For the financial year ending 2020, the bank’s results showed a before tax loss of £311.4m.

Within its latest results, Metro says its losses were driven by remediation costs, the acquisition of RateSetter, and the closing of three branches.

It adds that the selling of a third of its mortgage portfolio offset some of this, being responsible for an £8.1m gain.

Gross mortgage lending for 2021 came to £6.7bn, a slight dip on 2020’s £6.9bn figure, and the proportion of retail mortgages on Metro’s lending book fell within the same time span too – from 56% to 54%.

Among this news, Metro does show that underlying revenue increased by 17% to £397.9m, although operating costs grew from £486m to £546.8m.

Additionally, Metro chief executive Daniel Frumkin says that underlying revenue, “improved 42% when adjusting for the mortgage portfolio disposal.”

The bank’s difficulties are well documented, with the Prudential Regulation Authority levelling a £5.4m fine for reporting errors at the close of last year and the firm’s chief financial officer resigning earlier this month.

Frumkin comments: “Two years into the turnaround, our strategy is delivering meaningful results as we move towards profitability.

“In a changing macro-economic environment, we have accelerated the shift of our balance sheet, with improved yields and lower cost of deposits. This has had a material impact on underlying revenue, which improved 42% when adjusting for the mortgage portfolio disposal.

“Encouragingly, the second half of the year delivered even stronger revenue and exit-NIM [net interest margin] performances, providing ongoing momentum into 2022.

“There is still more to do, but our focus on delivering higher margins through unsecured and specialist mortgage lending, as well as tight cost control, is enabling transformational change.

“We remain committed to delivering on the strategy we set out, including supporting the communities in which we operate.”