Metrobank stockholders to get cash dividends

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the country’s largest bank, will give out P653.46 million in cash dividend to its stockholders by early next year, a top official informed the Philippine Stock Exchange.

MBTC senior vice president Antonio Viray said the bank’s board of directors approved in its regular meeting last Tuesday a resolution declaring a cash dividend of two percent based on the outstanding capital stock.

The cash bonus would amount to P653.46 million or P2 per share and will be payable to all stockholders of record on the date to be fixed by the bank’s president after approval by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

MBTC has a total outstanding stock of 326,730,190 shares listed at the PSE. Yesterday, its share price rose P3 to end at P182.

The cash dividend declaration followed the announcement of the respective boards of MBTC and its majority-owned commercial bank subsidiary Global Business Bank Inc. of their merger, with the former as the surviving entity.

The merger, expected to be completed by the first half of next year, will solidify the Metrobank group’s dominance of the local banking sector. MBTC is already the leading universal bank with consolidated assets of over P467 billion, capital stock of P48 billion, and a vast network of over 500 domestic and international branches.

Globalbank, a joint venture between Metrobank and Tokai Bank Ltd. of Japan, is the largest regular commercial bank with assets of close to P60 billion, capital of P7.4 billion and a network of 144 branches nationwide. – Conrado Diaz Jr.