LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Retail and commercial bank Metro Bank said on Wednesday that total deposits were flat in the third quarter, while its net loan book continued to grow throughout the period.
Total deposits reached £15.62bn in the three months ended 30 September, in line with the previous quarter, with the group continuing to focus on managing down the cost of deposits through an improved mix towards non-interest-bearing current accounts and a reduction in fixed-term deposits.

Third-quarter total net loans hit £15.08bn, driven by a continued "capital-efficient government-supported SME/business lending", while Metro's loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 97% at the end of the quarter, in line with expectations.

The FTSE 250-listed firm also said it remained committed to SMEs and highlighted that it had extended more than £1.3bn in government-backed business loans to over 33,000 customers and highlighted that the number of active payment deferrals reduced to less than 3.5% of its retail mortgage portfolio, down from 16% in the first half.

Chief executive Daniel Frumkin 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."

As of 0850 BST, Metro shares were up 8.00% at 64.26p.

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