Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership (3)

FORM 3	UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0104 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5
	Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * HILL VERNON W II	2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (MM/DD/YYYY) 12/5/2016	3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol REPUBLIC FIRST BANCORP INC [FRBK]
(Last)        (First)        (Middle) 14000 HORIZON WAY, SUITE 100	4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) __ X __ Director                            _____ 10% Owner _____ Officer (give title below)          _____ Other (specify below)
(Street) MT. LAUREL, NJ 08054        (City)              (State)              (Zip)	5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YYYY)	6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) _ X _ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
COMMON STOCK	3729074	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned ( e.g. , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YYYY)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
TRUST PREFERRED SECURITIES	(1)	(2)	COMMON STOCK	923077	$6.50	D
OPTION TO PURCHASE COMMON STOCK	(3)	5/10/2023	COMMON STOCK	25000	$2.95	D

Explanation of Responses:
( 1)	The Trust Preferred Securities are convertible into Common Stock at the option of the holder at a conversion price of $6.50 (i) at any time on or after the last day of any calendar quarter beginning with the quarter ending on June 30, 2008, if, as of such last day of such calendar quarter, the closing sale price of the Common Stock for at least 20 trading days in a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of such calendar quarter is more than 110% of the conversion price in effect on the last day of such calendar quarter, (ii) upon a change of control of the Issuer, (iii) at any time after June 30, 2009 and (iv) on the business day immediately preceding the date of repayment of such Trust Preferred Securities, whether at stated maturity or upon redemption.
( 2)	The Trust Preferred Securities have a 30-year term and expire at 5:00 p.m., New York, New York time on the business day immediately preceding the date of maturity or earlier redemption.
( 3)	25% on 5/10/14; 25% on 5/10/15; 25% on 5/10/16; 25% on 5/10/17

Reporting Owners
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
HILL VERNON W II 14000 HORIZON WAY SUITE 100 MT. LAUREL, NJ 08054	X

Signatures
/s/ Vernon W. Hill, II		12/13/2016
** Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note:	File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number.