Activist Stilwell to Pursue Board Seat at Baltimore's Fairmount Bancorp

Fairmount Bancorp in Baltimore seems poised to face a proxy battle next year from activist investor Joseph Stilwell.

Stilwell, who through various funds owns about 7% of Fairmount's stock, disclosed in a filing last week that he will seek board representation "at the earliest opportunity" if the $76 million-asset company does not agree to sell itself.

"We believe the issuer's return on equity is inadequate and unlikely to adequately improve for the foreseeable future," the filing said. "We believe the issuer should be sold to maximize shareholder value."

Stilwell noted in his filing that he was recently gained a seat on another bank board in Fairmount's market. While the filing did not disclose the bank, Stilwell reached an accord in November to gain a seat on the board of the $163 million-asset Fraternity Community Bancorp in Baltimore.

Fairmount held its 2014 annual meeting in late February.