Metro Bank (MTRO) announced last Friday that it had moved away from its planned sale of a GBP 3 billion mortgage portfolio, as it cited market conditions.
The British lender started to explore the potential sale in October as part of urgent moves to strengthen its balance sheet.
“Given the prevailing market environment, it is in the best interests of shareholders to retain the existing loan portfolio,” the bank said in a statement, cited by Reuters.
In November, the lender had announced a cost reduction plan, which could result in dismissing about 20% of its staff and in cutting some of its largest customer benefits, including 7-day opening hours.
The shares of Metro Bank PLC (MTRO) were last losing 0.59% (0.21 pence) to trade at 36.19 pence in London on Monday, as they snapped a two-day streak of gains.
The lender’s total market cap now stands at GBP 83.425 million.
The shares of Metro Bank PLC have retreated 70.09% so far this year, following a 25.91% gain in 2022.