GLOUESTER CITY, NJ (APRIL 28, 2024)Over the past year two out of three Gloucester City banks have closed their local branches. There is now only one bank in Gloucester City, that being TD Bank. Many Gloucester City residents have no choice but to bank locally, but others have the option of going out of town to do their banking.
THE STORY
BEHIND THE STORY
One of those out of town, banks is/was Republic First. There are several branches in the area but for those people who go to the Deptford Mall/Walmart area, there is/was one branch opposite Longhorn in front and Outback on the left. Notice the word "was" in almost every sentence.
It was announced that at the close of business on Friday, April 26, 2024, Republic First "went under." The good news is that all deposits are insured by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp) so if you are a depositor you will lose nothing. FDIC has sold Republic to Fulton Bank of Lancaster, Pa. If Fulton Bank sounds familiar it is because there is a branch in North Woodbury, next to Enterprise Car Rental.
If you have an account at Republic First at this time and log into your account, you will see a big, red message from the FDIC letting you know everything is okay. If you go farther into your account you will see all your credits marked "transferred." At this moment there is no other information.
There are two points of interest. First, if you remember Commerce Bank (later to become TD Bank) you may remember that Commerce was owned by Vernon Hill (of Moorestown, NJ) and our favorite King - George Norcross. It was impossible to know who was on first and what was on second. However, with Republic Bank Vernon Hill was the original "leader of the bank." At the time he was forced out and King George took over the stock was valued at $4.30 per share. On Friday, under King George's reign, and the FDIC pulled the plug, the stock was valued at one cent, a penny, per share. Good work George.
The last point of interest? President Ronald Reagan said "the nine scariest words ever are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"