First Mariner Bancorp - Competitors

First Mariner Bancorp Competition

Now Viewing First Mariner Bancorp's competition in: Banks and Credit Unions (primary)

Recent Developments

Financial Crisis Continues - Struggling banks may be rescued from billions of dollars in bad debt by the US government, as Congress considers a $700 billion bail-out of the US banking sector. In response to the crisis, the Federal Reserve expands its emergency lending and lets commercial banks finance purchases of asset-backed paper from money market funds. The Fed will buy short-term debt obligations issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Alternative Financing Companies Thrive in Credit Crunch - Alternative financing companies are taking advantage of the tight credit market by seeking customers with a history of repaying loans on time and in full. Companies like FirstAgain, which makes loans of up to $100,000 over the Internet, don't rely on credit bureaus or credit scores to make loans because many credit reports contain errors. About a third of all borrowers repay loans on time and in full, according to FirstAgain, but traditional credit reports don't provide enough information to identify those borrowers.

Banks Spend Millions Fixing Duplicate Checks - Converting checks to electronic form may reduce costs and speed processing, but it also increases the probability that duplicate checks will be created, according to consulting firm The Payment Group. Check conversion creates many more pathways for checks to get to a bank, increasing the probability of check duplication. Each duplicate check typically costs $70 to remediate, according to The Payment Group; the annual cost of remediation is nearly $5.3 million.

Competitive Landscape

Demand for banking services is closely tied to economic activity and the level of interest rates. The profitability of individual banks depends on marketing skills, efficient operations, and good risk management. Large economies of scale exist in some segments of the industry, which has encouraged industry consolidation. Smaller banks can compete successfully in segments where customer service or knowledge of the local market is more important. The industry is capital-intensive and highly automated: annual revenue per employee is close to $300,000.

Full Industry Overview For Banks and Credit Unions

Banks and Credit Unions Industry Forecast

from Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research

The output of US banks and credit unions is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 3.9 percent between 2007 and 2012.

Bank, Savings Institution, and Credit Union Growth Even

First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's "interindustry-macro" approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.