BURR RIDGE, Ill., Jan. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BankFinancial Corporation (Nasdaq – BFIN) (the "Company") announced today that the Company recorded net income of $9.4 million and basic and diluted earnings per common share of $0.74 for the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company recorded net income of $2.1 million and basic and diluted earnings per common share of $0.17 for the fourth quarter of 2023.
Total assets at December 31, 2023, were $1.487 billion, a decline of $88.1 million (5.6%) compared to December 31, 2022. Cash and interest-bearing deposits were $178.5 million, an increase of $111.7 million (167.3%) compared to 2022. Total net loans decreased by $176.0 million (14.3%) to $1.051 billion for the year ended 2023 due to business plan changes we implemented in 2023 focused on increasing liquidity, maintaining asset-liability flexibility and loan pricing discipline, and reducing credit risk to certain asset classes. Total commercial loans and leases decreased by $159.7 million (28.9%) resulting from a $153.1 million (33.6%) decline in equipment finance portfolio balances and a $6.6 million (6.8%) decline in commercial finance loan balances. Total multi-family residential and nonresidential real estate loans decreased by $11.6 million (1.8%). Our loan to deposit ratio was 83.3% as of December 31, 2023, compared to 89.2% as of December 31, 2022.
Total deposits decreased by $113.3 million (8.2%) in 2023 primarily due to a general decline in balances related to retail and commercial depositors' use of funds and to a lesser extent, national and local competition for interest-bearing retail deposits by banks and credit unions. Core deposits represented 82.4% of total deposits, with noninterest-bearing demand deposits representing 20.7% of total deposits. Commercial deposits were 21.2% of total deposits at December 31, 2023, consistent with 2022.
The Company's capital position remained strong, with a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 10.54% as of December 31, 2023. Throughout 2023, the Company maintained its quarterly dividend rate at $0.10 per common share. The Company repurchased 266,716 common shares during 2023, which represented 2.1% of the common shares that were outstanding on December 31, 2022. The book value of the Company's common shares increased from $11.90 per share at December 31, 2022, to $12.45 per share at December 31, 2023.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, interest income increased by $10.9 million (19.6%) due to our investment of scheduled loan and lease portfolio repayments into short-term liquidity investments and higher yields earned within the commercial loan portfolio. Interest expense increased by $9.8 million (219.7%) due to higher rates paid on deposit accounts, as certain depositors managed their funds in a way that ...