banking

Losses on loans made to investors rehabilitating city homes helped drive a small savings bank founded by immigrants in East Baltimore more than 100 years ago to failure, said the CEO of the bank that acquired much of its portfolio.

Bay Bank agreed to assume the deposits and most of the assets of Slavie Federal Savings Bank, after federal regulators closed the savings bank with offices in Bel Air and Baltimore.

Bay Bank announced a partnership Wednesday with Founders Financial Securities LLC to provide the Columbia-based bank's customers with financial management and investment services.

A home buyer in Baltimore certainly doesn't need to leave the city limits to live in the lap of luxury. One of the area's finest homes is found at 206 Goodwood Gardens in Roland Park.

Banking industry veteran and native Baltimorean Scott Wilfong got involved with the Living Classrooms Foundation to help improve lives in some of East Baltimore's neediest neighborhoods, including Perkins Homes, the Fayette Street corridor and McElderry Park.

Sitting on a crest overlooking the Gunpowder River in northern Baltimore County, 1337 Blue Mount Road in Monkton is a contemporary beauty constructed of cedar wood.

Home sales dipped slightly last month in the Baltimore region, amid concern about a nationwide slowing in housing market activity.

Ober S. Herr Jr., a retired Carroll county banker and community activist, died Thursday of renal failure at his Westminster home. He was 87.

Stakeholders in Maryland thoroughbred racing are as optimistic as they've been in decades, just a few years after the historic industry seemed on the verge of collapse.

On Gibson Island, where no two homes are alike, a magnificent 1960s modern house sits on 1.8 acres of wooded property at the highest point in the area, and is on the market for $1.29 million.

1st Mariner's founder launched the Baltimore bank as an alternative to big, faceless, out-of-state institutions at a time when banks based somewhere else had rapidly gobbled up 30 percent of the Maryland market. Now out-of-state banks control 80 percent of the pie. But that change hasn't dampened the enthusiasm 1st Mariner's new buyers feel for the institution.

Following an investigation that revealed missing funds and questionable financial practices, officials of a national longshoremen's union are considering seizing control of a Baltimore chapter — a move that could complicate contract negotiations at the city's port.

In a stunning reversal, the spurned bidder for 1st Mariner Bank got approval Tuesday to purchase it — preserving the city's largest independent bank as a Baltimore-based institution..

An all-out battle over Baltimore's last major independent bank broke out Monday in a contentious court hearing, leaving a judge to decide — potentially later this week — whether the institution is sold to an investment group with local ties or a Pennsylvania bank.

In recent years, Maryland has seen many local banks acquired by out-of-state rivals. A decade ago, the state had 139 banks based here, with 20 of them separately chartered affiliates of Mercantile-Safe Deposit & Trust Co., according to the Maryland Bankers Association.

National Penn Bank — a regional bank that mostly operates in Pennsylvania — emerged as the highest bidder for 1st Mariner Bank Friday, dashing the hopes of group of investors who wanted the bank to remain based in Baltimore.

John C. Rusnak, the former Allfirst Financial Inc. currency trader convicted of one of the biggest bank frauds in history, knows about second chances. He hired the applicant, Noah Shefrin, who stayed clean and has since moved up to become the general manager of the Glen Burnie ZIPS. So began Rusnak's mission of hiring others who've made mistakes.

Memphis travel tips

653 Severn Road is on the market for $3.65 million

Bank America cardholders get free admission to American Visionary Art Museum this weekend

Tya Courtney, who grew up in foster care, bought her first home through a program offered by Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake.

Educational institutions are increasingly becoming the targets of hackers seeking sensitive or otherwise valuable data, prompting academics to reconsider what data to keep, for how long and where.

Di Zhang, the Towson woman whose arrest for allegedly operating a brothel on East Joppa Road led to federal efforts to seize nearly $2 million worth of her real estate, was arrested on prostitution and human trafficking charges again last month in Montgomery County.

If you are among America's 68 million people who can't, won't or just don't do business with private banks, the post office wants you. Recognizing a need for affordable banking services among the nation's lower-income consumers, the U.S. Postal Service also sees a way to bolster its own bottom line.

A former administrator at the Maryland State Bar Association has been sentenced to prison for stealing $265,000 from the organization's charitable arm.

A French country chateau on a private island sounds like something from an episode of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," but it can be found as close by as 803 Rackham Road in Anne Arundel County.

The state legislature will consider this spring a handful of bills related to the mortgage crisis, but unlike in previous years, many are focused on what happens after the foreclosure process is complete.

The Fallston-Monkton area of Harford County is known for sweeping vistas and steep housing prices, but one farm has a price tag that's high even by Fallston standards.

Civil rights groups are pressing lawmakers in Annapolis to impose a six-month moratorium on home foreclosures, as the number of cases has surged in Maryland.

The state pension system is Maryland's financial Achilles heel. All bond rating services have noted that rising pension debt endangers the AAA bond rating, and the Pew Center on the States rates Maryland as one of the 10 most under-funded states. Perhaps it's time for Nancy Kopp to step down.

The deal to buy 1st Mariner Bank started with an irresistible offer — to two men who had nothing to do with the company.

A federal grand jury indicted two Garrett County developers Tuesday , accusing the two men of working together to use fake documents to secure $3.7 million in bank loans.

Maryland has allowed many of the very largest multi-state, multi-national corporations operating here to use a tax avoidance scheme resulting in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in state corporate taxes and, sadly, placing Maryland-only businesses at a distinct competitive disadvantage.

1st Mariner Bank will be sold to a group of investors who will recapitalize it with about $100 million to meet regulatory standards, its parent company said Monday.

The Woman's Club of Perry Hall is doing it again! This local organization is totally dedicated to helping out in our community with an extra tasty surprise this time. With the generous support of Italian Sensation, they are holding a delicious fundraiser on Feb. 12.

Outgoing Federal Reserve chairman helped rescue his country from a second economic depression

A large shareholder that is pushing Hampstead-based Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. to negotiate with suitor Men's Wearhouse plans to nominate two company directors at Bank's annual shareholder meeting.

Coldwell Banker Brokerage Adds New Members

Severn Bancorp Inc. announced it lost about $4 million on the recent sale of $15 million of underperforming loans as it continues to clean up its balance sheet.