A court has approved the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for the parent company of 1st Mariner Bank, a move the bank's president described as procedural because the bank had already been sold.
The region's largest independent bank, 1st Mariner struggled in the recession after mortgages that soured after the housing bubble collapsed took a chunk out of its available capital. First Mariner Bancorp filed for bankruptcy protection in February and sold the bank at a court-supervised auction in June to a purchasing group organized under the name "RKJS Bank." The purchasers bought the bank for $18.7 million and agreed to put about $92 million in cash into the bank to recapitalize it.
First Mariner Bancorp changed its name in the proceedings to Capital Trust Holdings Inc. Robert Kunisch, Jr., the bank's president, said the approval of the Chapter 11 filing on Dec. 4 would have "no impact" on the bank.
"It's more business as usual," he said. "It just brings finality."
The bank was formed in 1995 and positioned itself as dedicated to the community and to the Baltimore area. It has about 400 employees and $875,000 in assets.
Meanwhile, the 1st Mariner name is being removed from its 17-story tower in Canton. Stephanie Krewson-Kelly, the vice president of investor relations for the building's owner, Corporate Office Properties Trust, said when the bank changed hands the owners agreed to transfer primary signage rights to CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, now the tower's largest tenant.
COPT bought the building in 2009, narrowly avoiding a foreclosure sale.
The bank remains on the tower's second floor and in a branch in the lobby. The change in signage is expected to be complete by late January or early February, Krewson-Kelly said.
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