1st Mariner planning an IPO

First Mariner Bancorp intends to raise as much as $19.3 million through the sale of up to 1.61 million shares of stock in the bank holding company, according to documents filed earlier this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The parent of First Mariner Bank expects that it will use proceeds from the anticipated $10- to $12-per-share initial public stock offering to add to its 12-branch system, make new loans and possibly acquire other institutions, Chairman and Chief Executive Edwin F. Hale Sr. said last month.

The filing was not unexpected. Hale had said as early as a year ago that he believed First Mariner could raise as much as $20 million by going public.

First Mariner, with roughly $110 million in assets, has retained Baltimore stockbrokerage firm Ferris, Baker Watts Inc. as the lead underwriter for the offering. The company has registered to sell its shares on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol "FMAR," the SEC prospectus stated.

Hale founded First Mariner in 1995, after First Fidelity Bancorp purchased the Baltimore Bancorp, the Bank of Baltimore parent where Hale also was chairman.

Pub Date: 11/16/96