In contrast to what's happening on the national and global front, banking in East Texas appears to be on solid footing.

In this edition of Enterprise readers are offered a snapshot of several local banking institutions and of the marketplace as a whole. While Longview and East Texas are certainly not immune from what is taking place outside the Piney Woods — as evidenced by the Nov. 7 takeover of Franklin Bank by regulators — several factors have insulated the local economy and have helped local banking institutions grow and prosper.

Conservative lending practices, staying out of the sub-prime mortgage business and a relatively strong East Texas economy — aided greatly by a diversified manufacturing base and strong energy sector — have all played a role in the solid foundation area banks appear to have maintained.

Little did we know last spring when my boss, Longview News-Journal Editor Ana Walker, and I sat down to map out a schedule for the theme of each issue of Enterprise just how timely taking a look at the local banking industry would be at this time.

Nationally, banks and other financial institutions in recent weeks have gone through the roughest period of turmoil since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Daily we have been bombarded in national media with a litany of one story after another on the bailout of the banking system.

Locally, as these Enterprise stories help explain, that is not the case. While Houston-based Franklin Bank, with a branch on Loop 281 in Longview, was closed earlier this month and taken over by Prosperity Bank, most area institutions appear to have a strong footing.

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Vital Signs — a regular feature of graphs and charts in each issue of Enterprise — also support the differences the Longview and East Texas economies are experiencing compared to what is going on nationally.

Sales tax trends directly reflecting what consumers are spending at area retail outlets and how local businesses are faring are up for most East Texas communities, including Longview.

Unemployment levels remain at historically low levels and the Longview area has the seventh lowest rate of unemployment of 26 metropolitan areas of Texas. The three-county Longview area of Gregg, Rusk and Upshur counties also ranked at the No. 5 in Texas for job creation in September.

At a glance Vital Signs should provide business owners, managers and executives with a look at how the local economy is doing.

Until next month, when Enterprise review the local retail environment, take care.