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Metro Bank has appointed Matthew Stevens, the former Chief Risk Officer of Barclays UK, as a non-executive member of the board of directors with effect from 1 February 2027. Stevens brings more than 30 years of risk and lending experience from Barclays and, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to take the chair of the Risk Oversight Committee. Catherine Brown has announced she will not be re-elected at the 2027 annual general meeting and will step down after the meeting; Metro Bank is still seeking her successor as Senior Independent Director. » More on de.investing.com

Metro Bank reports an adjusted record profit of £61m (+34%) for the first half of 2026 on adjusted income of £301m. ROAE rose to 7.5% and the net interest margin reached 325 basis points; the cost-to-income ratio improved to 77%. The loan book grew to £9.2bn with a larger share of commercial lending, yet the stock fell by around 8.9%. Management affirms the turnaround, maintains targets such as an 18% ROAE by 2028 and a higher net interest margin by year-end, and says it will discuss capital return options. » More on de.investing.com

A Metro Bank customer had £14,244 taken after fraudsters used his debit card to buy credits for the Claude chatbot. Metro Bank flagged an initial £90.90 transaction and the customer denied it, but subsequent payments of £90–£200 were processed before the card was fully blocked. Metro Bank temporarily refunded the customer while pursuing a chargeback from Anthropic, which has refunded the charges; the bank says it will reclaim the temporary refund and offered the customer £300 compensation. The customer plans to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service and the bank says it has taken steps to speed up card blocks. » More on theguardian.com