Feb. 5 — First Mariner Bancorp  CEO  Edwin F. Hale Sr.  plans to pump  $2 million  of his own money into the company in a complex deal that eliminates  $20 million  in debt — the latest step in the bank’s months-long effort to satisfy federal regulators by raising capital and dealing with bad housing loans.

First Mariner also disclosed Thursday thatit no longer faces delisting from the  Nasdaq Stock Market  because the company’s stock and market value have increased.

To regain compliance with Nasdaq, the stock price had to be at least  $1  per share, and the minimum market value of its shares had to be at least  $5 million , for 10 consecutive days.

The company said it satisfied Nasdaq’s requirements on  Feb. 2 . The shares rose 7.4 percent Thursday, to  $1.31 .

Hale, who also serves as chairman, has agreed to buy First Mariner trust preferred securities, a hybrid of bond and stock, and exchange those for  $2 million  worth of stock plus warrants. The net effect of the deal is that stockholders’ equity is expected to increase by  $12.8 million , according to the company.

“It’s a very, very noble move for Mr. Hale,” said  Anthony Polini , a research analyst with  Raymond James  who follows the bank. “Before today I couldn’t tell you that this stock could double in a year, but now I can actually say that.”

Other unnamed directors and executive officers also are buying trust preferred securities worth another  $6 million , in exchange for  $600,000  in common stock and warrants, the company reported.

While the agreement with Hale, which requires shareholder approval, helps improve the capital levels of the holding company, it will have less of an impact on its subsidiary, 1st  Mariner Bank , which is facing the increased regulatory scrutiny, according to the company.

Bert Ely , an independent bank analyst based in  Virginia , said First Mariner executives still have work to do to shore up the financial health of the bank subsidiary. “It’s a positive for the company, but it doesn’t really fully address its capital problem as it exists in the bank subsidiary,” he said.

After agreeing to devise a plan to boost its capital last year, First Mariner has sold a consumer finance division for  $10.5 million  and plans this year to offer shareholders the right to buy additional stock as a way to raise  $20 million .

Ely said the bank could have a difficult time raising that  $20 million  because he wasn’t sure whether investors would pour more money into the struggling company. Hale does not expect to participate in the rights offering, according to First Mariner.

“Whoever puts in  $20 million  is going to want control of the company,” Ely said.

In September, the  Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.  and the  Maryland Division of Financial Oversight  increased their oversight of the bank. In November, the bank also started facing increased oversight from the  Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va.

In an interview Thursday, Hale said the company worked on the trust preferred securities transaction for six months and received approvals from the Federal Reserve, the  Securities and Exchange Commission , the  FDIC  and state banking regulators on the deal.

“We’ve had to go through a very rigorous approval process,” Hale said.

He characterized the transaction as “unprecedented.”

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