Hingham Institution for Savings ended 2013 on a positive note, with modest increases in net income, compared with the previous year.

According to the bank’s latest earnings release, net income for the year ended Dec. 31 totaled $13.4 million, compared with $13.3 million the previous year. Net income for the fourth quarter last year totaled $3.5 million, up about 4 percent from $3.4 million for the comparable period in 2012.

"Although the current interest rate environment has continued to put pressure on our net interest margin, the strong growth of our balance sheet, effective cost control and aggressive management of asset quality have again produced some of the industry’s strongest returns," President Robert Gaughen said in a statement.

Gaughen also said 2013 marked the bank’s sixth consecutive year of record earnings.

The Hingham bank also saw an 8 percent, or $71 million, increase in deposits; a 14 percent, or $129.2 million, increase in net loans and a 12 percent increase in total assets to $1.4 billion at Dec. 31.

At year end, non-performing assets totaled 0.46 percent of total assets compared with 0.28 percent of total assets in the previous year.

The bank’s return on average equity for the year ended Dec. 31 was 13.52 percent, and the return on average assets was 1.07 percent.