MBNA having second thoughts

Abstract

Though MBNA officials said last month that they had selected Baltimore as the site for the 2,000-employee operation, the company is now apparently considering other locations as well, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. Company officials, including Chief Executive Officer Charles M. Cawley, are reportedly unhappy with reports in The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore's daily newspaper, suggesting that Baltimore County Executive C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger could have a conflict of interest in his attempts to lure the company here. Those articles led the Baltimore County Ethics Commission to address the issue; the commission subsequently found no conflict. Ruppersberger owns a firm that had business dealings with MBNA, according to the reports.