Metro Bank said on Wednesday that it was seeing signs of a gradual return to normality as it reported flat lending for the third quarter.
In the three months to the end of September, lending was steady compared to the previous quarter at £12.3bn. The bank said this reflects growth in consumer unsecured lending and specialist mortgages, offset by the attrition of lower-yielding residential mortgages and commercial term loans including the initial repayment of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
On the year, lending was down 18% after Metro sold its residential mortgage portfolio to NatWest for £3bn.
Chief executive officer Daniel Frumkin said: “The bank has continued to deliver against its strategic priorities during the quarter. We have seen improvements in our lending mix from our expanded product offering.
“We are seeing signs of a gradual return to normality and have adopted a hybrid way of working for office-based colleagues. We remain focused on executing on our plans and returning the bank to sustainable profitable growth.”
