MANILA – Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank) has entered into an agreement with its joint-venture partner ANZ Funds Pty. Ltd. (ANZ) to increase its stake in Metrobank Card Corporation (MCC) up to 100%, a company announcement said.
Metrobank’s joint venture with ANZ was formed in 2003 with Metrobank holding a 60% stake and ANZ the remaining 40%. MCC is the leading provider of credit cards in the Philippines with more than 1.5 million cards in force based on data obtained from the Credit Card Association of the Philippines (CCAP).
Metrobank President Fabian S. Dee said, “The joint venture arrangement has created a lot of value for both partners as we transformed MCC into the #1 credit card company in the Philippines. We expect that the historically strong performance of MCC can be sustained on the back of robust consumption spending.”
In 2016, MCC reported total assets of PHP 60.4 billion and a return on average equity of 36.3%. MCC was also #1 in terms of Receivables based on CCAP data.
According to Dee, “With this transaction, we now have a great opportunity to further expand our retail capabilities. We expect to leverage on better operational efficiencies as we eventually make MCC a wholly-owned subsidiary of Metrobank.”
Subject to regulatory approvals, Metrobank will purchase 20% of MCC for a consideration of PHP7.4 billion. The sale of the remaining 20% will be completed by the third quarter of 2018 on the same terms.
