4th Dec 2019 17:19
(Alliance News) - Metro Bank PLC on Wednesday said its Chief Executive Craig Donaldson will step down at the end of the year, with newly-appointed Chief Transformation Officer Dan Frumkin taking over on an interim basis.
Donaldson, who took over as CEO in 2009, will remain "available to the board as an advisor" until the end of 2020, the firm said in a statement.
The challenger bank paid tribute to Donaldson, for leading it through a "challenging" period.
Frumkin's appointment as interim CEO from January 1, subject to regulatory approval, comes shortly after he joined the firm in September. Metro Bank said it is considering both an internal and external appointment to find a permanent CEO.
Chair Michael Snyder said: "On behalf of the board and all our colleagues, I want to thank Craig for his steadfast leadership of the bank over the past 10 years. Thanks to his passion and commitment, today Metro Bank serves nearly two million customer accounts and is rated number one for personal current account service.
"My priority is to appoint a permanent CEO and to appoint new non-executive directors to the board who will bring even more retail banking experience. I look forward to steering the bank as we define and start to deliver the next chapter."
News of Donaldson's departure comes just over two months after the bank's founder Vernon Hill stepped down as chair with immediate effect in late October.
Metro Bank, shoved out of the FTSE 250 index following a September index reshuffle, has been dogged all year following a string of related accounting and financial issues.
Metro Bank had to postpone a debt issue in September due to "market conditions".
At the time, Metro Bank said a "broad number" of investors showed interest in a maiden MREL issuance, which it needed to complete to meet European Union rules. MREL stands for minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities and relates to EU solvency legislation.
The Financial Times had reported Metro Bank that had been forced to withdraw a GBP200 million to GBP250 million bond offering, after only receiving orders for GBP175 million.
The debt offering blow came after UK regulators spotted an error in the bank's loan book, though Metro Bank originally said it found the problem itself. Addressing the error required finding additional capital.
Then, in October, Metro Bank priced a GBP350 million six-year maturity MREL-eligible senior non-preferred debt transaction, saying it was looking into more actions to enhance capital efficiency. The debt has a coupon of 9.5000%, Metro Bank said.
Shares in the company closed 2.7% lower at 181.00 pence each in London on Wednesday.
By Eric Cunha; [email protected]
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