Metro Bank (MTRO) H1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record underlying profit before tax of £61 million for H1 2026, up 34% year-over-year, marking the most profitable half in company history.

• RoTE rose to 7.5%, up 270 basis points year-over-year.

• Strategic focus on relationship-led banking, asset rotation to higher-yielding segments, and disciplined cost management drove growth.

• Maintained lowest cost of deposits among UK High Street banks, supporting funding advantage and growth capacity.

• Opened over 12,000 new business and 35,000 new personal current accounts in the half.

Financial highlights

• Net interest margin (NIM) expanded to 3.25% (exit NIM), up 30–31 basis points year-over-year, the highest in the bank's history.

• Underlying revenue increased by 5% to £301 million, driven by 8% growth in net interest income.

• Statutory profit after tax grew 61% year-over-year to £49 million; EPS at 4.7p.

• Underlying operating costs reduced 2% year-over-year to £231 million.

• Loan book grew by 4% to £9.2 billion, with core business lines up 43% year-over-year.

Outlook and guidance

• Reaffirmed guidance for RoTE greater than 13% in Q4 2026, 15%+ in 2027, and 18%+ in 2028.

• Exit NIMs expected to rise to 3.40–4.00% in 2026 and 3.75–4.50% in 2027–2028.

• Cost-to-income ratio targeted to fall to 55–50% by 2028, with operating costs for 2026 expected to remain flat versus 2025.

• Lending expected to accelerate in H2 2026, targeting £1.2–£1.3 billion in new commercial and corporate lending.

• Guidance based on interest rate curves, capital requirements, and adjustments for exceptional items.