Barclays among potential Metro Bank mortgage book buyers

Metro Bank CEO Daniel Frumkin has reportedly indicated that Barclays is among the potential buyers of the company’s £3bn mortgage portfolio.

The high street bank managed to seal a £925m rescue deal over the weekend after the regulator refused to lower the capital requirements on its mortgage book last month and its share price dropped by as much as 60 per cent as it scrambled for funding.

It has now secured £325m in equity and £600m in debt refinancing, led by Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski Bacal’s Spaldy Investments.

The bank shared that it was in discussions about selling up to £3bn of residential mortgages, with various banks, including NatWest, Lloyds and Santander reported to be interested in buying parts of the group.

Frumkin has now indicated that Barclays is among the potential buyers, as first reported by Bloomberg.

The CEO reportedly answered a question from Barclays analyst Aman Rakkar about the sale of the lending book by saying the process had already attracted interest from potential buyers, including one “not dissimilar to what’s on your paycheck”.

Metro is hoping to close the sale of its mortgages by the end of this year, Frumkin reportedly said on a call with analysts and investors.