MANILA, Philippines - Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) is named as the bank with the strongest balance sheet in the Philippines in 2013. This is the second time for Metrobank to receive the recognition given by The Asian Banker, a prestigious regional financial publication. Metrobank is the only Philippine bank in the top 50, ranking 44th overall in the Asia-Pacific Region. The Asian Banker 500 is an annual study on all commercial banks identifying the strongest balance sheets in the Asia-Pacific Region. Banks were evaluated on a transparent balanced scorecard approach, weighted against six crucial elements, such as scale of operations, balance sheet growth, risk management, profitability, asset quality, and liquidity.