Metrobank

The Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company, commonly known as Metrobank, is a universal bank and the fourth-largest Filipino bank as of 2024. Its assets amount to ₱3,116,179 million, as per the ranking published by the Philippines’ central bank. They have over 950 branches in the Philippines and over 30 branches and offices overseas. 

Metrobank’s Products

Metrobank is a universal bank with a full suite of products available to its clients. Some of these products include:

• Accounts: Metrobank offers savings, checking, and time deposit accounts. The savings accounts and one of the checking accounts offer interest rates of up to 0,06%, and the time deposit account offers them of up to 4% per annum. 

• Cards: the offers include Visa and Mastercard. There are also options for prepaid credit cards and special cards like the Toyota card and a card with no annual fees. 

• Loans: there are car, mortgage, and personal loans offered. Personal loans can be of up to ₱2,000,000 and can be paid in up to 36 months. 

• Investing: Metrobank offers a variety of investment options, including UITF, stock trading, and fixed-income investments. 

• Insurance: the offers include health, home, car, travel, and life insurance. 

The bank offers online banking services and the possibility to send remittances from abroad to family members in the Philippines. They also have assets available for purchase, like homes and cars. On their website they advertise a wide range of promotions like discounts in stores their clients can get by paying with any Metrobank card. 

Metrobank’s History

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company was established in 1962. In 1970 the first foreign office in Taiwan opened. In 1977 the central bank gave authorization for Metrobank to operate a foreign currency deposit unit, and in 1981, Metrobank started operating as a universal bank.

In 1990, Metrobank joined other banks such as Chinabank and Citibank Philippines, in the creation of BancNet, a local interbank network that connects the ATM networks of local and foreign banks, allowing the cardholders of these banks to withdraw money in any ATM from the network. Today, BancNet is the national ATM network of the Philippines, designated by the central bank.

In 2000, Metrobank merged with the Solid Banking Corporation (Solidbank), and throughout the years, it has also created or acquired a lengthy list of subsidiaries like the Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation and the Philippine Savings Bank, among many others.

In 2008, the American firm Lehman Brothers collapsed, and Metrobank was at risk of losing $71 million worth of investments in the firm. The central bank ordered to set aside money to protect the institution against the collapse. Metrobank set aside about 70% of the money they were at risk of losing. 

Back in 2003, the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) started participating in the subsidiary Metrobank Card Corp. (MCC), and in 2017, Metrobank made a deal with them to increase their participation in the subsidiary to help it grow. As a result, MCC became a leading credit card provider with over 1.7 million cards issued. In 2018, ANZ sold the extra participation back to Metrobank.