Okay, sorry, this gets a little complicated. There was a Commerce Bank in New Jersey. But earlier this year, TD Banknorth took them over. That merger created a huge naming hassle — including a lawsuit from a Commerce Bank in Massachusetts — over the Commerce name. In the end, the Massachusetts bank prevailed, preventing the Canadian behemoth from using TD Commerce, the name it preferred.

Now, a Commerce Bank — this one in Pennsylvania — is merging with Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank. These newlyweds are opting for Metro Bank as their new name. The combined company will have total assets over $3 billion and more than 1,200 team members. The company will pursue an aggressive growth strategy with new stores in Central Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and other markets.

The trouble is, there is already a Metro Bank in Houston. And one in Alabama. And another in Florida. Oh yeah, and one more in Georgia.

A collection of Metro Bank logos from various financial institutions from around the country.
Notice the use of circles containing an ‘M’ or ‘M’ symbol in each of the logos.

But wait… There’s more.

There’s also a First Metro Bank in Alabama, an American Metro Bank in Illinois, and a US Metro Bank in California.

Reality Check: You shouldn’t use another bank’s name — ever.

1. It doesn’t help differentiate you.
2. It makes it harder for people to find you online.
3. It exposes you to all kinds of legal problems over trademarks.

Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t matter if the bank is in another state. If you pick a name identical to another financial institution, you’re opening yourself up to a world of legal hurt. It doesn’t even have to be identical, as was the case with TD Commerce.

Bottom Line: If your bank or credit union is considering a name change, avoid new names that sound safe and familiar. Avoid them like the plague. It takes less than 5 minutes in Google to see what kind of trouble you can expect.

Here are summaries of some of the more interesting name changes from around the financial industry in recent months.

South Shore Cooperative Bank slims down to ‘S Bank’

The bank is shrinking its name from 21 letters down to one. Nice. The bank said the old name, South Shore Co-operative Bank, was a regular source of confusion for people outside the bank because of its similarity to a larger bank in town, South Shore Savings Bank. That’s understandable. Don Gill, the bank’s CEO, says the process took over a year and a half, which is fairly common for a financial institution name change. Gill also doesn’t care whether you like the name or not. The point is, you’ll remember it. Other names the bank considered: “Via” and “Spire.”

‘In’ out as InTrust FCU shortens to ‘Trust’

No reason or explanation for the name change was offered, but it’s quite possible due to a trademark problem. There are 34 other credit unions using the word Trust in their names, making it one of the most common in the industry. But credit unions don’t often sue other credit unions. So maybe it was Intrust Bank?

InTrust FCU’s old name and logo (left), the new one (middle), and Intrust Bank (right).

Forest Kraft FCU becomes ‘Centric’

When Forest Kraft Federal Credit Union was founded more than 70 years ago, it served Brown Paper Co. employees exclusively. On Saturday, November 1, the credit union officially became Centric FCU. The rationale is familiar: “”Our intent in becoming Centric is to better reflect who we are. There are many in the community who, because of the name Forest Kraft, don’t realize they can join.” Board Chairman Joe Phillips said “the name Centric will always serve as a reminder of the great history we have to celebrate.” Brown Paper + Forest Kraft = Centric? How does that work? No explanation could be found, but maybe it has something to do with concentric rings in a cut tree?

Two Iowa credit unions add ‘Community,’ one doesn’t

Casebine Credit Union became Casebine Community Credit Union. And Frontier Credit Union became Frontier Community Credit Union. School Employees Credit Union decided not to follow suit, opting for Meridan Credit Union instead of School Employees Community Credit Union. Many credit unions pursue the “Community” naming strategy to reflect a more open charter, but few find that it works as well as they hoped. It’s worth pointing out that Iowa credit unions are required to have members approve name changes in a vote (51% of voting membership needed).

Arp State Bank Becomes ‘American State Bank’

The bank said it needed a name that was less geographically restrictive as it expands. The new name, American State, certainly goes well beyond its East Texas beginnings. There are already American State Banks in Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota.

Community Bank of Orange becomes ‘Greater Hudson Bank’

Basically, the bank swapped one geographic name for another. “The Greater Hudson Bank name better identifies our brand, as well as our present and future market area plans,” said Eric Wiggins, president and CEO of the bank.

“You don’t want a long, involved name, or a name that doesn’t readily come to mind when people are looking for you.”
— Martin Connors Jr.,
CEO of Rollstone Bank

A recent article in the Worcester Business Journal explores what it calls the “big business” of financial naming.

The article looks at some of the unique naming challenges six different financial institutions have faced.

The article discusses two name changes previously covered by The Financial Brand, including this brief article about Avidia, and this analysis of Rollstone.

The article points out that once a bank or credit union makes the decision to change its name, finding the right one can be complicated.

Regarding the Avidia name change, Ken Simms, SVP/Marketing said it took five months, a specialized consultant, interviews with multiple bank directors and employees and a thorough survey of the competition for the name to stick.

“When it comes to branding, credit unions face the same problems as banks, plus some extra ones.”
— WBJ article

Martin Connors Jr., Rollstone’s CEO, said they considered several names that were already in use. With the rise of Internet banking, he said, if any bank uses the same name, even if it’s across the country, it has to be eliminated from consideration.

Reality Check: Do-it-yourself naming can get you into deep doo-doo if you don’t know what you’re doing.

For starters, all the new names you might come up with on your own are probably federally protected and registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Just read about all the trademark nightmares previously covered by The Financial Brand:

• Orion vs. Orion
• Alabama CU vs. CU of Alabama
• Citizens vs. Citizens
• Commerce vs. Commerce

Read the whole WBJ article, “What’s in a Name,” here. It’s one of the better stories you’ll find in the mainstream business media.

Tip of the Hat: You’ve have love any financial naming article that squeezes in the word “etymology.”

Here’s an interesting ruling in a financial trademark dispute involving Orion Bancorp (the victor) and Orion Residential Finance. The judge ordered the guilty infringer to purchase “negative keywords” through Google and other online ad systems.

A negative keyword tells search engines that the advertiser’s ad should never be shown when a certain term is searched for.

The judge also ordered the guilty Orion to pay to display Orion Bancorp’s ads when people search for “Orion Residential Finance” at various search engines.

Can you imagine having to pay to show your competitor’s ad every time someone did a Google search for your name?

Orion Bancorp received Federal trademark protection when it registered its name in 2003. Orion Residential Finance first created its site in 2007.

You can read the full story here, and the complete judgment can be viewed here (PDF).

Key Takeaways:

• It’s next to impossible to find a name that “sounds financial” that won’t expose you to a potential lawsuit. Most of the names people naturally think of are already being used somewhere by someone.
• All the obvious financial names are almost surely registered trademarks. Going with one of those is seriously risky business.

Bottom Line: A little due diligence and a quick search at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office would have saved Orion Residential Finance a lot of pain and a truckload of money.

From here forward, if they were to stay in business (doubtful), they would have to change-out everything with their logo on it. Not cheap.

Confusion looms over suspicious domain name practice

“Front running.” “Kiting.” “Domain tasting.” Maybe you’ve never heard of these terms, but they are central to a controversial new practice by Network Solutions.

Here’s what’s happening. It seems that now, when a customer searches for an available domain name at Network Solutions but decides not to purchase the name immediately after conducting the search, the name is put in some sort of “reserve.” During this reservation period, there are four days in which to purchase the domain. If the domain name is not purchased within four days, it will be released and will again be generally available for registration.

In this article here, Jonathon Nevett, VP of Policy at Network Solutions, explains:

“We’re trying to take an arrow out of the quiver of domain tasters – the largest front runners. Due to no fault of registrars, front runners purchase search data from Internet Service Providers and/or registries and then taste those names.”

So what the heck does that mean? It means nefarious types are registering URLs you search for moments after you decide not to buy them. Then they squat these names for about a week, abusing a 5-day grace period before having to pay for the domains. In the meantime, they evaluate the URL’s ability to attract eyeballs to advertisements, or, more dubiously, to see if the person who originally searched for it wants to buy it at a significant profit.

Several angry bloggers have confirmed that when they conducted a WHOIS search on Network Solution’s site but didn’t register it, Network Solutions would register it immediately and offer it for sale for $34.99.

Bottom Line: If your financial institution is considering a new URL, be careful who you use to check domain name availability. You could find a URL available through Network Solutions one day, then mysteriously “unavailable” the next.

Critique: OpenSource CU calls ‘Alliant’ name “diaphanous”

Simple Math: Bendigo Bank + Adelaide Bank = ‘Bendigo & Adelaide Bank’

Dropping Names: RBC sheds ‘Centura’ from its portfolio of bank names

Why Bother: Piedmont Federal S&L becomes ‘Piedmont Federal Savings Bank’

In his own blog, Gene Blishen, CEO of Mount Lehman Credit Union, reveals the process by which he chose ‘Textus’ as the name of a mobile phone banking system his credit union is now offering.

The service, known as SMS, allows people to perform certain banking services over their mobile phones by sending text messages.

Blishen said he invited input from “all 10 staff members,” noting that “discussions like these, at this level, are a neat attribute of this credit union. Everyone gets involved, everyone has input.”

But then they got stuck on generational differences: the younger staff aligned under one name, the older under another.

So what did he do? He turned to his friends on Twitter:

“Over the last months there is a group, well it really isn’t a group it is an undefined bunch of people associated with credit unions that actively twitter. Why not throw this one out to the pack of experts and see what comes up? There were some great suggestions but one stood out (thank you Ron!) Textus. This was proposed to the group and was quickly accepted. We now have a new name for a new product.”

Blishen adds his final reflections on using an ad hoc naming committee:

“When I look at this process it is so simple. I imagine we ‘should’ have hired the experts, done the focus groups, etc. etc. etc. Would they have understood the product enough to come up with any better names? It just seems so fitting that the name came through Twitter. A tech name for a tech product from a tech bunch of people.”

If Blishen’s credit union was in the United States, he’d only have to worry about two trademarks on file with the USPTO, one of which is dead and the other is for first aid kits. (Not much to worry about there.)

Bottom Line: Blishen is right. Hiring “experts” might have yielded names as good as ‘Textus,’ but better names? Not likely.

This 23-page PDF from the U.S. District Court of Alabama should serve as a cautionary tale about what can happen if you choose a new name that’s too similar to someone else’s – especially when you’re in the same market.

It all started on March 26, 2005 when BF Goodrich Employees Federal Credit Union chose to become ‘The Credit Union of Alabama Federal Credit Union‘ (sic, there are indeed two references to “credit union” in the name). This irked ‘Alabama Credit Union,’ who immediately fired off a cease-and-desist.

Alabama Credit Union then appealed to NCUA, asking them to rescind the name change. The NCUA declined to get involved.

The Alabama Credit Union Administration protested The Credit Union of Alabama’s choice in name, saying it would “cause confusion and was not in the best interest” of either credit union.

One party sued another and vice versa. Alabama Credit Union accused The Credit Union of Alabama of:

• deceptive trade practices
• unfair competition
• common law trademark infringement

The Credit Union of Alabama counter-sued for:

• cybersquatting
• tortious interference
• mail fraud
• RICO violations
• fraudulent suppression
• unfair competition
• conspiracy

Alabama Credit Union was awarded a summary judgment on all points related to The Credit Union of Alabama’s countersuit.

At least one member of The Credit Union of Alabama isn’t too happy about all this legal wrangling. In a letter to The Tuscaloosa News, Jerry Logan said, “The money spent on this lawsuit could have been returned to the member-owners in more dividends and also to the employees in a well-deserved raise. Instead it has gone to an attorney.”

Key Question: How will the courts view the fact that there are 17 credit unions with the word “Alabama” in their name, including ‘Alabama Central Credit Union‘ and nine others whose names start with “Alabama?”

Reality Check: The NCUA may approve a name change, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get sued for trademark infringement. The NCUA only performs cursory examinations of trade names. It seldom – if ever – gets involved in trade name battles, even when they’ve okay’d a new name under dispute. The US Patent & Trademark Office oversees all federal trademarks, not the NCUA.

Bottom Line: Which option do you think would cost more? Hiring an experienced naming firm? Or settling these lawsuits…and potentially having to rename again?

Full Credit Union Times article here.

• Credit Union Central Falls became ‘Navigant‘
• Honolulu City & County Employees FCU became ‘Aloha Pacific‘
• Colorado State Employees Credit Union became ‘Credit Union of Colorado‘
• MacDill FCU became ‘Grow Financial FCU‘
• BCBSM Federal Credit Union became ‘Bluestone FCU‘
• WCTA Federal Credit Union became ‘Reliant‘
• Searles Lake Community Federal Credit Union became ‘Desert Valleys‘
• Bayer Federal Credit Union became ‘Inova‘
• Georgia Telco Credit Union became ‘Georgia’s Own CU‘
• Vantage Financial Credit Union became ‘Reward One CU‘
• EMSBLA Credit Union became ‘Empower‘
• BN West Credit Union became ‘MilePost‘

They missed a few that we caught here at The Financial Brand:

• Pittsburgh Teachers Credit Union became ‘Riverset‘
• Newport News Shipbuilding Employees Credit Union became ‘BayPort‘
• St. Charles Borromeo FCU became ‘Unity Catholic‘
• Brunswick Employees became ‘Port City Credit Union‘
• Georgia Pacific Toledo Employees FCU became ‘Pacific Spruce‘

That’s at least 17. There’s probably at least a dozen more that went unnoticed and/or unreported. As of August 2007, CUES was reporting 21 name changes. This compares with 92 in 2005, and 48 in 2006.

In this press release, Personal Care America FCU announces three new savings products.

G.R.A.D. - “Getting Ready for A Degree”
A savings account that is available to members wishing to save money for future education. It can be used personally for the individual or for any family member including children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. The money collected in this account can be used for, but is not limited to, educational expenses such as tuition, books, and registration fees at both primary and secondary institutions.

H.O.M.E. - “Home Ownership Made Easier”
An account designed to help buyers save money that can be applied towards the purchase of their first home. The home must be purchased in the name of the account holder. Acceptable costs that are covered by the account include down payments, inspections, mortgage fees, and closing costs.

P.A.C.E. - “Planning Ahead for a Cash Emergency”
Provides a way for members to save money for unexpected cash emergencies that might otherwise deplete traditional savings accounts or be paid with credit cards. Events such as job loss, auto or home repair, and family illness are just a few that qualify for this savings plan.

In 1889, Peter Sommer invented a machine that wove steel wire fence to replace traditional wooden timber fences, making life easier for millions of American farmers. His invention spawned a midwestern steel giant, Keystone Steel & Wire Company.

Around 1925, Keystone introduced its first “Red Brand” fence. In a display of modern marketing savvy, a Keystone employee dipped the tops of Keystone wire and fence posts in red paint, making the new Red Brand products instantly recognizable on farms all over America. Today, Keystone still tops off these products with a coat of red paint – even the barbs on coils of barbed-wire.

In the fall of 1951, two Keystone employees learned about a credit union for Corn Products in Pekin. They concluded that having a credit union for Keystone employees would be a great idea. Dan Sommer, then president of Keystone, the credit union’s original sponsor, agreed. Sommer suggested the name of Redbrand, after Keystone’s fence, but spelled it as one word instead of two.

Bottom Line: This credit union will never need to change names. Over 50 years ago, it picked a progressive name (even by today’s standards) that makes an engaging connection to the credit union’s history and heritage.

Had the credit union gone with the obvious, ‘Keystone Credit Union,’ their name would have looked like a lot of other financial institutions – including Keystone Credit Union, Keystone Federal Credit Union, Central Keystone Federal Credit Union, Keystone United Methodist FCU, Keystone Community Bank, First Keystone Bank, Bank of Keystone, Keystone National Bank & Trust, and Keystone Savings Bank. And don’t forget megabank Key Bank.

Tip of the hat to you Mr. Sommer, for your creativity and courage.

A New York Times article from 1987 says the scramble for good names causes some normally staid financial institutions to wage trademark battles.

It seems some things never change, like these familiar reasons to change names:

“Banks seeking to change their names are attempting to upgrade their image and to convey to their customers their broader market strategies.” — NY State Department of Banking Commissioner Howard B. Brown

Regarding the financial cost of changing names, the article shares a realistic perspective:

“Even a small bank can expect to spend upwards of $500,000 on marketing, logo design, legal costs and other associated expenses, but that many of the banks feel it is a step they have to take.”

Yep, that’s right: $500,000. In 1987 dollars.

This article printed by Northwestern Financial Review in 2000 takes a straightforward look at the types of names banks adopt. Conclusions and observations from the article:

“The new trend in bank names seems to be for more corporate sounding monikers; names that can’t be found in a dictionary like Comerica and ReliaBank. And names are getting shorter. Northwestern National Bank became Norwest, First National Bank became First Bank, and Twin City Federal now uses TCF in its legal name.”

A high school sophomore won a $50 prize for coming up with the new name for the St. Vrain Valley Credit Union’s student-run branch at a local high school.

In this article, the winning student said she thought a long time about a name and eventually imagined that “all the students are little eaglets coming to their mom for money all the time.” In her school setting, the credit union branch serves the same purpose as the mom, she said, so she came up with the Falcons Nest.

(more…)

Windsor Family Credit Union will be paying $1.62 million over 10 years to name a new arena in its hometown as ‘WFCU Centre.’ (The good news: That’s only $1.45 million or so in U.S. dollars.)

It’s unclear if the deal will be evenly divided into 10 annual payments of $162,000, or if there were any additional promotional opportunities afforded to the credit union in exchange for its sponsorship.

The credit union has over $570 million in assets, making it one of the top 30 biggest credit unions in Canada.