SEC approves Metrobank-MCC merger
Credit to Author: Mayvelin U. Caraballo, TMT| Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2020 15:00:16 +0000
LISTED Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) has secured another regulatory approval for its merger with its credit card subsidiary.
“Please be advised that the Bank has received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jan. 13, 2020 stating that the merger of Metrobank Card Corp. (MCC) into [the] Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. was approved by the SEC on Jan. 3, 2020,” the Ty-led bank said in a disclosure on Tuesday.
The SEC’s approval followed that of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas last October 23 and the lender’s board of directors last March 13.
MCC, a finance company and general insurance agency, is fully owned by Metrobank.
In September 2017, Metrobank took full control of MCC after purchasing ANZ Funds Pty. Ltd.’s minority stake.
“The proposed transaction will unlock the value of MCC, being a wholly owned subsidiary of Metrobank, and help realize the following objectives: improve synergy and cross-sell; increase profitability and improve capital efficiency; and enable Metrobank to be more competitive in the credit card business,” the bank said.
It added that the merger was ratified by at least two-thirds of the stockholders last April 24.
Metrobank’s unaudited consolidated net income rose by 28.57 percent to P21.6 billion in January to September 2019 from P16.8 billion in the same period the previous year.
The lender attributed its solid performance to the consistent growth in operating revenues on the back of moderate loan growth and margin expansion, strong trading and foreign exchange gains, and higher fee-based income.
The bank’s consolidated assets and equity stood at P2.3 trillion and P304.7 billion, respectively. Total capital adequacy ratio was at 17.6 percent with common equity tier 1 ratio of 16.3 percent.
Metrobank shares fell by P1.20 or 1.79 percent to end at P65.80 each on Tuesday.