During the quarter, we generated $73.6 million in net income or $0.35 per diluted share and importantly, I think a record $104.9 million in adjusted pre-tax pre-provision income.
Asset quality continued to trend the improvement trend that we had during the year, now non-performing assets reaching a decade low of 0.76% as a percent of total assets, driven by repayment of several non-accrual loans and REO sales and obviously less migration.
The ratio of the ACL for loans and finance leases to total loans decreased to 2.43% during the quarter driven by combined factors such as reduction in the residential mortgages as well as reductions associated with improvement in macroeconomic factors and their impact on qualitative reserves.
In terms of expenses, the efficiency ratio continued to trend down now to 52%.
I have to say this is a historical low compared to 53% registered during the third quarter.
During the fourth quarter, we raised the common dividend by 43% to $0.10 per share.
We repurchased 4.6 million common shares amounting to $63.9 million.
And we also executed the announced redemption of $36.1 million of outstanding preferred shares.
Happy to say that we ended the year with a very strong capital position, 17.8% common equity Tier-1, leaving ample room for further capital deployment initiatives during 2022.
The loan portfolio slightly decreased in the quarter by $75 million, mostly driven by $73 million reduction in SBA PPP loans.
Also, we have four -- we experienced four large commercial repayments of relationships from Florida and Virgin Islands, which amounted to $125 million.
And we also experienced a reduction of $112 million in the residential mortgage loans that sit in the portfolio.
And despite this slight repayment, the commercial portfolio grew by $59 million, turning the corner, hopefully, as we continue to move on into 2022.
Loan originations for the fourth quarter were also quite strong with $1.4 billion, including credit card utilization activity.
Over the next few quarters, we expect a reduction of approximately $150 million of government deposits from the recent bankruptcy settlement.
Excluding brokered and government deposit, core deposit did register an increase of $64 million during the quarter.
We generated $281 million of net income or $1.31 per diluted share compared to 102.3 in prior year.
We registered a 30% increase in adjusted pre-tax pre-provision income.
And we grew total loan originations and renewals by 20%, excluding PPP and credit card activity when compared to 2020.
I think moreover, new money, commercial and originations, including closed and unfunded commercial and construction loans grew by 50% when compared to prior year.
I think it's important to comment that over 75% of the construction loans that we already made in 2021 are expected to partially fall in 2022.
And importantly, during the year, we returned capital equivalent to 112% of earnings, again in the form of repurchase of common, redemption of preferred and dividends.
Net income was $281 million, $1.31 a share.
That good results included improvements of $130 million in net interest income and $10 million increase in other non-interest income.
We went from about $300 million in 2020 to $392 million in 2021, so a significant pickup.
We also made reference to $73.6 million in net income, $0.35 a share.
We had a $12.2 million benefit, very similar to the $12.1 million we had in the third quarter.
The expenses for the quarter were $2.6 million lower than in the third quarter.
And effective tax rates went up by 7 basis points for the full year, resulting in an increase in taxes on the -- throughout the year.
Net interest income for the quarter was $184.1 million.
It's slightly lower than last quarter, but margin improved 1 basis point to 3.61%.
The yield on the portfolio, the GAAP yield on the portfolio was 6.34% for the quarter, very similar to the 6.33% we had last quarter.
And loans, if we look at the mix of earning assets, loans continue to represent approximately 55% of average interest-earning assets.
The overall cost or the cost of interest-bearing deposits, excluding broker, it's now 30 basis points, which is 3 basis points lower than last quarter.
Approximately 40% of our commercial portfolio is tied to LIBOR and another 19% is tied to prime.
If we look at current rates versus what we were reinvesting, we foresee an increase of somewhere between 40 and 50 basis points on reinvested money as compared to the fourth quarter.
On the expense side, expenses for the quarter were $111 million -- $100.5 million, which compares to $114 million in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, merger expenses were $1.9 million.
Last quarter, merger and restructuring expenses were $2.3 million.
The impact of that increase will be approximately $1.4 million per quarter starting now in this first quarter of 2022.
Once vacancy levels are normalized, compensation expense should increase somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 million per quarter.
In fact, we achieved $2.3 million net gain in OREO in the third quarter and additional $1.6 million net gain this quarter.
That's why we still believe that on a normalized basis, expenses will be in that $117 million to $119 million range.
Efficiency ratio in the quarter as a result -- that Aurelio made reference was 52%, which is lower than anticipated.
However, even normalized expense levels will take us to our target ratio of 55%.
On asset quality, just to touch up on Aurelio made reference to, the non-performing asset decreased by $14 million, as you saw, continued the trend.
On NPA, the non-performing assets in total, that stand below 1% at 76 basis points of assets.
And then $6.8 million of that reduction was in nonaccrual commercial construction loans.
We ended up selling a $3.1 million non-performing construction loan in Puerto Rico.
They were $2 million lower than last quarter, $15 million this quarter as compared to $17 million last quarter.
On the allowance, Aurelio also made reference to the allowance, at the end of the quarter was $180 million.
It's $20 million down from the third quarter.
Looking at allowance just on loans and finance leases was $269 million, which is $19 million down.
Aurelio mentioned that we stand at 2.43% in the last quarter.
For the fourth quarter, common stock repurchases and the redemption of the preferred shares were $100 million.
Throughout 2021, we have repurchased 16.7 million common shares and redeemed the $36 million in preferred, totaling $150 million in capital actions for the year on top of the $65 million that were paid in dividends.
As you saw in the chart, Tier-1 common equity moved slightly up from 17.7 at the end of the first quarter, which is just before we started with the capital repurchase to 17.8 at the end of the year.
And Tier-1 capital just decreased 2 basis points from 18% to 17.8%.

Summary:
During the quarter, we generated $73.6 million in net income or $0.35 per diluted share and importantly, I think a record $104.9 million in adjusted pre-tax pre-provision income.
We also made reference to $73.6 million in net income, $0.35 a share.
Net interest income for the quarter was $184.1 million.