FDIC and Maryland Commissioner Approve 1st Mariner Bank Merger Application and Recapitalization by Investment Group

BALTIMORE, June 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --  1st Mariner Bank and RKJS Bank announced today that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Maryland State Banking Commissioner approved the merger agreement between 1st Mariner Bank and investor group RKJS Bank.

The investor group has strong ties to Baltimore and is led by Robert D. Kunisch Jr., who will serve as president and chief operating officer of 1st Mariner Bank, and Jack E. Steil, who will serve as chairman and chief executive officer.

Approval by the regulatory agencies was needed to complete the transaction, which is expected to close in the month of June.

Members of the investment group include Priam Capital, Patriot Financial Partners, GCP Capital Partners, TFO Financial Institutions Restructuring Fund LLC and several prominent members of the Baltimore business community.

The investment group was the successful bidder for the bank in a court-supervised proceeding conducted in April in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The sale of the equity interest in 1st Mariner Bank will result in the immediate contribution of approximately $100 million in additional capital, recapitalizing the bank in accordance with all state and federal regulatory requirements, significantly improving the strength of its balance sheet, and advancing its business plan to become one of the region's leading financial institutions.

The acquisition of the equity interest in 1st Mariner Bank will be accomplished by the merger of the RKJS Bank with and into 1st Mariner Bank, with 1st Mariner Bank as the surviving entity.

"We have accomplished the first part of our plan, which was to preserve a strong local bank for Baltimore and Maryland, and we now look forward to tackling the second part of the plan, which is growing this bank into a powerful financial partner for customers and business clients," said Mr. Steil.

"Baltimore and the region offers strong opportunities for growth," added Mr. Kunisch. "I look forward to growing a successful hometown bank in the community where I grew up."

Steil was most recently president of Wilmington Trust Mid-Atlantic Region, and Kunisch was president of Wilmington Trust FSB, Maryland. Both spent the majority of their careers at the former Mercantile Bank, focusing predominantly on the Maryland market.

About 1st Mariner Bank

1st Mariner Bank is the largest, independently owned bank in Baltimore City. It operates 16 full service bank branches in Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Harford, Howard and Carroll counties in Maryland, and the City of Baltimore. 1st Mariner Mortgage, a division of 1st Mariner Bank, operates retail offices in Central Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and portions of Northern Virginia. 1st Mariner Mortgage also operates direct marketing mortgage operations in Baltimore. 1st Mariner Bank's Website address is www.1stMarinerBank.com.

SOURCE 1st Mariner Bank