Sept 12 (Reuters) - Britain's Metro Bank (MTRO.L) said on Tuesday that the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) would likely not approve its application to use internal credit risk models in its residential mortgages business this year.
Shares in the lender fell 7% in early trading as stock-holders reacted to the news.
Without permission to use its own risk models, Metro Bank remains subject to higher capital requirements set by the regulator, which have weighed on returns for its investors.
"The board retains conviction in the merits of Metro Bank's customer-centric model and strongly believes that there is a significant opportunity set that the company can capitalise on, subject to renewed balance sheet strength," Metro said.
"Larger scale is needed to absorb the high, branch-centric expense base which can be achieved only if current capital constraints ... are resolved," Peel Hunt said.
Persons:
Peel Hunt, Radhika Anilkumar, Sinead Cruise, Savio D'Souza, Rashmi Aich, Iain Withers
Organizations:
Britain's Metro Bank, Bank of England's Prudential, Authority, Metro Bank, Metro, Peel, Thomson
Locations:
Bengaluru, London