Belmont Bancorp. Reports First Quarter After-Tax Profit.

Business Editors

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 2001

Belmont Bancorp. (Nasdaq:BLMT), parent corporation of Belmont National Bank, has reported net income for the three-month period ending March 31, 2001 of $165,000, or $0.01 per share, which compares favorably to net income of $60,000 for the comparative period last year.

As of March 31, 2001, Belmont's Tier One leverage ratio was 7.6%, double the 3.8% Tier One leverage ratio as of March 31, 2000.

Wilbur R. Roat, President and Chief Executive of Belmont Bancorp. and Belmont National Bank, stated the corporation's first quarter results include extraordinary expenses associated with the bank's recovery and restructuring. "We are making progress and have improvements in some areas, such as an increase in the net interest margin and a decrease in nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets. However, we continued to be significantly burdened with extraordinary expenses in the first quarter, including $323,000 in legal fees and $45,000 in other expenses related to ongoing litigation. We must, however, remain diligent in our efforts to pursue economic recovery through litigation and defend against what we believe to be unwarranted and unjustified legal proceedings initiated against our company," said Roat.

The annual meeting of Belmont Bancorp. shareholders will be held in the meeting room at Undo's Restaurant, 51130 National Road, St. Clairsville, Ohio, on Monday, May 21, 2001 at 11:00 a.m.

Belmont Bancorp. is a holding company with total assets of $283.7 million and Belmont National Bank offices in Bellaire, Bridgeport, Cadiz, Lansing, New Philadelphia, St. Clairsville, Schoenbrunn and Shadyside, Ohio, and in the Woodsdale and Elm Grove areas of Wheeling, West Virginia. Belmont Bancorp. stock trades in the SmallCap Market of NASDAQ under the symbol BLMT. The closing price of Belmont Bancorp. common stock on April 20, 2001 was $4.09 per share.

($000s except per share amounts)

March 31                             2001         2000      % change
                                   ---------------------------------
Total assets                       $283,652     $287,385      -1.3%
Total loans                         127,553      148,220     -13.9%
Allowance for loan losses             7,827        6,369      22.9%
Total deposits                     $233,390     $233,576      -0.1%

Nonperforming assets                  9,763       11,298     -13.6%
Nonperforming assets as a
 % of total assets                     3.4%         3.9%
Nonperforming assets as a
 % of allowance for loan losses      124.7%       177.4%


Capital Ratios
Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio       12.6%         5.9%
Tier 1 and tier 2 risk-based
 capital ratio                        13.8%         7.2%
Tier 1 leverage ratio                  7.6%         3.8%


For the three months
 ended March 31                      2001         2000      % change
                                   ---------------------------------
Net income                             $165          $60     175.0%
Provision for loan losses                 -          242    -100.0%

Net earnings per common share:
   Basic                              $0.01        $0.01
   Diluted                             0.01         0.01

Return on average equity              2.56%        2.17%
Return on average assets              0.23%        0.08%
Net interest margin                   3.55%        3.31%

Forward Looking Statements

Certain sections of this release contain forward looking statements and can be identified by the use of such words as "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," and similar expressions. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from the current statements.