The invitation from Ann Gregorio to join Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) on its 60th founding anniversary sparked my curiosity on the history of the lender, how it came about.

I took a fancy of Metrobank because back in the 1990s when electronic banking was at its infancy, Metrobank’s ATMs are the only ATMs I know which uses an enticing female voice prompt that says: “welcome to Metrobank ET (not the ET phone home, the movie but ET as in electronic transaction.”

The nosey, newshound in me led me to the beginning of a flour mill. Indeed, based on my research, it is a good story to share. It tells about the perseverance of the young George S.K. Ty, who was tasked to negotiate with banks for a loan to finance the final stage of construction of his family’s flour mill.

The family was on a financial edge having exhausted all their assets. Banks back then were much more monolithic. A borrower couldn’t just go to a bank. Connections are a requirement.

Simply said, it wasn’t easy. He went to several banks and they all turned him down. His perseverance paid off when finally he got an appointment to see the president of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Cutting to the chase, DBP provided the facility, completing the construction of the flourmill. Is this the reason behind the neighboring love that existed between the two lenders with their respective headquarters standing side by side the Buendia Avenue Extension? Or merely, a coincidence? Will get back to you on this.

The experience opened the eyes of Mr. George to the symbiotic relation of the businesses and banks.  Business needs financing in order to grow, especially those startups that have no track record and virtually hard-up in collateral.

So he felt that as much as it was about setting up a business, banking is something that would clearly help this country, thus, the birth of Metrobank in 1962. For Mr. George, the institution was a brave response to a call for growth and progress.

And from then on, the bank laid the groundwork for more opportunities to reach out and serve the general banking public with its mantra; “You’re in Good Hands with Metrobank.”

This month Metrobank is celebrating the 60th year of its founding.   

 Metrobank has endured the rough and tumble of the business with its luster shining, remaining on the list of the top five players of the banking industry.  

As Metrobank President Fabian S. Dee avowed: “For the past six decades, our customers have always been at the front and center of everything we do. As we mark our 60th year, we will continue to evolve with our customers and strive to deliver more convenient and relevant banking products and services to meet their needs, which in turn helps fuel our country’s economic growth.”

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