Wall Street's problems apparently aren't affecting the local bank on West Virginia's Main Street, as officials say they are still making loans and business is brisk.
State banks have been left pretty much untouched by the problems that caused national banks like Wachovia Corp. and Washington Mutual to be taken over because of losses created by adjustable-rate housing loans, said Joe Ellison, chief executive of the West Virginia Bankers Association.
"West Virginia banks are not affected as much by the national economy because we don't have those big periods of boom time, so we don't typically go through bust periods,'' Ellison said. "Our members are still making loans, doing deposits, making business loans.''
One banker called the state's banking industry a "calm oasis,'' and others say they continue to make loans to the oil, gas and coal industries.
"Most of the problems we see out there were created by a bubble in the housing market,'' said Kip Hageboeck, president and chief executive of City Holding Co. and City National Bank.
"We didn't have an overbuilding boom in most of West Virginia and we haven't had a tremendous amount of price depreciation in most of West Virginia,'' he said.
"Our banks have been very stable here in West Virginia," said Donna Tanner, executive director of Community Bankers of West Virginia. "Overall, community banks didn't get into the bad lending."
The association's 46 member banks have had some customers calling with concerns, particularly about FDIC coverage, Tanner said.
"They are concerned about their savings and retirement accounts. They [member banks] are educating them," she said.
As far as the proposed national bailout plan, the West Virginia group, along with its national counterpart, the Independent Community Bankers of America, were supportive of the plan as written, Tanner said.
The plan helped all financial institutions, not just the large banks, she said. Now that the plan failed to pass the House, it is unclear what to do next, she said.
It's easy to follow the top stories with home delivery of The Charleston Gazette.
- Most Popular
- Most Commented
- A deathbed wish fulfilled
- Skull found at W.Va. construction site
- Fourth of July festival organizers fear violence
- Obituaries for 2009-07-04
- Big kids only: Teenagers wanted a place to call their own
- Cross Lanes firm got $200,000 no-bid contract with osteopathic school
- WVU recruit helps team pick up win
- 'Mountain State' no more? Opponents of surface mining hold naming contest (10 Comments)
- Feds: DEP does not properly oversee mining flood prevention (10 Comments)
- Fourth of July festival organizers fear violence (9 Comments)
- Hate crime (7 Comments)
- McDowell delegate vows to stop traffic to protest tolls (7 Comments)
- Carte Goodwin may run for Congress (7 Comments)
- New prisons, shorter sentences recommended to reduce Corrections system overcrowding (7 Comments)



Post a comment