WASHINGTON, D.C. and CHARLESTON, WV-- United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBSI) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a first quarter 2008 dividend of 29¢ per share for shareholders of record as of March 14, 2008. This is a 4% increase over the 28¢ paid in the first quarter of 2007.

The dividend payout of approximately $12.5 million on 43.2 million shares is payable April 1, 2008. The year 2008 is expected to be the 35th consecutive year of dividend increases to United shareholders. The annualized 2008 dividend of $1.16 equates to a yield of approximately 4% based on recent UBSI market prices.

United Bankshares, with $8.0 billion in assets, has 114 full-service offices in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. United Bankshares stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market System under the quotation symbol "UBSI".