Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (MBT) was incorporated on April 6, 1962 by a group of Filipino businessmen principally to provide financial services to the Filipino-Chinese community. MBT eventually diversified its business to provide a broad range of banking and collateral services to all sectors of the Philippine economy. On August 21, 1981, MBT was granted a universal banking license by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This license allowed MBT to engage in non-allied undertakings, which include automobile manufacturing, travel services and real estate, as well as finance-related businesses such as insurance, savings and retail banking, credit card services and leasing. MBT offers commercial and investment banking services. The company's customer base covers a cross section of the top Philippine corporate market, but has always been particularly strong in the middle market corporate sector of the economy, a significant portion of which consists of Filipino-Chinese businesses. MBT's principal business activities involve borrowing and lending, trade finance, remittances, treasury, investment banking, credit card and savings banking. MBT is also a major participant in the foreign exchange market in the Philippines, and is accredited by the BSP as a government securities dealer. MBT provides investment banking services through First Metro Investment Corporation and retail banking through Philippine Savings Bank. MBT's subsidiaries include, among others, Metro Remittance Center, Inc., MB Remittance Centre Limited, Metropolitan Bank (Bahamas) Limited, Metro Remittance (UK) Limited, Metro Remittance Singapore Pte. Ltd., MBTC Remittance, GmbH, Metro Remittance Center, S.A. (MRC), Metro Remittance (Italia), SpA, First Metro International Investment Company Limited, Global Business Holdings, Inc., First Metro Investment Corporation, Philippine Savings Bank, Metrobank Card Corporation, MBTC Technology, Inc., Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation, and ORIX Metro Leasing and Finance Corporation. Source: SEC Form 17-A (2008)