Provident Bankshares; PNC Financial

Provident Bankshares said it was raising $115 million from investors

to shore up its financial position. Posting a Q1 loss of $17.6 ;million vs profit of $16.1 million.

The loss could be attributed to a $42.7 million write-down of its real-estate related investment portfolio,

the 2nd consecutive quarterly loss the company has taken due to the falling value of that portfolio.

PNC Financial said its profit was $377 million vs $459 million. The drop in profit was due to the company increasing

its set-aside for potential losses in its portfolio of loans to $151 million compared to $8 million in the first quarter of 2007.

James E. Rohr, CEO: "We are in the worst housing market in recorded history of the United States."

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