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 recent stories of interest from around the web.
Click on the hotlinked headlines to read more.

Who’s next to get gobbled up?

This guy forecasted the takeover of National City, and BINGO! He nailed it. Guess who else he picked? Keycorp and Fifth Third, although he also thinks Fifth Third might be in a position to take over Key Corp. If not Fifth Third, then US Bank. Maybe US Bank should swallow Fifth Third while Fifth Third is gobbling Keycorp. Sounds like the best way to maximize bailout subsidies.

575 branches get new TD signs

The original plan was to change the signs to “TD Commerce” following last year’s merger between TD Banknorth and Commerce. But due to unexpected trademark problems including a lawsuit from another Commerce Bank, the newlyweds had to scrap their plans and go with just plain old “TD.” At a cost of about $20,000 per branch, that’s about $11.5 million. Ouch! Now, what do about the signs on TD Banknorth Garden… There is a bright side to the story: The bank completed the sign swap on all 575 branches in only five days (October 31 - November 4).

Grade-A prime media placement

Arizona State CU had the only full page ad in the A-section of the Arizona Republic on election day. 22 pages in the A-section, and theirs was the only ad. It was on the back page. Paul Stull, the credit union’s VP/Mktg. said the paper sold out that day. How cool is that? (You can click on the ad to enlarge it.)

ATM network saves CU members $20 million

The Credit Union 24 ATM network says credit union members saved $20 million in fees so far this year by using its 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide. At an average fee of $1.50, that means there were 13 million ATM transactions, or an average of 266 transactions per ATM for the year (that’s about one transaction per ATM per day). Kudos to the Credit Union 24 network for not dinging members with fees. Now, can we maybe freshen up the logo a little?

The biggest collection of bank logos ever

This guy’s online collection of bank logos must be a real labor of love. He says he’s uploaded about half of the 5,000 bank logos he has on file. Unfortunately, the library only gets to “E” in its alphabetical listing before the HTML crashes. Doh, FAIL!

Massachusetts bank puts
Canada’s TD in a tough spot

A U.S. District judge has issued a preliminary injuction barring TD Banknorth from using the TD Commerce name in all or parts of Massachusetts.

TD Banknorth had planned on using the TD Commerce name after completing its recent merger with a Commerce Bank based in New Jersey. But another Commerce Bank in Massachusetts sued, arguing that consumers would be confused if a new Commerce bank suddenly appeared (previous coverage from The Financial Brand here).

“I hate to think what could have happened if they actually started changing the signs on their branches.”
— David Massad, Chairman
Commerce Bank (MA)

TD Banknorth, who already has a significant presence in Massachusetts, had wanted to change its name to TD Commerce in a show of unity with its newly merged partner.

According to the Boston Globe, TD was going to first switch the names of Commerce branches in New York and New Jersey this year, and then change the names of TD Banknorth branches in New England — including Massachusetts — starting in 2009.

In the court ruling, the judge said the injunction would be “no greater than Massachusetts.”

That leaves TD Banknorth with three options:

1. Operate with two names in different markets and spend the extra marketing dollars to support them.
2. Choose an entirely new name for both banks. Very unlikely.
3. Consolidate the banks under the TD Banknorth name.

The only option TD Banknorth can be seriously considering is #3. This will be a major blow to the merger strategy the two banks were pursuing: “TD + Commerce = TD Commerce. See, Commerce wasn’t ‘taken over.’ We’re partners. We’re equals.”

It’s a message that probably played well with the board of the Commerce Bank that TD acquired. In fact, the future name may have even been a major issue during merger talks. In all likelihood, they are very irritated.

The preliminary injunction is just the first step in a process that is bound to drag on for months, maybe even years. Next stop: Full-blown trial.

This leaves the name of TD Banknorth Garden, the venerated home of the Celtics, very much up in the air. At least if TD sticks with its Banknorth moniker in all markets, the name of Boston’s Garden won’t have to change…again. (At least not for a few more years, until TD’s current sponsorship expires.)

Bottom Line: It’s expensive going to court. It doesn’t matter how big you are. If you pick a name similar name to another financial provider, you’re asking for big legal problems – especially when you plan to tread that name out on their turf.

TD merger triggers lawsuit; landmark stadium needs renaming

Renaming Boston’s Garden

The merger between TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank means the name of ‘TD Banknorth Garden’ will probably have to change.

“For sure the ‘Garden’ will remain there, and what version of ‘TD’ goes in front of it is the question,” said Bharat Masrani, TD Banknorth’s chief executive. Good call, because Celtics fans might close their accounts if you messed with their venerable ‘Garden.’

Changing the Garden’s name could cost $1 million or more, and that’s just for signs and graphics inside and outside the building.

As far as the bank goes, you can probably guess what its new name will be, especially considering TD’s history with naming. (Hints: TD Waterhouse, TD Ameritrade, TD Banknorth, TD Canada Trust.)

Okay, enough suspense. The new moniker will be ‘TD Commerce.’ Jennifer Carlson, public affairs officer for TD said the bank’s branding team did a thorough analysis, deciding that combining ‘TD’ with ‘Commerce’ is “the best of both worlds.”

But hold on a second…

Another ‘Commerce’ Sues

There’s already Commerce Bank & Trust in Massachussets, one of the states TD Banknorth is in. When they heard TD Banknorth was thinking about ‘TD Commerce’ as a new name, Commerce Bank & Trust figured they had to sue.

“We have no choice.
This is a tremendous risk.”
– Brian Thompson, CEO
Commerce Bank & Trust

“We have no choice. This is a tremendous risk to us,” said Commerce Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Thompson in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. “A name is everything in banking. It’s what you promote and it’s how you identify yourself.”

Commerce Bank & Trust has $1 billion in assets, 11 branches, and they’ve been around since 1955. Just the same, Commerce Bank & Trust would have a stronger case if they had a federally registered trademark on file with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. It doesn’t look like they do.

TD filed its trademark application for ‘TD Commerce’ on March 19, 2008.

New Name Gets Old Tagline

According to this article, the name change carries forward Commerce Bank’s slogan: “America’s Most Convenient Bank.” To support the tagline, TD is extending the hours of its Banknorth branches.

Also supporting the “most convenient” tagline is the newly combined branch network canvassing the east coast: 460 branches from Commerce and 600 from TD Banknorth.

The Times Union reports that the bank will underake an interior and exterior “rebranding effort” at all of its 1,100 branches. The bank also said it will launch a multimillion-dollar campaign to introduce the new name to consumers, including television, print, online and in-store advertising.

TD acquired the New Jersey-based Commerce Bank back in November for $8.5 billion. Commerce has $48 billion in assets. TD Banknorth, based in Portland, Maine, has $40 billion in assets, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of TD Bank Financial Group of Toronto.