Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) ("Fulton" or the "Corporation") reported net income available to common shareholders of $59.3 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2021 and $265.2 million, or $1.62 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2021.

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"2021 was a very good year for Fulton — a result of our continued successful execution of our relationship banking strategy," said E. Philip Wenger, Chairman and CEO of Fulton Financial Corporation. "Despite a difficult operating environment, the Fulton team did an outstanding job in helping our customers through some very challenging times. Our employees served as trusted financial advisors and delivered a wide variety of financial products and services. These activities, coupled with our success in keeping credit costs down and maintaining expenses, translated into record earnings per share for 2021. We are encouraged by many of the core business trends we saw during the year, particularly in the second half of 2021, and believe we are well-positioned to continue to advance our strategic priorities and deliver shareholder value in 2022."

Net Interest Income and Balance Sheet

Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $165.6 million, $5.7 million lower than the third quarter of 2021. Net interest margin for the fourth quarter of 2021 decreased 5 basis points, to 2.77%, from 2.82% in the third quarter of 2021. The quarter-over-quarter decreases in net interest income and net interest margin were primarily due to a decrease in loan fees related to Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans, which were $10.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to $17.7 million in the third quarter of 2021, partially offset by a lower cost of deposits. The PPP loan balance as of December 31, 2021 was $301.3 million.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, net interest income was $663.7 million, an increase of $34.5 million in comparison to the year ended December 31, 2020. Net interest income for 2021 included $59.0 million in PPP loan fees. The yield on average interest-earning assets and the rate on average interest-bearing liabilities both declined 34 basis points in 2021 in comparison to 2020. The net interest margin in 2021 was 2.78% compared to 2.86% in 2020.

Total average interest-earning assets for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $24.3 billion, a decrease of $0.3 billion from the third quarter of 2021, driven by decreases in PPP loans of $0.4 billion and depos

Fulton Financial Announces Fourth Quarter and 2021 Results