Metro Bank in early talks to sell performing consumer loan portfolio

(Reuters) -Britain's Metro Bank said on Wednesday it was in early discussions about a potential sale of its performing consumer loan portfolio, as it shifts focus to high-yielding commercial, corporate, and small and medium enterprise lending.

Any potential divestment is expected to increase the lender's performance ratios including the CET1, a key measure of a bank's financial strength.

Metro, launched in 2010 to challenge the dominance of Britain's big banks, has been overhauling its business and selling some assets to bolster its finances after a rescue deal in October 2023.

The British lender in July forecast a return to profit in the fourth quarter after a cash injection from the sale of its residential mortgage book worth $3.1 billion to NatWest.

(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)