1-1                                       1

 1-2                          SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 507

 1-3           WHEREAS, MetroBank, N.A., is celebrating its 10th year of

 1-4     providing excellent banking services to the citizens of Houston,

 1-5     and the Texas Senate is pleased to extend congratulations to this

 1-6     noteworthy institution; and

 1-7           WHEREAS, MetroBank opened its doors on April 15, 1987, at

 1-8     a time when a fundamentally strong market was making an economic

 1-9     recovery; Don Wang, chairman of the board, focused on borrowers

1-10     avoided by mainstream banks and was responsible for turning

1-11     minority banking into a highly successful business; and

1-12           WHEREAS, A native of Taiwan, Don Wang came to the

1-13     United States in 1969 to pursue advance studies in food processing

1-14     at Utah State University with plans to return to Taiwan, but he

1-15     dropped out of the doctoral program; after working at a number of

1-16     odd jobs in Houston and Los Angeles, the enterprising young man,

1-17     with the help of his father, invested in a motel in Houston and,

1-18     later, acquired two apartment complexes and a larger motel; and

1-19           WHEREAS, By 1982, Mr. Wang had grown tired of the motel

1-20     business and, with his partner, David Tai, he started a business

1-21     that made loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration;

1-22     focusing on Asians and other minorities as clients, the men learned

1-23     the technique of putting people and money together; in 1987 the

 2-1     partners started MetroBank with 80 investors and $3 million in

 2-2     capital; and

 2-3           WHEREAS, In 1989, MetroBank increased its assets to

 2-4     $100 million when it acquired the failed Industrial Bank in

 2-5     Houston's East End and developed a solid Hispanic market; a third

 2-6     bank was opened in 1991 in the Galleria Financial Center, a fourth

 2-7     branch in Chinatown in 1993, and a fifth branch in Sugar Land in

 2-8     1995; and

 2-9           WHEREAS, MetroBank is the recipient of several awards

2-10     from the Houston community and special national recognition;

2-11     the United States Department of Commerce designated MetroBank

2-12     as regional winner of "Corporate Firm of the Year"; locally, the

2-13     bank was presented the "Local Corporation of the Year Award" from

2-14     the Texas Association of Mexican American Chamber of Commerce,

2-15     "Corporate Partner of the Year" from the Houston Hispanic Chamber

2-16     of Commerce, the "Business Consortium Star Award," and the Small

2-17     Business Administration's "Award of Excellence" and Preferred

2-18     Lender designation; Eximbank awarded MetroBank its Priority Lender

2-19     designation and recognized it as an "A-level" Eximbank Lender; and

2-20           WHEREAS, After receiving front page coverage in The Wall

2-21     Street Journal, in early 1996, MetroBank opened a sixth branch in

2-22     Clear Lake, MetroBank Dallas in Richardson, and its Harwin branch

2-23     in Southwest Houston; it has continued to expand, reaching out to

2-24     minority communities in Louisiana with its first Loan Production

2-25     office; and

 3-1           WHEREAS, Don Wang and MetroBank have become community

 3-2     leaders among multi-ethnic groups because of their willingness

 3-3     to take risks where mainstream banks traditionally had hands-off

 3-4     policies; Mr. Wang's leadership and knowledge of the people he

 3-5     serves have provided minority business owners and individuals

 3-6     with the assistance they needed to improve their communities; now,

 3-7     therefore, be it

 3-8           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,

 3-9     75th Legislature, hereby commend MetroBank and Don Wang for

3-10     the exceptional contributions they have made to the citizens of

3-11     Texas; and, be it further

3-12           RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for

3-13     MetroBank as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate.

3-14                                                                   Ellis

3-15                                  ______________________________________

3-16                                          President of the Senate

3-17                                       I hereby certify that the above

3-18                                  Resolution was adopted by the Senate

3-19                                  on April 16, 1997.

3-20                                  ______________________________________

3-21                                          Secretary of the Senate

3-22                                  ______________________________________

3-23                                           Member, Texas Senate