Metro Bank & Trust Company - Taguig City, Philippines

Founded in September 5, 1962, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) has since become the premier universal bank and among the foremost financial institutions in the Philippines. It offers a full range of banking and other financial products and services, including corporate, commercial and consumer banking, as well as credit card, remittances, leasing, investment banking and trust banking. Metrobank currently spans a consolidated network of over 2,300 ATMs nationwide; over 950 domestic branches; and 32 foreign branches, subsidiaries, and representative offices.

Metrobank was incorporated in Binondo, Manila by a group of Filipino businessmen principally to provide financial services to the Filipino-Chinese community. It opened its first local branch in 1963, then expanded beyond  

Show more

Philippine shores only a few years after its establishment. Metrobank rolled out its first international branch in Taipei in 1970 and a representative office in Hong Kong in 1973. In 1975, Metrobank became the first of the private banks to move into American territory when it opened its office in Guam. It later established branches in the United States mainland cities of Los Angeles and New York.

It established Metrobank Foundation, Inc. in 1979, putting emphasis on both business success and community contribution. The Foundation has since become one of the largest and most respected charitable organizations in Asia.

In 1981, Metrobank was listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange and acquired its universal banking license, gaining significant equity ownerships in local and international subsidiaries. It established its own credit card company, Unibancard Corporation (now Metrobank Card Corporation) in 1986. In 1988, Metrobank entered into a joint venture with Japan's largest automotive manufacturer and Mitsui Corporation to establish Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation. A decade later, it partnered with another global giant, the AXA Group, to give birth to Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corporation.

In 1990, Metrobank launched the country's first and only talking ATM, Metrobank E.T. In 1995, Metrobank became the first billion dollar bank with total capital of Php22.8 billion, the largest in the industry. It is the first local bank to raise supplementary capital overseas with a total of US$325 million in Lower Tier 2 Capital and Hybrid Tier 1 Capital in the years 2003 to 2006.

Metrobank has also been steadily expanding internationally. In the late 1990s, Metrobank opened branches and offices in London, Taichung, Tokyo, and Seoul. Metrobank was the first to be granted a banking license by the Japanese Ministry of Finance. It was also the first Philippine bank in Korea. In 2001, Metrobank became the first Philippine bank in China when it opened its branch in Shanghai. In 2010, Metrobank inaugurated its wholly-owned subsidiary, Metropolitan Bank (China) Limited, the first foreign bank headquarters to be established in Nanjing. The new bank serves as the base for Metrobank's operations in China, with three branches located in Nanjing and Shanghai.