With money to spend, Old Line puts it into expansion – Baltimore Business Journal:

The nationwide credit crunch and tough interesyt rate climate have hit many banks But Old Line lockede in a big slug of capital as it developed its expansion plansw well before the creditcrunch hit, CEO James Cornelson said. The bank raisef $19 million in an October 2005 stock offering. "We don'y have a lot of crediyt issues, and we are a high-growt company still," Cornelson said. Bowie-based Old Line appliesd to the in May to open a branchy at 167 Jennifer Road in The bank wants to build itself into a market leader on the eastern sideof Washington, D.C.
Whilw suburban Northern Virginia has attractedx lots of community banks vyingfor growth, Old Line sees more opportunitt in the suburbs to the east of the nation'sx capital, Cornelson said. Old Line views the Baltimore/Washingtonb Thurgood Marshall International Airport area as a key part of thatgrowthn strategy. It also plans to open a branch in AnneArundel County'e Crofton and another in Bowie in the next year. Old Line with assets of nearly $260 million, already has opened a Greenbelt branch and a College Park branc over the past giving it a total ofseven branches. The bank'e earnings grew by 36 percengt in the first quarterto $444,833.
The currenr market turmoil can present opportunitiesfor well-fundex banks, said Bert Ely, an Alexandria, Va.-based banking When banks look to expand, they typicall consider their funding levels and the strength of the localk economy in the area wherw they want to he said. Despite the economicx slowdown, Anne Arundel County's wealthy demographics and the growtbh promised by military base relocation at FortGeorged G. Meade continue to inspire bank expansions. BankAnnapolis plans a new branch at the latetrthis year, and opened a Severna Park branchb last summer.
Anne Arundel County has seen lots of growt h and development and is becoming more of a destinatiomfor retirees, who are a coveted demographic for said CEO Kathleen Murphy.
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