Metro Bank - 2020 AGM Chairman Statement

RNS Number : 9584N

Metro Bank PLC

26 May 2020

 

26 May 2020

Legal Entity Identifier: 213800X5WU57YL9GPK89

Metro Bank plc (the "Company")

Metro Bank - 2020 AGM Chairman Statement

Metro Bank plc is holding its Annual General Meeting at 2.00pm (BST) at its registered office in London. As physical attendance at this year's AGM is not possible, shareholders have been invited to dial in and listen to the AGM by using the following web link: https://secure.emincote.com/client/metrobank/metrobank001/vip_connect. An audio recording of the AGM will be available on the website for 30 days after the meeting.

Sir Michael Snyder, Chairman, will make the following statement at the start of the meeting:

"Our ambition to become the UK's best community bank has never been more important. As we all know, across the country and around the world, we are all facing an unprecedented challenge as we respond to Covid-19.  At Metro Bank we are doing everything we can to support our customers, our colleagues and our communities. 

· All our stores and contact centres have remained open with strict social distancing in operation, so we can continue to support customers who need us at this time, alongside our 24/7 digital services. 

· We are working with customers whose personal or business finances have been impacted to ensure they benefit from the most appropriate support. We are supporting customers' requests for repayment holidays, participating in the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and intend to participate in the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

· We have put in place new processes to help more vulnerable customers.

·   Our colleagues continue to support the local communities they operate in through a range of volunteering initiatives.

On behalf of the Board I would like to recognise and thank our colleagues across the Bank for their continued dedication and commitment to delivering outstanding customer service, even in these most challenging of times.

Given the inherent uncertainty over the length and scale of the pandemic it is too early to fully evaluate the impact of the situation. The UK response to COVID-19 has featured record low interest rates and substantial government intervention, both of which are expected to support continued repayment, and Metro Bank benefits from relatively low exposure to unsecured lending and a conservative debt to value profile. Nonetheless, we are seeing short term economic disruption which will naturally result in significantly higher credit risk impairments than in recent years, with the actual quantum depending largely on the magnitude and length of the economic slowdown. We have also seen behavioural changes, such as a reduction in transaction volumes, which may result in lower than expected fee income for a while.

As mentioned in the 1Q trading update, the impact of COVID-19 continues to be rapidly evolving and difficult to predict at this time, so an update on the impacts of the pandemic and its economic consequences will be provided at the H1 results.

While we respond to the current situation, we also continue to remain focused on delivering against our strategic priorities set out in February.  I am confident that the Bank has a solid platform under the leadership of Dan Frumkin, who was appointed Chief Executive and joined the Board on 19 February this year.

We have also welcomed a number of new Non-Executives Directors since the last AGM - Michael Torpey, Sally Clark, Ian Henderson, Anne Grim and Nicholas Winsor.  They bring invaluable experience to the Board, as we - together with the Executive Committee and all our colleagues - remain focused on delivering on our ambition to become the UK's best community bank.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vernon Hill, Craig Donaldson, Ben Gunn, Roger Farah, Gene Lockhart and Stuart Bernau who have stepped down from the Board since the last AGM.  In particular, I would like to pay tribute to Vernon and Craig's vision and dedication, through which Metro Bank grew from a standing start to over 2 million customer accounts."

Enquiries

For more information on this announcement please contact:

Metro Bank PLC  

Investor Relations

Jo Roberts

[phone]

[e-mail]

Media Relations

Tina Coates / Abigail Whittaker

[phone] / [phone]

[e-mail]

Teneo

Charles Armitstead / Haya Herbert ‐ Burns

[phone] / [phone]

[e-mail]

About Metro Bank

Metro Bank is celebrated for its exceptional customer experience. Its mobile app and online service achieved the top spot in the Competition and Market Authority's Service Quality Survey among personal and business current account holders in February 2020; the bank also ranked in the top two for overall service and store service for personal and business customers. It was awarded 'Best All Round Personal Finance Provider' at the Moneynet Personal Finance Awards 2019.

Offering retail, business, commercial and private banking services, it prides itself on giving customers the choice to bank however, whenever and wherever they choose. Whether that's through its network of stores open seven days a week, early until late, 362 days a year; on the phone through its UK-based 24/7 contact centres; or online through its internet banking or award-winning mobile app: the bank offers customers real choice.

The bank employs around 3,500 colleagues and is headquartered in Holborn, London.

Metro Bank PLC. Registered in England and Wales. Company number: 6419578. Registered office: One Southampton Row, London, WC1B 5HA. 'Metrobank' is the registered trademark of Metro Bank PLC.

It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Most relevant deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. For further information about the Scheme refer to the FSCS website www.fscs.org.uk.

All Metro Bank products are subject to status and approval.

Metro Bank PLC is an independent UK bank - it is not affiliated with any other bank or organisation (including the METRO newspaper or its publishers) anywhere in the world. Please refer to Metro Bank using the full name.

 

END

 

 

AGMFLFSFEDIRFII