Sandy Spring Bank
A Maryland-founded community bank that expanded across the Washington metropolitan area through retail, commercial, insurance, and wealth-management services.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Sandy Spring Bank was a community banking institution headquartered in Olney, Maryland, serving customers primarily in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and the wider Washington metropolitan area. Its origins date to 1868, when local Quaker farmers established the bank to pool savings and provide home loans to neighbors. The institution developed from that local mutual-support model into a diversified banking and financial-services organization operating through Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. The bank’s core activities included personal banking, business and commercial banking, deposits, consumer and commercial lending, residential and mortgage-related finance, credit products, and treasury services. Through affiliated or related businesses, the broader organization also provided insurance products, including commercial and personal insurance, surety bonds, workers’ compensation coverage, and professional-liability protection. Wealth management, financial planning, and asset-management services extended the group’s offering to high-net-worth individuals, businesses, associations, and other institutional clients. Sandy Spring expanded substantially through acquisitions. It purchased First Montgomery Bank in 1993 and Annapolis Bancshares in 1996, adding banking operations in Maryland. In 2001, it acquired Chesapeake Insurance Group of Annapolis and renamed the business Sandy Spring Insurance Corp., helping establish a broader financial-services platform. Additional bank acquisitions followed in Virginia and Maryland, including Potomac Bank of Virginia in 2007, County National Bank of Glen Burnie in 2007, and CommerceFirst Bank of Annapolis in 2012. During the 2008 financial crisis, the company received an $82 million investment through the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program. It repaid the investment in December 2010, becoming one of the first community banks in the Washington metropolitan area to do so. The company continued geographic expansion afterward, opening its first District of Columbia branch in 2016 and acquiring WashingtonFirst Bankshares in 2018 for approximately $489 million. That transaction made Sandy Spring the largest community bank headquartered in the Washington metropolitan area according to contemporary descriptions of the deal. In 2020, it acquired Revere Bank of Maryland for approximately $293 million. Leadership continuity was another feature of the institution’s development. Daniel J. Schrider, who had joined the company as a lender in 1989, became chief executive officer in 2009 after succeeding Hunter R. Hollar. Under the Sandy Spring Bancorp structure, the bank combined a community-bank identity with a wider set of commercial, insurance, and wealth-management capabilities. In April 2025, Atlantic Union Bank acquired Sandy Spring Bancorp. The acquisition changed the ownership and corporate context of Sandy Spring Bank. The continuing status of the Sandy Spring Bank name and operating brand after the transaction requires confirmation from current company or regulatory materials.
History
Sandy Spring Bank traces its origins to 1868, when Quaker farmers in the Sandy Spring community of Maryland organized a bank to combine local savings and make home loans to neighboring residents. The founding purpose gave the institution a community-oriented identity that remained central as it grew into a regional bank. The institution began expanding through acquisitions in the 1990s. In December 1993 it acquired First Montgomery Bank, followed by the August 1996 acquisition of Annapolis Bancshares for $17 million. In December 2001, the company broadened beyond traditional banking by acquiring Chesapeake Insurance Group of Annapolis and renaming it Sandy Spring Insurance Corp. This created a platform that could combine deposit-taking and lending with insurance services. Further banking acquisitions increased the company’s presence in Maryland and Virginia. In February 2007, Sandy Spring acquired Potomac Bank of Virginia for $64.7 million. In June of the same year, it acquired County National Bank of Glen Burnie for $44.1 million. The company then faced the pressures affecting the banking industry during the 2008 financial crisis. It received an $82 million capital investment from the Troubled Asset Relief Program and repaid that investment in December 2010, an early repayment among community banks in the Washington metropolitan area. Leadership changed during this period. Daniel J. Schrider became chief executive officer in January 2009, succeeding Hunter R. Hollar. Schrider had joined the organization as a lender in 1989, reflecting the institution’s practice of developing senior leadership from within its banking operations. After the crisis, Sandy Spring resumed expansion. In May 2012 it acquired CommerceFirst Bank of Annapolis for $25.4 million. It opened its first District of Columbia branch in February 2016, extending its physical presence into the capital region. That year, Sandy Spring Insurance acquired The Advantage Group, strengthening the organization’s insurance capabilities. The most significant expansion came in January 2018, when Sandy Spring acquired WashingtonFirst Bankshares for $489 million. The transaction enlarged the bank’s footprint and was characterized at the time as making Sandy Spring the largest community bank headquartered in the Washington metropolitan area. In April 2020, the company acquired Revere Bank of Maryland for $293 million. By this stage, Sandy Spring Bancorp and its banking subsidiary operated as a diversified regional financial-services group. Alongside personal and commercial banking, the organization offered insurance, surety bonds, workers’ compensation insurance, professional-liability protection, financial planning, wealth management, and asset management. Its customers included individuals, businesses, associations, and high-net-worth clients. In April 2025, Atlantic Union Bank acquired the company. This transaction ended Sandy Spring Bancorp’s independent ownership and placed its banking operations within Atlantic Union’s organization. Publicly available reference material confirms the acquisition but does not establish whether the Sandy Spring Bank name continued as a distinct customer-facing brand, so the post-acquisition brand status remains to be verified.
- 2025
Acquired by Atlantic Union Bank
[1]Atlantic Union Bank acquired Sandy Spring Bancorp and its associated banking operations.
- 2020
Revere Bank acquired
[1]Sandy Spring acquired Revere Bank of Maryland for $293 million.
- 2018
WashingtonFirst Bankshares acquired
[1]The $489 million acquisition materially increased the company’s regional scale.
- 2016
First District of Columbia branch opened
[1]Sandy Spring opened its first branch in the District of Columbia and also expanded its insurance business through the acquisition of The Advantage Group.
- 2012
CommerceFirst Bank acquired
[1]The bank acquired CommerceFirst Bank of Annapolis for $25.4 million.
- 2010
TARP investment repaid
[1]Sandy Spring repaid its $82 million Troubled Asset Relief Program investment.
- 2007
Expansion through two bank acquisitions
[1]The company acquired Potomac Bank of Virginia and County National Bank of Glen Burnie.
- 2001
Insurance platform established
[1]The acquisition of Chesapeake Insurance Group led to the creation of Sandy Spring Insurance Corp.
- 1996
Acquisition of Annapolis Bancshares
[1]Sandy Spring acquired Annapolis Bancshares in a transaction valued at $17 million.
- 1993
Acquisition of First Montgomery Bank
[1]The bank expanded its Maryland franchise through the acquisition of First Montgomery Bank.
Products and positioning
A relationship-oriented community bank with a broad regional financial-services platform spanning consumer banking, commercial banking, insurance, and wealth management.
Retail banking
Personal banking
The bank’s personal-banking activities served individual customers through deposit accounts, transaction accounts, savings products, consumer lending, residential finance, and other everyday banking services. The offering was built around a local relationship-banking model rather than a purely national digital proposition.
Business banking
Commercial banking
Commercial banking served businesses and organizations with business deposits, commercial lending, real-estate finance, credit facilities, treasury services, and related financial support. The service complemented Sandy Spring’s community-bank focus and its concentration in the Washington metropolitan area.
Insurance · 2001
Insurance services
Through Sandy Spring Insurance Corp. and related acquisitions, the broader organization offered personal and commercial insurance, surety bonds, workers’ compensation insurance, and professional-liability protection. These services diversified the group beyond deposits and lending.
Wealth management
Wealth and asset management
The organization provided financial planning, wealth management, and asset-management services to high-net-worth individuals, businesses, associations, and other clients. These capabilities positioned Sandy Spring as a broader financial-services provider rather than only a branch-based bank.
Brand decisions
2025
Sale to Atlantic Union BankM&ABackground
Sandy Spring Bancorp operated a regional banking and financial-services platform in the Washington metropolitan area.
Action taken
Atlantic Union Bank acquired the company in April 2025.
Aftermath
The acquisition transferred ownership of Sandy Spring Bancorp and its banking operations to Atlantic Union. The long-term status of the Sandy Spring Bank brand requires confirmation.
2010
Repayment of government crisis capitalStrategyBackground
Sandy Spring had received an $82 million investment through the Troubled Asset Relief Program during the 2008 financial crisis.
Action taken
The company repaid the TARP investment in December 2010.
Aftermath
The repayment made Sandy Spring one of the first community banks in the Washington metropolitan area to exit its TARP investment.
TARP investment repaid. $82 million received → $82 million repaid (2008-2010)
Recent events
Sandy Spring Bank completes Revere Bank systems transition[3]
Reported:
Sandy Spring Bank completed the transition of all Revere Bank systems to Sandy Spring Bank; the article identifies the announcement as occurring Monday.
Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.
Sources3 sources
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