Metro Bank snaps up £384m RateSetter portfolio of loans

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The Bank’s regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), approached Natwest, Lloyds Banking Group and Santander UK this weekend to see if they had any interest in Metro Bank, according to reports.
The Bank’s regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), approached Natwest, Lloyds Banking Group and Santander UK this weekend to see if they had any interest in Metro Bank, according to reports.

Metro Bank has today announced the purchase of £384m in loans to increase its exposure to unsecured personal lending.

The purchase has come from peer-to-peer investors through the RateSetter platform.

Commenting on the acquisition, Daniel Frumkin, Metro Bank’s CEO, said: “The addition of this portfolio to our loan book is a further step towards growing our presence in the unsecured lending market.

“It builds on our acquisition of the RateSetter platform, a well-established business with a strong technology platform that is enabling us to rapidly expand our unsecured lending offering.”

The portfolio is currently owned by many retail investors through RateSetter, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Metro Bank.

It consists mainly of unsecured customer loans with an average term of two years remaining.

Frumkin added: “We continue to deliver against Metro Bank’s strategic priority of optimising our balance sheet and asset mix, whilst positioning ourselves to better serve customer needs as the UK’s best community bank.”