Jul. 26--While mortgage foreclosures and delinquencies are surging in some parts of the country, West Virginia -- particularly north-central West Virginia -- remains an oasis of stability, according to local bankers.

Conservative lending practices, Morgantown's solid economy and the relative economic placidity are among the reasons, they said.

Some banks had second-quarter information (April 1-June 30) available for this report; some are still preparing their figures. From federal banking sources, only first-quarter figures (Jan. 1-March 31) were available for this report. Bank figures for this report are drawn from several sources, and are expressed in slightly different ways, depending on the source. A bank's figures can be used to monitor its quarterly changes, but not to compare one bank to another.

Clear Mountain sees

signs of steady economy

"At Clear Mountain Bank, we're not experiencing any significant difference in past-dues or foreclosures," said Brian Thomas, president and CEO of the Bruceton Millsbased bank.

There are no foreclosures in process, he said.

Statistics from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. show that Clear Mountain's numbers for delinquencies (30 days or more, called noncurrent loans) and charge-offs (uncollectible debts that have been written off the books) on all types of real estate loans have actually improved since 2007.

Delinquencies, described as a percentage of total loan assets, were .96 percent on March 31, 2007; .64 percent in 2008; and .56 percent in 2009.

The numbers, though, for delinquencies on "1-4 family residential" loans (ranging from singlefamily homes to four-family townhomes), are a little worse for 2009: .29 percent in 2007; .10 percent in 2008; .37 percent in 2009.

Charge-offs on 1-4 family residential properties show steady improvement: .36 percent in 2007; .03 percent in 2008; and a negative number in 2009, -.19 percent.

Two factors have played a part in Clear Mountain's performance, Thomas said. One is avoiding risky lending, such as the subprime mortgages (loans to people with bad credit) that tanked the national market.

The other is the solid local economy.

"Economic activity has slowed in our area," he said, but not as significantly as in other parts of the country.

Clear Mountain's second-quarter numbers aren't available yet.

Morgantown market is strong for United Bankshares

"We are pleased with the first half of 2009 financial performance results, especially in light of the very challenging economic times," said Richard M. Adams, United's chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer in a press release.

For loans 30 days or more past due, United is doing better than its peers, Chief Financial Officer Steve Wilson said. "We rank well ahead of our national peer group for 30 days and up" delinquencies, he said.

United's percentage of delinquencies stands at 2.15 percent, compared to 4.14 percent for peers (bank holding companies with total assets between $5 and $10 billion), he said. Since December, past dues have dropped a bit, from 2.63 percent to 2.15 percent.