Provident Bankshares Corp. / PBKS

About Provident Bankshares Corp.

114 E. Lexington St., Baltimore, Md. 21202
www.provbank.com | 410-277-7000 | Founded: 1886

Industry: Banking | Category: Banks

Since the beginning of 2006, Provident has opened four branches and closed eight. The closings include seven that were shuttered simultaneously in March.
Catering to the immigrant population, it introduced a service at four branches that enables account holders to send funds to Central and Latin America via the Web, though the service has not been used heavily.
The bank also introduced a device that can spare businesses a trip to the bank by allowing them to deposit checks from their own offices.
Like other regional and local banks, Provident contended with adverse trends in interest rates over the past year. Banks make money on the difference between the rates they pay depositors and the rates they charge borrowers. Over the past few years, the spread has narrowed between the long-term rates banks can charge on loans and the short-term rates that help determine how much interest they must pay depositors. During the second half of last year, prevailing short-term rates exceeded long-term rates, adding to the squeeze.
To counter that trend, Provident sold $183 million of mortgage-backed securities that it had been holding in its portfolio, incurring a fourth-quarter charge of $5 million.
In other news, Provident gained a bit of local fame after teller LaKisha Jones made it to the finals of the "American Idol" singing competition.

Chairman and CEO: Gary N. Geisel

2006 Financial Data

Net Income: $70,003,000
Asssets: $6,295,893,000 | Earnings Per Share: $2.12
Stockholder Equity: $633,631,000 | Annual Dividend: $1.17
Total employees: 1,945 | Local employees: 535