be on consistent balanced growth including both the core component which we define as lending relationships under $10 million in size as well as larger relationships while maintaining our quality standards.
New relationships increased 5% versus the third quarter a year ago.
The dollar amount of new loan commitments booked during the third quarter dropped by 14% compared to the prior year with decreases in C&I public finance and energy but a slight increase in CRE amendments.
In the current quarter our booking ratio for CRE was 24% versus 32% in the prior year.
Overall in the third quarter we saw our percentage of deals lost to structure increase from 56% to 61% versus a year ago.
I was pleased to see our weighted current active loan pipeline in the third quarter was up by about 30% compared with the end of the second quarter due to higher levels of C&I opportunities.
The fourth fifth and sixth of the 25 new financial centers planned over the next two years in Houston opened in the third quarter and we have already opened the seventh so far in the fourth quarter with more to come before the end of this year.
Overall net new consumer customer growth for the third quarter was up by 48% compared with a year ago.
So far this year same-store sales as measured by account openings increased by 14% compared to a year ago.
In the third quarter just under 30% of our account openings came from our online channel which includes our Frost Bank mobile app.
In fact online account openings were 56% higher during the quarter compared to the previous year.
The consumer loan portfolio averaged $1.7 billion in the third quarter increasing by 1.9% compared to the third quarter of last year.
To sum up Frost has received the highest ranking in customer satisfaction in Texas in J.D. Power's U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study for 10 years in a row.
Regarding the economy Texas unemployment remained at the historically low level of 3.4% for the fifth month in a row in September.
Texas job growth continued at a healthy pace but decelerated during the third quarter coming in at 3% in July 1.8% in August and 0.9% in September compared to the 2.3% growth seen in the first six months of the year.
The Dallas Fed currently estimates Texas job growth at 2.1% for full year 2019.
In terms of employment growth by industry construction has been especially strong growing at 6% year-to-date followed by manufacturing job growth of 2.7%.
Energy industry job growth has weakened and now stands at 1.6% year-to-date however energy job growth was negative in the third quarter.
The Fed's Houston business Cycle Index saw to a 3.9% growth rate in September but remains above its historical average of 3.5%.
Year-to-date Houston employment is up 2% with third quarter growth slightly better at 2.2%.
The construction sector saw 7.3% job growth in the nine months through September.
Houston's unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.6% in September.
The Dallas business cycle index expanded at a 4.4% annual rate in the third quarter while the Fort Worth business cycle index expanded at a 3.5% annual rate.
In September the unemployment rate fell to 3.1% in Dallas and 3.2% in Fort Worth.
The Austin business cycle index grew at a 7.8% annualized rate.
Austin's unemployment rate stood at 2.7%.
The information sector saw by far the fastest job creation in Austin in the year-to-date period with job growth of 23% over the prior year period.
The San Antonio business cycle index expanded its fastest pace since 2016 growing at a 3.8% rate in September well above its long-term trend of 2.9%.
San Antonio's unemployment rate decreased slightly to 3% as of September.
The Permian Basin economy showed year-to-date job growth of 0.2% through September with unemployment of 2.3% remaining well below the state's overall 3.4%.
Our net interest margin percentage for the third quarter was 3.76% down nine basis points from the 385 -- 3.85% reported last quarter.
The taxable equivalent loan yield for the third quarter was 5.16% down 18 basis points from the second quarter.
Looking at our investment portfolio the total investment portfolio averaged $13.4 billion during the third quarter up about $122 million from the second quarter average of $13.3 billion.
The taxable equivalent yield on the investment portfolio was 3.43% in the third quarter up one basis point from the second quarter.
Our municipal portfolio averaged about $8.2 billion during the third quarter flat with the second quarter.
During the third quarter we purchased about $100 million in agency mortgage-backed securities yielding 2.63% and about $260 million in municipal securities with a TE yield of 3.31%.
The municipal portfolio had a taxable equivalent yield for the third quarter of 4.08% up two basis points from the previous quarter.
At the end of the third quarter about 2/3 of the municipal portfolio was PSF insured.
The duration of the investment portfolio at the end of the quarter was 4.3 years flat with the previous quarter.
The cost of total deposits for the third quarter was 39 basis points down two basis points from the second quarter.
The cost of combined Fed funds purchased and repurchase agreements which consists primarily of customer repos decreased 16 basis points to 1.53% for the third quarter from 1.69% in the previous quarter.
Those balances averaged about $1.29 billion during the third quarter up about $49 million from the previous quarter.
Total noninterest expense for the quarter increased approximately $15.2 million or 7.8% compared to the third quarter last year.
Excluding the impact of the Houston expansion and the increased operating costs associated with our headquarter's move in downtown San Antonio noninterest expense growth with an approximately 4.3%.
Regarding the assets for full year 2019 reported earnings we currently believe that the mean of analyst estimates of $6.81 is reasonable.

Summary:
In the third quarter Cullen/Frost earned $109.8 million or $1.73 per diluted common share compared with earnings of $115.8 million or $1.78 a share reported in the same quarter of last year.
In terms of employment growth by industry construction has been especially strong growing at 6% year-to-date followed by manufacturing job growth of 2.7%.