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Metro Bancorp in Harrisburg, Pa., has called off plans to buy Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia.
March 15
Pennsylvania's banking regulator has freed Metro Bank in Harrisburg, Pa., from a two-year-old enforcement order resulting from violations to the Bank Secrecy Act.
The $2.5 billion-asset unit of Metro Bancorp (METR) said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday that it received notification from the Pennsylvania Department of Banking on May 30 that the order had been terminated as of April 12. A similar order imposed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. remains in place, though Sandler O'Neill & Partners said in a research note Thursday that it expects the FDIC directive to be lifted "in relatively short order."
The enforcement order required the bank to improve its oversight of its Bank Secrecy Act policies and ensure that it had the appropriate staffing in place to monitor its compliance. The order was issued in April 2010, shortly after the bank called off its long-delayed deal to acquire Republic First Bancorp (FRBK) in Philadelphia.
