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Republic First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FRBK) is having a bit of an identity crisis; its name is uncomfortably similar to First Republic Bank (New York Stock Exchange: FRC), which was the subject of a megabank bailout earlier this month.
Heading down the confusion between the two names First Republic (FRBK) CEO Thomas X. Geisel posted a red banner on the home page of the company’s website: “Republic Bank is aware of recent news about the collapse of two major US banks and wants to assure our customers that we remain in a safe and secure environment.”
“We are Republic Bank Inc. (FRBK-Red/Blue Logo); we are NOT First Republic Bank (FRC-Green Logo),” Geisel emphasized.
Last month, shares of San Francisco-based First Republic Bank (FRC) plunged 89%. It serves clients similar to those of Silicon Valley Bank, which shut down on March 10 when its venture capital-backed clients rushed to withdraw deposits in a panic fueled by social media. With First Republic (FRC) depositors also nervous, a group of 11 of the country’s largest banks came to the rescue, depositing a total of $30 billion into First Republic accounts.
In his post on the FRBK website, Geisel said there are important differences between his bank and First Republic (FRC). “We do NOT lend to startups and we are not involved in Crypto. We lend primarily to established businesses. We lend against collateral and cash flow, we lend to profitable businesses that can service debt, and typically have personal guarantees.” he wrote.
To be sure, FRBK’s stock price, which was down 30% last month, hasn’t fallen as much as FRC’s, but it has underperformed the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index (BKX), which fell 25%. .
But Republic First (FRBK) is not the first, and certainly not the last, to get caught up in the confusion regarding similar-sounding names or tickers. Here are several over the last 20 years:
- Amid the crypto frenzy in 2021, Ethan Allen’s (ETD) ticker, “ETH” at the time, was often confused with Ethereum (ETH-USD). The furniture retailer changed its trade symbol to “ETD” in August of that year.
- In February 202, shares of Clubhouse Media Group (OTCPK:CMGR) rose due to the mistaken belief of some investors that it was related to the Clubhouse audio application. Clubhouse Media (OTCPK:CMGR), formerly known as Tongji Healthcare Group, is in the brand market space on social media.
- Shares of Signal Advance (OTCPK:SIGL) more than quintupled on January 11, 2021 after Elon Musk urged his Twitter followers to use Signal, a secure messaging service unrelated to SIGL.
- In July 2020, Tiziana Life Sciences (TLSA), a clinical biotech company, saw its shares fall 14%, likely because investors realized they had not bought Tesla (TSLA) shares. Robinhood users were thought to be misspelling the TSLA ticker.
- When video conferencing increased in 2020 due to COVID-19, Zoom Video Communications (ZM) saw its business skyrocket. But business has also increased at Zoom Technologies (ZOOM), a largely defunct company that once distributed modems and wireless products. On February 27, ZOOM shot up 52%. The confusion was so widespread that the SEC suspended trading on ZOOM from March 26, 2020 to April 8, 2020.
- In 2018, nanocap company Snap Interactive, later with a ticker of “STVI” changed its name to PeerStream to reduce confusion with the social media platform Snap (SNAP). Snap Interactive had sued Snap for trademark infringement, but the two had settled the matter out of court more than a year earlier.
- In 2013, some investors confused Twitter, then with the ticker “TWTR”, with Tweeter Home Entertainment (OTC:TWTRQ).
