Metropolitan Commercial Bank Quits Crypto

Metropolitan Commercial Bank says goodbye to crypto. The move will have minimal financial consequences, according to the company.

Metropolitan Commercial Bank is set to exit the cryptocurrency market entirely, according to a statement from the bank. In its recent report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the bank said the move comes in response to developments in the cryptocurrency industry. Including changes in regulatory policy and a strategic assessment of the bank’s business case.

The current SEC chairman, Gary Gensler, has taken repeated swings at cryptocurrency, and this may have been a factor in the bank’s decision.

As of March 31, digital asset-related deposits had fallen to 4% of the total, equivalent to $217.6 million. Metropolitan has begun closing its relationships with four crypto-asset-related clients. The process is expected to end in 2023. The decision will not affect customers’ existing ability to send or receive funds from crypto-asset firms.

According to the company, the move will have minimal financial consequences.

In January, Metropolitan Bank Holding (MBH), the parent company, declared the cessation of crypto-related services. MBH blamed industrial developments and regulatory pressure. The decision followed the implosion of FTX, which left much of the crypto industry on its knees.

Metropolitan Commercial Bank President and CEO Mark R. DeFazio said the decision would not affect the bank’s core business. Instead, it will allow a focus on delivering “superior value for all our stakeholders.” As of March 31, the bank had core deposits totaling $4.9 billion, an increase of $69.2 million from December 31, 2022. Net income for the first quarter of 2023 was $25.1 million, an increase of 31.8% from year on year, while the income for the same period was 65.5 dollars. m, an annual increase of 21.2%.

Another bank abandons crypto

This decision by Metropolitan Bank follows recent turmoil in the banking sector. Signature Bank and Silvergate both had extensive involvement in the crypto sector. Both have now collapsed, but crypto’s role in their demise is disputed. However, many believe that the role of crypto in their fall has been grossly overestimated.

That’s a loss for the crypto industry, given that Metropolitan Commercial Bank, which operates banking centers in both New York City and Long Island, offers a variety of business, commercial and personal banking products and services to small, mid-market, corporate and municipal customers . Their clients also include high net worth individuals.

In addition, the bank’s global payments group is also a bank-as-a-service provider to various fintech, payments and money services firms in the US and internationally. Metropolitan Commercial Bank purports to be a New York State-chartered commercial bank, a member of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and an equal mortgage lender.