First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2001 Earnings.

WHEELING, W.Va., July 26 /PRNewswire/ --

First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc. (Amex: FWV) President & CEO, Charles K. Graham, today announced the second quarter earnings for the Wheeling, West Virginia, based multi-bank holding company. Net income for the second quarter of 2001, was $603,218, or $.39 per share, as compared to $584,860 or $.38 per share reported for the quarter ended June 30, 2000. Mr. Graham reported that the increase in earnings during the second quarter of 2001 as compared to the same period in 2000 was primarily attributed to the increases in net interest income and noninterest income, offset in part by increases in operating expenses and the provision for loan losses. Operational earnings improved with net interest income increasing $180,756, or 9.3%, to $2,115,723 for the second quarter of 2001 as compared to $1,934,967 during the same period of the prior year. The increased average volume of investment securities and loans, offset by the increased volume and rates paid on interest bearing deposits primarily contributed to the increased net interest income during the second quarter of 2000.

For the six months ended June 30, 2001, net income was $1,185,383 or $.77 per share, an increase of $40,980, as compared to $1,144,403 or $.74 per share, for the same period in 2000.

At June 30, 2001, First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc.'s total assets were $212,321,404, total deposits were $185,590,156 and total equity was $19,362,631.

FIRST WEST VIRGINIA BANCORP, INC. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS