THE Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) has signed a remittance agreement with Hana Bank of South Korea to expand its remittance business, Metrobank said in a statement Monday.

Metrobank, the country’s largest lender, said the deal with Hana Bank will allow it to extend its products and services to Filipinos who work in Korea but are not covered by its existing branches in Seoul and Pusan.

Hana Bank is South Korea’s third- largest bank by asset value, with 124 trillion won ($135 billion) in assets.  The company offers commercial and retail banking, insurance, trust services, currency exchange and credit cards through more than 625 branches. It is the flagship of financial-services provider Hana Financial Group.

In turn, Hana Bank will be able to extend its services to Koreans in the Philippines.

“This partnership with Hana Bank will bolster Metrobank’s presence in South Korea. Hana Bank is a major player in their country, and with this tie-up, we expect to increase our market share in the area,” said Metrobank executive vice president and International Offices and Subsidiaries Group head Carmelita Araneta. 

Metrobank’s inward remittances increased by 28 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2008 to $1.04 billion from $813.18 million.

Aside from Korea, the bank has an extensive global network of international branches, offices and subsidiaries in Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Shanghai), the Americas (New York, Hawaii, California, Chicago, Canada and the Bahamas) and Europe (London, Rome, Milan, Bologna, Madrid, Barcelona and Vienna).

Metrobank has consolidated assets of P677.96 billion as of the end of March. It posted a consolidated net income of P1.76 billion in the first three months of the year.

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Metrobank expands remittance service to OFWs in South Korea

THE Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) has signed a remittance agreement with Hana Bank of South Korea to expand its remittance business, Metrobank said in a statement Monday.