First Mariner Bancorp, the parent company of First Mariner Bank and Finance Maryland LLC, on Tuesday announced its highest-ever first-quarter profit.

The company also reported that its net income for the first quarter of 2006 increased 21 percent, totaling $1.660 million or 25 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $1.375 million or 22 cents per diluted share for the same quarter in 2005. Additionally, the company saw its total assets increase by 6 percent to $1.355 billion compared with the same period the year before and its loans increase by 11 percent to $851.9 million.