County Bank

A man, who gave a teller a note demanding money, robbed a Harford County bank yesterday morning, the county sheriff's office said.The sheriff's office said the man, who entered the Susquehanna Bank in the 2300 block of Belair Road in Fallston about 11: 45 a.m., was given an undisclosed amount of money and escaped in a Toyota or Nissan pickup truck.The sheriff's office described the robber as white, in his early 30s, 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds, with a ruddy complexion, dark brown hair and a goatee.

Baltimore County Savings Bank announced this week plans to relocate its Bel Air branch from 563 Baltimore Pike to 203 N. Main St. The bank's new Main Street branch, which is scheduled to open in April, will be in a vacant building on the corner of Gordon Street, formerly occupied by K Bank of Maryland, which failed in November 2010 and was closed by the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation. Moving from its current location in the parking area of Bel Air Plaza Shopping Center will give BCSB the ability to serve its business and consumer customers' growing needs with a convenient Main Street location, including a drive-thru and ATM services, the bank said in a media release Tuesday.

The FBI joined the Harford County Sheriff's Department in looking for a man who robbed a First Mariner Bank branch yesterday afternoon near Bel Air, leaving behind a package he said was a bomb.Authorities were also trying to determine whether the 1: 25 p.m. robbery at the bank office in the Festival Shopping Center south of Bel Air is related to four others at Harford banks since Aug. 20, said Sgt. Edward Hopkins, a department spokesman.Hopkins said the robber approached one of the two tellers on duty, telling her he had a bomb and implying that he had a gun. The teller gave him an undisclosed amount of money from her cash drawer, and he fled, leaving the package on the counter.

He has built a mini-Taj Mahal, a fleet of small cars and a bay's worth of miniature lighthouses - even a dollhouse-size version of the balloon-lofted home from the animated movie "Up. " But Ed Witles' creations aren't models. They're mailboxes. Many of the wooden works go to a single nonprofit organization, typically after they've completed a two-week stint receiving mail in front of the Glen Burnie home of their builder. Witles, 88, a retired steamfitter, said his joy is in the construction.

HOW TO measure the loss of a planned $6 million headquarters of Carroll County Bank & Trust in Westminster? The evaporation of 135 promised jobs? Collapse of the major redevelopment project for downtown Westminster? The disappearance of a strong, 150-year-old locally owned bank?After a nasty court fight over stockholder demands to sell, CCB&T became an attractive target in the frenzy of nationwide bank consolidation. BB&T Corp. of North Carolina last week reeled in the bank, Carroll County's largest, and its holding company, Mason-Dixon Bancshares Inc.The greatest impact for Westminster is the loss of the painstakingly planned redevelopment of the former Farmers Supply Co. site into an office center, parking structure and bank headquarters.

Three hours before her retirement party, Ruth Ellen Bollinger was busy answering phones, filling out forms and meeting with employees."She'll probably work overtime today," said Carroll County Bank marketing manager James C. Wise with a laugh. "Then, they'll probably forward her calls to her home tomorrow."On Thursday, Mrs. Bollinger ended her 48-year career with the Westminster-based bank, a career she never thought she'd begin in the first place."I told my mother, 'I'm not banking material,' " Mrs. Bollinger said, recalling the job offer she received upon graduating from Westminster High School in 1945.

Carroll County Bank & Trust Co., a key player in the revitalization of downtown Westminster, is seeking to expand its Englar Road branch.Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission will review a site plan for the proposed project at 7 p.m. today. The meeting will be held at Westminster City Hall, 1838 Emerald Hill Lane.Bank officials are seeking permission to build a 2,200-square-foot addition to the one-story, 4,400-square-foot branch. The addition would be to the rear of the building."The branch has had double-digit growth every year for the past five years," said Ed Gottleib, senior vice president of the bank.

Carroll County Bank-BB&T changeover is complete Branches of Carroll County Bank & Trust Co. are BB&T Corp. banks. Mason-Dixon Bancshares Inc., parent company of Carroll County Bank, was bought by BB&T of North Carolina last year. The switch was completed Friday. Carroll County Bank had branches in Westminster, Eldersburg, Mount Airy, Finksburg, Hampstead, Manchester, Taneytown and the Baltimore metropolitan area. Michael Oster, former chief executive of Carroll County Bank, is president of BB&T's Westminster-based Central Maryland region.

Carroll Bank employees complete trainingEd Miller, Judy Casey and Sharon Byron, employees of Carroll County Bank and Trust Co. in Westminster, have completed the Small Business Administration's Pro-forma Statement Training Program. Participants learned how the SBA views the preparation of an adjusted balance sheet to arrive at tangible net worth.Carroll County Bank and Trust has its headquarters in Westminster. The bank serves Carroll County through 11 branch offices.

Directors of Mason-Dixon Bancshares, parent corporation of Carroll County Bank and Trust Co., have declared a 34-cents-per-share dividend. The dividend, payable Wednesday, will be paid to stockholders of record as of June 3, 1994.The second-quarter dividend reflects an increase of 6.25 percent above the previous dividend paid.Earnings for the three months ending March, 31, 1994, totaled $1,850,994, an increase of 10 percent over the same period in 1993. Net income per share was $1.27, compared with $1.16 for the same period in 1993 (average shares outstanding of 1,454,634 and 1,452,134)

The Board of County Commissioners are citing a bank mistake for errors in the deposit of customers' payments of water and property tax bills - which county officials said affected some 230 accounts. In a press release dated, Jan. 17, the county said that on Jan. 5, officials deposited checks and cash payments made to the county by property owners for water bills and property tax bills to the county bank, BB&T. On Jan, 6, the bank submitted the checks to the various institutions for payment.

Baltimore County Savings Bank has converted from a federally chartered savings institution to a state-chartered commercial bank, it announced Friday. Joseph J. Bouffard, the president and chief executive officer of the bank and parent BCSB Bancorp, said the move was is consistent with the bank's community banking focus and would allow it to better "compete in our market. " The conversion became effective as of Friday's closing. It will not change customers' loan and deposit accounts or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp's $250,000 insurance limit.

American Bank of Rockville is no longer buying four branches from BCSB Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Baltimore County Savings Bank. The termination, which was announced late Wednesday, was a mutual decision and occurred without penalty to either party, the companies said in a statement. The companies cited longer-than-anticipated regulatory approval process for the termination. The sale, announced in January, involved branches in Catonsville, Owings Mills, Ellicott City and Baltimore City.

Carrollton Bank parent reports 3Q net loss Carrollton Bancorp, the parent company of its namesake bank, has reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $259,744, or 10 cents per diluted share, compared with a profit of $259,708, or 9 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago period. Results from the three months ending Dec. 31, reported yesterday, included a loan loss provision of $1.1 million, compared with $272,000 a year ago. For the year, the bank said net income declined 60 percent to $847,000 or 32 cents per diluted share, from $2.1 million, or 75 cents per diluted share, in 2007.

Westminster man sought in rape The Carroll County Sheriff's Office said yesterday that it has issued a warrant charging a Westminster man with second-degree rape and assault against a woman early Tuesday in her home. Authorities are looking for Vincente Gomora Bastida, 25, of Uniontown Road. They recovered his red Jeep Cherokee abandoned on West Main Street on Wednesday and believe he might still be in the Westminster area, the sheriff's office says. He frequents the Middle Grove Court and South Center Street areas of Westminster, according to authorities, and might use the names Pablo Gomora Colin or Louis Contreas, police say. The woman was treated for minor injuries.

Pinnacle Financial Corp. appointed Chris Aguirre as branch manager of its Gaithersburg office and Alvin Bowman Jr. as a loan officer in the Severna Park office. SunTrust Bank Maryland announced that Christine Mills was made an officer in the business banking unit. Education The Children's Guild announced that Nicholas J. Krayger joined the special education school as educational director of its Baltimore campus. Health care Mosaic Community Services announced that Tom Henry joined the Timonium-based mental health services firm as a grant writer.

Mason Dixon Bancshares Inc., parent corporation of Carroll County Bank and Trust Co., has declared a dividend of 34 cents per share, which will be paid to stockholders of record as of tomorrow.Earnings for the six months ending June 30 were $3,480,067, an increase of 2 percent over the same period last year.Net income per share was $2.40, compared with $2.34 for the same period last year.Carroll County Bank and Trust Co. operates 11 offices in Carroll County and an office in Ellicott City.

Rogers appointed to Springfield boardGov. Parris Glendening has appointed Ben C. Rogers of Westminster assistant vice president and business development officer of the citizens advisory board of Springfield State Hospital in Sykesville.The board is made up of appointed business leaders and others whose responsibility is to assume leadership in developing community understanding of the needs of those who have mental disorders.Rogers, who joined Carroll County Bank and Trust Co. in 1993, will work directly with the staff and patients of the hospital.