Many Maryland banks are seeing stronger financial numbers, as work force reductions still continue at some.

Capital One Financial of McLean, Va., plans to lay off 80 employees at a home loan office in Bethesda by early November, a bank spokeswoman said. Capital One acquired the former Chevy Chase Bank, which had its headquarters and a large mortgage business in Bethesda.

The move comes as the banking giant makes operations more efficient, said Julie Rakes, a spokeswoman for Capital One.

“After careful analysis of the home loans business, Capital One leaders have made the decision to consolidate its existing home loans sites,” she said. “As a result, Capital One will discontinue certain home loans functions at its Bethesda location.”

Affected employees are in operations and mortgage consultant roles, Rakes said. They will be given at least 90 days’ notice of losing their jobs, plus severance packages and help finding another position, she said. Some may transfer to other Capital One sites that are hiring.

The announcement follows one in May that Capital One plans to close an office in Hanover by Dec. 31, affecting 40 workers in credit card operations there. Capital One acquired HSBC’s U.S. Card business.

Employees who are affected there also will receive at least 90 days’ notice, severance deals and help finding a new job, and will be eligible to apply for other open jobs within Capital One, Rakes said.

Capital One is the fourth-largest bank in Maryland deposits with $9.6 billion, according to the most recent data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Capital One is adding employees in Virginia with the recent announcement of a $150 million data center near Richmond expected to create about 50 jobs. First-quarter profits for the banking giant rose to $1.4 billion, some 38 percent higher than a year earlier.

No other Maryland bank reports recent layoffs

Capital One was the only bank to recently notify the state of impending layoffs. HarVest Bank of Maryland in Gaithersburg closed in April, with Sonabank, a subsidiary of Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, taking over most assets.

HarVest, which had all four of its branches in Maryland, cut four employees during the first quarter this year, according to the FDIC. The bank lost $1.5 million in the first quarter and $1.8 million in last year’s fourth quarter.

HarVest’s total risk-based capital ratio — a key measure of bank financial health — fell below 2 percent during the first quarter from almost 6 percent a year earlier, according to the FDIC. A bank must maintain a risk-based capital ratio of at least 10 percent to be considered well-capitalized by regulators, and is considered significantly undercapitalized at less than 6 percent and critically undercapitalized at less than 2 percent.

Bank of the Eastern Shore in Cambridge also closed in June. That institution lost about $500,000 in the first quarter and $1 million during last year’s fourth quarter.

The bank slashed its work force by two in the 2011 fourth quarter, then added an employee in the 2012 first quarter, according to the FDIC. Its risk-based ratio fell to 3.1 percent in the first quarter from 4.02 percent a year earlier.

Sandy Spring Bank of Olney, the largest bank with headquarters in Maryland and that has most of its offices in the state, reduced employees by 12 during the first quarter after increasing them by a dozen during the 2011 fourth quarter, according to the FDIC. Net income for the first quarter rose to $8.5 million, some 16 percent higher than a year earlier.

The Columbia Bank of Columbia, the second-largest bank based in Maryland that has all of its branches in the state, saw its work force drop by 13 to 310 during the first quarter this year and by three during the fourth quarter, according to the FDIC. Net income in the first quarter was $2.5 million, down 16 percent from a year earlier.

EagleBank of Bethesda, the third-largest bank with headquarters in the state and that has most of its offices in Maryland, maintained the same employee count during the first quarter after increasing the work force by 13 during the fourth quarter. Net earnings rose to $7.9 million in the first quarter, up 37 percent from a year earlier.

Some 96 percent of Maryland banks are considered well-capitalized, according to the Maryland Bankers Association.

Sandy Spring will release second-quarter earnings Thursday, while Eagle will do so July 24. Fulton Financial, parent of Columbia and other banks in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia, is due to issue second-quarter earnings Wednesday.

kshay@gazette.net