Metro Bank’s (MTRO) boss Dan Frumkin quickly announced his commitment to shaking up the banking industry after taking over in February. His first job was to shake up Metro, however, by marking an end to the difficult period where the challenger bank’s eccentric founder Vernon Hill departed, the loan miscategorisation scandal and the subsequent exit of former chief executive Craig Donaldson.
This week, Metro announced he would have a new ally in this effort in the form of incoming chairman Robert Sharpe. He is currently chairman of Bank of Ireland UK and Hampshire Trust Bank.
Mr Sharpe is also a former leader of more traditional financial institutions and confirmed dealmaker, running the Portman Building Society when it was taken over by Nationwide in 2007. Mr Sharpe starts in November.
By that time, Metro could have already made a significant acquisition. The company entered into an exclusivity deal with peer-to-peer lender RateSetter last month. The potential size of the deal is unclear, given the possibility to Metro buying just the platform or taking over the £800m loan book, as reported by the Financial Times. The second option would involve buying out the company’s investors.
Metro was looking at a tough recovery even before Covid-19. Investec said last month shareholders still left would be waiting at least a few years before a return to profit. Before Covid-19, 2022 had been floated as the year it would get back into the black. The company said deposits had increased in the March quarter, although the behaviour of Metro’s 2m customers could shift once furlough programmes start to run down, or a second wave hits without the same protections in place as the first.
Earlier this month, chief executive Mr Frumkin bought £570,509 in shares at 114p as part of a requirement for executive directors to own shares worth twice their annual salary. Under this rule, he has another £1m to spend to hit 200 per cent of £740,000.
The purchase came with the shares at a sharp discount on the share price when he started the job, when it was 190p. The bank's shares were trading at over 2,000p in January last year.
| Buys | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Metro Bank | Daniel Frumkin (ceo) | 2 Jul 20 | 500,000 | 114 | 570,509 | |
| Oxford Biomedica | Martin Diggle | 2 Jul 20 | 3,000 | 729 | 21,870 | Purchased by PCA |
| Crest Nicholson | Peter Truscott (ceo) | 2 Jul 20 | 90,000 | 201.73 | 181,559 | |
| Renew Holdings | Stephanie Hazell | 2 Jul 20 | 4,476 | 446.8 | 19,999 | |
| Contango Holdings | Oliver Stansfield | 3 Jul 20 | 309,301 | 4.5 | 13,919 | Residual interest of 2.5% |
| Maintel Holdings | John Booth | 3-6 Jul 20 | 8,777 | 181 | 15,886 | Average weighted price |
| Crest Nicholson | Duncan Cooper | 6 Jul 20 | 5,000 | 211 | 10,556 | Purchased by PCA |
| Sells | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Volex | Daren Morris (cfo) | 2 Jul 20 | 139,210 | 148.2 | 206,309 | |
| Polar Capital Holdings | Brian Ashord-Russell | 3 Jul 20 | 106,544 | 498 | 530,589 | Residual interest of 4.7% |
| Gamma Communications | Andrew Stone | 3 Jul 20 | 80,551 | 1,435 | 1,155,907 | No longer holds shares in the company |
| Gamma Communications | Andrew Stone | 3 Jul 20 | 50,000 | 1,450 | 725,000 | |
| Maintel Holdings | Angus McCaffery | 3-6 Jul 20 | 166,745 | 181 | 301,809 | |
| Gamma Communications | Andrew Stone | 6 Jul 20 | 38,000 | 1,492.71 | 567,231 | |
| Gamma Communications | Andrew Stone | 7 Jul 20 | 12,000 | 1,487.50 | 178,500 |
