Traders who took a punt on ‘challenger’ lender Metro Bank (MTRO) at 70p in October last year, just ahead of its third-quarter trading update, will be high-fiving themselves this week.

With a fortnight to go before it reports full-year earnings on 2 March, the shares have more than doubled in price and show no signs of slowing their advance thanks to steadily rising revenue and margin forecasts.

With a significantly lower net interest margin than its high-street rivals, the company has benefited disproportionately as the Bank of England has ratcheted up interest rates from 0.25% to 4%.

Higher cash-flow generation has relieved some of the pressure on the company to raise capital to meet the minimum statutory requirement, as has the regulator’s decision to extend Metro Bank’s ‘grace period’ until 2025, meaning the threat of a heavily dilutive rights issue is off the table for now.

Even the most bearish analysts have finally thrown in the towel, with the last ‘sell’ recommendation being scrapped just over three months ago.

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