Tuesday, Sept. 9, 1997 | 11:02 a.m.
First Republic Bancorp Inc., a thrift institution with $2.2 billion in assets, plans to expand its services in Southern Nevada when it completes a corporate reorganization, expected to be completed this week.
James Herbert II, president and chief executive officer of the San Francisco-based thrift, said company shareholders have approved the elimination of its existing holding company structure by merging into its sole subsidiary, which is being converted to a commercial bank.
The merger is expected to take effect Friday and the institution will become known as First Republic Bank.
"With their vote, our stockholders have supported our effort to expand the products and services we can offer our customers in California and Nevada," said Herbert.
Owen Blicksilver, a spokesman for the company that has two locations in Las Vegas and 11 others in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Beverly Hills, Calif., said the biggest change for the company will be in its ability to offer deposit checking accounts to corporations and partnerships. The company already offers individual and nonprofit accounts.
Blicksilver said the company has no immediate plans to add branches in Southern Nevada.
The reorganization and the removal of the holding company will eliminate several administrative redundancies, Herbert said.
Blicksilver also said banks have a more favorable public image than thrifts, which he said should help the company broaden its clientele.
Thrift institutions are formed primarily as depositories for consumer savings, with the most common being savings and loans and savings banks. Savings institutions traditionally offer deposit funds to the residential mortgage market.
First Republic shares will continue to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Pacific Stock Exchange under the FRC symbol. The stock closed Monday at $24.375, up 56.25 cents on trading of 41,900 shares.
The company's Las Vegas offices are at 2510 S. Maryland Parkway and at 6700 W. Charleston Ave.
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