(Australia) – ANZ Banking Group has announced a deal with the Philippines largest bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co, to establish a credit card joint venture.In a deal estimated to be worth less than A$20 million, ANZ will take a small equity stake in Metro Bank, and help the bank develop its cards business.
The Philippines has a low credit card penetration, with less than 4 percent of the population carrying cards, compared with nearly 50 percent in Australia.
ANZ, which is Australia’s largest issuer with 3.8 million of the 9.64 million cards on issue, says it expects credit card growth in the Philippines could run to 15 percent a year over the next decade.