Metropolitan Commercial Bank Announces Settlements with Federal Reserve and New York State Department of Financial Services

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE: MCB), the holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank (the “Bank”), today announced that the Bank has entered into Consent Orders with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) and the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) to resolve Federal Reserve and DFS concerns related to the Bank’s relationship with a program manager that processed government stimulus funds and expanded unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic and was a target of fraud.

The Consent Orders relate to a unique challenge that arose for a short period at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. MCB was committed to supporting the government’s provision of stimulus funds and expanded unemployment insurance benefits to millions of Americans, particularly underserved consumers who did not have traditional bank accounts. At the same time, as federal and state authorities have acknowledged, third-party fraud ballooned rapidly under these pandemic-era programs, creating oversight challenges for banks. We appreciate that the Federal Reserve and New York Department of Financial Services have acknowledged the actions and enhancements we voluntarily undertook, including terminating the relationship with the third-party program manager at issue in August 2020, and supplementing our oversight mechanisms. We also appreciate our employees’ hard work to stem the tide of fraud that occurred rapidly in these government programs, as a result of which MCB was able to freeze approximately $100 million in fraudulent payments for return to government authorities.

The imposed fines are covered by a provision taken in prior periods. Since 2020, the Bank has been actively working to enhance its processes and procedures to more effectively and efficiently address the concerns that arose.

About Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp.

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE: MCB) is the parent company of Metropolitan Commercial Bank (the “Bank”), a New York City based full-service commercial bank.

The Bank provides a broad range of business, commercial and personal banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, private and public middle-market and corporate enterprises and institutions, municipalities and local government entities.

Metropolitan Commercial Bank’s Global Payments Group is an established leader in providing payments services to domestic and international non-bank financial service companies. The Bank continues to grow its presence as a valued, trusted and innovative strategic partner across payments, custodial and money services businesses worldwide.