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Walk into any Commerce Bank branch in the Harrisburg area and look around.
From the familiar red "C" logo to the "Penny Arcade" coin counting machines to the extended hours to the overall branch design, nothing's different from Philadelphia-area branches - with one big exception.
The 18 branches in Dauphin, Cumberland, York and Lebanon counties aren't part of Commerce Bancorp of Cherry Hill, the fastgrowing retail bank.
Those branches actually belong to an independently owned, Camp Hill-based company called Pennsylvania Commerce Bancorp.
Basically, Pennsylvania Commerce pays Commerce franchise fees for its identity, making it a rarity in the banking business.
"I don't know of any other banks that do it," said Mark C. Siebert, CEO of iFranchise Group of Homewood, Ill.
Pennsylvania Commerce got its start in 1985. That's when Gary Nalbandian, a real estate associate of Commerce founder, chairman and CEO Vernon W. Hill II, started the bank and modeled it after Commerce. Nalbandian and company spokespeople didn't return telephone calls seeking comment.
Pennsylvania Commerce may be an independent company with a separate management, board of directors and stock, but there are plenty of ties to the New Jersey company.
For one, Hill is the largest single stockholder, claiming 16 percent of its stock....