Metro Bank commits to £1bn business funding for second year

Metro Bank has committed to £1bn in funding for businesses this year.

The London-headquartered retail bank made a similar ring-fencing pledge in 2017, enabling thousands of companies to expand, recruit and innovate.

Craig Donaldson, chief exec at Metro Bank, believes businesses “deserve far better service” than they currently receive from the UK’s ‘big five’ – HSBC, Barclays, RBS, Lloyds and Standard Chartered.

He said: “Businesses are the very heart of the UK economy, yet they remain underserved and undervalued by the big five banks, who revel in holding over 80% of the business account market.

“They deserve far better service than they currently receive. With the business landscape rapidly changing, unlocking opportunity for growth and innovation, more than ever before, businesses need to know that their lender is on their side, supporting them at every step.”

Metro Bank said it aims to avoid a ‘computer says no’ attitude to lending by getting to know a business beyond its balance sheet and taking into account the people and plans behind each organisation.

The company recently announced a drive to recruit 900 new staff in 2018, which would push its headcount close to 4,000.