Bank Of Maryland

Bank Maryland Corp. of Towson said yesterday that it posted a profit in the second quarter as distressed loans declined under a restructuring plan.The company, parent of the Bank of Maryland, had net income of $128,000, or 6 cents a share, for the three months ended June 30 in contrast to a loss of $150,000, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier."

Henry S. Baker Jr., a retired banker and community leader, died Saturday from complications of a tumor at Keswick Multi-Care Center. The longtime Monkton resident was 86. The son of Henry S. Baker Sr., treasurer of the Johns Hopkins University, and Frances Innes Robinson, a registered nurse who worked for Dr. Howard A. Kelly, a founder of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Henry Scott Baker Jr. was born in Baltimore and raised on St. Georges Road in Roland...

H. David Shumpert is a patient man.Like a mechanic rebuilding a classic car that has been set up on blocks, he has painstakingly put Bank of Maryland together, piece by piece, over nearly five years.Now he wants to see it run.Several key hires and a merger with Mason-Dixon Bancshares Inc. last summer have given Bank of Maryland not only the talent, but the money to become a formidable competitor among community banks.Shumpert's mission is single-minded -- expand the bank quickly and profitably by exploiting a niche that he believes the bigger banks can't serve as well: small business lending.

Benny C. Walker of Fallston was appointed recently to the board of directors of Chesapeake Bank of Maryland. Walker, a principal at Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra Chartered, Certified Public Accountants in Bel Air has extensive experience in financial and management advisory services, tax planning, compliance and audit. Benny C. Walker is also the treasurer of the Albert P. Close Foundation, is on the board of the Community Foundation of Harford County and was appointed by Harford County Executive David Craig to the Harford County Economic Development Advisory Board.

A man robbed a small bank on Main Street in downtown Annapolis yesterday afternoon, escaping with an undetermined amount of cash.The robber walked into the Bank of Maryland at 145 Main St. five minutes before it was scheduled to close at 3 p.m., police said.He lingered in the lobby until a bank employee approached him andasked whether he needed help, police said. The man then pulled out aweapon and demanded money. Police would not describe the weapon lastnight.Business owners and passersby on Main Street were surprised by the robbery in the middle of the afternoon.

THE HANDBILL WAR continued for tiresome weeks and months in the spring and summer of 1835. "Have the people of Baltimore any spirit, or are they a parcel of cowards?" one handbill asked. "The widows and orphans have been robbed," it protested, then it listed the culprits -- officers, trustees, directors attorneys for the closed Bank of Maryland. Some broadsides argued about the closing -- who was responsible and how much might be lost. The tougher ones called for action. Citizens were asked to arm themselves and prepare to defend their rights.

Bank Maryland Corp., the Towson-based parent of the Bank of Maryland, said its results are continuing to improve compared with a year ago, despite the fact the company has yet to break into profitability.The company said it lost $90,000, or 4 cents a share, in its third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a $2.5 million loss, or $1.24 a share, in the third quarter of 1991.For the first nine months of the year, Bank Maryland lost $323,000, or 16 cents a share, compared with a loss of $3.4 million, or $1.66 a share a year ago.The company's stock, which typically trades thinly over the counter, did not trade yesterday, but rose 75 cents a share, to close at $4.25, on Friday when the results were announced.

Bank Maryland Corp., a Towson-based bank holding company, said yesterday that it had completed the consolidation of its six banking units and would open its doors Monday as a unified Bank of Maryland.The decision to merge the separate banking affiliates, announced at the shareholders meeting in May, was aimed at paring costs and smoothing the bank's operations by adopting a single structure under a single banner, the company said."Restructuring the holding company's affiliates into a single bank to operate under one name will promote increased efficiency in operations, marketing and will enable the organization to make more effective use of its capital," said E. Neil Jacobs, president and chief executive.

In the listing of the IDC Quarterly Bank Ratings in the Business section on Dec. 25, a computer error inadvertently deleted the names of the holding companies of Sequoia National Bank Maryland and the Suburban Bank of Maryland. Sequoia National is owned by Sequoia Bancshares Ltd. of Bethesda. Suburban Bank is owned by Suburban Bancshares Inc. of Greenbelt.The Sun regrets the errors.

Towson-based Bank of Maryland said yesterday that it will sell five branches on Maryland's Eastern Shore to First Virginia Banks Inc. for an undisclosed price.The branches, which have $87 million in deposits and $59 million in loans, are in Bishopville, Crisfield, Federalsburg, Princess Anne and Salisbury.The sale would reduce Bank of Maryland's total number ofbranches to five from 10 when completed, pending regulatory approval.David Shumpert, Bank of Maryland's president and chief executive, said management wanted to sell branches that were outside of its main banking area, which is Baltimore, Harford and Anne Arundel counties.

E. Baltimore developer Shannon to step down East Baltimore Development Inc., the private nonprofit group heading a large urban renewal project just north of Johns Hopkins Hospital, said its president and chief executive, John T. "Jack" Shannon Jr., will step down April 30. Shannon has led the group since its creation in 2003. EBDI is transforming more than 100 acres of the Middle East neighborhood into a biotechnology park, housing, shops and offices. EBDI, in a partnership with developer Forest City Enterprises, has completed a biotech building and two apartment buildings and has embarked on a housing rehab project.

Robert M. Cheston Sr., a retired banker and longtime Roland Park resident, died of respiratory failure Jan. 27 at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. He was 87. Mr. Cheston was born and raised in Philadelphia. He attended William Penn Charter School and graduated in 1939 from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. He attended the University of Virginia until the outbreak of World War II, when he enlisted in the Navy. Specializing in naval radio intelligence, Mr. Cheston held posts in Washington and the Aleutian Islands, where he read Japanese and German codes.

Advertising *MGH announced the appointments of Lauren Hoffman to junior copywriter, Marilyn Korzybski as a proofreader and Peter Milkman to Web developer for the Owings Mills-based marketing communications agency. Banking and finance *The Patapsco Bank appointed William C. Wiedel Jr. as senior vice president and chief financial officer. He formerly was with Provident Bank of Maryland. *BCSB Bancorp Inc. selected George Engle as vice president/audit manager for Baltimore County Savings Bank.

Marion A. Backof, a retired bank supervisor and former Highlandtown and Dundalk resident, died Saturday of cancer at a Pensacola, Fla., hospice. She was 93. Marion Geiger was born and raised in Baltimore and attended city public schools. She was married in 1941 to Joseph Backof, an accountant, and together the couple owned and operated Backof's, a confectionary store at Eden Street and Fait Avenue, from 1948 to 1961. After her husband's death in 1964, she went to work as a bank teller at the Eastern Avenue branch of the old St. James Savings Bank.

Former Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele is joining the board of HarVest Bank of Maryland, a locally owned commercial bank. This is Steele's first corporate board commitment. Steele, who ran unsuccessfully last year for Maryland's open U.S. Senate seat, is chairman of GOPAC, the Republican political action committee that recruits and trains candidates for office. He is also a partner in LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP, a Washington law firm. "We are honored and fortunate to have Michael join our team at HarVest Bank of Maryland," said Jack Hollerbach, president and CEO of the financial institution.

E. A. "Dean" Docken Jr., a bank executive and avid golfer, died of a heart attack Thursday at his Hunt Valley home. He was 50. Mr. Docken was born in Heidelberg, Germany, the son of a career Army officer, and raised there and in Kentucky, Texas and Maryland, said his wife of 10 years, the former Susan Baker. Mr. Docken was a 1974 graduate of Bel Air High School and earned a bachelor's degree in political science and history in 1979 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played lacrosse, rowed crew and was an active member of Delta Upsilon fraternity.

Mason-Dixon Bankshares Inc. is selling a branch operated by its subsidiary bank to Sandy Spring Bancorp of Olney and leaving the Washington, D.C., market."

Major Maryland banks have lowered their prime rates from 9.5 percent to 9 percent.They include Maryland National Bank, First National Bank of Maryland, Signet Bank, Sovran Bank, the Bank of Baltimore and Provident Bank of Maryland.The prime rate, which is supposed to be the interest rate charged by banks to their best corporate customers, is an important benchmark. Banks in New York and Chicago led the move to lower the prime on Friday.Many home-equity loans and some credit card rates are directly tied to the prime rate, with the interest rates pegged at one or more points above the prime.

J. Owen Cole, retired president of the old First National Bank and a fixture in the Baltimore business community for more than 45 years, died of cancer Nov. 2 at his vacation home in Lincolnville, Maine. The Annapolis resident was 76. Mr. Cole sat on numerous boards of local industries. He traveled extensively as a trade development consultant for then-Gov. William Donald Schaefer, a longtime friend who named him to the Maryland Transportation Commission, BWI Airport Commission and Maryland Port Commission.