House panel to summon BSP, Metrobank on P900-M fraud report

The House banks committee is set to summon representatives from Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to explain the reported P900-million internal fraud involving the creation of fake accounts.

“From fake news to fake bank accounts!...The discovery of the ‘fake accounts’ in Metrobank is very alarming. The adverse effects of the existing of ‘fake bank accounts’ is more damaging than ‘fake news’ because this causes actual money [on] depositors,” Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, chairman of the committee, told reporters in a text message.

Evardone said the BSP will be invited to appear in a public hearing to assure that such incident will not happen. Metrobank, he added, should also explain how such fraud was committed despite its protocols.

“We will invite the BSP because being the regulatory body of all banks, it should be more proactive in its regulatory functions to protect the depositors and the banking industry in general,” he said. 

“The committee will also ask top officials of Metrobank why the scam happened. We will look into their protocols and procedures why fake accounts were allowed to be opened,” Evardone added.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Metrobank may have lost as much as P2.5 billion after a bank official funneled loans into fake accounts.

“This is very dangerous to the depositors, to say the least,” Evardone said.

In a statement released Friday, Metrobank confirmed that an individual has been arrested in connection with the incident.

"Upon our own discovery, the bank immediately caused the arrest of the individual involved in this case, who has been detained by the authorities since Monday," Metrobank said.

The statement, however, did not identify who was arrested. — RSJ, GMA News