BSP probes alleged fraud by Metrobank exec

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is now looking into the alleged internal fraud committed by an executive of the George Ty-led Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank).

"We're already looking into it to establish facts," BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said in a text message to GMA News Online.

On the sidelines of a press conference at the central bank's Manila office, Espenilla confirmed to reporters that the BSP is now examining the case.

"We have an examination in the bank. We will know soon enough," the BSP chief said.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer broke the news early Friday that a Metrobank senior official identified as Maria Victoria Lopez allegedly funneled disbursed loans into fictitious accounts, amounting to an estimated P900 million.

In a statement, the George Ty-led bank confirmed that an individual was already detained since Monday upon its own discovery of the case.

"Our concern is on bank supervision matters. Potentially a crime may have been committed. That’s a police matter. That’s really where the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) comes in," Espenilla said.

Asked if BSP will possibly impose sanctions against the bank, the central bank chief said that "it’s too soon to talk about those things."

"So we just have to establish facts, our banks have their natural internal controls. Precisely to prevent these things from happening. We have to look into the adequacy of those controls if in fact a significant crime happened," he said.

"They’re isolated and banks are well capitalized. Banks have controls so that these kinds of things can be mitigated and withstood. No system is perfect. But the bank is expected to be resilient to these things and I have no concern that the bank can handle these things. This is a large bank It made P16 billion last year. This is very unfortunate, but they have to deal with it," added.

(GMA News Online)