While technology and automation continue to make banking faster and more efficient, close working relationships with people who understand the business, its ambitions, and its challenges can make all the difference when it matters most.
Metro Bank provides a full range of services that customers expect from a bank – from personal and business current accounts and savings to mortgages and business credit cards. But while many other high street branches are scaling down, Metro Bank is committed to building its portfolio of stores, which provide face-to-face Relationship Banking from a position at the heart of the community.
As the Relationship Banking specialists, Metro Bank has a local business manager in every store, and a local director in each of its larger stores, supporting the community as a whole and the businesses that operate within it.
The face-to-face approach is supplemented by access to online banking, the Metro Bank App, UK-based contact centres and services at Post Offices for those not close to a store. Metro Bank currently has a growing network of 78 stores nationwide, with stores operating in Northampton and Milton Keynes.
Local Business Managers Uzma Khan and Chris Bride work alongside Local Director Thanbi Haque in the Milton Keynes store in Oakgrove. Uzma said: “We consider ourselves to be a bank that does things differently, revisiting a time when business banking was a lot more personal. Businesses, particularly SMEs need the support and tools to continue to grow and flourish that Relationship Banking provides.
“We use the term stores because we are there for customers to visit, a point of contact that offers them the opportunity to build relationship with the people who are looking after their banking needs on a day-to-day basis. Metro Bank still has contact centres, online banking and the Metro Bank App, naturally, but meeting face to face with a someone you’ve come to know and trust, that can make all the difference.”
For business clients, Metro Bank offers:
- Current accounts, deposit options and cash management solutions
- Working capital solutions including invoice financing and asset-based lending
- Commercial lending options with the opportunity to discuss requirements with the team
- Structured finance, wholesale finance and fund finance for larger businesses, with options to support complex needs that traditional finance can’t meet
- Commercial mortgages
- Asset finance
- Commercial online banking with options to suit all sizes of business
Uzma, Chris and Thanbi work closely with Commercial Banking Manager Andy Chubb, who provides services to businesses with lending needs above £60,000 across the region, and the team are enthusiastic about the progress they are making in the local market.
Thanbi said: “Being on the ground, in the communities we serve, enables us to demonstrate the honesty, transparency and consistency our customers want from their bank.
“Having a base where we can meet up when the customer needs us is, we believe, the best way to build meaningful relationships. A deep knowledge and a clear understanding of the local business community and how it works is vital.
“It’s that, along with all the specialised commercial teams that are part of our national network, combined with a comprehensive range of tailored products and services, is how Metro Bank will continue to build its place in the community.”
Find out more about Metro Bank via their website.
