Republic First Bancorp's long-postponed shareholder meeting is set for Oct. 5.
The meeting, previously set for this past January, was suspended because of litigation tied to its ongoing proxy fight with an investor group led by New Jersey insurance executive George Norcross and former TD Bank CEO Gregory Braca. The October meeting date will offer the bank's investors the opportunity to fill three available board seats. One is a new addition that expands the board to eight members.
The announcement, made Friday, came four days after the Norcross-Braca group issued a press release urging the bank to schedule a prompt annual meeting. Braca offered cautious approval of the planned meeting.
"If it is held, we expect to take the opportunity to put forth candidates that can help save the company," Braca said in a press release Friday.
According to Republic First, the holding company for Republic Bank, shareholders have until July 15 to nominate candidates.
Republic First intended to hold an annual meeting on Jan. 25. Those plans fell through when the Norcross-Braca group sued in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, citing the company's plans to reduce the size of its board to six members, and its refusal to certify Braca as a candidate. Philadelphia-based Republic First last held an annual meeting in April of 2021.
According to the statement from Republic First, the current plans to expand the board by one member is part of a "refreshment process to ensure that independent and diverse directors with relevant skills and experience are leading the business forward."
In addition to the
Republic First also announced the expansion of its Small Business Administration lending team and the shuttering of a legacy mortgage origination business as part of an effort to refocus the bank on its core markets.
In March, Republic First announced plans to raise $125 million of capital in partnership with Castle Creek Capital, an investor group that focuses on community banks. Management has since put the capital raise on hold, a decision that has drawn strong criticism from Norcross-Braca.
Republic First stated in a press release earlier this year that it opted to delay the planned capital raise to "wait for market conditions to stabilize before identifying additional participants." Republic First is responsible for identifying investors to contribute $34.3 million toward the $125 million total.
