DOVER — Throughout the day Monday, Federal Savings Bank Marketing Director Kelly Glennon's phone lit up with calls from concerned customers.

The burst of calls, mostly posing questions about the federal insurance that protects $100,000 of a customer's funds should a bank fail, was a reflection of the fear that has rippled through consumers nationwide since the announcement of the government's takeover of the California-based IndyMac bank on July 11.

But even amid television images of thousands of customers lined up outside the bank — and police wearing in riot gear — experts say consumers in New Hampshire and Maine have remained largely insulated from the banking industry's most recent woes.

Richard Sparks, an associate professor in management at Plymouth State University, said the strength of community banks in New Hampshire and Maine largely could be attributed to the banks' decision to steer clear of risky home loan practices that became popular among many banks and lending institutions in recent years.

As a result, New Hampshire Banking Department Commissioner Peter Hildrath said, New Hampshire community banks are not seeing the type of significant losses now plaguing some banks elsewhere in the nation as risky home loans failed, leading to surges in foreclosures.

EJ Hersom/Staff photographer Teller Suzanne Sinclair counts a customer's deposit Friday at Federal Savings Bank in Dover. * Order a print of this photo

"They didn't write the loans and they didn't buy the loans, so there's not that problem," he said. "They stuck with the tried and true mortgage loans that they've written for years. They did not get involved in these exotic products."

Local officials, including Sparks and state regulators from New Hampshire and Maine, spoke extensively about the condition of community banks. But they each said they were unable to speak about the security of national and international banks that may have bought local banks or opened branches locally.

Some federal government information on troubled banks exists, but is kept confidential. Both the New Hampshire Banking Department and the Maine Bureau of Financial Institutions receive a "watch list" from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which provides the $100,000 in insurance for individuals' funds. The list contains the names of banks the government considers to be troubled.

ABC News has reported that the current list, which is kept confidential, includes 90 banks.

Neither Hildrath nor LaFountain would comment specifically about the list. Hildrath, however, said his department "has not received notification of any New Hampshire bank that would be on a watch list."

EJ Hersom/Staff photographer Receptionist Brenda Turner handles correspondance at Federal Savings Bank in Dover Friday. * Order a print of this photo

Although recent news of the closure of IndyMac has many consumers seeking information on their security of their banks, Sparks said the confidentiality of the federal watch lists makes sense, especially when viewed in the context of the public reaction to the closure of IndyMac.

"You would have a run on the bank," Sparks said. "There isn't any bank in the world that can withstand the run because they are all loaning out the money rather than keeping it in-house."

Although official government ratings are confidential, private companies have begun providing their own ratings for state and federally chartered banks.

Bankrate.com provides what it calls "Safe & Sound" ratings, using a star system, with five stars being the best rating. The site also includes the Safe & Sound CAEL rating, an internal rating used for management purposes. The number 1 indicates the best rating, which is classified as performing well above average.

Federal officials are assuring consumers their money is safe and the overall industry is secure.

"The overwhelming majority of banks in this country are safe and sound," FDIC Chairman Shelia Bair said in a July 13 statement after IndyMac's closure. "The chance that your own bank will be taken over by the FDIC is extremely remote."

Glennon echoed Sparks' statements and said Federal Savings Bank's skeptical approach to risky lending has bolstered the bank's ability to weather outside economic pressures.

"New Hampshire is fortunate to have a handful of community banks that during the most recent mortgage crisis really didn't compromise underwriting standards," she said. "It's always been our policy, and we've felt for the protection of our customers and ourselves, that we should make sure we are offering loan products that don't put our customers in jeopardy."

Mark Primeau, president and CEO of Laconia Savings Bank, also said his bank has taken a conservative approach, and the benefits now are paying off as foreclosures skyrocket in some areas of the country.

"Our feeling and belief all along was that when we underwrite loans we want to verify income and assets," he said. "We have lots of products and services that allow people to meet their objective clearly, and we did not want to write mortgages where lending standards had been relaxed. It's not in the best interest of customers and clearly not in the best interest of banks."

He said the bank's "capital strength is extremely strong" as a result of that philosophy.

"We have a very low number of troubled loans and virtually no loans in foreclosure,"he said. "It's not to say we haven't been giving out loans. We are one of the leading lenders in the state, but we've just done it in a more prudent and disciplined manner."

A 2007 study by the Dover-based PolEcon Research drew similar conclusions, finding that the majority of lenders with the highest percentage of the state's foreclosures "have little presence and few connections to New Hampshire."

Sparks said the value of a conservative approach also was a key lesson learned in the early 1990s, when a recession and housing bubble burst led to the closure and merger of 111 New England banks. In New Hampshire on Oct. 10, 1991, seven banks closed in one day, representing 25 percent of the banking assets in the state.

Sparks said much of the collapse likely was linked to speculative building that caused the local housing bubble to burst at the same time a nationwide recession was setting in.

Stricter reviews by regulators and more definitive corrective actions also have been established.

"Depending on the size, at least every 18 months we are physically in an institution," said Lloyd LaFountain, commissioner of Maine's Bureau of Financial Institutions. "The exam team goes in and spends upward from two weeks to a month."

That is in addition to mandated quarterly reports showing the number of foreclosures started, in process and completed along other information, he added.

Although Maine community banks largely avoided risky loans as well, the Legislature boosted consumer protections further in 2007 by passing a bill to curb predatory lending, he said.