A deal is likely to be struck by the end of the year, according to Sky News.  

A range of other lenders had been linked with this slug of residential mortgages, including Lloyds Banking Group, JP Morgan Chase and NatWest Group.  

The move comes as shareholders yesterday voted to back a £925m refinancing plan to shore up Metro Bank’s finances.  

The scheme was “passed with very strong support with over 90% of shareholders voting in support of all resolutions,” the bank said in a trading statement. 

Shares in Metro Bank closed down 3.4% at 39.5p on Tuesday, valuing the business at £90.4m. Its stock has fallen 67% since the beginning of the year.  

The lender’s rescue plan was hammered out in October, which saw the bank refinance £600m of debt and raise £325m in new funding — comprising £150m of new equity and £175m of regulatory equity and debt issuance.  

The move saw Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski Bacal’s Spaldy Investments inject £102m of cash into the bank, which raised his stake in the lender to around 53% from 9%, after becoming an active investor in 2019.     

At the time of the deal, the Prudential Regulation Authority said: “The Prudential Regulation Authority welcomes the steps taken by Metro Bank to strengthen its capital position.”  

Earlier in October, the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority had summoned Metro’s chair Robert Sharpe chief executive and Daniel Frumkin to discuss the bank’s financial position.  

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 around 75 branches across the UK.        

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