THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ordered Tuesday, November 28, the suspension of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank), in relation to the P1.75-billion fraud committed by a bank officer.
Directors and bank officers who "failed to perform adequate oversight and/or have been complacent/remiss of their duties and responsibilities" will face the suspension, according to the central bank's Monetary Board.
In addition, Metrobank is required to allocate P4.45 billion of its capital on a consolidated basis to cover for higher operational risk.
The BSP said the requirement is subject to periodic review and will be lifted when the bank is determined to have put in place adequate risk control measures.
In a regulatory filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange, Metrobank said the board and senior management accept accountability and command responsibility for the incident and commit to implementing the directives.
It described the incident as an "isolated case," given that the perpetrator involved in the fraud acted alone and for her sole benefit.
Maria Victoria Lopez, former vice president of the corporate service unit at Metrobank's Makati head office, was apprehended last July 18 by the National Bureau of Investigation for issuing fictitious loans amounting to roughly P1 billion.
To comply with the BSP directive, Metrobank also committed to set aside P4.45 billion of its capital reserve.
"With P2.0 trillion in assets and P210 billion in equity, MBTC (Metrobank) is in a strong position to set aside P4.45 billion of capital reserve," Metrobank said.
"The bank has proactively absorbed the entire amount related to this incident in the third quarter. Despite this, the growth momentum of the bank remains robust and results for the year are ahead of plan," it added.
As of June 30, Metrobank's assets stood at P1.620 trillion, making it the second-largest bank in terms of assets.
Metrobank also assured that none of its customers were affected and that bank operations remain as usual. (SunStar Cebu)