Hello, and welcome to the annual meeting of shareholders of FVCBankcorp, Inc. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. Following each motion and after the business portion of the meeting, we will have a question and answer session. You can submit questions or comments at any time by clicking on the Q&A icon. It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to David W. Pijor, Chairman and CEO of FVCBankcorp, Inc. Mr. Pijor, the floor is yours.
Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is David Pijor, and as Chairman and CEO of FVCBankcorp, Inc., it is my honor and pleasure to welcome each of you to this, the annual meeting of FVCBankcorp. I will be acting as chairman of this annual meeting. Since it is now after 4:30 P.M., I would like to call the meeting to order. Some preliminary announcements. Tom Milburn of the company's independent registered public accounting firm of Yount, Hyde & Barbour is attending the meeting today. Also present is Scott Richter, the company's legal counsel from the law firm of Williams Mullen. Before proceeding to the business of this meeting, I would like to thank each of you for attending this virtual annual meeting today. In addition, I would like to introduce your bank's executive management team. Patricia Ferrick, President. Todd Dempsey, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
Bill Byers, Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer. Michael Nassi, Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer. Sharon Jackson, Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer. Jennifer Deacon, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Jennifer Deacon will act as the Inspector of Elections for this meeting. The agenda for this meeting consists of, first, the formal determination of quorum, and second, the consideration of three items, the election of directors, the approval of an amendment to the company's amended and restated 2008 stock plan, and the ratification of Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C. as the company's independent registered public accounting firm to audit the 2022 financial statements of the company. In a few moments, I'll ask Ms. Deacon to report on the number of shareholders represented in person or by proxy at this meeting.
As we proceed with the business of the meeting, the votes will be computed, and Ms. Deacon will report the votes to me. Thank you for voting early. It has been a great help to us. Let me point out that if you have already voted by proxy, it will simplify the vote count if you would allow your proxy to remain in effect since it has already been tabulated. Therefore, shareholders who have already mailed or electronically submitted a proxy are requested not to vote again unless they wish to change their vote from the way they marked their proxies. If any shareholder in attendance today intends to vote during the meeting and has not already voted by proxy, he or she may do so in a few minutes by electronically clicking on the Vote tab.
The polls for voting on each of these three items are now open through the electronic portal. Ms. Deacon will now report on the mailing of the notice of this meeting and on the presence of a quorum.
Thank you, David. This meeting is held pursuant to printed notice mailed out on April 8, 2022 to each shareholder of record on March 24, 2022, who is entitled to vote. A list of shareholders entitled to vote at this meeting is available on the web portal to shareholders who have logged into the meeting with an authenticated control number. All documents concerning the call and notice of the meeting, including the secretary's affidavit concerning mailing, will be filed with the records of the meeting. The count of holders of shares of the company's common stock immediately prior to the commencement of this meeting indicated that the holders of 10,168,975 shares of the company common stock were in attendance at the meeting or represented by proxy.
This represents 73% and a majority of the total votes eligible to be voted at this meeting and a quorum.
Thank you, Jennifer. I hereby declare a quorum present at this meeting. This meeting is duly constituted and officially convened. I would now like to proceed with the business of this annual meeting. There are three items for consideration. Excuse me. The first item is the election of directors. The shareholders have received proxy statements regarding the proposed directors. The following directors of FVCBankcorp have been nominated to serve until the 2023 annual meeting of shareholders and their successors have been elected and qualified. Patricia Ferrick, Earl Gunn, Scott Laughlin, Tom Patterson, David Pijor, Devin Satz, Lauren Schwartz, Sid Simmons, Dan Testa, Trey Wills, Steve Wiltse, Meena Krishnan. Excuse me. Morton Bender was also duly nominated to be reelected as a director, but passed away on April 11, 2022.
If he is reelected at today's annual meeting, his position will remain vacant at this time. I will now entertain a motion to elect these directors to one-year term to the board of directors. I have a motion made by Patricia Ferrick and a second by Jennifer Deacon. There were no other nominations made in accordance with the bylaws. Therefore, I declare that nominations for directors are closed. Are there any questions concerning this first item? You may submit questions or comments at any time by clicking on the Q&A icon. Having no questions being presented, we will turn to the second matter. The second item for consideration is the amendment to the company's amended and restated 2008 stock plan to increase the number of shares available for issuance under the plan by 200,000 shares.
At this time, I will entertain a motion to amend the company's amended and restated 2008 stock plan. I have a motion made by Patricia Ferrick and a second by Jennifer Deacon. Are there any questions concerning this second item? You may submit questions or comments at any time by clicking on the Q&A icon. I have received no questions. The third item for consideration is the ratification of the appointment of Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C. as the company's independent registered public accounting firm to audit the financial statements of the company for the year ended December 31, 2022. The proxy materials contain information regarding Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C. At this time, I will entertain a motion to ratify the appointment of Yount, Hyde & Barbour as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2022.
I have a motion made by Patricia Ferrick and a second by Jennifer Deacon. Are there any questions concerning this item? You may submit questions or comments at any time, again, by clicking on the Q&A icon. I've received no questions. The polls are now closed. Will the Inspector of Elections please report on the final results of the voting?
Yes, David. The ballots and proxies have been counted. The nominees for each director have been elected by the affirmative vote of approximately 99% of the shares voted. The amendment to the company's amended and restated 2008 stock plan has been approved by the affirmative vote of approximately 98% of the shares voted. The appointment of Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C. has been ratified by the affirmative vote of approximately 99% of the shares voted.
I hereby declare that each of the director nominees has been duly elected, the company's amended and restated 2008 stock plan has been amended, and the appointment of Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C. has been ratified. I would like to briefly report on the financial performance of the bank during 2021. However, I would first like to say a few words to honor the life and legacy of FVCbank Director Morton Bender, who passed away on April 11, 2022. Lasting legacies are built on sound foundations. Lives of this sort have deep root systems that hold their place and in turn bind together the lives they touched. In the case of Morton Bender, we see a life legacy full of true monuments, deeds, and simple moments poised to stand the test of time.
All of us at FVCbank felt a deep sense of loss upon hearing of Mr. Bender's death because in countless ways, he reflected our commitment to supporting individuals, households, businesses, and organizations of every kind that constitute the communities we serve. Mr. Bender was a builder. He centered his life around bettering our physical and social environments. Having erected remarkable and enduring edifices with the pay-it-forward mentality as the keystone to his life. He was a notoriously larger-than-life personality who never hid behind a facade. His values were always front and center. He believed in creating spaces that bestowed a sense of place to those who used them or simply passed by. He believed in uplifting those in need and cultivating a sense of inclusion and belonging. Mr. Bender also had a seemingly contradictory reputation as a tough-as-nails guy. In fact, he famously relished in the persona.
To him, it meant that people knew he was the man who got things done. Helping to shape the landscape of Washington, D.C., Mr. Bender and his associates were behind such Washington landmarks as the FBI building and many private commercial spaces as well. No less than 5 million sq ft of office space exists today because of Mr. Bender's drive. It's hard to imagine Connecticut and L Street area without the development enjoys today because of his leadership. In some ways, Mr. Bender's landmarks underwrote his philanthropic work. He was always working to give back and improve the lives of his neighbors. Some of his most notable contributions to the D.C. community include his American University library bequest, the Dorothy G.
Bender Foundation supporting arts and education and named after his mother, not to mention the uncountable contributions to other local charities, hospitals, the performing arts, and individuals in need. Mr. Bender assumed stewardship of his father's construction company, Blake Construction, with his two brothers, Howard and Stanley, in 1958. He later boosted the existence of Colombo Bank and became its principal owner in 2002. It was a natural fit when Mr. Bender's Colombo Bank merged with FVCbank. Our relationship, in a sense, began years prior when we first partnered on his bank's projects. His values reflected our purpose, fostering a community of businesses and residents and building a central support hub that invigorates local establishments with the financial support and expertise to thrive. With the invaluable help of Mr. Bender's vision, FVCbank has continued to grow to new heights and capabilities.
He passed away as one of the bank's largest shareholders and its strongest champion. He will be dearly missed, yet his legacy lives on within this institution and beyond. In front of you are some slides regarding the financial performance of the bank, and I would ask you to turn to slide three. As slide three illustrates, 2021 was a very strong year for FVCbank. We closed the year with total loans of $1.515 billion in total dollars and an increase of 12.4% over the prior year. We also held $1.819 billion in total deposits, an increase year- over- year of 23%. We're especially pleased with your bank's enhanced profitability during 2021.
For the year, our return on average assets reached 1.3% with a 12.63% return on average equity. Our most recent calendar quarter ending March 31, 2022, posted an efficiency ratio of 49.888%, the best in our 14-year history. Slide four. Slide four reflects our successful business strategy. We focused energy and resources on leveraging technology during 2021. That will continue in the near future. Slide five. Slide, please. Slide five describes the number of technology initiatives FVCbank employed to grow market share and improve efficiencies. These initiatives continue today. Slide six. Slide six describes the investment thesis for our publicly traded NASDAQ shares. We are a high-performing bank in one of the most attractive banking markets in the United States. Slide seven illustrates our track record of exceptional growth.
For the last 5 years, we have generated growth in total assets of over 19% compounded annually. Our total loans have increased at an annual growth rate of over 14%. Total deposits have also grown significantly since 2016 to over $1.884 billion at the end of 2021, a 5-year compounded annual growth rate of percent. This growth in our balance sheet has translated into record profitability for your bank. Slide eight highlights some of the metrics which have contributed to this profitability. For the year 2021, our efficiency ratio was improved to 52.2%, and as I mentioned previously, this efficiency ratio was even further improved to 49.88% for our first calendar quarter in 2022.
Slide nine lists the highly qualified and experienced management team of FVCbank. Together, these officers have over 200 years of combined experience in the Washington, D.C. banking market. Slide 10 lists the currently serving board of directors at FVCbank and its subsidiary FVCBankcorp and its subsidiary FVCbank. These directors, all of whom have been reelected by the shareholders during today's annual meeting, provide strong and effective corporate governance in an increasingly uncertain and volatile world. I thank them all for their sound advice and counsel. On slide 11, we highlight a few characteristics of our commercial portfolio and our commercial loan team.
We note that although we originated over $492 million in total new loans in 2021, our average C&I loan size remains below $300,000, and our average commercial real estate loan is only $1.67 million. These small average loan amounts lead to a safe and sound and well-diversified loan portfolio. Slide 12 speaks to some of the characteristics of our strong core deposit base. FVCbank continues to grow its deposits by focusing on its commercial relationship with its commercial clients. Slide 13 and 14 contain selected items from our March 31, 2022 quarter. As indicated, our net interest income increased, our cost of funds decreased, and our credit quality improved. Finally, slide 15 recognizes this year's L. Burwell-Gunn Citizen Award recipient.
Each year, FVCbank identifies one or more nonprofit organizations to award funds from this award to support these organizations' ongoing efforts to serve the communities we serve. This year's recipient is Heroes, Inc. Founded in 1964, Heroes is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Heroes has a singular goal, to honor the supreme sacrifice made by law enforcement officers and firefighters who gave their lives in the line of duty while ensuring the safety of citizens in the Greater Washington, D.C. area. They honor those fallen heroes by supporting the spouses and children they left behind. Their support begins within 24 hours of the tragic loss and continues indefinitely. This support includes financial assistance, referrals for legal, psychological, and financial counseling.
With an inspiring vision to support the families of fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters, FVCbank is proud to award the 2022 L. Burwell Gunn Citizen Award to Heroes, Inc. If there is no other business, this concludes the formal agenda of our meeting today. I would again like to express my sincere appreciation to those shareholders who have joined us today, as well as those who have submitted their proxies but were unable to attend today. The continued success of our bank is attributable in large part to the continued support of our shareholders. At this time, I would like to entertain a motion for adjournment. Patricia Ferrick made the motion, and this is seconded by Jennifer Deacon. I declare the motion carried and the meeting adjourned.