United Bankshares, Inc. (UBSI) Business Profile

What it does

United Bankshares is a financial holding company whose business is community banking. Its banking subsidiary, United Bank, offers deposit accounts, loans and other services to individuals and businesses. United was incorporated in 1982 and operates one reportable segment, community banking.

Customers can put money in checking, savings, time and money market accounts. The bank makes personal and commercial loans, loans to automobile dealers, and loans for construction and real estate. It also offers credit cards, individual retirement accounts, wire transfers and safe deposit boxes.

United Bank’s trust department serves as a trustee for trusts and retirement plans and administers estates. It also provides investment services. United’s nonbank subsidiaries offer services including asset management, real property title insurance, financial planning, mortgage banking and brokerage. United Brokerage Services offers investment products, financial planning and asset management to the general public.

Customers can use branches, ATMs, digital banking and telephone banking. Online and mobile services include checking balances, paying bills and transferring money. Business customers can also use cash management and wire-transfer services. Consumers can open deposit accounts online and apply for mortgages through the bank’s website.

At December 31, 2025, United had approximately $33.7 billion in consolidated assets and 2,694 employees and officers.

How it makes money

United’s community banking business takes deposits and makes loans. Its lending portfolio includes commercial, real estate and consumer loans, including credit cards and home equity loans. The bank also invests in securities that earn interest and dividends. Interest expense is part of its cost of funding, and net interest income reflects the difference between interest income and interest expense.

Residential mortgage loans include fixed- and variable-rate loans. United also originates residential mortgages for resale rather than keeping all of them on its balance sheet. Its mortgage banking revenue comes from origination fees, gains or losses on loan sales and interest earned while loans are held pending sale. United generally sells these mortgages without retaining the rights to service them.

Other activities include trust, brokerage, financial planning and asset management services. United Bank provides services to correspondent banks, including buying and selling federal funds. Its investment portfolio includes mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, municipal obligations, U.S. Treasury securities, government agency obligations and corporate securities.

For 2025, net income was $464.60 million and noninterest income was $135.15 million. Net interest income increased $191.10 million or 20.97% from 2024; total interest income increased while total interest expense decreased. Interest and dividends on securities were $112.0 million for 2025.

The 2025 results included Piedmont’s financial results from its acquisition date. United recorded $31.41 million of acquisition-related costs for the Piedmont merger in 2025, including a provision for credit losses on purchased loans.

Customers and how it sells

United serves consumers and commercial customers. Its business borrowers include small to mid-size industrial and commercial companies, automobile dealers, and service, retail and wholesale merchants. Consumer lending includes residential mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans, credit cards and loans secured by vehicles or other personal property.

United considers all of West Virginia part of its market area. Its markets also include parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as Washington, D.C. The Piedmont acquisition added the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. United generally originates loans in its primary markets, although it sometimes lends outside them to accommodate existing customers.

The bank reaches customers through offices and the NYCE ATM network, as well as digital and telephone banking. Consumers can manage accounts, pay bills and transfer money digitally. Commercial customers can use services including balance inquiries, cash management, sweeps and wire transfers. United’s brokerage subsidiary offers investment and planning services to the general public.

United’s commercial loan portfolio includes borrowers across industries. As of December 31, 2025, approximately $11.9 billion or 48.16% of its total loan portfolio was for real estate and construction.

Suppliers and costs

Deposits are a source of funding for United’s loans and investments. Core deposits include certain demand deposits, savings and NOW accounts; United describes them as its lowest-cost source of funds. The company also uses short-term borrowing, including federal funds purchased, repurchase agreements and Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings.

United depends on renewing maturing deposits and other liabilities and obtaining new funds. Available-for-sale securities and maturing loans are sources of liquidity, alongside cash. United also has unused borrowing capacity and lines of credit.

For 2025, noninterest expense was $600.05 million, an increase of $55.02 million or 10.10% from 2024. The provision for credit losses was $53.87 million for 2025, compared with $25.15 million for 2024. The increase was mainly due to a provision recorded on purchased Piedmont loans. United had 2,694 employees and officers at December 31, 2025.

Competitive position

United competes for deposits, loans and client assets managed by its investment and trust operations. It faces competition across its markets, including West Virginia, Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. Bank holding companies operating in those states compete for customers and for the acquisition of additional banks. No individual competitors are named in the available company material.

United serves customers through banking offices, digital banking, telephone banking and an interbank ATM network. Its digital services let consumers open deposit accounts and apply for mortgages online, while commercial customers can access cash management and wire transfers. It also offers trust, brokerage and financial planning services alongside banking.

Our reading: The combination of local offices, digital access and a range of services can help United maintain customer relationships, but those features do not establish a uniquely strong barrier to competitors. Our reading: Core deposits provide a funding advantage because United identifies them as its lowest-cost source, though gathering deposits is itself a competitive activity. Our reading: United’s presence across several regional markets gives it access to customers in those areas, but competition for deposits and loans remains substantial.

Growth opportunities

United considers opportunities to acquire banks, bank holding companies and thrift institutions, and it may engage in related nonbanking activities. It makes inquiries and proposals and participates in acquisition discussions, due diligence and negotiations as opportunities arise.

United acquired Piedmont Bancorp on January 10, 2025, entering the greater Atlanta area. Piedmont had sixteen locations in Georgia and approximately $2.4 billion in assets at the merger date. United’s earlier acquisitions also extended its markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

United’s loan and lease portfolio increased $3.0 billion or 14.01% in 2025, mainly as a result of the Piedmont acquisition, which added $2.02 billion in portfolio loans, including purchase accounting amounts. Commercial real estate, residential real estate, construction and commercial loans each increased during the year.

United also originates residential mortgages for sale in the secondary market. During 2025, it originated $370.9 million of real estate loans for sale and sold $383.9 million of loans designated as held for sale. Its digital channels allow consumers to open deposit accounts online and apply for mortgages through the bank’s website.

United recorded $31.41 million in Piedmont acquisition-related costs in 2025. The company’s results for that year included Piedmont from the acquisition date.

Structural risks

• Credit and real estate: Changes in economic and political conditions could reduce borrowers’ ability to repay and the value of collateral. At December 31, 2025, approximately $11.9 billion or 48.16% of United’s loan portfolio was for real estate and construction.
• Loss estimates: There is no assurance that the allowance for credit losses will be adequate. Estimating loan and lease losses requires judgment about future cash flows, collateral values, historical losses and economic conditions.
• Funding and liquidity: United depends on renewing maturing deposits and other liabilities and obtaining new funds. It must maintain cash and near-cash assets to meet customer demands and its own cash needs.
• Operations: United’s information systems may experience failure, interruption or a security breach. Such events are among the company’s operational risks.
• Regulation and acquisitions: United is subject to extensive government regulation and supervision. Potential acquisitions may disrupt the business and dilute shareholder value; failing to integrate acquisitions or realize their anticipated benefits is also a risk.

Bottom line

Our reading

United is a regional community bank built around deposits, lending and related financial services, with acquisitions expanding its markets [item1]. Our reading: Its low-cost core deposits and broad service channels support the business, while competition for those deposits limits how much protection they provide [item1]. Our reading: Credit quality, especially in real estate and construction, and the ability to fund loans remain central exposures; acquisitions add both growth and integration risk [item1, item1a, item7].