Metro Bank targets £2bn in consumer lending with RateSetter brand
Metro Bank is aiming to increase its consumer lending to reach £2bn following its acquisition of peer-to-peer lending platform RateSetter.
According to Reuters, the bank plans to expand its consumer lending tenfold by building its consumer finance products including those offered by RateSetter, and overdrafts, credit cards and personal car loans.
The bank acquired the former P2P lender last year and took over its remaining consumer portfolio in April.
After revealing it plans on offering RateSetter products through its branches once lockdown restrictions ease, earlier this month the challenger bank unveiled the first RateSetter-powered personal loans to be offered through its branches.
It was previously funding new personal loans through the RateSetter website, but borrowers are now able to apply across Metro Bank’s network of 77 branches.
Read more: P2P platforms expect more RateSetter transfers
The bank’s full-year results in February showed its unsecured personal loanbook ended last year with a value of £121m, with its consumer lending business representing just two per cent of this.
The challenger bank said that more than £120m of personal loans had already been written via digital channels including the Metro Bank app and website and the RateSetter website.
“In line with our transformation plan, we’re accelerating initiatives to shift our asset mix to deliver higher risk-adjusted returns through consumer lending and specialist mortgages,” said a spokesperson from Metro Bank.
Metro Bank’s results in February revealed its underlying losses after tax widened from £11.7m in 2019 to £271.8m in 2020 with an estimated £124m impact from Covid-19.