For the first quarter of 2006 banks were throwing around tantalizing phrases to illustrate their success. Business Bank of Nevada reported a 108 percent increase in year-over-year earnings. Valley Bank was up 50 percent. Silver State Bank was up 24 percent.

Regional and national players at work in the local banking industry also reported strong results.

Zions Bancorporation, parent company of Nevada State Bank, said first quarter net income was up 24.9 percent over the same 2005 quarter. U.S. Bancorp saw net income jump by 7.7 percent. Wells Fargo Bank was up 9 percent, and Bank of America was up 14 percent.

While bankers give plenty of credit to solid business models and keen planning, few discount the effect of a strong Las Vegas business climate.

"This quarter represents a solid start to the year," said Barry Hulin, chief executive of Las Vegas-based Valley Bank. "The Southern Nevada economy remains strong, and we continue to execute on our plan."

Even rising interest rates hasn't seemed to dampen business for local lenders.

"When rates typically go up what you see is a temporary boost in margins ... but in the longer term what you see is some supression in loan activity," said Business Bank President and Chief Executive John Guedry. "We just haven't seen that."

Despite the current industry strength, Guedry said there are some aspects of the local and national economy which should be addressed by bankers.

"I think we all should have some healthy concern," Guedry said.

Some of the things he pointed to as possible speed bumps are sustained higher interest rates and some of the aggressive mortgage loans that allowed buyers to get into homes when prices soared in recent years.

"Combined with higher rates, there could be a flood a newer homes on the market," Guedry said, pointing to possible problems when interest-only and option adjustable-rate mortgages reprice.

He added that a similar problem could materialize in the commercial real estate market, which has been struggling with higher land and construction costs. The only way to make more expensive projects profitable is to boost rents.

"I don't know how much the market can handle," Guedry said. "Retail and office space is already pretty high."

Some correction — either through price declines and extended periods of price stagnation — could ultimately ease some current constraints in the market as buyers struggle to cope with rising costs.

"Every time something happens, there are positives and negatives that come with it," Guedry said.

Loan growth and net-interest margins were hailed as the leading drivers in Business Bank's first-quarter performance.

The Las Vegas-based bank saw profit reach $1.8 million, or 84 cents a share, for the first three months of 2006. That's better than the $858,000, or 43 cents a share, reported for the same 2005 period.

For the quarter, loans were up by $31 million. Total assets for Business Bank at the end of the quarter were $435.4 million compared to $360.6 million at the same point a year ago. Deposits were $391.5 million, up from $325.7 million at the same point in 2005.

Asset quality also remains strong with loans in nonaccural status or more than 90 days past due representing just 0.02 percent of total assets. That's down from 0.03 percent a year ago. Net charge offs for bad loans in the first quarter was zero, the company also reported.

At Valley Bancorp, parent company of Valley Bank, first-quarter earnings were $1.6 million, or 55 cents a share, up from $1 million, or 37 cents a share, for the year-ago period.

Total assets grew by $96.6 million to reach $407.7 million at quarter's end. That's up from $311.1 million at the end of the year-ago quarter. Deposits were $346 million, up from $271.7 million at the end of the first quarter 2005.

Henderson-based Silver State Bancorp, parent company of Silver State Bank, reported first-quarter net income of $4.4 million, or 34 cents a share, up from $3.6 million, or 28 cents a share for the same 2005 quarter.

Assets reached $874 million, up from $730 million a year ago. Total loans reached $717 million, up from $560 million last year at this time.

Deposits reached $725 million, a 20 percent increase from over the $605 million reported at the same point in 2005.

Utah-based Zions Bancorporation said first-quarter net income was $137.6 million, or $1.28 a share. That better than the $110.2 million, or $1.20 a share, reported for the same 2005 quarter.

Loans for reached $31.1 billion, up from $23 billion a year ago. Deposits reached $32.9 billion at quarter's end, up from $23.9 billion a year ago.

Assets at Zions reached $42.6 billion, a 34 percent increase over the $31.9 billion reported a year ago.

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, which operates a stable of U.S. Bank branches in Southern Nevada, said its first-quarter net income of $1.2 billion, or 63 cents a share, marked a record for the company.

The results also were ahead of the $1 billion, or 57 cents a share, reported a year ago.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. said its $2 billion in net income for the first quarter marked the first time the company ever topped the $2 billion in quarterly results.

The results bettered the $1.9 billion reported for the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share for the quarter was $1.19, up from $1.08 for the year-ago period.

Bank of America Corp. also reported record results of $5 billion in first-quarter net income. That amounts to $1.07 a share. The results were well ahead of the $4.4 billion. Earnings per share were unchanged.