Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the country’s largest lender, yesterday joined the queue for Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. The list includes the country’s businessmen, Henry Sy and the Ayala clan. The Yuchengco Group was the first to announced interest for the local assets of embattled American International Group.

Government Service Insurance System also signified interest, but its president, Winston Garcia, said that the pension fund would only want to act as a "strategic investor".

Metrobank Group vice chairman Antonio S. Abacan, Jr. said Philamlife’s businesses fit the group’s operations.

"They are very strong and well-managed corporations, and a successful acquisition of these companies would accelerate the growth of the Metrobank Group in these areas," Abacan said.

Philamlife is the largest and the most profitable insurance company in the country and the undisputed market leader for over sixty years.

But the entire group may be too big for a single buyer to digest. It has a consolidated networth of P49.5 billion and has assets of up to P170 billion as of December 2007.

Among its subsidiaries include Philam Plans Inc., AIG Philam Savings Bank, Philam Equitable Life Assurance Company, Philam Care, Philam Asset Management Inc., Philam Properties, AIG Business Processing Services, Inc. and Philam Insurance.

Metrobank Group’s insurance interests include Philippine AXA Life, which is a partnership between Metrobank and the Global AXA Group, the world’s largest insurer. In the Philippines, the company ranks second in the life insurance industry and is considered one of the biggest and the fastest growing life insurers with over 22 percent market share in 2007.

It is ranked as one of the 100 biggest corporations in the country.

The Metrobank Group also owns Philippine Charter Insurance Corp., a non-life insurance operation.

Metrobank thrift bank subsidiary, Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), is also eyeing Philam Savings Bank, while Metrobank Card Corporation (MCC) is pursuing AIG Philam’s card business.

PSBank is currently the second largest and strongest thrift bank in the country. At the end of June this year, PSBank reported that its capital base reached P8.2 billion.