Metro Bank ahead of targets on new accounts

Its expansion comes as some rivals cut jobs.

On Thursday, part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland announced 3,500 job cuts while insurer Standard Life said this week it would cut a net 500 jobs.

In contrast to the queues at the July launch of the Holborn office, there were only a handful of customers outside the Earl's Court branch on Friday morning but Thomson remained confident.

"It will get busier. Earl's Court is not a particularly high footfall destination but it's got good visibility," he said.

Some British newspapers have reported that Metro Bank could be interested in the online bank Egg if Egg's parent Citigroup

sells it, but Thomson reiterated that Metro Bank was not interested in takeovers for now.

"We wouldn't buy any other bank asset."

(Editing by Michael Shields)