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First Mariner Bank of Baltimore has agreed to pay up to $1 million to settle federal complaints that it discriminated against Hispanics, blacks and women seeking home mortgages by charging higher rates.

The bank consented to several orders from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. But officials did not admit to the FDIC's allegations that they discriminated against borrowers, mostly in Northern Virginia, according to a First Mariner filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

Regulators charged that the bank violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and the Federal Trade Commission Act in 2006 and 2007. The FDIC said First Mariner charged Hispanic, black and female borrowers more by charging higher interest rates and points than it charged others. The bank also misled borrowers about the cost of payment-option adjustable-rate mortgage loans, according to the FDIC.

The settlement calls for the bank to pay up to $950,000 in restitution to the affected borrowers, plus a civil penalty of $50,000. First Mariner had reserved $950,000 in the fourth quarter of 2008 to cover the settlement.

The bank also must develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with fair lending and disclosure laws, plus ensure adequate disclosure of costs and terms to loan applicants.

Also, First Mariner must conduct or sponsor quarterly financial literacy and education courses where it provides residential mortgage loans. It is also banned from offering "payment-option" adjustable-rate mortgage loans; the bank said it stopped offering these loans in 2007.

The bank's parent, First Mariner Bancorp of Baltimore, which also owns Mariner Finance, last week reported a first-quarter net loss of $3.1 million, versus a net loss of $3.3 million in the prior-year quarter. Total assets at March 31 were $1.38 billion, up 7 percent from a year earlier.

The bank was formed in 1995 through mergers of several financial institutions. It has 25 offices, mostly in central and northeastern Maryland, with one in Easton on the Eastern Shore and one in southeastern Pennsylvania.