Frumkin, who joined Metro Bank last September as chief transformation officer, stepped in for former CEO Craig Donaldson earlier this year. Donaldson quit after a challenging year following the bank's disclosure that it had under-reported its exposure to high-risk loans.

Before joining Metro, Frumkin, 55, spent eight years at The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd, a community bank based in Bermuda, the company said.

Chairman Michael Snyder said the appointment followed a comprehensive evaluation of a "strong field of candidates."

"This is not quite the big name appointment that the market may have been expecting," a trader said.

After Metro disclosed the accounting mishap in January of 2019, it swung to a third-quarter loss as clients rushed to pull out their money, while founder and Chairman Vernon Hill had to leave.

Metro, which is famous for attracting customers with its bright blue and red colored city-centre branches, is also under investigation for the blunder.

Frumkin will receive a salary of 740,000 pounds ($961,560), the company said. Donaldson's salary as of April 1, 2018, was 750,000 pounds.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)