Financial services group Metro Bank (MTRO) has survived another crisis after agreeing a £925 million rescue package yet question marks remain about its future.

Metro Bank was the highest profile of the challenger banks which emerged in the wake of the financial crisis promising to shake up high street and commercial banking.

In theory, because they were not saddled with crisis-ridden balance sheets, a litany of scandals and, in some cases, state ownership of their shares, the challengers had a good chance of thriving and offered a credible alternative option for both customers and investors. Some of these businesses were genuine start-ups while others were built on the bones of existing institutions.

In some ways Metro Bank was an outlier in the emergent space as, rather than looking to avoid the shackles of a large and expensive network of branches, it went big on having a physical presence. This, along with little touches like offering dog treats for customers’ canine companions, was meant to make the bank stand out.

This strategy left it with a high-cost operation and one which has been poorly run, leading to the recent crisis. Shore Capital analyst Gary Greenwood observes: ‘Subject to the required shareholder approvals, Metro Bank now finds itself in a position where it can continue to trade. However, whether it can ultimately deliver on its growth ambitions to leverage its expensive cost base and improve returns remains to be seen.’

With some names already having exited the market or been subsumed into other businesses, the accompanying table shows how some of the main challenger banks have performed on the stock market over the last five years on a total return basis and it is not a pretty story. Even previous success stories like OSB (OSB) have struggled of late as the market frets about the risk of bad debts and the cost of borrowing soars.

In the case of OSB, the company was hurt by a warning in July of fewer mortgage customers moving on to a variable rate at the end of their fixed term, with higher rates forcing them to be more proactive and seek better deals elsewhere.

Metro Bank may have secured some breathing space through the agreement thrashed out with its investors and creditors but the Bank of England is reportedly looking to smooth the way for a sale of the company to a larger player with NatWest (NWG), Lloyds (LLOY) and Santander in the frame.

Given the regulatory and capital demands and complexity involved in running a bank, particularly during periods of uncertainty, this is a sector which is always likely to be dominated by the large incumbent players.

Though, as a reminder, the big British banks have hardly enjoyed a happy time of it either. In the UK banking sector, it is a case of too big to fail and too small to succeed.

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