Metro Bank hails second quarter of profitability, deposits fall

Metro Bank said on Wednesday that it delivered a second quarter of underlying profitability in the first quarter, although deposits declined.

The company did not provide a figure for profitability, but chief executive Daniel Frumkin said: "Metro Bank has delivered a second consecutive quarter of underlying profitability and March has been our strongest month of performance since the turnaround commenced.

"We continued to attract more personal and business accounts, demonstrating the strong appeal of our service-led, community-based model. Whilst we remain watchful of macroeconomic headwinds, we continue to optimise the business for improved risk-adjusted returns and are confident in our plan to become a sustainably profitable growth engine."

During the quarter, loans dipped 1% to £12.92bn. Meanwhile, deposits fell 3% to £15.6bn, with Metro pointing to seasonal factors, such as tax payments in January, partially offset by net inflows in March. .