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Metropolitan Bank
and Trust Company -
New York
10 East 53rd Street,
New York, NY 10022
Telephone:
(212) 832-0855
(212) 832-0951
Facsimile:
(212) 832-0993
(212) 223-0916
Toll Free:
(800) 863-8762
(Outside NY, NJ & CT)
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“Our greatest motivation for striving to be the best in the business field is the generation of more resources to share with society whose support is responsible for our success. - GEORGE S.K.TY
When Dr. George S.K.Ty sets a vision, he leads his people to achieve it.
In 1962, he had a vision to put up a bank that would be the “biggest and the best in the Philippines”. He envisioned the bank to adhere to the principle that any business worth doing should be done well. For the first ten years, he built the foundation of trust, cultivating the confidence of people and building valuable relationships with clients. The values of discipline and industry became part of the Metrobank culture. It was his hallmark that he passed on to the officers and staff, expecting nothing less than what he himself was giving.
More than three decades later, the name Metrobank is recognized in all corners of the country and easily associated with stability and growth. Traditionally, the Bank has served mid-sized companies and remote provinces that other banks once shunned. However, globalization and advances in technology saw the emergence of new businesses and opportunities that the Bank was quick to capitalize on. With continued expansion even into international markets, Metrobank is enjoying a growing customer base among Filipinos and Chinese clients abroad. Thus, it is not surprising that the Bank has not relinquished its leadership position as the Philippines’ largest private commercial bank for 11 years now.
Dr. Ty credits the dedication and competence of the people of Metrobank for its success believing that attaining success also brings the obligation to maintain it.
Many have said that Dr. Ty has been successful not only in attracting established bankers but is also adept at spotting and attracting talent at an early stage. Quite a number have since joined government as high-ranking officials and other business enterprises, here and abroad, as top corporate officers. Metrobank has produced at least seven bank presidents. Filipino luminaries in banking and finance, Placido L. Mapa, Sr., Don Emilio Abello and Don Pio Pedrosa founded the bank with Dr. Ty and contributed their expertise to the Bank’s early growth.
He takes pride in having developed people to assume greater responsibilities in the bank. Foremost among them was Metrobank group vice chairman and bank chairman Antonio S. Abacan Jr. who rose from the ranks and served the bank as president for 14 years. Ty places great emphasis on loyalty perhaps because he saw all his employees as part of one big family.
Metrobank Group Chairman
In May this year, Metrobank reached an important milestone as Dr. Ty stepped up to the Chairmanship of the Metrobank Group and passed on the torch to Antonio S. Abacan, Jr. as bank chairman and Metrobank Group vice chairman. The Metrobank Board of Directors also elected Arthur Ty as president to lead the Bank to new growth frontiers.
As group chairman, Dr. Ty is not one to sit on his laurels. He spearheads for the Metrobank companies, the effort to identify and address new business opportunities, especially abroad.
In August 2001, Metrobank established a full branch office in Shanghai, the only Philippine bank to do so. It was a small and preparatory step but a major move, nonetheless, in view of China as a fast-emerging world economic power. Consistent with his vision, Dr. Ty started constructing last year the Metrobank Plaza in Shanghai. This stately mix-use residential and commercial building towering over the city is the latest addition to Dr. Ty’s multi-feathered cap. Nowadays, he busies himself with regular trips abroad looking for more opportunities for business and expansion.
Dr. Ty’s ability “to perceive the development and implication of events long before they occur” is appreciated by many, especially among the key officers of the bank.
Joint Ventures
Metrobank prides itself on its roster of successful joint venture partners. Dr. Ty attributes this not only to the Bank’s core competencies and its market reach but also to its reputation for integrity, discipline, and professionalism.
Toyota Motor Corp. and Mitsui & Co. have been joint venture partners for over 17 years with Metrobank in the Philippines’ number one automotive company.
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) partnered with Metrobank for its credit card business. The AXA Group is a partner in Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp. while Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Orix Corp. of Japan are likewise partners of Metrobank in the financial services businesses. First Metro Travelex, Inc, is a joint venture with Travelex plc.
Because of Metrobank’s good fundamentals and harmonious work ethic, partnerships with the world’s renowned companies in their respective industries endure.
Giving Back to Society
Armed with the belief that “leadership in business implies leadership in community service as well,” Dr. Ty established the Metrobank Foundation in 1979 and successfully “laid the groundwork for an ideal future by promoting excellence in such fields as teaching, health, and the visual arts.”
Today, Metrobank Foundation is the largest philanthropic organization in the country in terms of operational budget and the immeasurable benefits granted over the past 27 years to the awardees of its major projects. The Search for Outstanding Teachers, The College Scholarship Programs, The Young Painters’ Annual, now the Metrobank Art and Design Excellence National Competition, The Search for the Country’s Outstanding Policemen in Service, and The Search for The Outstanding Philippine Soldiers.
In effect, the institution has created a fertile base that supports and encourages people to excel in their chosen fields. Be they teachers, students, artists and designers, policemen, soldiers and even members of the judiciary, Metrobank shares the fruits of its labor to help cultivate a culture of excellence in society.
A legacy of leadership and excellence
Going by the dictum that “success is measured not merely by the leadership position we have achieved but by the various obstacles we have surmounted,” Dr. Ty knows only too well how the Bank struggled from its early beginnings to eventually grow by leaps and bounds, emerging as a true leader.
If he had a passion for work, he too had compassion for his people in the sense that the bigger the organization gets, the more it became necessary to stress fully the individual roles that each play to achieve and maintain harmony.
As he took care of his employees, Dr. Ty has kept a watchful eye on his clients by exercising prudence and good management discipline. With a growing customer base now numbering more than 3 million, Metrobank remains steadfast in its commitment to leadership and excellence for all of its stakeholders.
Suffice it to say then that the slogan, “You’re in good hands with Metrobank,” is no empty boast – the bank’s clients attest to that.
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