Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Metro Bank states that the disclosure of customer vulnerabilities will not negatively affect loan applications.

The company focuses on ensuring fair outcomes for customers , adheres to new Consumer Duty requirements , and supports the UK Government’s Mortgage Charter to assist customers struggling with mortgage payments. There is no evidence of regulatory findings or fines for unfair lending, nor explicit mention of proactive fair-lending audits.

Honest & Fair Business

Metro Bank received a £16.7 million fine from the FCA in November 2024

and a £10 million fine in December 2022, totaling £26.7 million in the past three years. These fines were for significant failings in its anti-money laundering controls, which resulted in over 60 million transactions, valued at over £51 billion, not being properly monitored between June 2016 and December 2020. Despite having a Whistleblowing Policy that states confidentiality and protection against retaliation, junior staff members who raised concerns about data monitoring gaps in 2017 and 2018 found their warnings were not adequately addressed, and the issue was removed from the minutes of a Financial Crime Steering Group meeting in January 2018. The bank also has an Anti-Bribery and Corruption policy with a zero-tolerance approach and provides training to colleagues, but its effectiveness is undermined by the documented AML control failures and subsequent regulatory penalties.

Kind to Animals

Metro Bank received a 0% score on animal welfare policies from World Animal Protection UK.

The bank does not incorporate any mention of animal welfare in its policies and has no formal animal testing policy. It also does not appear to have ethical lending policies related to animal rights. Between 2015 and 2022, Metro Bank, along with other banks, financed $77 billion to 55 of the world’s largest livestock companies. The bank has no disclosed stance on factory farming and no public policy engagement related to animal welfare.

No War, No Weapons

Metro Bank does not lend directly for arms manufacture or military activities.

The company launched a Supplier Code of Conduct in 2022. , which is reviewed annually, and maintains a strict selection process for suppliers.

Safe & Smart Tech

Metro Bank was fined £16,675,200 by the FCA for breaching Principle 3 (management and control)

due to failing to adequately monitor over 60 million transactions, valued at over £51 billion, for money laundering risks between June 2016 and December 2020. A critical vulnerability in its transaction monitoring system was identified in April 2019 and fixed in July 2019, taking approximately 90 days to remediate. The company's general data retention policy allows for data to be held for up to 7 years, call recordings for no more than 3 years, and CCTV for no more than 90 days. The company employs multi-factor authentication, processes biometric data, and has advanced its payment authentication to include in-app and online banking methods, ensuring 3D Secure compliance for Strong Customer Authentication. Users are provided with standard privacy controls, including rights to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing, data portability, object to processing, and withdraw consent. The company employs encryption for data storage and shares personal data in a secure and hashed format. Automated credit scoring is used, and the main reason for application refusal is provided if possible. No documented data breaches or incidents of unauthorized data use by the company have been reported.