Republic First Bancorp's stock rockets as it seals $35M investment and FDIC calls off auction

By Steve Gelsi

Republic First Bancorp.'s stock was up by 194% to 15 cents a share on Thursday after it filed an agreement for a $35 million private placement by Norcross Braca Group, an activist investor in the microcap bank.

Republic First Bancorp. (FRBK) will no longer be auctioned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. because of the capital injection, according to a source familiar with the bank.

The FDIC did not comment.

Republic First Bancorp formally filed the agreement with regulators on Thursday after it said late Friday it would receive the fresh capital.

The bank initially announced the deal on Sept. 27, but at that time, it was contingent on whether it would raise additional capital. On Friday, the bank said the money would come in whether or not it raised additional capital.

As part of the agreement, ex-TD Bank U.S. Chief Executive Gregory B. Braca will join the board directors of Republic First Bancorp, along with investor Philip A. Norcross III as chairman.

Norcross, who is also executive chairman of insurance broker Conner Strong & Buckelew, initially invested in Republic First Bancorp. about 18 months ago.

The bank's Chef Executive Thomas Geisel will remain on the board.

The move by the FDIC to drop its auction of the bank was initially reported by Bloomberg.

The FDIC made the move due to unrealized losses in Republic First Bancorp's balance sheet. That's the same problem that led to a run on deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank earlier this year.

The FDIC then stepped in and sold the bulk of Silicon Valley Bank to First Citizens Bancshares Inc. (FCNCA) and sold First Republic Bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM). During the spring-time banking crisis, the FDIC also sold Signature Bank to New York Community Bancorp (NYCB).

Republic First Bancorp's stock was delisted from the Nasdaq in August. The Philadelphia-based bank has about $6 billion in assets and a market capitalization of $5 million.

-Steve Gelsi

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-02-23 1243ET

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.