Howard Bancorp, Inc. and 1st Mariner Bank jointly announced the signing of a definitive agreement and plan of reorganization whereby Howard will acquire 1st Mariner. Upon completion of the merger, Mary Ann Scully will continue as Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Howard and Howard Bank, and Robert Kunisch, will join the Howard and Howard Bank boards of directors and assume the role of President of Howard and Howard Bank. George Coffman will continue as Chief Financial Officer of Howard, James Witty will continue as Chief Commercial Banking Officer, Robert Altieri will continue as the Chief Mortgage Officer, Randy Jones will join from 1st Mariner as Chief Credit Officer, Charles Schwabe will continue as Chief Risk Officer, and Steven Poynot will become Chief Administrative Officer. 1st Mariner Executive Chairman Jack Steil will also join the Howard and Howard Bank boards as a director and will serve as Senior Business Development Advisor to the combined company. The Howard and Howard Bank boards will be reconstituted to have 14 members, eight of whom will be from the current Howard board and six from the current 1st Mariner board.