My name is Robert Stephen Briggs, and it is my privilege to serve as Chairman of the Board of the company. Joining me today are Mr. James F. House, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Thomas S. Elley, Chief Financial Officer of the company, and Mrs. Beverly J. Dozier, Corporate Secretary of the company, who will also serve as Secretary of this meeting. At this time, I would like to recognize Mr. Aubrey S. Miller, a member of the Board of Directors, who will open our meeting with an invocation.
Good morning. There's a word in scripture which says, "For I know the plans I have for you," this is the Lord's declaration. "Plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 11. Trusting in this divine declaration, I pray this morning for this institution and all those who contribute to its success. I also pray for national systems that provide for the existence of forward-thinking businesses such as this. As we conduct our business here, we also pray for those engaged in protecting our rights, both in this country and abroad. Thank you, Lord, for the plans you have for us, and we pray that those plans might continue to unfold, for it is in you that we place our hope. Amen.
Thank you, Mr. Miller. This annual meeting is being held for the following reasons, and items of business to come before our meeting today. One, the election of all of the nominees to serve as directors until the 2023 annual meeting of shareholders, until their successors shall be elected and qualified. Two, the ratification of the appointment of Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC, as the company's independent registered public accountants for the year ending December 31, 2022. Three, the advisory approval of the company's executive compensation. In order to mitigate potential risks to the health and safety of our shareholders, employees, community, and other stakeholders during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our Board of Directors determined to conduct this annual meeting in a virtual meeting format only.
We are recording this meeting, and a replay will be available on the virtual meeting website until August 1st, 2022. As the operator mentioned a few moments ago, if you are participating in the meeting as a shareholder and would like to submit a question during the meeting, you can do so at any time during the meeting by clicking on the message icon that you see on the Virtual Meeting website. We will review all questions submitted, and we plan to answer only pertinent questions relating to one of the proposals on the agenda or the presentation that you will hear on the company's fiscal year 2021 results. We will limit our discussion today to those matters.
Also, you will be able to vote during the meeting through the presentation of the proposals and by clicking on the voting link on the virtual meeting website until we close the polls for voting. Please note, however, that if you have already voted by proxy, you do not need to vote again unless you want to change the vote that you previously provided. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, let me express our appreciation not only for your attendance at this virtual meeting, but also for your interest and investment in the company. All of you are registered for the meeting upon logging in to the virtual meeting website. An agenda for the meeting and rules of conduct governing the meeting have been posted to the virtual meeting website for your reference. I would now like to ask our President and Chief Executive Officer, James F. House.
House, to proceed with introductions.
Thank you, Mr. Briggs. At this time, I'd like to take the opportunity to introduce director nominees. A biography of each nominee is included in the proxy statement. Director nominees are Robert Stephen Briggs, Sheri S. Cook, John C. Gordon, David P. Hale, James F. House, Marlene M. McCain, J. Lee McPherson, Jack W. Meggs, Aubrey S. Miller, Donna D. Smith, and Bruce N. Wilson. I'd like to at this time also introduce members of our management team. Thomas S. Elley is Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Principal Accounting Officer, Treasurer, and Assistant Secretary of First US Bancshares, and also Senior Executive Vice President, CFO, Treasurer, and Assistant Secretary of First US Bank. Mr. Elley has been with us since 2013. Mr. William C. Mitchell, Senior Executive Vice President, Consumer Banking, First US Bank, been with the company since 1997. David P.
McCullum, Senior Executive Vice President, Senior Commercial Lending Executive with First US Bank, been with the bank since 2015. Philip R. Wheat, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Operations Officer, First US Bank, been with the bank since 2013. Eric H. Mabowitz, Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer, who has been with the bank since 2008. Beverly J. Dozier is Vice President, Corporate Secretary, Assistant Treasurer for First US Bancshares, Inc. Also Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary, Assistant Treasurer, Thomasville Market Executive for the bank, and has been with the company since 1984. Juliet Stamper, Senior Vice President, Director of Human Resources, who's been with the bank since 2009. Dan Bundy, Senior Vice President, Birmingham Market Executive, has been with the company since 2019.
Steven Thompson, Senior Vice President, Tennessee Market Executive, been with the company since 2019. Roberto Critchlow, Senior Vice President, Knoxville Market Executive, has been with the company since 2020. D. Phillip Maughan, Executive Vice President, Tuscaloosa Market Executive, has been with the company since 2010. John W. Fulton, Senior Vice President, Chief Credit Officer, has been with First US Bank since 2017. Gail P. Bagley, Senior Vice President and Chief Internal Auditor, First US Bank since 1988. Excuse me. William C. Scarborough, Senior Vice President, Comptroller for the bank since 2011. Helen G. Thrash, President and CEO of Acceptance Loan Company, has been with the company since 1999. I'd like to recognize Mr. Doug Mims and Ms. Hillary Collier with Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC.
The firm acts as the company's independent registered public accountants. I'd also like to recognize Ms. Maggie Cornelius and Mr. Jeff Rogers with Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C., our primary law firm. Note for the record that Ms. Cornelius has been sworn in as the Inspector of Election for this annual meeting. At this time, I will ask Chairman Briggs to proceed with the meeting.
At this time, I recognize Mrs. Beverly J. Dozier, the company's corporate secretary, to provide a brief report on the notice and quorum for this annual meeting.
Upon inspection and tabulation of the proxies received and on file, I hereby verify that more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the company's common stock entitled to vote are present by proxy at this meeting, and that a quorum is therefore present. I further verify that proper notice of the annual meeting was mailed to shareholders, that the meeting was duly and properly called, and that a proxy statement has been furnished by the company to all shareholders of record as of March ninth, 2022. The minutes should reflect that in accordance with the General Corporation Law of Delaware and the bylaws of the company, a complete list of the shareholders of the company by name, address of record, and number of shares held of record is available on the virtual meeting website during the meeting for inspection by registered shareholders.
Finally, please let the minutes reflect that the minutes of the last annual meeting of shareholders held on April twenty-ninth, twenty twenty-one, are also posted and available for inspection by registered shareholders during the meeting. At this time, I will ask Mr. Briggs to proceed with the meeting.
Thank you. A quorum being present and the annual meeting having been duly called and notice to the shareholders having been properly given, I now declare this meeting is properly constituted and is open for business. As Ms. Dozier mentioned, the minutes from the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders held on April 29, 2021, are posted to the virtual meeting website for review. In accordance with the proxy statement, all proxies have been voted to approve the minutes from the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders and to dispense with the reading thereof. We will now proceed to the matters on the agenda for today's meeting being submitted to a vote. Our first item of business is the election of directors. The nominees for election, as set forth in the proxy statement, are now before the meeting.
Each of the nominees currently serves as a director of the company. Each of the nominees, if elected, will serve until the 2023 annual meeting of shareholders and until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified. For the reasons set forth in the company's proxy statement, the board of directors recommends that you vote for all of our nominees. Our second item of business is the proposal regarding the ratification of the appointment of Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC as the company's independent registered public accountants for the year ending December 31, 2022. The details of the proposal are set forth in the company's proxy statement. The board of directors recommends that you vote for the ratification of the appointment of Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC as our independent registered public accountants for the year ending December 31, 2022.
Our third item of business is the advisory approval of the company's executive compensation. The details of the proposal are set forth in the company's proxy statement. The board of directors recommends a vote for the advisory approval of the company's executive compensation.
The next item on our agenda is a question and answer session relative to the proposals. Ms. Dozier, have there been any pertinent questions submitted on the virtual meeting website relative to the proposals on our agenda?
Mr. House, no questions have been submitted.
Thank you, Ms. Dozier. We will now proceed to the formal voting. Please note that the polls have been open since the beginning of the meeting. Shareholders will have the opportunity to vote electronically for another minute, then the polls will be closed by the operator. If you wish to vote at the meeting today and have not done so already, please do so now on the virtual meeting website. Please note, however, that shares held by a bank, broker, or other nominee may only be voted pursuant to written directions from such bank, broker, or other nominee. If you previously voted by proxy, you do not need to vote today unless you wish to change your vote. The polls are now closed. At this time, it's my pleasure to recognize our Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Thomas S. Elley, to present financial highlights of 2021.
Thank you, Mr. Briggs. It is my pleasure to be able to provide a summarized report of the financial results of First US Bancshares, Inc., the company or FUSB, as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021. For additional detail related to these financial results, I refer you to the company's annual report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 14, 2022. In addition, included in my comments today will be references to financial results for the quarter ended March 31st, 2022. For additional detail related to these financial results, I refer you to our first quarter 2022 earnings press release as of March 31st, 2022, which was provided to the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 27, 2022.
As I begin the discussion this morning, it is important for me to draw your attention to important legal disclosures contained in the next two slides of the presentation. These disclosures address the presentation of financial information, including certain unaudited financial measures that have been prepared other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States or non-GAAP financial measures and forward-looking statements that may be included in my presentation. First, it should be noted that my presentation this morning is solely for informational purposes and has been prepared to assist interested parties in making an evaluation of FUSB. Also, the presentation includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. For more information regarding how these non-GAAP financial measures are calculated, I refer you to the appendix of this presentation. In addition, portions of today's presentation may contain forward-looking statements as defined by federal securities laws.
Certain factors that could affect the accuracy of such forward-looking statements are identified in the public filings made by FUSB with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K. Okay, with the legal disclosures out of the way, let's move on to a discussion of financial highlights for 2021. As I discuss these financial results, I will refer to First US Bank or the bank and Acceptance Loan Company or ALC. The bank and ALC represent the company's two reporting segments. The bank is a wholly owned commercial banking subsidiary of FUSB, while ALC is a wholly owned consumer finance subsidiary of the bank. 2021 was a year of significant transition for the company. During the year, the company began to recover from the economic impacts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The company experienced substantial loan growth and earnings improvement in 2021, and it launched several strategic initiatives that management believes will continue to benefit the company in the future. These initiatives were aimed at improving operating efficiency and focusing the company's loan growth activities while fortifying the company's asset quality and capital levels. In summary, the initiatives included, one, the cessation of new business development at ALC and the permanent closure of its 20 branch locations in Alabama and Mississippi to the public. The branches were closed on September 3rd, 2021, and this resulted in significant reduction in personnel. As of December 31st, 2021, ALC employed eight full-time equivalent employees compared to 81 as of December 31st, 2020. In addition, all but two of ALC's branch leases were terminated by December 31st , 2021.
ALC's remaining staff continues to collect payments on loans through its Mobile, Alabama headquarters office. We expect that the majority of ALC's loans will be paid off by the end of 2023. The initiative undertaken at ALC resulted in significant expense reduction beginning in the fourth quarter of 2021 that the company will continue to benefit from in future periods. Interest income associated with ALC's loans will, of course, also continue to decrease over time as ALC's loans pay down. Accordingly, management's focus remains on continued loan growth in other areas of the bank's portfolio. Over time, the reduction in ALC's portfolio is expected to improve the company's overall asset quality. ALC's loans, and in particular, its direct consumer portfolio, have historically had the company's highest level of losses.
To underscore this point, it's worth noting that approximately 66% of the company's net charge-offs in 2021 were related to loans in ALC's portfolio. A second initiative undertaken by the company in 2021 was the permanent closures, also effective on September 3rd, 2021, of 4 of the bank's previously existing banking centers in Bucksville, Columbiana, and South Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as well as Ewing, Virginia. The closures assisted in the reduction of the company's ongoing operating expenses beginning in the fourth quarter of 2021. The decision to close the banking centers was based on analysis of banking center activity, profitability, and Community Reinvestment Act assessments. Another initiative completed by the company on October 1st, 2021, was the issuance through a private placement of $11 million in subordinated debt.
The debt carries an interest rate of 3.5% fixed per annum for five years, at which time the debt transfers to a variable interest rate based on the secured overnight financing rate, or SOFR, for five years thereafter. The company utilized $5 million of the debt issuance to invest in the bank's capital surplus. The remaining $6 million may be used by the company for general corporate purposes, including repurchases of the company's stock. During the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, the company repurchased a combined total of 133,348 shares of the company's stock at a weighted average cost of $11.12 per share.
The strategic initiatives undertaken by the company in 2021, in particular, those related to efficiency and expense reduction, contributed significantly to improvement in the company's earnings, particularly during the fourth quarter of 2021. Net income in 2021 totaled $4.5 million compared to $2.7 million in 2020, an increase of 64.4%. Diluted earnings per share totaled $0.66 for 2021, an increase from $0.40 in 2020. The increase in earnings comparing 2021 to 2020 was primarily due to the following significant impacts. First, interest expense declined by $1.7 million as bank management continued efforts to reprice deposit products at lower rates, as both contractual obligations and market conditions allowed during 2021.
Second, 2021 non-interest expense was reduced by $1.5 million compared to the previous year, due primarily to reductions in salaries and benefits, resulting in large part from the efficiency-based strategic initiatives implemented by the company that I just discussed. Third, the company's provision for loan and lease losses decreased by $935,000 in 2021 compared to 2020. The decrease in provision expense resulted from an overall improvement in the general economic outlook over the course of the year, as well as the reduced volume of ALC's loans, which, as previously discussed, carry a higher level of losses than the remainder of the loan portfolio. 2021 was also a successful year from a loan growth perspective.
Excluding Paycheck Protection Program or PPP loans, loan growth totaled $71.1 million, an increase of 11.1% compared to December 31st, 2020. Areas of more significant growth included indirect construction, commercial real estate, and C&I. The next slide provides a summary of key balance sheet data for each quarter of 2021. The company's total assets increased by 7.6% to $958.3 million as of December 31st, 2021. The asset growth was consistent with overall growth in deposits and borrowings during the year. Deposits increased by $55.9 million, with $22.6 million of the growth coming from non-interest-bearing demand deposit accounts and $33.3 million coming from interest-bearing sources.
The company's net loans to deposits ratio ended the year at 83.5%, reflective of improved balance sheet efficiency as loan growth outpaced deposit growth. This slide reflects quarter-over-quarter changes in the company's profitability metrics and demonstrates the significant improvement experienced in the fourth quarter of 2021 as the impact of expense reductions associated with the company's strategic initiatives began to be realized. Return on average tangible common equity totaled 5.01% for the year, but improved to 8.29% for the fourth quarter. Similarly, return on average assets totaled 47 basis points for the year, but improved to 71 basis points for the fourth quarter. The efficiency ratio, which totaled 80.9% for the full year, totaled 73.2% in the fourth quarter.
Although fourth quarter results are not necessarily indicative of what may be expected in subsequent quarters, the results are representative of the efficiencies gained from the company's strategic objectives. The next slide drills down a bit more on the components of the company's net interest margin and highlights key changes resulting from the low interest rate environment that persisted through most of 2021. Net interest margin continued to decrease through each quarter of 2021. However, the company was able to keep pace by reducing its own interest costs. Average net funding costs, including both interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing deposit accounts and borrowings, decreased to 34 basis points by the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 47 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2020.
As a result of the ongoing efforts to reduce deposit pricing commensurate with the existing interest rate environment, the company reduced interest expense by $1.7 million in 2021 compared to 2020, and that led to overall improvement of net interest income of $1.2 million in 2021 compared to 2020, an increase of 3.4%. The next slide provides an overview of the company's non-interest income and expense for each quarter of 2021, as well as the fourth quarter of 2020.
The graph on the left divides non-interest income into its more significant components, including service charges on deposit accounts, the brown or gray shaded area at the bottom, lease income, the dark blue shaded area, and other income in light blue, which includes among other revenue sources, income such as bank-owned life insurance, gains on the sale of premises and equipment, and credit insurance incomes. For the year ended December 31st, 2021, non-interest income decreased by $1.5 million compared to 2020. The largest decrease in this category was associated with a reduction in mortgage fees associated with the bank's mortgage department that was discontinued beginning in the fourth quarter of 2020. The decrease in mortgage fees totaled $544,000 in 2021 compared to 2020.
It should be noted here that at the time of the mortgage division's discontinuance in 2020, it was basically in a break-even position. Accordingly, the reduction in non-interest income associated with its discontinuance was offset by a corresponding reduction in non-interest expense. In addition, 2021 non-interest income decreased compared to 2020 as a result of certain one-time transactions that occurred in 2020 but were not repeated in 2021. The one-time transactions included $304,000 associated with gains on sales of securities, and $305,000 associated with gains on the sale of premises and equipment. Furthermore, certain other sources of non-interest income were also reduced in 2021, most notably service and other charges on deposit accounts, which decreased by $232,000 in 2021 compared to 2020.
Earnings from service charges and other fees on deposit accounts have generally declined in recent years based on changes in depositor preferences for liquidity, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The graph on the right provides an overview of non-interest expense for each quarter of 2021, as well as for the fourth quarter of 2020. The dark blue shaded portion represents expense associated with the bank, while the light blue shaded area represents expense associated with ALC. The smaller gray shaded area at the top represents other expenses, primarily at the holding company level. Total non-interest expense was reduced by $1.5 million in 2021 compared to 2020.
As you can see from the graph, much of the expense reduction was realized in the fourth quarter of 2021 following the launch of the strategic initiatives that I discussed earlier, including the cessation of new business development at ALC and the closure of four of the bank's banking centers. As we discussed, these efficiency-based initiatives are a key part of the company's strategy to improve earnings over time as we go forward. The next slide provides an overview of growth in each of the company's significant lending categories for each quarter of 2021. As I mentioned previously, growth totaled $71.1 million or 11.1% when PPP loans are factored out. PPP loan reductions were anticipated given the nature of those loans, which are administered by the Small Business Administration or SBA in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PPP loans are no longer being originated by the bank, and the reduction in PPP loans during 2021 represented loans that were forgiven by the SBA. Including the impact of the reduction of PPP loans, the company's total loan portfolio increased by $61.7 million in 2021, led by growth in the bank's consumer indirect portfolio, commercial real estate, and C&I categories. The growth in these categories was consistent with the bank's areas of lending focus and indicative of continued improvement in economic activity in areas served by the bank in 2021 compared to 2020. Growth in these categories was partially offset by decreases in other lending categories, including one to four , multi-family, residential, and direct consumer and branch retail.
The direct consumer and branch retail categories are primarily comprised of loans in ALC's co-consumer portfolio, and accordingly, these categories are expected to decrease as the ALC strategy continues. As we mentioned in last year's meeting, we were pleased to be able to assist borrowers in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. We did this by participating in the PPP program, as well as by implementing initiatives in accordance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, to provide short-term payment relief to borrowers who were negatively impacted by COVID-19. During 2020, over 1,900 of the company's borrowers requested and were granted COVID-19-related payment deferments. The schedule on this slide summarizes loans that were in active deferral status over the course of selected quarter-end dates back to June 30th, 2020.
As shown on the left-hand side of the slide, on June 30, 2020, 864 loans with an aggregate principal balance of $95.2 million or 16.5% of the total loan portfolio were in deferment status. By contrast, as of December 31st, 2021, shown on the right-hand side of the slide, only 55 loans were in active deferment status, totaling an aggregate principal balance of $370,000, or 0.1% of the total loan portfolio balance. We believe the significant reduction in deferred loans since 2020 is indicative of the ability of the company's borrowers to weather the pandemic and the overall strength of the credit quality of the portfolio.
The next slide provides another view of the company's asset quality, providing data on the company's net charge-offs for each quarter of 2021 as well as the fourth quarter of 2020. Total net charge-offs averaged 16 basis points in 2021 compared to 20 basis points in 2020. What is perhaps most informative about this slide, however, is the breakdown of charge-offs between the bank and ALC. The dark blue shaded area represents ALC's charge-offs, while the light blue represents the bank's indirect consumer portfolio. The gray shaded area, which is very small, represents charge-offs in the bank's other lending areas. As the graph points out, a considerable percentage of the company's charge-offs were generated from the ALC portfolio. As I mentioned previously, the fortification of the company's asset quality is one of the primary incentives associated with the strategy to cease business development at ALC.
This slide underscores that piece of the strategy very well. The next slide provides a snapshot of the bank's capital ratios for each quarter end date in 2021, as well as the end of the fourth quarter of 2020. As we discussed in last year's annual meeting, the company experienced a downward trend in capital ratios beginning with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic due to significant growth in the company's balance sheet as a result of historically high influxes of deposits during the pandemic. Though our capital ratios were reduced in 2020 and continuing into 2021, it should be noted that each ratio remained above those levels defined by banking regulators as well-capitalized and above minimum requirements for maintaining the payment of dividends. We have historically placed a strong emphasis on capital levels and will continue to do so as we move forward.
As I mentioned previously, one of the strategic initiatives undertaken in the fourth quarter of 2021 was the issuance of subordinated debt, $5 million of which was invested into the bank in order to boost its capital levels. You can see the impact of this in each bank level ratio on this slide. I'll highlight the Tier 1 leverage ratio on the top right-hand side that increased from 8.51% at the end of the third quarter to 9.17% at the end of the fourth quarter. As I begin to close out my comments for today, I'd like to also touch on the company's financial results for the first quarter of 2022. My comments regarding the first quarter will be brief today.
For more detailed information, I invite you to read our first quarter 2022 earnings press release, which was provided to the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. I'll note a few items here. During the first quarter of 2022, the company recorded net income of $0.20 per diluted share, a $0.06 per share improvement over the first quarter of 2021. Return on average assets and return on average tangible equity both improved compared to the first quarter of 2021, as did the company's efficiency ratio. The company experienced an overall reduction in the loan portfolio during the first quarter of 2022, which drove a decrease in the loans-to-deposits ratio.
It should be noted, however, that a portion of the loan decreases were generally consistent with historic first quarter seasonality, and a portion of the reduction in loans was attributable to the payoff of loans in accordance with contractual terms as financed construction projects were completed. The strategic initiatives introduced by the company in 2021 continue to move ahead in accordance with management's plans. Most notably, during the first quarter of 2022, the company continued to reap the benefit of expense reductions. Total non-interest expense decreased by $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021. Excuse me. Finally, during the first quarter of 2022, additional provision for loan losses was taken specifically related to ALC.
This reflected an uptick in charge-offs at ALC during the quarter, as well as qualitative adjustments implemented by management in response to heightened inflationary trends and other economic uncertainties that emerged during the quarter, including increased uncertainty around the economic impact of geopolitical activities. I'd also like to provide you with a historical overview of FUSB's share price over the course of the past several years as it compares to the company's tangible book value. As can be seen from the graph, as of March 31st, 2022, our share price continued to trade below tangible book value, albeit the gap continues to close. We believe this continues to be an indicator that our shares represent a strong value. As I mentioned earlier, the company has been active in repurchasing shares in both the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.
In this environment, we will continue to evaluate opportunities for the company to repurchase shares in a prudent and systematic way with an eye toward keeping regulatory capital levels at an appropriate level. In my final comments today, I'll touch briefly on our ongoing strategic focus. Our company has emerged from a very difficult time period in our nation's history as we have collectively dealt with the ramifications of a global pandemic. As we have discussed today, along the way, our company has implemented strategic initiatives that we believe it will benefit from in the coming years. To be sure, significant challenges lie ahead as we face the current inflationary environment and economic uncertainty. Nevertheless, we believe we can continue to improve the company's operating results by focusing on the following.
Continued growth in the loan portfolio that both adds diversification and top-line revenue. We continue to firmly believe, however, that loan growth must occur only in the context of solid credit and pricing discipline. Utilization of our investment portfolio more substantially than in the recent past to enhance earnings in the rising rate environment while continuing to provide monthly cash flows for reinvestment. Maintenance of discipline as it relates to deposit pricing consistent with the developing interest rate environment. Continued efforts to closely monitor developments at ALC as it unwinds with the expected legal dissolution of the entity by the end of 2023. Continued focus on opportunities that reduce expenses where feasible and enhance operating efficiency.
As part of these efforts, in the first quarter of 2022, we brought our retail banking technology and deposit operations functions under a single organizational structure led by Philip R. Wheat, who now serves as our Chief Information and Operations Officer. Under Philip's leadership, we believe we will continue to improve the efficiency of our retail banking operation while also improving the promotion and deployment of our digital products. Continued focus on lending efforts on commercial real estate, C&I, and consumer indirect. Over the longer term, we believe continued loan growth and movement upward of our loans to deposits ratio remains important to improving overall profitability. In addition, we will continue to evaluate opportunities to grow our presence in existing growth markets, focus efforts on continued expansion of depositor use of our suite of digital offerings, and consider opportunities to enter new markets.
I will not spend any time on them, but the next two slides provide non-GAAP reconciliations of certain key metrics mentioned in my presentation today. The first slide includes computations of tangible assets and common equity, along with tangible book value per share and certain key ratios over the past five quarters, as well as the years ending December 31st, 2021 and December 31st 2020. This final slide contains additional tangible book value data, along with FUSB share price data going back for a number of years, consistent with the presentation of tangible book value in the share price summary slide I touched on a moment ago. That concludes my remarks for today. Thank you for your time and attention. I will now turn the meeting back over to Mr. Briggs.
Thank you, Mr. Elley. I will now ask for a report from the Inspector of Election regarding the voting results on each of the proposals, which report will be read by the Corporate Secretary.
Based on the preliminary tabulation of the votes on each of the proposals, the Inspector of Election has verified the following. Proposal one, on the proposal for the election of directors, the inspector has verified that a plurality of the company's shares voting in the election have been voted in favor of each of the 11 nominees for director. Proposal two, on the proposal regarding the ratification of the appointment of Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC as independent registered public accountants for the year ending December 31, 2022, the inspector has verified that the proposal has received the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares represented at this meeting and entitled to vote on the proposal.
Proposal three, on the proposal regarding the advisory approval of the company's executive compensation, the inspector has verified that the proposal has received the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares represented at this meeting and entitled to vote on the proposal.
Thank you. Based on such report, I hereby declare and let the record show that the 11 individuals nominated for the board of directors have been duly elected by a plurality of the company's shares voting in the election, such individuals to serve as directors of the company for the ensuing year until their successors are otherwise elected and qualified. I further declare that, and let the record show that, subject to final verification of the voting results by the Inspector of Election, the proposal regarding the ratification of the appointment of Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC as the company's independent registered public accountants for the year ending December 31, 2022, has received the required approval of the shareholders.
Now, I further declare and let the record show that subject to final verification of the voting results by the Inspector of Election, the proposal regarding the advisory approval of the company's executive compensation has received the required approval of the shareholders. I direct that the minutes of this meeting reflect the voting results as verified by the Inspector of Election. Further, within four business days after today's meeting, the company will report the final voting results in a Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At this time, I recognize President and CEO James F. House to honor retiring director Andrew C. Bearden, Jr.
At this time, we would like to recognize one of our directors who is retiring in connection with today's annual meeting, Mr. Andrew C. Bearden, Jr. It's my honor to present the following resolution, which was approved by the board of directors at its regular meeting held on April 27, 2022. Whereas Andrew C. Bearden, Jr. became a director of First US Bancshares, Inc. and First US Bank on July 23rd, 2009, and served in many leadership roles over the last 13 years, including chairman of the boards from May 16, 2013 until January 1, 2020. Whereas the members of the board of directors of First US Bancshares, Inc. and First US Bank desire to express their sincere appreciation to Andy for his years of dedicated and loyal service.
Now therefore, be it resolved by the directors of First US Bancshares, Inc. and First US Bank that we acknowledge and appreciate his exceptional leadership while serving. We believe that Andy has exemplified a true bank director, and his services will be missed. We know that it will be his nature to continue as a goodwill ambassador for First US Bancshares, Inc. and First US Bank, and be it further resolved that this resolution be spread on the minutes and that a copy be presented to Andrew C. Bearden, Jr. Approved this 27th day of April, 2022. That was the last item on our agenda. In closing today's annual meeting, I invite you to watch for our quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which we expect to file the week of May 9, 2022.
We appreciate your interest in our company and look forward to the year ahead. I'll ask Chairman Briggs to proceed to adjournment, and if any relevant questions have been submitted, we will address them following adjournment.
I again want to thank all of you for attending today's meeting and for the interest that you've shown in our company. We stand adjourned.
We will now answer additional relevant questions that have been submitted relative to our 2021 financials. Ms. Dozier, have any questions been submitted on the virtual meeting website that relate to the presentation on the company's fiscal year-end results?
Mr. House, there have been no questions submitted.
Thank you, Ms. Dozier. I now request that the operator close the meeting.