Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, July 26, 1994                 TAG: 9407260298
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: By TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

NORFOLK BANK HOLDING COMPANIES REPORT SHARPLY HIGHER EARNINGS

   Two community bank holding companies in Norfolk - Commonwealth Bankshares 
Inc. and Heritage Bankshares Inc. - reported sharply higher net earnings for 
the June 30 quarter, partly because of strong loan growth.
   Meanwhile, Old Point Financial Corp., the Hampton parent of Old Point 
National Bank, said its net income increased 6 percent.
   Commonwealth Bankshares, parent of Bank of the Commonwealth, said its 
second-quarter net income totaled $199,000, a 59 percent increase from 
$125,000 in the comparable three months of 1993.
   Earnings per share were 24 cents, up from 15 cents.
   Commonwealth attributed the improvement to an increase in earning assets 
and a wider spread between the cost of its funds and the yield on its loans 
and investments. Its return on average assets for the recent quarter was 1.03 
percent, up from 0.67 percent.
   Heritage Bankshares, the parent of Heritage Bank & Trust, said its net 
income climbed 47 percent to $128,000 from $87,000 in the year-earlier quarter
due partly to a 19 percent increase in loans.
   Per-share earnings were 17 cents, a 55 percent increase from 11 cents.
   Heritage's net interest income for the latest quarter rose 24 percent to 
$635,000, while income from non-interest sources declined 20 percent in the 
recent quarter to $61,000. Non-interest expenses, which totaled $71,000, were 
up less than 2 percent from the year-earlier quarter.
   For the six months through June, net income at Heritage was $234,000, a 50 
percent increase from $156,000 for the first half of 1993. Per-share earnings 
were 30 cents, compared with 20 cents. 
   At Old Point Financial, net income for the three months that ended June 30 
was $673,020, up from $636,546. Earnings per share were 53 cents versus 51 
cents. 
   The Peninsula bank holding company reported a 7 percent increase in net 
loans, which totaled $161.9 million at the end of June. Second-quarter 
earnings also were helped by the absence of a provision for loan losses. In 
the year-earlier period, the company's bank set aside $100,000 for loan 
losses. 
   For the first half of 1994, its net income totaled $1.39 million, a 3 
percent increase over $1.34 million for the comparable six months last year. 
Per-share earnings were $1.10, up from $1.08.