A few months ago I wrote about the amazing Old Line Bancshares, based in Bowie, which at the time had one nonperforming loan (which was being paid back) and no other loans past 30 days due.

As the economy slumps, one Maryland bank has not only stayed out of trouble but has burnished the kind of 24-karat lending record that rivals would covet even in a boom.

Bowie-based Old Line Bank has lent more than $200million to local homebuilders, hoteliers, auto repair shops, lawyers, homebuyers and landscapers. But as banks fail nationwide at the greatest rate since 1993, so far every one of Old Line's borrowers is paying interest and principal as planned.

A church that was behind on payments is catching up. Other than that, Old Line has zero "nonperforming" loans, defined as at least 90 days overdue. It doesn't even have a loan that is 30 days overdue.

There's no guarantee that it won't take some lumps. But Old Line's performance so far in the greatest financial crisis in decades is up there with pitching a perfect game against the 1927 Yankees or bowling 300 wearing mittens.

I had been waiting for their fourth-quarter results, which came out yesterday. Profits declined for the quarter, but mainly because of branch openings, which is what good companies do in recessions. They build market share as their rivals bite the dust. Old Line is the anti-Suburban Federal Savings Bank.

Bank boss James Cornelsen's outlook in the future: "Although we do not expect that all of our customers will remain immune from the economic difficulties apparent in our marketplace, but because we have still not experienced any deterioration in asset quality or had any significant historical losses in our loan portfolio, we decreased the loan loss provision $42,000 in the fourth quarter of 2008 relative to the fourth quarter of 2007."