Sterling Bank

Provident Bankshares Corp. agreed yesterday to buy Baltimore-based Sterling Bank and Trust Co., a small, privately held institution that specializes in personalized (and expensive) banking services for affluent customers.Provident -- itself often mentioned by banking analysts as a possible takeover candidate -- has $1.7 billion in assets and 41 branches through its main subsidiary, Provident Bank of Maryland. Sterling, an 8-year-old company, has $70 million in assets and three branches.Although the two companies would not disclose the purchase price, they said the letter of intent signed yesterday calls for Provident to pay 1.5 times Sterling's book value, which is about the current average price for bank mergers.

Hospice names two new members to foundation board Mark Anders of Baltimore and Mary Ann Treger of Annapolis have been elected to Hospice of the Chesapeake's foundation board of directors. Anders has served as a chief executive officer at Bank Annapolis and Sterling Bank & Trust Co. Treger, a free-lance writer, is a contributing editor for Style magazine and contributing writer for Chesapeake Life magazine.

Sterling Bank and Trust Co. yesterday named Mark H. Anders president and chief executive.Mr. Anders, 41, said he plans to build the $80-million-asset bank's small business loan portfolio as a complement to its private banking department.He said there is a "tremendous" market for local businesses that have sales of less than $5 million annually."The small businessman . . . has not been particularly well served," Mr. Anders said., "The small businessman wantsto be stroked. He also wants to be dealing with decision-makers."

Quest Fitness Center to open in Ellicott CityQuest Fitness will open a 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art fitness center at 10045 Baltimore National Pike in January.The company invested $1.4 million in the construction of the Ellicott City club and expects to create jobs for more than 60 people. A marketing campaign, offering discounts to encourage enrollment, began this month."Howard County is a sophisticated market that demands and deserves the type of facility that we will be opening," company President Bernie Caplan said.

An article in the Business section on Dec. 15 incorrectly characterized some assets that Sterling Bank & Trust Co. had acquired from the federal Resolution Trust Corp. The assets were acquired from failed savings and loans, but the assets themselves were healthy and performing properly, according to Sterling officials.The Sun regrets the errors.

Hospice names two new members to foundation board Mark Anders of Baltimore and Mary Ann Treger of Annapolis have been elected to Hospice of the Chesapeake's foundation board of directors. Anders has served as a chief executive officer at Bank Annapolis and Sterling Bank & Trust Co. Treger, a free-lance writer, is a contributing editor for Style magazine and contributing writer for Chesapeake Life magazine.

An article in the Business section on Dec. 15 incorrectly characterized some assets that Sterling Bank & Trust Co. had acquired from the federal Resolution Trust Corp. The assets were acquired from failed savings and loans, but the assets themselves were healthy and performing properly, according to Sterling officials.The Sun regrets the errors.Provident Bankshares Corp. accused Sterling Bank & Trust Co. yesterday of running a woefully incompetent commercial loan operation, understating the extent of its financial problems and hiding all of this information in an effort to persuade Provident to buy Sterling.

Two more banks were robbed in Baltimore yesterday, bringing the city's 1993 bank robbery total to 68, surpassing the total for all of last year, police reported.Police said the first robbery occurred about 8:55 a.m. at the Maryland National Bank branch in the 100 block of S. Charles St., where a man told a teller that he was armed with a pistol and wanted money.The man never showed a weapon, but was given an undisclosed amount of cash, which he later dropped on the street outside when a dye pack exploded, police said.

New positions* Haywood Baker Inc., Odenton-based specialists in ground settlement modification, appointed Robert Rubright president.* Hyatt Regency Baltimore appointed Stefanie Edelman director of off-premise catering.* Cambridge Inc. named James H. Lantz product manager, metal conveyor belting, at the Eastern Shore-based metals company.* Angelica Nurseries, in Kennedyville, appointed Suzy Davis as its customer service representative.Advertising* The Reeves Agency named Shannon Crocken assistant to the president and account coordinator, and expanded its creative staff with the addition of Rachel Haverson as art director.

NEW POSITIONS* McCormick & Co., the spice and flavor people, announced the appointment of Robert G. Davey as vice president and chief financial officer.* Maryland Department of the Environment named John K. Chlada director of strategic planning and policy coordination, and Viola O. Lewis director of community assistance.* Chesapeake Telephone Systems named Gregory J. Nolte to the staff of its data communications division.* Johns Hopkins University appointed Robert R. Lindgren to the post of vice president for development and alumni relations.

New positionsNextel appoints Rosenberg director of marketingNextel Communications appointed Ellis R. Rosenberg director of marketing for the wireless carrier's Bethesda-based mid-Atlantic area. The Wharton School and University of Maryland graduate will oversee advertising, public relations, pricing, product introduction and promotions.Hilliard is marketing chief for Comcast OnlineComcast Online Communications named Carrie Hilliard as marketing coordinator for the White Marsh Comcast Cable unit.

Expanding its base in Central Maryland, Mason-Dixon Bancshares Inc. of Westminster said yesterday that it will acquire Sterling Bancorp, the parent company of Sterling Bank and Trust Co., for $10.3 million in cash.Sterling, a Baltimore bank with four branches and $70 million in assets, will be merged into Mason-Dixon's Bank of Maryland subsidiary.Sterling's Pikesville and downtown Baltimore branches will be closed, but the Timonium and Annapolis branches will be retained. Mason-Dixon expects the consolidation to bring savings of about $2 million, or 66 percent of Sterling's 1998 projected general and administrative expenses.

Sterling Bank and Trust Co. yesterday named Mark H. Anders president and chief executive.Mr. Anders, 41, said he plans to build the $80-million-asset bank's small business loan portfolio as a complement to its private banking department.He said there is a "tremendous" market for local businesses that have sales of less than $5 million annually."The small businessman . . . has not been particularly well served," Mr. Anders said., "The small businessman wantsto be stroked. He also wants to be dealing with decision-makers."

Former Baltimore Bancorp Chairman Edwin F. Hale's new bank officially took wing this week, after receiving final approvals from state banking regulators.Mr. Hale had said since December that he planned to buy a 45 percent stake in MarylandsBank Corp. of Towson and convert the savings and loan holding company to a commercial bank.It will focus on serving small business customers who, Mr. Hale said, have been overlooked by bigger banks after a wave of bank mergers. Federal banking regulators completed their review of the bank's creation on May 5.The result is one of Maryland's smallest banks -- with only $27 million in assets, Mr. Hale said, compared to $2.1 billion for Baltimore Bancorp before it was sold to First Fidelity Bancorp.

New positions* Haywood Baker Inc., Odenton-based specialists in ground settlement modification, appointed Robert Rubright president.* Hyatt Regency Baltimore appointed Stefanie Edelman director of off-premise catering.* Cambridge Inc. named James H. Lantz product manager, metal conveyor belting, at the Eastern Shore-based metals company.* Angelica Nurseries, in Kennedyville, appointed Suzy Davis as its customer service representative.Advertising* The Reeves Agency named Shannon Crocken assistant to the president and account coordinator, and expanded its creative staff with the addition of Rachel Haverson as art director.

An article in the Business section on Dec. 15 incorrectly characterized some assets that Sterling Bank & Trust Co. had acquired from the federal Resolution Trust Corp. The assets were acquired from failed savings and loans, but the assets themselves were healthy and performing properly, according to Sterling officials.The Sun regrets the errors.

Expanding its base in Central Maryland, Mason-Dixon Bancshares Inc. of Westminster said yesterday that it will acquire Sterling Bancorp, the parent company of Sterling Bank and Trust Co., for $10.3 million in cash.Sterling, a Baltimore bank with four branches and $70 million in assets, will be merged into Mason-Dixon's Bank of Maryland subsidiary.Sterling's Pikesville and downtown Baltimore branches will be closed, but the Timonium and Annapolis branches will be retained. Mason-Dixon expects the consolidation to bring savings of about $2 million, or 66 percent of Sterling's 1998 projected general and administrative expenses.

Quest Fitness Center to open in Ellicott CityQuest Fitness will open a 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art fitness center at 10045 Baltimore National Pike in January.The company invested $1.4 million in the construction of the Ellicott City club and expects to create jobs for more than 60 people. A marketing campaign, offering discounts to encourage enrollment, began this month."Howard County is a sophisticated market that demands and deserves the type of facility that we will be opening," company President Bernie Caplan said.

An article in the Business section on Dec. 15 incorrectly characterized some assets that Sterling Bank & Trust Co. had acquired from the federal Resolution Trust Corp. The assets were acquired from failed savings and loans, but the assets themselves were healthy and performing properly, according to Sterling officials.The Sun regrets the errors.Provident Bankshares Corp. accused Sterling Bank & Trust Co. yesterday of running a woefully incompetent commercial loan operation, understating the extent of its financial problems and hiding all of this information in an effort to persuade Provident to buy Sterling.

The 8-year-old boy from Brooklyn would wait for the "magnificent black man" to pull up in his blue Chrysler. The 29-year-old ballplayer would park his Chrysler at the gas station on Bedford Avenue, where the boy would meet him and walk with him one block to Ebbets Field.The man called the boy Arthur. The boy called the man Mr. Robinson. He always called him Mr. Robinson -- never Jackie, as the man had asked the fan to call him."I couldn't do that," Arthur says, 46 years later.In 1948, Arthur L. Silber began his hero worship of Jackie Robinson, the great Brooklyn Dodger who was the first black player in the major leagues.