Metro Bank chief financial officer James Hopkinson will step down as an executive director of the lender with immediate effect, after less than two years at the business.  

He will leave the bank during the first quarter of this year after a period of handover.  

However, the bank said in a statement to the stock market that Cristina Alba Ochoa will act as interim chief financial officer and will take up the post on Monday (15 January), subject to any necessary regulatory approvals.    

It adds that a search process to “appoint a permanent successor has commenced and an announcement will be made in due course”.    

Metro Bank chief executive Daniel Frumkin says: “On behalf of the board I’d like to thank James for his support during a pivotal time for the bank and wish him success for the future.”  

Shares in the lender fell 2.6% to 36.1p in afternoon trading. The stock plunged 69% last year.  

Alba Ochoa’s LinkedIn profile describes her as a non-executive director and advisor in business transformation.  

Hopkinson joined Metro Bank in September 2022 when the business was working on a turnaround plan in the wake of its 2019 accounting scandal.  

Prior to that, Hopkinson worked for just under three years at ClearBank, leaving as chief financial officer. Before that he worked for over 18 years at Standard Chartered Bank, leaving as chief financial officer – regions and clients in 2019.   

Last month, Metro Bank scrapped a £3bn mortgage portfolio sale, reported to be with Barclays, citing market conditions.    

Also, in December, Metro announced plans to make around 850 job cuts, or 20% of its workforce, as it reviews seven-day opening hours and implements £50m of cost savings.      

These cost savings come on top of £30m of reductions outlined in a refinancing plan approved by shareholders in November.  

The lender, which has around 2.7 million customers and holds about £15bn worth of deposits, was founded in 2010 and was the first high-street bank launch in more than 100 years. It operates from 75 UK branches.               

In 2019, the bank suffered a £900m accounting scandal, when it emerged that the risk attached to some of its mortgage loans had been underestimated. The business and some of its senior officers were fined £10m for misleading investors.