(Alliance News) - Metro Bank PLC on Wednesday said its founder, Vernon Hill, will step down as chair before the end of December.
The UK challenger bank, know for its high street branches, added that the search for a new chair is "progressing well" but explained that should a replacement not be found by the end of the year, an existing non-executive director will assume the role on an interim basis.
The company said in July that Hill - who founded the firm in the UK in 2010, having found success with the Metro Bank formula in the US - believes it has now "reached a size and scale where it is appropriate to appoint an independent chair".
Senior Independent Director Michael Snyder said: "Hill is the inspiration behind Metro Bank, the first high street bank to open in the UK in over 100 years. It is thanks to his vision and leadership that we have grown to 70 stores around the country, serving over 1.8 million customer accounts and we've twice been ranked as the number one bank for overall quality of service for personal banking.
"The board shares Hill's view that Metro Bank has now reached a point where an independent Chairperson is appropriate to oversee the next stage of our journey."
Metro Bank has grown fast, joining the FTSE 250 index shortly after its London listing in 2016, but was demoted last week after being hit by a string of related accounting and financial issues.
Last week, it confirmed it had postponed a debt issue due to "current market conditions".
Metro Bank said a "broad number" of investors showed interest in a maiden MREL issuance, which it needs to complete to meet EU rules. MREL stands for minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities and relates to EU solvency legislation.
The Financial Times had reported Metro Bank that had been forced to withdraw a GBP200 million to GBP250 million bond offering, after only received orders for GBP175 million.
The latest blow came after UK regulators spotted an error in the bank's loan book, though Metro Bank had originally said it found the problem itself. Addressing the error required finding additional capital.
Shares in Metro Bank where 2.9% lower at 174.78 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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Metro Bank (MTRO)