Metro Bank - In difficulty?

wmb194

boingy said:

wmb194 said:

Outeast1000 said:

If Metro Bank does go under would it be a matter of days . weeks . or months . I have a Bank account with Metro Bank and I am worried 

When banks 'go' they often go suddenly, 

Yep, the fallout can last years but as soon as customers start to panic the bank has to act quickly by limiting withdrawals and services. What I don't know is how quickly FSCS protection kicks in. Once the FSCS is triggered the process of getting your money back is pretty quick but the bank has to be deemed to have "failed" for that to trigger. So there could be a delay whilst rescue efforts are made.

If anyone is using Metro as their only bank I'd suggest setting up an alternative sooner rather than later.

The target for the FSCS to return funds is a week or so (seven (working?) days) but it might be helpful to have an account to send them to that's ready to go. "Failed" should be when it's closed to deposits and withdrawals and the authorities know there are no credible buyers but as you say that's open to interpretation.

"How long would it take to get my money back? In most cases, for deposits, FSCS aims to pay compensation within seven days of a bank, building society or credit union failing. We will pay any remaining deposit claims, which are likely to be more complex, within 15 working days."

https://www.fscs.org.uk/globalassets/badge-assets/shared/fscs_thb_online_aug2020.pdf

Section62

Rob5342 said:

I'd have thought a good proportion of all commercial premises are rented. Either way it's a significant cost for something nobody uses when other new banks are app only. It's like opening VHS rental shops in the days of streaming, there might be a small niche bit it's dwindling and it's not sustainable.

The same once might have been said about vinyl, yet....
https://www.nme.com/news/music/vinyl-sales-up-nearly-15-per-cent-in-2023-3509810

With the big banks closing their branches as quickly as possible, there may be space for a bank willing to swim against the tide - it seems (for the time being) that Nationwide BS seems to think there may be a value in retaining a branch network.

There are people who want to use branch banking (and even safe deposit boxes), and it may well be that in time people get fed up with sitting on the phone for hours or trying to engage with a chatbot to sort their banking out (cf. streamers 'discovering' vinyl) and so the total number of people in that category may also start increasing one day - it doesn't have to be a terminal decline.

I suspect though that the people who are more reliant on (or at least keener on) branch-based banking will generally be found (currently) in the more rural /outer suburban areas rather than city centres, and for that reason a bank which is 'Metro' orientated may not be in a position to capitalise on what market there may still be for them.

As things stand I would place my bet on Nationwide doing rather better than Metrobank at exploiting this oportunity (if it does turn out to be one).

ColdIron

huw01 said:

They did have nice pens you could nick, always used to bag a couple when down in london

When I was in their Southampton Row branch a couple of what looked like buskers walked in with a sports bag and took every pen. Might have been a thousand of them. No one said anything

What do you do with a thousand stubby little biros?

GeoffTF

New article from the BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67027436

In the words of the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "Don't panic".

DullGreyGuy

IanManc said:

GeoffTF said:

IanManc said:

For any counter transactions I started to use my Child & Co account at the NatWest which is 100 metres away at the end of the same street, where the staff have proved to be unfailingly welcoming, polite, friendly and efficient.

Child & Co are no more:

https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage/companies/child-and-co.html

I have a Skipton BS account and can use that for counter transactions, if necessary.

I have a Child & Co Select Current Account. I use it every day.

I received a new Child & Co cheque book last week, and get Child & Co bank statements in the post every month.

I do my shopping and do NatWest bank branch counter transactions with my Child & Co debit card which was new in August 2023.

Not bad for something that is "no more" eh?

Not really, it's just Natwest in different clothing. They closed their sole branch, they list the brand as closed on their website and at some point they'll quietly remove the branding and replace it with vanilla NatWest as and when cards expire etc. 

CalvinHobs

Mrs Hobs has £40K in a Metro Bank fixed rate ISA - set to mature in April 2024. I shared the latest news about Metro with her but she is not overly concerned as it is well below the £85K FSCS limit.

Question: If Metro did fail, would FSCS compensation include interest up to the date it failed?

GeoffTF

CalvinHobs said:

Mrs Hobs has £40K in a Metro Bank fixed rate ISA - set to mature in April 2024. I shared the latest news about Metro with her but she is not overly concerned as it is well below the £85K FSCS limit.

Question: If Metro did fail, would FSCS compensation include interest up to the date it failed?

Yes, accrued interest appears to be included:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/10/notes/division/1/33?view=plain

Username_gone

What would happen to the safe deposit boxes customers have with them should they fail? Have one with them but can't find anything online that explains safe deposit boxes should the bank collapse and in-branch staff didn't seem to know exactly.

Lions_89

Username_gone said:

What would happen to the safe deposit boxes customers have with them should they fail? Have one with them but can't find anything online that explains safe deposit boxes should the bank collapse and in-branch staff didn't seem to know exactly.

Personally I’d be withdrawing anything in the box asap. I don’t think it will go under but the branches may close if it gets taken over. Who knows what will happen. 

wmb194

Username_gone said:

What would happen to the safe deposit boxes customers have with them should they fail? Have one with them but can't find anything online that explains safe deposit boxes should the bank collapse and in-branch staff didn't seem to know exactly.

At some point the administrators of the bank would ask you to come and pick up your property.

If the bank/branch is taken over by another business it would either be business as usual or again you'd be asked to collect your property.