13 March 2024 , 07:26
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Metro Bank has announced about 1,000 jobs will be axed by mid-April as part of plans to reduce costs.
The bank will lose about 22% of its 4,266-strong workforce. The lender had previously confirmed plans to slash annual costs by £50million and today announced plans to cut another £30million by the end of 2024.
This news comes as the bank reported an underlying loss of £16.9million for 2023, but said this is a 67% reduction compared to the losses of £50.6million in 2022. On a statutory basis, the bank said it made a profit for the first time since 2018, with pre-tax profits of £30.5million.
Daniel Frumkin, Chief Executive Officer at Metro Bank, said Metro Bank has also saved money by reducing store hours across the business. However, the group confirmed it still plans on opening new stores in the North of England.
Mr Frumkin said: "Looking forward, I remain confident in our ability to be the number one community bank. The work we have undertaken this year has laid the path to become a structurally profitable business and our focus towards the SME, Commercial and specialist mortgages sector presents an exciting opportunity in an underserved area of the market. I remain grateful for the continued support of our colleagues, customers and shareholders as we embark on the next chapter of our journey."
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He added: "Overall, Metro Bank performed strongly in 2023 as we continued to position the business for growth. We were pleased to return to profit on a statutory basis and deliver our best half-year results for several years. After addressing our capital position in Q4, we also launched a successful deposit campaign, with deposits as at the end of February 2024 at the highest level in three years."
Metro Bank was launched as a challenger bank in 2010, designed to compete against longer-established banks in the UK, and has around 2.7 million customers. There were 246,000 accounts opened at Metro Bank in the year, with over 52,000 of those in the fourth quarter.