Trade in shares of Metro Bank on the London Stock Exchange was halted twice Thursday morning after a price crash triggered the exchange’s circuit breaker mechanism. Photo by Neil Hall/EPA-EFE

In the note to investors issued 55 minutes into Thursday’s trading session, the bank said while it took note of speculation in the press regarding a possible round of capital raising, no conclusion had been reached on how to proceed and that its financial position remained strong.

Metro said it met minimum regulatory capital requirements with a total capital plus MREL — equity-debt resources that act as a loss-absorbing buffer — ratio of 18.1% and a leverage ratio of 4.4%, as of June 30.

“The company is evaluating the merits of a range of options, including a combination of equity issuance, debt issuance and/or refinancing and asset sales. No decision has been made on whether to proceed with any of these options.

The bank said it has been “profitable on an underlying basis” for three consecutive quarters ending June 30, and expects its third quarter trading update to show “continued momentum in Personal and Business Current Account growth and customer acquisition, in line with expectations.”

“Metro Bank continues to be well positioned for future growth,” it added.

The bank’s shares, which peaked at more than $4,800 in 2018, two years after going public in 2016, are down by more than 50% since the Prudential Regulation Authority announced in September that it would be subject to higher capital requirements. The regulator also deferred approval of Metro for less tightly regulated”AIRB” home mortgages, ruling out giving the green light to its application this year.

Approval would have substantially removed Metro’s need to raise funds or dispose of assets.

While it returned to the black in the first half with a before-tax profit of $19.5 million, Britain’s first new high street bank in over a century has been engaged in a four-year battle to recover from being prosecuted and fined $12 million for underreporting the level of capital it needed to hold against its risks.