𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Metro Bank has recorded higher profits after homing in on specialist lending and going against the grain by expanding its branch network.

The banking group reported a pre-tax profit of £61 million for the first half of 2026, up 41% compared with the same period last year.

This marked the most profitable half-year in its history, according to the bank.

Metro Bank said lending grew by 43% year-on-year to £6.2 billion for target areas within corporate, small businesses and specialist mortgages.

Specialist mortgage lending alone jumped by 73% year-on-year to £2.2 billion.

The group shifted its strategy to focus more on lending to “underserved market” as part of a major turnaround since 2023.

Some 35,000 new personal current accounts and 12,000 new business current accounts were opened during the first half of the year.

Metro Bank has 78 UK branches, which it calls “stores”, and said the network was a key element of its service and “relationship-based” approach to banking.

Leases on three new sites were signed this year in Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham, and it said it continues to “actively seek new attractive locations to support our growing corporate, commercial and SME banking offer and local communities”.

The banking group is bucking the trend in the wider UK industry by opting to expand its branch network rather than keep it the same or make cutbacks.

High street banks HSBC, Santander and NatWest have recently made commitments not to close any branches until 2027, 2028 and 2029 respectively, although they have all already trimmed their networks significantly.

Nationwide Building Society made a promise late last year to keep each of its 696 Nationwide and Virgin Money branches open until at least 2030, making it the UK bank with the biggest network.

Metro Bank’s chief executive Daniel Frumkin said its approach was a “competitive advantage” in the industry.

“Our relationship banking model is delivering a clear competitive advantage,” he said.

“We continue to invest in growth, signing three new store leases to bring Metro Bank to new communities, and adding new products and services in response to customer demand.”