Metro Bank (MTRO.L) on Tuesday posted a 5% drop in deposits in the third quarter, although the struggling British lender said that the increase in outflows seen before its capital injection had now returned to “more normal ranges.”
Shares in Britain’s best-known challenger bank fell as much as 6% to 40 pence in morning trading after it also reported a “modest statutory profit after tax” for the three months ended Sept. 30. The shares were last down 1%.
Last month, Metro secured 325 million pounds ($400.3 million) in a capital raise and a 600 million pound debt refinancing after urgent talks to bolster its balance sheet.
The deal, which received the requisite support from bondholders, hands majority shareholder control to its biggest investor – Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski. It would entail a hit for bondholders, who would then switch into higher interest-paying bonds.
Deposits as of Sept. 30 stood at 15.61 billion pounds, compared with 16.37 billion pounds a year earlier.
“Lending reflects continued controlled asset origination and as such capital resources were broadly flat relative to 30 June levels,” the company said in a statement.
($1 = 0.8120 pounds)
Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Dhanya Ann Thoppil.
REUTERS
