The bank said in a trading update that its loan book shrank four per cent to £11.82bn from £12.3bn during the first three months of 2024.
This figure was down nine per cent from £12.92bn in the first quarter of 2023.
The branch-focused lender said the decline was in line with expectations and came as it "strategically repositions its balance sheet" towards higher-yielding specialist mortgages and loans to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as other commercial lending.
"The focus remains on optimising riskadjusted returns on regulatory capital to improve margins and profitability," it added.
Meanwhile,
The bank said its "underlying service-led core deposit franchise" continued to grow by more than 50,000 personal and business current accounts during the quarter.
Its assets came in at £22.61bn, up two per cent from £22.25bn in the previous quarter and £22.1bn year-on-year.
The lender is now implementing measures to lower costs, including cutting 1,000 jobs, automating some processes and reducing opening times at branches.
Chief executive
"Based on the performance in the first quarter we remain confident that financial results will continue to improve throughout 2024 as we optimise funding, deliver on cost savings, continue our asset rotation and benefit from lower yielding fixed-rate treasury and mortgage maturities," he added.
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(c) 2024 City A.M., source