Metro Bank Investors Back Equity Raise, Paving Way for New Owner.

Metro Bank Holdings Plc shareholders have approved a capital raise as part of a £925 million ($1.2 billion) rescue deal. This allows Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski to increase his stake in the bank to about 53%. The vote is seen as a crucial step for Metro Bank as it aims to improve its performance by increasing interest rates on customer deposits, implementing cost-cutting measures, and focusing on higher-margin specialist mortgages. There are also reports that Barclays Plc is in exclusive talks to potentially buy a £3 billion mortgage portfolio from Metro Bank. [Extracted from the article]