1st Mariner Bancorp is a bank holding company whose business is conducted primarily through its wholly-owned subsidiary, 1st Mariner Bank. The bank, which was formed in 1995 through mergers of several local financial institutions, is headquartered in Baltimore City and serves central Maryland, Maryland's Eastern Shore, and southeastern Pennsyvania. On January 1, 2002, the bank consolidated the operations of its wholly-owned subsidiary, 1st Mariner Mortgage Corporation into a newly formed operating division of the bank titled 1st Mariner Mortgage.

The bank is an FDIC-insured, independent community bank engaged in the general commercial banking business, with particular attention and emphasis on the needs of individuals and small to mid-sized businesses. 1st Mariner delivers a wide range of financial products and services that are offered by many larger competitors. Products and services include traditional deposit products, a variety of consumer and commercial loans, residential and commercial mortgage and construction loans, money transfer services, non-deposit investment products, and Internet banking and similar services. Most importantly, 1st Mariner provides customers with access to local bank officers who are empowered to act with flexibility to meet customers' needs in an effort to foster and develop long-term loan and deposit relationships.

The company's initial strategy involved building a network of banking branches and ATMs to capture market share and establish a community franchise for stockholders, customers, and employees. Having developed this infrastructure, the focus is now on growing assets and earnings by capitalizing on the broad network of bank branches, mortgage offices, and ATMs that were established during the infrastructure expansion phase. 1st Mariner believes its current strategy to grow assets and increase profitability will not require substantial expansion of the existing infrastructure.

To continue asset growth and profitability, the company's marketing strategy is targeted to:

• Capitalize on a personal relationship approach that the company believes
  differentiates itself from its larger competitors;
• Provide customers with access to local executives who make key credit and other decisions; 
• Pursue commercial lending opportunities with small to mid-sized businesses that are 
  underserved by larger competitors;
• Develop innovative financial products and services to generate additional sources of revenue;
• Cross-sell products and services to existing customers to leverage relationships and 
  enhance profitability;
• Review branch performance from time to time to evaluate possible consolidations
  that may increase efficiency; and
• Adhere to rigorous credit standards to maintain the continued quality of assets as the
  company implements its growth strategy.