Earnings at Md. banks dip as rivals creep into region - Baltimore Business Journal:

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percent in the first quarter from a year ago as they continuw to battle a challenging interest rate environmenand ever-increasing competition. Maryland banks ofteb best national statistics, but the oppositre held true this time. Overall, first-quarter earningas at U.S. banks dipped by 2.5 percent from a year ago, accordinf to data from the The FDIC' s statistics for Maryland includeonly state-charteresd banks, which leaves out many of the bankd that do business here, said Kathleen CEO of the . Such a list would includer banks likeand , but would leave out national banks like Bank of America, which hold nearly a quarter of all deposits in the Baltimore-Towson market.
Banksd are in a bind right now becausethe short-term interest ratee they pay to borrow moneyt have risen but the long-term rateds they earn on lending moneuy have not kept up. That has squeezed profits and meanrt banks are fighting harder to get and keep At thesame time, more out-of-statew banks are entering the market, cranking up competition even more. "Banks in Marylandr right now are really in what I would coina hunker-downj philosophy," said Murphy. Some have felt they had to offe the highest deposit ratez in the market to attract while others are sticking to theirbusineses plans, Murphy said. Such challenges are said Robert Altieri, CEO of Baltimore-based .
net interest margins -- the difference between the rate banks pay on borrowing and the rate they earn onlendingb -- have only risen twice in the last 17 Altieri said. Carrollton's first-quarter earnings dropped by 31 percenftto $601,000. The bank has actually seen its marginz shrink less thansome competitors; first-quarter earnings were mainlyh affected by expenses related to litigation, Altier said.