Metro Bank, the community bank, recently welcomed Paul Blomfield, Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central to its Fargate store.
Hosted by Metro Bank Local Director Jav Khan, Paul met the team and enjoyed a tour of the bank including the safe deposit boxes, vault, private viewing rooms and the coin counting Magic Money Machine, while Jav explained about the Bank’s community focus, relationship banking and its aim to exceed expectations on service.
Jav explained how the team supported local businesses, including SMEs and charities. “Our relationship-based approach really helps businesses thrive and sets us apart from other high-street banks,” explains Jav Khan, Local Director. “Our conversation focussed on the local economic challenges faced by Sheffield SMEs, the role we play in unlocking business growth and the relationship we have with the statutory support services such as local and regional government. We also discussed the decline in steel manufacturing and the need to create better connectivity between business and place and the role we as a community bank play in having a voice on a local level and our commitment to providing the institutional resources to help businesses of all sizes.
“Paul was interested to hear that we often run business events in-store to help local businesses connect and broaden their networks. Bank colleagues also deliver Money Zone – a free financial education programme in local schools and Paul was also interested in our engagement with schools from lower socio-economic areas who would otherwise be overlooked for such support.”
Metro Bank’s Sheffield store is located at 58-64 Fargate, Sheffield, S1 2HE. The store is open Monday – Saturday: 8:30am - 6pm. Sunday: 11am - 5pm. Sheffield Metro Bank is part of the Safe Space scheme – the store is available to anyone experiencing, or at risk of domestic abuse, providing the opportunity to safely call a helpline, support service or loved one.