George SK Ty: Man with a golden heart

MANILA, Philippines – George S. K. Ty was just 29 years old when he founded Metrobank on Sept. 5, 1962.

The young businessman spoke little English, had no banking background and no connections with anyone who might get him an appointment with the governor of the Central Bank.

For five years, he kept going to the Central Bank, sitting in the reception area, waiting to see the man whose approval was needed to open a bank.

Perseverance and tenacity paid off when Governor Andres Castillo finally gave the clearance for him to pursue the establishment of a bank. 

The very first office opened in the Wellington Building in the heart of Manila. Ty had already been a businessman for 10 years, having helped set up, as general manager, the family-owned Wellington Flour Mills.

He overcame tremendous difficulties in setting up the bank but surrounded himself with competent, trustworthy people to compensate for his lack of experience in banking.

“One of my most important attributes is that I know how to choose people. Whenever I have trouble, there is always someone by my side,” he said.

Metrobank was a pioneer in branch banking, and by the 1970s had offices across the country and one in Taipei, Taiwan. It continued to grow throughout the 1980s and 1990s, opening more domestic and overseas branches as well as striking partnerships with Japan’s largest car manufacturer to open Toyota Motors Philippines, and with global insurance giant Axa Group to establish the Philippine Axa Life Insurance Corp. It became the country’s first and only billion-dollar bank in 1996, and one of the largest capitalized banks in the region.

Other significant accomplishments include opening the first Philippine bank in mainland China in 2001 and inaugurating Metropolitan Bank (China) Limited, the first foreign bank headquarters in the city of Nanjing.

Metrobank posted a net income of P11 billion last year, over 32 percent higher than in 2010.

Today the bank counts over 760 domestic branches and 38 foreign branches, subsidiaries and representative offices.

Despite the company’s continuous growth, Ty feels there is more room to grow. “We want to grow bigger and be better,” he says. “There is no such thing as enough.”

This growth, however, is matched by an even stronger commitment to share his blessings. Metrobank Foundation, the country’s biggest foundation in terms of operating budget, has projects that support health care, education, the military, police and the arts. The Foundation has become a model for big business giving back to society.

“I’ve always said I want a money-making corporation, which is Metrobank, and a money-spending corporation, which is Metrobank Foundation,” Ty said. “I think I owe this community and society so much. If I am successful, I want to give back.”

With Metrobank celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, Ty insists it is a combination of industry and luck that has brought him to where he is today.

Forbes magazine has put him among the Top 10 richest men in the Philippines last year, with assets totaling $1.1 billion. While it speaks of significant accomplishments, he counted it a greater honor to have been named one of the Heroes of Philanthropy.

As the bank marks its golden year, tribute is given to its founder as a visionary man with a heart of gold. He institutionalized generosity and made it a core value of Metrobank, taking private sector corporate social responsibility to a new level.