SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
                Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
                        Securities Exchange Act of 1934.


                               (Amendment No. )


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      14a-6(e)(2)
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 [x]  Soliciting Material Pursuant to Sec. 240.14a-12


                        Provident Bankshares Corporation

                (Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)


                             Mid-Atlantic Investors

    (Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement if other than the Registrant)


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Press Release

For More Information, Call:

Jerry Shearer                                           For Release 9:00 AM EST
Mid-Atlantic Investors                                        February 15, 2000
(803) 749-7888

                        Mid-Atlantic Investors Discloses
                  Its Ownership Position in PBKS And Announces
             It Will Pursue A "Sell The Bank" Shareholder Proposal

         Mid-Atlantic Investors ("Mid-Atlantic") announced that it had submitted
a "Sell the Bank"  shareholder  proposal  to  Provident  Bankshares  Corporation
(Nasdaq: PBKS) for a vote by shareholders at the Company's next annual meeting.

         Mid-Atlantic  also  announced that  Mid-Atlantic,  and its partners and
affiliates,  had filed a joint  Schedule 13-D with the  Securities  and Exchange
Commission  disclosing  that  their  collective  ownership  in the  Company  had
increased to 5.4% of outstanding  shares, up from their collective  ownership of
about 3.0% at last year's annual meeting.

         Mid-Atlantic  stated  that it  believed  that the  stockholders  of the
Company  would be better off if a sale of the Company  were to occur in the near
future.   Jerry  Shearer,   managing  partner  of   Mid-Atlantic,   stated  that
"Mid-Atlantic's  `Sell The Bank'  shareholder  proposal will be on the Company's
proxy card and that Mid-Atlantic will be issuing its own proxy material as well.
Shareholders  will have a clear,  and  unambiguous,  opportunity  to make  their
wishes known concerning the Company's future."

         Shearer added:  "Management's  1999 earnings release  on January 19 and
the market's  prompt reaction to those earnings with a sell-off of more than two
million shares, resulting in a decline in market price from $16.63 on January 18
to an intra-day low of $13.88 on January 25, further underscores  Mid-Atlantic's
belief and opinion  that  shareholders  would be better  served by a sale of the
Company to a more efficiently run financial institution."

         The joint  Schedule  13-D is publicly  available on the web site of the
Securities  and Exchange  Commission at  http://www.sec.gov.  The joint Schedule
13-D  identifies  each of the  participants  and  gives a  description  of their
interests.  Provident  shareholders  are  advised to read  Mid-Atlantic's  proxy
statement when it is available  because it will contain  important  information.
Shareholders  will be able to get  Mid-Atlantic's  proxy  statement,  and  other
relevant  documents,  for free at the web site of the  Securities  and  Exchange
Commission.  Shareholders  will also be able to obtain a copy of  Mid-Atlantic's
proxy statement from  Mid-Atlantic by writing to Mid-Atlantic at Post Office Box
7574, Columbia, SC 29202.

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