Image courtesy of HarborOne Bank.

An increase in mortgage originations helped drive HarborOne Bank’s performance in the first quarter.

HarborOne Bank more than doubled its earnings compared to last year, with first quarter net income of $4.7 million, or $0.09 per basic and diluted share, compared to $2.1 million, or $0.04 per basic and diluted share, for the same period last year. Fourth quarter net income was $4.3 million, or $0.08 per basic and diluted share.

The Brockton-based bank reported residential real estate mortgage origination activity of $355.4 million, increasing 125 percent from the first quarter of 2019.

The mortgage origination volume at HarborOne’s subsidiary, HarborOne Mortgage, showed in the mortgage banking income, which increased $6 million, or 132.4 percent compared to the same period last year. The increase was due primarily to lower residential mortgage interest rates and increased refinancing volume, the bank said in its earning statement. Mortgage banking income also increased $2.5 million compared to the fourth quarter.

Including mortgage banking income, noninterest income increased $9 million, or 91.7 percent as compared to the first quarter of 2019.

The increased mortgage activity also affected noninterest expenses. Total noninterest expenses increased $2.8 million, or 8.6 percent, from the first quarter of 2019. Compensation and benefits increased $1.9 million, primarily due to the increased volume of residential real estate mortgage originations.

The decrease in interest and dividend income primarily reflected a decrease in interest rates, as adjustable rate loans repriced, resulting in a 37 basis point decrease in the yield on commercial loans and a 19 basis point decrease in the yield on residential real estate loans.

HarborOne’s provision for loan losses was $3.7 million for the first quarter compared to $1.3 million at the end of 2019 and $857,000 for the same time period last year. Allowance for loan losses was $26.4 million, or 0.83 percent, of total loans on March 31, compared to $24.1 million, or 0.76 percent, of total loans at Dec. 31 and $21.3 million, or 0.71 percent, of total loans on March 31, 2019.

The banks in its earnings statement that the provision for loan loss included $1.5 million for the estimated impact COVID-19. The estimates allocated $310,000 to the residential real estate portfolio, $965,000 to the commercial portfolio and $189,000 to the consumer portfolio.

“While the COVID-19 disruption is unprecedented, I’m so proud of how our team has responded,” James Blake, HarborOne’s CEO, said in a statement. “We’ve remained open for business with appointment banking, drive-through service, call center support, and borrower accommodations.”