FIRST Maryland Bancorp is one of the larger locally based banks in its market, but it faces strong competition from banks with regional headquarters in the state such as Nations Bank and First Union.

FMB's headquarters are in the state capital, Baltimore, which has a population of 2.4 million in the greater metropolitan area. The area is in transition from a manufacturing to a service economy.

FMB and its subsidiaries service the adjacent markets of south central Pennsylvania, Washington DC, the eastern shore of Maryland and Delaware. This area is the fourth largest urban complex in the US and population growth is expected to be among the fastest in the country. It is an area of high wealth.

The Washington metropolitan area has a population of 4.2 million, with a large number of local and national government employees. Southern Pennsylvania has a population of 1.6 million while 200,000 live in Maryland's eastern shore area. Both are manufacturing regions. In all, FMB's target market has a population of 8.4 million.

While FMB is a major bank in the Baltimore area, it is "a fringe player" beyond that. It has 176 branches, with 40 in the greater Washington area. Its acquisition of First Washington Bancorp, expected to be completed in July, will add assets of $1 billion.

Most branches outside the greater Baltimore area are clustered in the parts that are closest to Baltimore the Maryland suburbs of Washington and York and Lancaster counties in south central Pennsylvania.

In its marketplace, the FMB has about 5, per cent of the deposits.