The Power of Red

Failed Republic First Bancorp learns that 'fans' are fickle

“The Power of Red is Back and this is only the beginning of our rapid expansion throughout New York City.” – Republic First Bancorp Chairman Vernon Hill

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The bankers behind this year’s first bank failure probably didn’t mean to signal their inevitable demise with the marketing slogan, “The Power of Red is Back.”

To anyone involved in any kind of business, the color red represents debt, deficits and defaults. And the power of red can slam any enterprise into insolvency.

Philadelphia-based Republic First Bancorp used “The Power of Red” as its slogan for an “aggressive growth strategy.” I don’t know how much some marketing maven got paid for this jingle, or how many focus groups were queried, but it’s not aging well.

Nothing like throwing up bricks and mortar while the whole foundation is cracking apart and sinking into the muck.

(Illustration: AI generated.)

Stay with me for a moment on the name

Republic First Bancorp. is not the same bank as First Republic, which was one of last year’s three bank failures alongside Silicon Valley Bank and New York’s Signature Bank.

Adding to the confusion, Republic First’s retail locations are branded Republic Bank. But they’re not the same as other Republic Banks in different parts of the country.

For instance:

• “While our name may be similar to other banks in the news, that’s where the similarities end,” Republic Bank of Chicago declares at the top of its website.

• “We are not affiliated in any way with Republic First Bank, which does business as Republic Bank,” Republic Bank of Louisville, Kentucky, says at the top of its website.

The key here is that when choosing a “Republic Bank,” make sure you’re not getting “The Power of Red.”

“‘The Power of Red’ was a marketing reference to the ‘R’ in the banks’s logo. Maybe red ink is not such a good choice for a bank that will one day be seized by regulators.

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