Metrobank awarded ‘best bank,’ FMIC ‘best equity house’ in PH

MANILA, Philippines—Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. was named by financial magazine Euromoney as the “Best Bank in the Philippines” for 2012, bagging this distinction for the third straight year.

This developed as the group’s investment banking arm, First Metro Investment Corp., was chosen as “Best Equity House in the Philippines” by FinanceAsia Magazine in its 2012 country awards.

For 2011, Metrobank’s consolidated net income reached a record P11 billion, or 31.9 percent better year on year. This was despite operating in an extremely competitive environment. At the same time, it maintained high quality assets, thereby becoming among the top stock picks by equity analysts.

“We are grateful to our customers whose invaluable trust in our company paved for this honor of being the Best Bank in the Philippines for the third consecutive year,” Metrobank president Fabian Dee said in a press statement. “We share this recognition with them as they are the driving force in our mission to strive for excellence and to aim to be the best in everything that we do,” Dee added.

Thrift bank subsidiary Philippine Savings Bank also posted a record-breaking net income of P2 billion for a 12.2 percent growth year on year last year while FMIC remained a key player in the local capital markets reporting a 28.8 percent income growth to P2.2 billion last year.

Metrobank Card Corp. in 2011 has become the third-largest credit card provider, posting a solid growth of 62.9 percent in net profits to P1.4 billion while AXA Philippines is now the leading variable life insurance provider for investment-linked products and third-largest life insurer in the country.

Metrobank has a network of 800 branches and 1,600 automated teller machines (ATMs) nationwide as well as 40 foreign branches, subsidiaries and representative offices.