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This new-style, dog-friendly bank was set up by charismatic American Vernon Hill. It has reported that customer numbers jumped 79,000 in the last quarter to 1.12 million.
It is not by accident that METRO bank is foregoing higher profits. It is more interested in growth as it invests in being the consumer champion of the sector and chases market share.
Profit was up 77% to £7.2 million and net interest margin - the gap between what it pays savers and charges borrowers - rose slightly to 1.94%. At Lloyds it is 2.85%. Craig Donaldson, the Chief Executive, said, ''My plan is to keep making profit every quarter, but I will never put the net interest margin as high as Lloyds. Profits could be much higher, but I want to invest.'' |
Loans are up 11% to £14.6 billion. Donaldson says only a fraction of these are unsecured and that the bank's early warning system detects signs of distress from borrowers.
Unlike older rivals which are closing branches, Metro is opening new ones. It now has 50 of them.
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