1st Mariner Bancorp Reports First Quarter 2013 Results
19.06.13
Quarter of 2013, we took the opportunity to improve our balance sheet and asset quality by aggressively addressing our level of non-performing assets. We reduced our non-performing loans by 25% during the quarter and our ratio of non-performing assets to total assets improved to 3.2% as of March 31, 2013, down from 4.1% as of December 31, 2012 and 5.3% as of March 31, 2012. Going forward these reductions will reduce operating expenses, improve our net interest margin and avoid any potential cost of any future deterioration in value.”
Mr. Keidel added, “We continue to experience very robust residential mortgage loan origination volume. During the quarter, we originated more than $720 million in residential mortgages which was a 56% increase over same quarter of 2012. Application volume totaled $759 million in the first quarter of 2013 compared to $677 million during the first quarter of 2012. This production volume resulted in more than $9.8 million to our non-interest income for the quarter. We continue to see a pick-up in application volumes for purchases of new and existing homes as well as steady refinance volume. Increases in expenses for the quarter were attributable to costs of disposal of non-performing assets and higher mortgage banking expenses.
Source: http://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2013/05/14/1st-mariner-bancorp-reports-first-quarter-2013-results/
VIEW FROM FRONT PORCH: Sally Field and the Bully Pulpit
19.06.13
“You like me, right now, you like me!”
No, I’m not talking about me per se, rather I am sharing Sally Field’s 1985 memorable Oscar acceptance speech for winning Best Actress in the movie “Places in the Heart.”
If you haven’t seen “Places in the Heart” I highly recommend that you do. It’s a terrific movie about a young widowed mother in the 1930s trying to survive after the sudden death of her husband. The movie has a wonderful cast including Danny Glover who plays a share cropper helping Sally Field’s character and John Malkovich as a blind man who Fields’ takes in to help cover the mortgage.
There’s a pivotal scene near the end of the movie where some townsmen dressed in white robes are about to lynch Glover but they are stopped when Malkovich identifies the men by their voices. It’s an incredibly moving scene that showed that these men were tough hiding under their hoods and robes but as soon as they were exposed they cowered up and went away; which brings us around to Cohasset.
Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/cohasset/topstories/x372822045/VIEW-FROM-FRONT-PORCH-Sally-Field-and-the-Bully-Pulpit