On February 24, 2023, Gregory B. Braca was quoted in the following article on S&P
Global Market Intelligence:
COMMUNITY CORNER
Republic First tackles strategic review, activist challenge under new CEO
Friday, February 24, 2023 10:03 AM ET
By Lauren Seay
and David Hayes
Market Intelligence
Republic First Bancorp Inc., which settled with one activist investor group but is still sparring with another, is working to bring its performance metrics in
line with peers as it moves forward with a strategic review, its new CEO said in an interview.
The Philadelphia-based company has a new chief executive,
CFO and board members after dealing with in-fighting among C-suite executives and its board throughout 2022. It faced multiple investor activism campaigns during the
year but resolved one late in October 2022, signing a cooperation agreement with a group led by Driver Management Co. LLC.
In his first interview since
taking the helm in December 2022, President and CEO Tom Geisel said the company is exploring partnership and capital opportunities as part of the review and is now assessing several options. Greg Braca from the Norcross-Braca activist group said in
a separate interview that he and his allies are advocating for improved performance, as their groups proposal to make a $100 million direct capital investment in Republic First remains outstanding.
Both individuals said the company needs to improve its profitability and efficiency metrics.
Levers to pull
Among select midsize Pennsylvania banks
active in the Philadelphia metro area, Republic First had the lowest return on average assets, lowest net interest margin, lowest loan-to-deposit ratio and highest
efficiency ratio at year-end 2022, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
However, the company is
working to bring its efficiency and profitability metrics more in line with peers through various measures, such as diversifying its revenue base, right-sizing costs, better utilizing technology and a
combination of a potential restructure and runoff of the long-dated securities portfolio, Geisel said.
Were focused on improving
efficiency, driving profitability, and are going to prioritize that over pure asset growth, Geisel said. There are several levers we can pull.
Improving the banks performance will lead to more optionality in the future, the CEO said.
Execution is key, and successful execution creates value, Geisel said. The more value, the more you improve your optionality and
ultimately, thats whats best for all our stakeholders.