Federal Savings Bank

Bay National Bank said yesterday that it is operating under formal oversight by federal regulators as it tries to recover from losses on bad mortgage loans. The Baltimore bank was placed under a consent order Feb. 6 by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which charters, regulates and supervises national banks. The order requires Bay National, which has two full-service banking offices in Baltimore and Salisbury, to devise a plan to improve its liquidity and capital and deal with problem loans.

Key Federal Savings Bank in Ellicott City was robbed Friday by a man who threatened employees with a gun, according to Howard County police.Sgt. Glenn Hansen, a police spokesman, said the man walked into the bank in the 9400 block of U.S. 40 at 9: 31 a.m. wearing an opaque mask and carrying a revolver. Police said no customers were in the bank.According to a police report, the man ordered tellers to open cash drawers and put money into a bag. After taking an undisclosed amount of cash, the man ran out of the bank, police said.

When Koinonia Baptist Church was founded five years ago, church members could find only one place that would accept their initial $251 deposit: Ideal Federal Savings Bank."

A man wielding a shotgun and wearing an opaque mask robbed an Ellicott City bank of an undisclosed amount of money yesterday.Howard County police said the man walked into Key Federal Savings Bank in the 9400 block of Baltimore National Pike about 9: 30 a.m., displayed a shotgun and demanded money.Tellers handed some over, and the gunman fled.Police had no detailed description of the robber.Pub Date: 7/13/97

A Davidsonville man pleaded guilty yesterday to robbing an Edgewater bank, admitting that he threatened tellers at the First Virginia Bank with a knife and took $5,520.Andre Lavar Evans, 18, of the 400 block of Heitzman Road could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years for the felony.Evans was charged with four robberies from June to July last year, at Washington Federal Savings Bank in the 3100 block of Solomons Island Road in Edgewater on June 16 and June 23; First Union National Bank in the first block of Parole Plaza on June 26; and the First Virginia Bank in the 2700 block of Solomons Island Road on July 29.Evans was arrested by FBI agents Oct. 20. His trial in February ended in a hung jury.

A man attempting to rob the Bradford Federal Savings Bank Friday fled the Ellicott City bank with little, if any, money when an exploding pack discharged tear gas, red dye and red smoke.Less than an hour later, Howard County police detained several people who had been driving on Bethany Lane toward Route 99, but they were later released.By yesterday, no one had been charged.Sgt. Steven Keller, Howard County police spokesman, said that about 11: 15 a.m. Friday, a man held up to a teller at the bank a manila envelope with the message: "I HAVE A GUN!

To boost homeownership in a flagging Baltimore County neighborhood, several financial institutions pledged more than $1.5 million yesterday to a housing program in Greater Hillendale.The commitments, which will provide low-interest financing and closing-cost assistance to homebuyers, were announced at the official opening of the Taylor Avenue office of Neighborhood Housing Services, a nonprofit organization that counsels potential buyers.Neighborhood Housing Services, which has been involved since in Baltimore City neighborhoods, has been working with 72 potential buyers in Greater Hillendale since June.

Howard County police yesterday released a security camera photograph taken of a man suspected of robbing an Ellicott City bank Tuesday.Shortly after 10: 30 a.m., the man entered the Bradford Federal Savings Bank on U.S. 40 and asked a teller to change a $20 bill. He then ordered the teller to put money into a plastic bag he was carrying. He fled with an undetermined amount of money, driving west on U.S. 40 in a small red vehicle.Metro Crime Stoppers at 276-8888 is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment.

New executive director City Life MuseumsBaltimore City Life Museums announced the selection of John W. Durel as executive director. Mr. Durel joined the museum in 1986 as assistant director, with responsibility for operations and exhibit development. The Baltimore resident is a native of Louisiana and holds a doctorate in American history from the University of New Hampshire. Sylvan Learning Systems, headquartered in Columbia, appointed Patricia B. Miller vice president of franchise operations.

Baltimore police quickly arrested suspects in two bank robberies yesterday afternoon, two men who tried to escape by hailing a taxi and another who ran into a police officer when he walked out the bank's front door.The two robberies occurred within 90 minutes of each other -- the first at NationsBank in the 500 block of S. Broadway and the second at Atlantic Federal Savings Bank in the 300 block of Belair Road.Detectives at the first bank in Southeast Baltimore had to respond to the second robbery about 37 blocks away.

M&T Bank has laid off nearly half of Bradford Bank's 85 employees and closed four branches after acquiring the failed Towson bank amid a federal takeover in late August. M&T, which had recently acquired Baltimore's Provident Bank, assumed all of Bradford's deposits and most of its assets in a purchase deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which seized Bradford after the bank could not find a buyer to rescue it from problem real estate loans. Bradford, founded in 1903, had $452 million in assets and $383 million in deposits as of June 30, according to regulatory filings.

An advertisement for a low interest rate brought Colette Searol to Bradford Bank in Towson yesterday morning, where instead of hearing a pitch by bank officials detailing the deal, she received a question-and-answer sheet explaining the company's failure. Searol had planned to open an account but decided against it when she found out the rate she was looking for was no longer offered, in large part because Bradford no longer exists. "When I saw the parking lot full on a Saturday morning, and there was an employee out there with a FDIC tag, I immediately thought that this was what was going on," she said.

Bay National Bank said yesterday that it is operating under formal oversight by federal regulators as it tries to recover from losses on bad mortgage loans. The Baltimore bank was placed under a consent order Feb. 6 by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which charters, regulates and supervises national banks. The order requires Bay National, which has two full-service banking offices in Baltimore and Salisbury, to devise a plan to improve its liquidity and capital and deal with problem loans.

Federal regulators seized Suburban Federal Savings Bank in Crofton late yesterday - marking the first Maryland bank failure since 1992 - after executives were unable to find a buyer to help them offset millions of dollars in bad loans. The FDIC arranged the sale of all of Suburban's deposits and its seven branches to the Bank of Essex in Tappahannock, Va. That means Suburban's business will go on as normal today, though under a different name. The Virginia bank also bought most of Suburban's assets at a discounted price and many of its loans, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Dutch insurer Aegon NV is exploring a bid to buy the troubled Suburban Federal Savings Bank in Crofton as a way of becoming eligible for money from the federal bank bailout plan. The insurance giant, with North American headquarters in Baltimore, was among four insurance companies that applied Friday to the federal Office of Thrift Supervision to become owners of a savings institution as a way to get funding from the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program. OTS officials confirmed Aegon's interest in Suburban.

Gwynn Oak man, 26, charged in BWI thefts Maryland Transportation Authority police have arrested a Gwynn Oak man who they said stole electronic gear from 16 unlocked vehicles parked at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport over the past two months. Gregory Edmund Ballard, 26, was charged with multiple counts of theft and theft scheme, MdTA police said. He was being held yesterday at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center on $10,000 bond, according to MdTA police.

Eighteen employees were briefly held hostage yesterday morning at a Rodgers Forge bank while a robber waited for the manager to arrive and unlock the vault. But the police showed up first and, after a short chase, arrested a suspect, authorities said. As the unidentified suspect attended a bail hearing last night, police searched for an accomplice. None of the employees at Bradford Federal Savings Bank at 6900 York Road was hurt. The incident began about 8:30 a.m. when an employee unlocking the bank was pushed inside by a man wearing a bandana.

When Koinonia Baptist Church was founded five years ago, church members could find only one place that would accept their initial $251 deposit: Ideal Federal Savings Bank."

Key Federal Savings Bank in Ellicott City was robbed Friday by a man who threatened employees with a gun, according to Howard County police.Sgt. Glenn Hansen, a police spokesman, said the man walked into the bank in the 9400 block of U.S. 40 at 9: 31 a.m. wearing an opaque mask and carrying a revolver. Police said no customers were in the bank.According to a police report, the man ordered tellers to open cash drawers and put money into a bag. After taking an undisclosed amount of cash, the man ran out of the bank, police said.

A man wielding a shotgun and wearing an opaque mask robbed an Ellicott City bank of an undisclosed amount of money yesterday.Howard County police said the man walked into Key Federal Savings Bank in the 9400 block of Baltimore National Pike about 9: 30 a.m., displayed a shotgun and demanded money.Tellers handed some over, and the gunman fled.Police had no detailed description of the robber.Pub Date: 7/13/97