WASHINGTON, DC and CHARLESTON, WV-- United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBSI), today announced that its Board of Directors declared a second quarter dividend of 26¢ per share for shareholders of record as of June 10, 2005. Dividends of 26¢ and 52¢ per share for the second quarter and first half of 2005, respectively, each represent a 4% increase over the 25¢ and 50¢ per share dividends paid for the second quarter and first half of 2004.

The dividend payout of approximately $11.1 million on 42.7 million shares is payable July 1, 2005. The year 2005 is expected to be the 32nd consecutive year of dividend increases to United shareholders. The annualized 2005 dividend of $1.04 equates to a yield of approximately 3.3% based on recent UBSI market prices.

United recently announced diluted earnings per share of 57¢ for the first quarter of 2005 which represented an 8% increase from diluted earnings per share of 53¢ for the first quarter of 2004. United generated earnings of $24.8 million for the first quarter of 2005, an increase of 5% from the $23.5 million earned in the first quarter of 2004.

United Bankshares, with $6.3 billion in assets, has 90 full-service offices in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. United Bankshares stock is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market System under the quotation symbol "UBSI".