Metro Bank Increases Customer Base By 71%

UK challenger bank Metro has increased its customer numbers by almost three quarters as it begins to pose a serious threat to some of the country's top banks.

Britons continued to show their support for Metro Bank, which was the first new high street bank in more than a 100 years when it launched in 2010, as its customer base soared by a massive 71% in the quarter ending 30 September to take its total to 406,000.

With the jump in customers came an increase in deposits, which grew to £2.3bn - a year-on-year increase of 118%.

Lending also shot up by 146% to £1.3bn in comparison with a year ago, with half of this going to businesses which is a key component of Metro's corporate ethos.

Despite the positives, Metro made a loss of £9.4m during the third quarter, although this is less than the £9.9m loss it made in the previous quarter.

Craig Donaldson, chief executive of Metro Bank, said: "We're extremely proud of another quarter of strong growth in lending, deposits and customer numbers. As we enter the final quarter of 2014, we thank our personal and business customers for their ongoing support, and we look forward to bringing our customer focused proposition to more communities across London and the southeast.

"The British people need a bank that puts their needs first and offers the best in service and convenience; they need choice on the high street, and we are here to provide that choice."