EXHIBIT 31.1

                                  CERTIFICATION

I, Gary N. Geisel, certify that:

1.  I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Provident Bankshares
    Corporation;
2.  Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
    statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to
    make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
    statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
    this quarterly report;
3.  Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
    information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
    material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
    flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
    quarterly report;
4.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
    establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
    in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:
    (a)  Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
         disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
         supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
         registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
         us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
         which this quarterly report is being prepared;
    (b)  Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and
         procedures and presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about
         the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the
         end of the period covered by this quarterly report based on such
         evaluation; and
    (c)  Disclosed in this quarterly report any change in the registrant's
         internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
         registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal
         quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected,
         or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting; and
5.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our
    most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the
    registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of
    directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
    (a)  All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
         or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
         reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
         record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
    (b)  Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
         employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting.

    Date:    November 12, 2003                /s/Gary N. Geisel
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                                              Gary N. Geisel
                                              Chief Executive Officer and
                                              Chairman of the Board