Get to know Metrobanks Founder Dr.

George
S.K. Ty

Once compared to an ant trying to move a

mountain, banking taipan Dr. George Siao Kian
Ty still agrees to that comparison, going as far as
saying he has the spirit of an ant, and that he
works with very good people around him to move
more mountains.

Dr. Ty is the founder of Metropolitan Bank & Trust

Company (Metrobank) and the current Group
Chairman of GT Capital Holdings. He is also the
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
Metrobank Foundation, Inc. and a member of
Toyota Motor Philippines Corporations Board of
Directors.
Dr. Tys business interests also include stakes in property development, power
generation, and insurance. All of these combine to give him a net worth of US$3.5 billion,
making him the fourth richest man in the country, and placing him at 544th on the Forbes
2017 Billionaires List.

He is a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas where he received an honorary

Doctorate Degree in Humanities.

Personal Life

It wasnt all sunshine and daisies for Dr. Ty from the get-go. He started out with building
the family flour factory at the age of 19, sometime after they emigrated from Hong Kong
to Tondo, Manila.

A shortage of funds would become the spark for a young George Ty to put up a bank.
The Wellington Flour Mills was nearly done when they ran out of funds. He could not
secure funding from financial establishments at the time because he did not have any
credentials or track record to back him up.

A stroke of luck would go his way when the government banned the importation of flour
during the 1950s. He was able to get a loan (and pay it back within a year) to get the flour
mill up and running.

Once everything was going smoothly, the then-25 year old started making moves to put
up a bank, even if he had no knowledge about the banking industry. It would take years
before he would realize his dream, but in 1961 he secured an approval from then-Central
Bank Governor Andres Castillo and was able to open the Metropolitan Bank and Trust
Company a year after at Plaza Calderon in Binondo.

He served as the banks chairman from 1975 to 2006, during which Metrobank was able
to gain a foothold on the country thanks to his idea of establishing a bank that would give
money to help businessmen and the community.

Businesses
Dr. George S.K. Tys business interests mostly come from the banking sector. Metrobank,
the bank he founded, is the countrys second largest bank in terms of assets. He also has
stakes in the Bank of the Philippine Islands and Philippine Savings Bank (PS Bank), a
member of the Metrobank Group.

Apart from banking, Dr. Ty also has his hand in Federal Land, Inc., a prime real estate
developer in the country. Currently ran by his son Alfred Ty, Federal Land is the developer
of the following:

GT Tower International in Makati

Metrobank Center
Grand Hyatt Hotel and Grand Hyatt Manila Residences
Veritown Fort township in Fort Bonifacio
Marco Polo Residences and Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu
SixSenses Residences and Bay Garden Club & Residences
Blue Bay Walk family and lifestyle commercial strip in Pasay City

Dr. Tys GT Capital Holdings also owns Global Business Power Corporation, a holding
company that has become the leading power producer in the Visayas Region and
Mindoro Island through its subsidiaries.
Apart from these, Dr. Ty also has a hand in Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation as a
member of its Board of Directors. He also has stakes in Philippine AXA Life Insurance
Corporation, Charter Ping An Insurance Corporation, and Property Company of Friends,
Inc. (Pro-Friends).