American Commerce Bank in Tampa has raised more capital than any other start-up in Florida history, but that money will not guarantee it name recognition.
As a result, two months before the bank’s planned opening, the founders have changed its name to American Momentum Bank to distinguish it from the many banks operating in the state with “Commerce” in their names.
“It was a little too close for comfort,” said Sam Davis, the new bank’s president and chief operating officer. “We didn’t want any confusion in the market.”
At least six banks based in Florida have “Commerce” in their names, the largest being the $4.2 billion-asset Commercebank in Coral Gables, which has 14 branches.
American Momentum is also sure to start bumping into the $43 billion-asset Commerce Bancorp Inc. of Cherry Hill, N.J., which is planning a major expansion in the state. It has just eight branches in Florida now but has said that it wants to have 150 there within the next seven years.
The new bank is scheduled to open in October with two branches in Tampa and one in St. Petersburg. Mr. Davis said the bank hopes to open three branches in Naples this year and three in Orlando by early next year.
To facilitate the name change, the founders hired NameStormers, an Austin branding company that has created names for scores of companies and products, including CarMax, Vioxx, and Doritos Edge.
After consulting with bank executives, NameStormers produced a number of potential names, including Encore Financial, Sungate Bank, and Crescendo Bank. The bank executives and the NameStormers team eventually settled on American Momentum.
NameStormers president Mike Carr said the American Momentum name works because it has a broad appeal and “sounded very solid and stable, not Internet-based or dot-comish.”
Consumers could be wary of entrusting their money to a bank with a “dot-comish” name, because of concerns over phishing or identity theft, Mr. Carr said.
The record-setting $100 million of start-up capital will provide American Momentum with a $25 million lending limit right out of the gate, and Mr. Davis said its goal is to have $600 million of assets within three years.
“Given the opportunities in Florida … those objectives are readily achievable and maybe on the conservative side,” he said.
Mr. Davis has nearly 25 years of experience in the Florida banking industry. He has held senior executive positions at Bank of America Corp. and its predecessor, NationsBank Corp.
One reason for his optimism is that American Momentum’s founding principals, who contributed all the start-up capital themselves, have pledged to provide additional money that the bank may need.
Don Adam, who sold the $3.5 billion-asset First American Bank in Bryan, Tex., to Citigroup Inc. for about $750 million in March 2005, is American Momentum’s chairman and chief executive officer. He provided more than $90 million of the start-up capital, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
“In many de novo banks, raising capital is a continual event,” Mr. Davis said. “We don’t have that problem.”
