REGULATORY MATTERS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Banking and Thrift [Abstract]

Regulatory Capital Requirements under Banking Regulations [Text Block]

Note 23 – Regulatory Matters

The Company and the Bank are subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by the federal banking agencies. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the Company's and the Bank's financial statements. Under capital adequacy guidelines and the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action, the Bank must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of the Bank's assets, liabilities, and certain off-balance sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The Company and the Bank's capital amounts and classifications are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings, and other factors.

Quantitative measures established and defined by regulation to ensure capital adequacy require the Company and the Bank to maintain minimum amounts and ratios of total and Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets, and of Tier 1 capital to average assets. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the capital levels of the Company and the Bank substantially exceeded all applicable capital adequacy requirements.

As of December 31, 2012, the most recent notification from the Bank’s primary regulator categorized the Bank as well capitalized under the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action. To be categorized as well capitalized the Bank must maintain minimum total risk-based, Tier 1 risk-based, and Tier 1 leverage ratios as set forth in the following table. There are no conditions or events since that notification that management believes have changed the Bank's category.

The Company's and the Bank's actual capital amounts and ratios at December 31 for the year indicated are presented in the following table:

											To Be Well
											Capitalized Under
						For Capital					Prompt Corrective
	Actual					Adequacy Purposes					Action Provisions
(Dollars in thousands)	Amount		Ratio			Amount		Ratio			Amount		Ratio
As of December 31, 2012:
Total Capital to risk-weighted assets
Company	$	456,791		15.40	%	$	237,308		8.00	%		N/A		N/A
Sandy Spring Bank	$	445,097		15.02	%	$	237,066		8.00	%	$	296,332		10.00	%
Tier 1 Capital to risk-weighted assets
Company	$	419,639		14.15	%	$	118,654		4.00	%		N/A		N/A
Sandy Spring Bank	$	372,983		12.59	%	$	118,533		4.00	%	$	177,799		6.00	%
Tier 1 Leverage
Company	$	419,639		10.98	%	$	114,628		3.00	%		N/A		N/A
Sandy Spring Bank	$	372,983		9.77	%	$	114,553		3.00	%	$	190,922		5.00	%
As of December 31, 2011:
Total Capital to risk-weighted assets
Company	$	419,780		15.83	%	$	212,199		8.00	%		N/A		N/A
Sandy Spring Bank	$	397,526		15.00	%	$	212,016		8.00	%	$	265,021		10.00	%
Tier 1 Capital to risk-weighted assets
Company	$	386,423		14.57	%	$	106,099		4.00	%		N/A		N/A
Sandy Spring Bank	$	329,197		12.42	%	$	106,008		4.00	%	$	159,012		6.00	%
Tier 1 Leverage
Company	$	386,423		10.84	%	$	106,976		3.00	%		N/A		N/A
Sandy Spring Bank	$	329,197		9.24	%	$	106,920		3.00	%	$	178,200		5.00	%