Camden powerbroker George Norcross and his family have invested in a Pennsylvania regional bank that’s moving into the South Jersey market, according to a United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing from earlier this month.
The $26.6 million transaction on Nov. 4 gave the Norcross family a 6% stake in Mid Penn Bancorp. The stock purchase was detailed in the filing as one conducted by private equity firm General American Capital on behalf of the Norcross family’s Indiana Pacific General Trust.
George’s brother, Philip Norcross, CEO and managing shareholder of the law firm Parker McCay, is listed as one of the trustees. Susan Hudson, who serves as a manager at General American Capital, a subsidiary of Indiana Pacific General Trust, also is a trustee.
Rep. Donald Norcross (D-1st District), another of George’s brothers, is not named as a beneficiary of any of the trusts.
George’s children, Lexie and Alexander Norcross, are beneficiaries of the investor group. George’s son, Alexander Norcross, works for Mid Penn Bank as an executive in the bank’s private banking department.
Another of the family’s connections to the bank is that it’s expanding with a location in Camden’s Triad1828 development. Several days after the Norcross family’s stock purchase, the bank announced it would be opening a branch there come January.
Triad1828 hosts one of the offices of Conner Strong & Buckelew, a South Jersey insurance brokerage where George Norcross acted as executive chairman until taking a leave of absence to fight an indictment handed down by New Jersey’s Attorney General Matt Platkin in June.
Triad1828 happens to be among the Camden Waterfront projects involved in allegations against Norcross. Platkin, in announcing a 13-count indictment this summer, alleged that Norcross and others obtained property and property rights along that still-redeveloping community while at the same time collecting millions of dollars in government-issued tax credits.
Norcross and five co-defendants, which includes his brother, Philip, were accused by the state’s officials of slowing the city’s efforts to revitalize itself. The Norcross brothers and the other defendants pleaded not guilty to charges they’re facing. Their attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the case.
As for their family’s investment in Mid Penn, a source familiar with the transaction said it simply represents a continuation of their commitment to the regional banking business model.
New Jersey bank consultant Don Musso, head of Somerville-based FinPro, said he would’ve steered a bank away from any potential questions or issues that could arise from the investment.
Considering that George Norcross led an activist investor group that battled with Republic First Bank this year before the failing institution was seized by United States regulators and sold off, Musso said there’s the potential to be put under a Federal Reserve microscope.
“(Banks) have to be really careful who their shareholders are,” he said. “This wouldn’t have been my first choice.”
Although he’s interested in learning to what extent this was invited by the bank, Musso acknowledged that this being a family trust’s investment and not just an individual’s purchase does make it a more understandable move. “They’re certainly a well-connected family in South Jersey that can bring a lot of business to the bank,” he said. “The thing to watch is what comes next. Do they just remain shareholders? … Do they get board seats? All of that will be most telling to me.”
