Metro Bank PLC sees rise in lending as activity levels recover

PLC () said it has seen a sharp improvement in the number of deferred payments in the past three months.

“The number of active payment deferrals reduced to less than 3.5% of the retail mortgage portfolio at the end of Q3, down from 16% at H1,” the bank said in a trading update.

Lending increased in the quarter with the loan book standing at £15.1bn at end September 2020 compared to £14.9bn at end June, while deposits were flat at £15.6bn.

Activity levels continue gradually to recover post-lockdown, Metro added, with new account openings tracking higher at around 90% of pre-pandemic levels.

The bank said it had also extended more than £1.3bn in government-backed business loans to over 33,000 customers to aid them through the coronavirus crisis.

In the statement, Daniel Frumkin, ‘s chief executive said: “In a challenging environment, Metro Bank has delivered a good performance with loan growth reflecting our support for government-backed lending schemes.

“We have made further progress against the strategic priorities we set out at the beginning of 2020, completing the acquisition of RateSetter in the quarter and launching new initiatives which enable us to meet more customer needs.”