Metro Bank has today reported a smaller loss and higher margins for 2021, as the British high-street lender's turnaround actions bear fruit and the economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic's impact.
The London-based bank in 2010 became the first lender to be granted a high-street banking licence in Britain in 150 years.
But it has had a tumultuous two years after an accounting blunder in 2019 led to fines and probes by UK regulators.
It has since launched a turnaround plan focussing on cost controls, revenue and net interest margin growth, balance sheet improvement and infrastructure investment, among others.
Metro reported an underlying pretax loss of £171.3m for the year ended December 31, compared with £271.8m the prior year, when it was hit by large pandemic-related bad loan provisions.
The lender's statutory pretax loss stood at £245.1m for the year after a £5.38m fine from the Bank of England in December and provisioning for the British financial regulator's ongoing probe, and other costs.
Its net interest margin, a key measure of profitability, rose to 1.4% from 1.22% last year, helping the bank start 2022 on a strong footing as it continues to focus on improving yields amid rising interest rates.
Loans rose 2% to £12.29 billion for the year and deposits also inched up 2% to £16.45 billion, the bank said.
