EagleBank, Maryland’s largest locally headquartered bank, is expanding into Baltimore for the first time in its nearly 30-year history, and this time it’s not just sending a few loan officers to scout the territory. The Bethesda-based bank, which holds $9.6 billion in assets, has hired two commercial bankers to launch its Baltimore operations and plans to open a physical office in Baltimore City complete with a retail branch.
According to WBAL, EagleBank’s commercial banking team will lead a full rollout in the Baltimore market, and the bank intends to establish a substantial presence there rather than simply placing a couple of bankers in the city. Chief Lending Officer Evelyn Lee, a Baltimore native, framed the decision to open a brick-and-mortar branch as a statement of intent. Lee said opening a physical retail branch in Baltimore City signals a commitment to “plant a flag” in the local community rather than operating strictly as a loan production office, per the station’s report.
New Leadership, New Direction
The Baltimore push comes months after Eagle Bancorp installed Stephen Curley as president and CEO in July, replacing longtime chief executive Susan Riel. Curley has said the bank plans to diversify its loan book with more commercial and industrial lending while continuing to lend in commercial real estate, according to American Banker. Curley previously served as chief banking officer for national business lines at Phoenix-based Western Alliance Bank before officially assuming EagleBank’s top job on July 6.
Curley described the Baltimore expansion as a natural extension of the bank’s regional franchise, saying it aligns with a strategy to enter markets where local relationships and responsive decision-making drive business growth, per a release cited by GlobeNewswire. Riel, who joined EagleBank at its 1998 founding and became CEO in 2019, agreed to a 12-month consulting agreement following her retirement to assist with the executive transition, according to FinTech Futures. She remains a member of Eagle Bancorp’s board of directors.
The Bankers Behind the Push
Leading the charge in Baltimore is Lynn Sanders, EagleBank’s new Baltimore market executive, who joined from Wells Fargo Commercial Banking, where she spent more than a decade as executive director and senior relationship manager overseeing banking relationships for Maryland-headquartered companies with annual revenues ranging from $100 million to $14 billion. Richard Yoskey will lead EagleBank’s local commercial and industrial lending operations after previously working for CFG Bank and structuring acquisition financing as senior director of capital markets at Baltimore-based Cerebro Capital, the GlobeNewswire release noted. Yoskey also serves on the board of the Association for Corporate Growth Maryland…