Provident Bank Announces Key Appointments

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Provident Bank Announces Key Appointments
                        - Regional Presidents Named
   - New Real Estate Banking Executive and Chief Credit Officer Appointed

    BALTIMORE, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Provident Bank announces
the appointments of John King, Hugh Newton and Kevin Walsh to serve as
regional presidents for its major metropolitan markets of Greater
Baltimore, Greater Washington and Central Virginia, respectively. These
appointments, along with the selection of a chief credit officer, Kenneth
J. Waldych, and executive manager for real estate lending, H. Les Patrick,
will bolster Provident's market presence, align the bank's growth with area
economic growth and build awareness and market visibility. Provident
Chairman and CEO Gary Geisel, along with President and COO Kevin Byrnes,
will continue to maintain their respective roles while focusing on the
Bank's overall corporate affairs.
    Kenneth J. Waldych will serve as Executive Vice President of Credit
Administration. H. Les Patrick, who formerly held that position, was
appointed as Executive Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Banking.
    Provident Chairman and CEO Gary Geisel explained, "In addition to our
increased geographic reach, our Commercial Banking and Real Estate Banking
businesses have reached significant levels of size and complexity. To best
manage these larger units and continue our strong customer focus, we
decided to create two separate business lines and named Les Patrick to head
the Real Estate Banking group. Hugh Newton, in addition to his new duties
as a Regional President, will continue to lead the Commercial Banking
Group.
    As a result of this realignment, we needed a Chief Credit Officer. We
could not have made a better choice in announcing the selection of Ken
Waldych. Ken brings tremendous lending experience to Provident, along with
his strong focus on the customer."
    Waldych, a veteran bank executive, is highly experienced in the
development and administration of credit policies. He worked at the former
Allfirst Bank for nearly 20 years in senior management roles including EVP
and Senior Credit Officer for the Regional Banking Group. He also served as
an SVP and Specialty Banking Group Head with responsibilities for several
specialty commercial lending divisions. Waldych was recently a Director of
the Executive Sounding Board Associates, Inc., a group which provides
management, financial and advisory services, primarily, to middle market
companies.
    Patrick has served as EVP and Group Manager of Credit Administration
for Provident since 2000. Prior to Provident, he was Regional Executive in
the Real Estate Banking Group for Bank of America. He managed real estate
clients in the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets and represented loan
commitments of approximately $550 million. Patrick had spent 22 years at
Bank of America and its predecessors, NationsBank and Equitable Banks.
    In their expanded local roles, Regional Presidents King, Newton and
Walsh will work with key Provident managers in the Greater Baltimore,
Greater Washington and Central Virginia to maximize regional performance
and further implement Provident's bankwide customer relationship sales
strategy. They will also work with area community leaders and local
government officials in business development activities.
    "We want our customers and the communities we serve to understand our
commitment to excellence every day," said President and COO Kevin Byrnes.
"The appointment of three new Regional Presidents will continue to position
Provident as the 'right size bank,' providing an even greater opportunity
to deepen customer relationships."
    Each Regional President will continue to manage his current
responsibilities with John King managing the Bank's Consumer Banking
Division, Hugh Newton managing the Commercial Group and Kevin Walsh
managing Commercial Banking in Central Virginia.
    Provident Bankshares Corporation (Nasdaq: PBKS) is the holding company
for Provident Bank, the second largest independent commercial bank
headquartered in Maryland. With $6.4 billion in assets, Provident serves
individuals and businesses in the key urban areas of Baltimore, Washington
and Richmond through a network of 152 offices in Maryland, Virginia, and
southern York County, PA. Provident Bank also offers related financial
services through wholly owned subsidiaries. Securities brokerage,
investment management and related insurance services are available through
Provident Investment Center and leases through Court Square Leasing and
Provident Lease Corp. Visit Provident on the web at
http://www.provbank.com.
SOURCE Provident Bank
http://www.provbank.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/721938.html/
CONTACT:
Vicki Cox, Corporate Communications,
Provident Bank, +1-410-277-2063