Westfield Financial Inc., the holding company for Westfield Bank, reported net income of $1.4 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to $1.5 million the same time last year.

Yet, for the nine months ended Sept. 30, net income was $4.7 million, or 19 cents per diluted share, compared to $4.3 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, for the same period in 2011.

Net interest and dividend income stood at $7.7 million for the quarters ended Sept. 30  and June 30, respectively.

Commercial real estate loans increased $6.1 million to $240.4 million and residential loans increased $1 million to $223.8 million. This was offset by a decrease of $8.3 million in commercial and industrial loans, which were $115.4 million at Sept. 30. Commercial and industrial loans were impacted by lower utilization of lines of credit, which decreased by $4.8 million during the quarter. While in prior quarters management has used residential loan growth to supplement its loan portfolio, the bank’s long-term strategy remains focused on commercial, according to the bank.

The net interest margin decreased six basis points from the second quarter of 2012. This resulted from a decrease of 6 basis points in the yield on interest-earning assets, partially offset by a decrease of three basis points in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities, plus an increase in interest-earning assets of $12.5 million.

Non-interest income increased $280,000, primarily due a $107,000 increase in income from bank-owned life insurance and $70,000 in fee income from the third-party mortgage company. Westfield Financial hired two commercial lenders during the second half of the year.