在欧洲危机中盛开的小银行

    就当欧洲焦头烂额之际，一位意气风发的美国企业家却在雄心勃勃地打造一家冉冉升起的企业，所选行业恰恰是近年拖累全球经济陷入衰退、令人避之不及的银行业。

    这位偏向虎山行的斗士就是弗农•希尔，他在伦敦开设的Metro Bank大受欢迎，刚刚私募筹到2亿美元新鲜资本，担当融资顾问是业内资深人士梅里迪斯•惠特尼。A列表投资者包括Fidelity、Moore Capital的路易斯•贝肯、对冲基金SAC的史蒂夫•科恩以及纽约两大房地产家族勒弗莱克斯和鲁本斯。还有很多人希望投资这家可能改革英国银行业的公司，还没来得及出手，募集金额就已满。

    2010年7月，希尔创建了Metro Bank，种子资本2亿美元，第一批投资者很多也参与了第二轮融资。两年后的今天，希尔正在凭借他在美国开创的模式，以惊人的速度赢得客户。希尔曾用近30年将Commerce Bank从费城郊区一间分支机构打造成了美国东北地区一家大银行。2008年，他把Commerce以85亿美元卖给了Toronto Dominion (TD)，然后瞄准了一个相比美国、竞争弱得多的市场——138年来，没有一家新的“大众”银行（英国人对零售银行的称呼）获得牌照。

    几十年来，掌控英国市场的是大约六家墨守成规的银行，其中两家劳合社（Lloyds）和苏格兰皇家银行（Royal Bank of Scotland）已不得不接受政府救助。“旧模式已经行不通，”希尔表示，“他们的分支机构在走下坡路。投资不足的情况已持续多年，没有任何改进或创新的竞争压力。”希尔认为，目前英国银行业处于拐点，Metro是方向所在。

    迄今为止，Metro Bank已在大伦敦区建立了12家分支机构，预计今年年底还会再开8家。希尔表示，在美国，其他银行的分支机构每月能新增20个账户就算很好了，Commerce则远远胜出，每个月能开立约300个新账户。而Metro的分支机构，每月能新增750个账户。位于Holborn地铁站对面的Metro Bank旗舰行已获得2亿美元存款，是美国成熟分支机构均值的四倍，而且仍在快速增长。“我们从来没有在Commerce的分支机构中看到过这样快的增长，”希尔感叹到。

    为什么Metro如此成功？对于希尔而言，这完全就是打造一个伟大的零售品牌，而这个品牌恰巧是一家银行而已——Metro的广告词是“终于爱上你的银行”，反映的正是他对提供快速的、不同寻常的客户服务的痴迷。Metro的分行机构正在纷纷挂起描绘百年前周边环境的怀旧大壁画，还有神奇钱币机（Magic Money Machines）可以在接受你的分币后吐出一张凭证，凭此到柜台换纸币。欢迎携带宠物猫狗，提供洗手间。只需15分钟，Metro就可以开好账户，向客户发放一张借记/贷记卡。

    While Europe burns, a flamboyant American entrepreneur is building a thriving franchise in the misbegotten sector that's famously menacing the world economy: Banking.

    The proud contrarian is Vernon Hill, whose London venture, Metro Bank, is such a smash that he's just raised $200 million in fresh capital in a private placement, advised by industry veteran Meredith Whitney. The A-list of investors includes Fidelity, Moore Capital's Louis Bacon, Steve Cohen of hedge fund SAC, and two New York real estate families, the LeFraks and Reubens. Plenty of others wanted to bet on this unlikely campaign to revolutionize British banking, but couldn't get in before the coffers were full.

    Hill launched Metro Bank in July of 2010 with $200 million in seed capital, backed by many of the same investors who contributed to the second round. Two years later, Hill is winning customers at an astounding rate with the model he pioneered in the U.S., and then exported. Over almost 30 years, Hill built Commerce Bank from a single branch in suburban Philadelphia into a major player in the northeast. He sold Commerce to Toronto Dominion (TD) in 2008 for $8.5 billion, then targeted a market where the competition was far more worn and stodgy than in the U.S., and where not a single new "High Street" bank -- the Brits' expression for retail banks -- had won a license in 138 years.

    In Britain, half-a-dozen hidebound players have controlled the market for decades, including two bailed out by the government, Lloyds (LYG) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). "The old models just don't work," says Hill. "They branches were run-down. They'd underinvested for years, and hadn't had any competitive pressure to improve or innovate." British banking, says Hill, is at an inflection point, and Metro is pointing the way.

    So far, Metro Bank has established 12 branches in Greater London, and expects to open eight more by the end of this year. Hill says that the average U.S. branch does well to open 20 new accounts a month. Commerce waxed the competition by opening around 300. Metro's branches are adding 750 per month. The flagship opposite the Holborn tube station has garnered $200 million in deposits, four times the total at the average mature American branch, and is still growing rapidly. "We'd never seen growth that fast at any of our Commerce branches," marvels Hill. (SeeFortune's September 2010 profile, Vernon Hill is the best damn banker alive (Just ask him))

    Why is Metro such a hit? For Hill, it's all about building a great retail brand that happens to be a bank -- Metro's slogan is "Love your bank at last," a reference to his obsession with super-fast, offbeat customer service. The Metro branches are spanking new, featuring giant, nostalgic murals depicting the neighborhood as it was a century ago, and Magic Money Machines that take your pence and spit out a receipt you take to the counter to exchange for pound notes. Dogs and cats are welcome, and restrooms available. Metro opens accounts and issues customers a debit and credit card, in just fifteen minutes.