Republic Finance to move headquarters to Plano from Baton Rouge

Consumer loan provider Republic Finance is moving its headquarters to Plano from Baton Rouge, La., where it’s been since 1952.

The four-story, 58,000-square-foot building at 8428 Parkwood Blvd. will house about 250 employees when it opens, which is expected by the second quarter of 2023. That will more than double its current Plano presence of under 100 team members.

Louisiana will remain the state with the most employees for Republic Finance, which has a total workforce of nearly 1,300.

The transition was natural because the majority of the company’s executive team is already in Plano. The new office will support the lender’s national expansion plans while taking advantage of the “strong labor force and economy” of North Texas, the company said.

“We believe the commitment to Plano and our wonderful new facility will continue to support the company’s incredible growth,” Rex Ellison, CEO of Republic Finance, said in a statement. “Our facility will provide an incredible workplace for our fast-growing team and is located in an attractive area with multiple amenities.”

The CEO is an Iowa native who joined the team in 2001 from Wells Fargo, where he held positions that included senior vice president of corporate marketing.

The company, which is celebrating 70 years in 2022, offers a range of loans, including personal, emergency, home improvement and vacation.

Republic Finance serves nearly 400,000 customers in 13 states supported by a network of 260 branches across the South, including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. It ranked 12th in the Baton Rouge Business Report’s 2021 top 100 private companies list.

Job openings in Dallas-Fort Worth for the company span across information technology, including data engineers and developers, as well as a number of open positions for assistant branch managers.