(Reuters): Metro Bank reported a smaller annual loss on Thursday, but said net interest margin growth will be restricted in 2023 because the British mid-sized lender anticipates fewer base rate movements and inflationary forces to outweigh its cost-cutting efforts.
Banks that saw an increase in profits as interest rates rose are now dealing with widespread inflation and a cost-of-living problem.
Metro Bank, which has had a difficult few years following an accounting error in 2019 that resulted in penalties and investigations by UK regulators, saw its net interest margin—a critical indicator of profitability—increase by 52 basis points to 1.92% for the fiscal year that concluded Dec. 31.
The London-based business reported a full-year core pre-tax loss of 50.6 million pounds ($60.63 million), down from 171.3 million pounds the previous year.
(1 dollar equals 0.8346 pounds).
