Metro Bank plc (“Metro Bank” or the “Company”) today announces approved changes to its Capability & Innovation funding from BCR Ltd (“BCR”) and associated Public Commitments.
Metro Bank’s Revised Business Case, submitted to and approved by BCR, has aligned the Bank’s commitments with its new strategy, also announced today. Metro Bank will return £50m of the original £120m it was awarded last year as part of the Capability & Innovation Fund Pool A award.
Metro Bank remains committed to bringing market-leading service to SMEs and injecting more competition into the market. With a reduced amount of £70m, alongside Metro Bank’s own investment of ~£140m, the Bank will continue to transform the SME experience – through its market-leading service proposition, new stores opening in the North of England, and continued investment in its digital capabilities.
The Bank has already demonstrated its success in deploying Capability & Innovation funds to date. For example, in 2019, Metro Bank launched Business Insights – an in-app account insights tool for SMEs, MCash – an on-demand cash collection and delivery service, and opened its first store in the North, in Manchester.
Metro Bank’s Public Commitments will now be updated as follows:
- Metro Bank will continue to spend ~£2 of its own funds for every pound it receives from the Capability & Innovation Fund
- Metro Bank will open a total of 15 rather than 30 stores in the North of England by 2025
- Metro Bank will continue to build a range of game-changing digital capabilities to help SMEs thrive
- Metro Bank will step away from more niche SME propositions that benefit a smaller group of SMEs, including secured lending transformation, virtual accounts and pooling; it will re-phase a further three initiatives to create near-term capacity for transformation.
Revisions to Metro Bank’s Public Commitments are set out in the notes to editors below. Metro Bank’s original and revised Public Commitments are available in full here: https://bcr-ltd.com/public-commitments/
Dan Frumkin, Chief Executive Officer at Metro Bank, said: “We’re absolutely committed to bringing market-leading service to SMEs and injecting more competition into the market. We already support tens of thousands of businesses, and these funds will enable us to continue doing what we do best – bringing new products and services to more SME customers across the country in line with our community banking approach. With BCR’s agreement, we’re pleased to have been able to forge a new plan which delivers for SMEs that aligns with our new strategy.”