Harbor Bank founder and CEO Haskins steps down after four decades

Lorraine Mirabella, Baltimore Sun
Updated ·2 min read

Joseph Haskins Jr. has stepped down as CEO of The Harbor Bank of Maryland, four decades after he co-founded the state’s only Black-owned and -managed commercial bank.

John Lewis, the Baltimore-based bank’s president and chief operating officer who was handpicked as successor by Haskins, has been promoted to CEO.

Haskins, who the bank said is one of the longest-serving CEOs in Maryland history, will stay on as chairman of the bank and its holding company, Harbor Bankshares Corp.

“The Bank is at the strongest financial position it has been in in its 40 years of operations,” Haskins said in a news release announcing leadership changes as of April 3.

Haskins, a Baltimore native, co-founded the bank to provide capital, credit and financial products to customers who historically lacked access to those services. Headquartered in downtown Baltimore, Harbor Bank has $363 million in assets, seven branches in the Baltimore area and a loan production office in Silver Spring. It offers mortgage loans and online banking, bill pay and cash management services.

During the pandemic, the bank put significant resources into funding federal Paycheck Protection Program loans, issuing $66 million to 694 businesses in the Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Virginia region.

Haskins hired Lewis eight years ago as part of a succession plan. Lewis previously served in leadership roles at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., completed credit and management training at FleetBoston Financial Group and M&T, and was an investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston.

Lewis, who grew up in Williamsville, New York, got into banking through an internship as an analyst for Fleet Bank in Buffalo, New York, while studying industrial and labor relations at Cornell University. He earned a master’s degree from Harvard Business School in 2004.

Lewis became president and COO of Harbor Bank in 2020. As CEO, he will retain the role of president.

“Harbor has established itself as an innovative financial institution that is passionate about supporting minority and low-income communities,” Lewis said in the company’s release.