Barclays Veteran Marc Page to Join Metro Bank as CFO

Metro Bank has appointed Barclays veteran Marc Page as chief financial officer.

Page will join the U.K. bank and its board Sept. 2, subject to regulatory approval, Metro Bank said in a Thursday (Feb. 29) press release.

In the meantime, Cristina Alba Ochoa will continue to act as the bank’s interim CFO, according to the release. She assumed that role in January after James Hopkinson stepped down from the CFO position, according to a Jan. 12 press release.

Page was most recently managing director and CFO at Kensington Mortgages, having been appointed to those positions after that company’s acquisition by Barclays, the Thursday press release said.

Before that, he had several roles with Barclays since 2017, including U.K. controller, head of group impairment, and managing director, customer and product financials, per the release.

Before joining Barclays, Page was with HBOS, which later became part of Lloyds Banking Group. He began his banking career at HBOS in 2003 and held several senior positions there through 2017, according to the release.

“Marc’s experience and leadership skills will help drive our strategy and growth ambitions to be the No. 1 community bank putting our customers and communities center stage,” Metro Bank CEO Daniel Frumkin said in the release.

Frumkin highlighted Page’s knowledge and experience in retail banking, distribution and product management.

Page said in the release: “I am looking forward to joining Metro Bank. Having strengthened the foundations for future sustainable growth, the bank is well-placed to grow its assets significantly as it focuses on [small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs)], corporate customers and local businesses with its special brand of relationship banking.”

The appointment comes four months after it was reported that Metro Bank secured $1.1 billion from investors after spending several days working to secure its financial position. According to published reports, its shares had plunged following news that it was seeking 600 million pounds (about $758 million) to strengthen its balance sheet.

The Bank of England’s financial regulator said in an Oct. 8 statement: “The Prudential Regulation Authority welcomes the steps taken by Metro Bank to strengthen its capital position.”