Metro Bank returns from the brink but tough road lies ahead

The challenger bank has often taken chances but a new business model positions it as more the opportunist rather than the rebel

Metro Bank bosses are breathing a sigh of relief. Less than a year after the bank was forced into the arms of a Colombian billionaire as part of a 925m rescue deal, it is coming back from the brink.

A forecast by the bank last week that it would return to profitability by the end of the year sent shares up more than 35% to 55p, marking their strongest weekly gain since the bank's IPO in 2016.